Sleep walking again

I went to check on the kids before I went to bed and this is what I found. 

Lady Killer

Jacob has begun to make new friends this year. One is a girl named  Sadie.  He started talking about her quite frequently a few weeks ago.  I dropped by the school last week and had lunch with him and asked out loud, "Which girl is Sadie? Point her out to me, Jake."  He went all red and said, "MOM!  SHHHHH!"  She was sitting nearby, but they never spoke to each other during lunch.  Friday he asked me to write my cell phone number on a piece of paper and he could give it to Sadie, then she could call him.  Monday after school he said to me, "K, Mom.  You have to keep your cell phone with you at all times.  She is going to call me today."  She  never did.  Tuesday.  "Mom, Sadie told me she was gone all afternoon and couldn't call.  But she is going to try calling today."  No phone call.  Today, "Mom, k, she said she is for sure going to call today.  Boy, she had better!"  Then he left to play with a friend down the street; she called while he was gone.  I told her I would have him call her at 7 PM.  The first thing he asked when he returned, "Did she call?"  I relayed what happened.  6:57 P.M. "Mom, I need your phone."  He called and when someone answered he said, 'Who is this?'"  I whispered, "No, love, say, 'Is Sadie there?'"  He swallowed hard and asked for Sadie.  She got on the phone and he started breathing quickly and licking his lips.  Then he started pacing around the living room.  I whisper again, "Tell her you are returning her phone call."  He quickly blurts out, "Hi, Sadie.  I'm returning your phone call."  I didn't hear what she said.  He was silent for a minute and then hung up.  I smiled and said, "Jake Jake you didn't say goodbye."  That embarrassed him; Jake crawled under my desk with his head in his hands, "Oh, no!!!!!  Sheesh, what am I going to do?'  I tried comforting him by saying it wasn't a big deal that he forgot and that I was sure she would still play with him at recess tomorrow.  He agonized over his forgetfulness up until bedtime and then came down 45 minutes later telling me he couldn't get to sleep because he forgot to say good-bye.  I reassured him--promised him--she probably didn't care he forgot and that everything would be just normal tomorrow.  He is finally asleep.

Jake is such a little man.  He always has been.  He has this deep raspy voice and this big brown eyes with long eyelashes.  He even walks like a little man.  He is a girl's protector and leader and is usually pretty confident.  Until today. Obviously, he cares very much what Sadie thinks of him.   Sigh.  He is so very much like his dad. Love my little monkey.

I'm 6!

Jacob turned 6 years old yesterday. He woke up about 3-4 times in the night asking if it was time to get up yet so he could open his presents.  That's a little unusual for him, but it shows how much he is growing up and understanding everything around him.

He was so excited to be "the boss" for a day. He wanted to be able to tell everyone what to do.  We had to let him know that just meant he got to choose what we had for breakfast and dinner and that he didn't really have to do many chores around the house.

For birthday celebrations at school, his teacher does a neat thing in lieu of treats.  The birthday child brings a new book and his/her parent gets to read it to the class and then it is donated to a special class book collection.  It was neat to see Jake be in the school environment. He is so very mellow--i.e. his teacher is not saying to him every few minutes, "Jake, please don't swing on the door handle," or, "Jake, please sit on the chair the right way," or, "Jake, we wrestle outside," or, "Jake, stop jumping up and down and just talk to me normally," etc.  All of his church teachers and his preschool teachers have told me how well behaved he is, but I got to see it personally yesterday.  We love our active boy and wouldn't trade his activeness for anything!  I used to be a little worried about it when it came time to start school, but obviously it isn't a problem for him!

Besides his activeness we also love that Jake Jake is very loyal.  He looks out for his family and friends and is always thinking of them, especially his big brother.  For example, Caleb's pencil sharpener broke.  While Caleb was at school, we were at the store trying to find a replacement.  I just grabbed the same green one that had broken, but Jacob took the time to look through the stack and found a blue one, Caleb's favorite color.  He came running after me, "Mommy, look, I found a blue one!  Caleb would rather have this one!"

Along with his loyalty, he is a rule follower and a steady influence in his siblings' lives.  Emily naturally goes to him because he doesn't "throw" himself on her, trying to persuade her to play with him.  When he sees she needs something he gets it for her. And when she is unhappy, he can easily make her smile in his quiet way.  Therefore, we find her gravitating towards him when we are together as a family because she trusts him.

And because he is a rule follower, he keeps his siblings in check.  He is their conscience.  Whenever he sees Emily put something in her mouth he quickly gets her to spit it out.  If Michaela forgets to wash her hands, he reminds her to do so.

As I write and remember all the wonderful things about him, it naturally reminds me of the day he was born.  He took a while getting here.  He was a week late and I was in labor for 24 hours.  (They weren't excruciating hours, they just went REALLY SLOW).  And when he was born he didn't cry.  He just nestled in to me and started breathing.  We were all worried something was wrong with him, but no, he is just so easily contented.

Jake, when you read this someday, I want you to know how much you were wanted and how much you are loved.  Thank you for choosing to come to our family!  We love you!

Oh, and Daddy made the awesome Lego brick cake.  In case you did not know this about Jake Jake, he loves to play with Legos.

I Learned How to Ride Without Training Wheels!

Baby Emily

[This is what Jacob told Mommy about what he thought about Baby Emily.]

Jacob: I liked playing with her. I like holding her. I like giving Baby Emily presents. I like watching movies with her. My favorite show is Transformers. I like giving Baby Emily hugs and kisses. I like working out with Baby Emily. I like playing games with Baby Emily.

Mommy: What's the best thing about having a baby sister?

Jacob: I don't know about that part.

Mommy: What's the hardest thing about having a baby sister?

Jacob: I can't think of hard things.

Mommy: Anything else?

Jacob: I'm not sure.

Shooting Dragons

I think this picture tells why Jake is so much fun to have around.

Mommy: What were you doing in this picture?

Jacob: I was shooting a dragon.

Mommy: Anything else?

Jacob: That's it.

Jake's first day of preschool.

M: How was your first day of school?

J: Good.

M: What did you do today?

J: I played duck duck goose. I played red light green light. And I played with the toys. Some people weren't listening to rules. They weren't listening to my teacher's rules. They had to go somewhere.

M: What did you like about today?

J: Playing with the toys.

M: Anything else?

J: Ummm...nope...oh, one more thing. I'm grateful I rode my bike to school.