25 Things About Jack

1. I love baseball. I have my own glove and bat and collection of balls. My dad pitches to me and I can hit the ball a lot of the time! I also like to play basketball and soccer, but baseball is my most favorite. I wore my blue Cubs hat almost every day but now it's too small.

2. I love my school! I am super-excited to go every single time. My teachers told my parents they have never seen a kid so enthusiastic about school. I love painting and playing with my friends. And snack time.

Jack on a school field trip. Notice my son is the only one with his hands in his pants. Nice....


Valetine's Day program for the parents.


Collage I made for Jack's "About our Families" book at school.

3. I play with trains almost every day. I always ask Mommy or Daddy to help me build a track, but it doesn’t always go well if Samantha is awake. She likes to chew on my tracks. I also LOVE anything Thomas-related (although my mom is starting to think about not letting me watch Thomas anymore; she thinks he's too self-centered and whiney).

Metra!


Jack watching for the train with some other kids last summer.




Jack made his own "pet train" (like the one on Little Einsteins).


This, on the other hand, is the CANDY EXPRESS. Yum.


A really cool track that Jack built. But it didn't last for long....


Guess who came through?


After being told he couldn't take his trains to church. He thought I wouldn't notice.


Another thing he likes to do with his tracks.

4. I am a very picky eater. I have about five meals that I like, and I am so stubborn that I recently I went from a late morning breakfast until the next morning without eating because I refused everything my mom offered (and for some reason she refused to give in to my begging for crackers, French fries, and cookies, something about how I needed to eat fruits and vegetables more often).

And he said, "No" when I asked him if he ate a cookie. Hm.

5. I am learning more and more about talking. Now I say things like, “That’s yours” instead of “That’s Mommy’s.” But I still say funny things sometimes, like, “Thank you really much!” or “That weren’t kind!” I know how to spell my name, and Ellie's, and I know that Samantha's name starts with an S. I love to write my name.

6. I love to pick on my sisters. I think it’s so funny! I like to hold on to Samantha’s feet so she can’t crawl anywhere. She gets really mad and screams, and it makes me giggle. Sometimes I stand on the feet of her jammies, too, so she can’t move and she gets soooo mad at me. And I like to wrestle with Ellie. She likes it too, and I totally know when she fake cries for sympathy. She dishes it out pretty rough, too, but I rarely cry. Rarely.

7. I am learning to write my letters! My favorite one right now is Q and K. I am most confused by H and A. But I LOVE to write my name…it makes me so proud. My parents go bananas whenever I do it…what dorks. I also love to color with crayons and especially markers.

After never drawing anything more than scribbles, he drew this one day, announcing, "It's an octopus." I couldn't believe it. So I took a picture.


Then he drew this, and when I asked what it was he said, "It's Mommy." Do you like my beard?


This happens a lot at our house.

8. I am SO OVER baby board books. Bring on the real picture books! I love Berenstain Bears, Clifford, Thomas (duh), Scaredy Squirrel, and as of recently I am really into Anno’s counting books. I love to go to the library, where we get to play puzzles and choose books and videos.

Watching The Berenstain Bears with the Berenstain Bear family.

9. I am learning to sit with my mommy and daddy in the church service instead of going to nursery. I am very well-behaved and quiet and I listen for words that they tell me to listen for, and I love to stick my money in the offering plate. I love church and yell “Yay, church!” excitedly every time I hear that we are going to go.

The "Big Rock" at the Arboretum.




Beautiful sunset on our hike.

10. I love to tell my parents about everything. Whenever ANYTHING happens, I say, “I have to tell Daddy/Mommy.” Sometimes I beg my mom to call my dad at work so I can tell him something. Or I open the shower curtain while one of them is in there to tell them things, like that my movie is over, or that Samantha is funny, or that I ate my breakfast. My mommy seems to get a little annoyed sometimes by all the things I constantly want to tell her, but I can’t imagine why.

11. My mommy loves it when I say, “I love you really much, Mommy.” She gives me a big bear hug with lots of kisses every time. (That will only last so long, Mom.)

12. I know all of my colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. I am learning the days of the week right now, which still confuses me a bit, but I do finally understand what mommy and daddy mean by “tomorrow.” (At bedtime I often give them a whole run-down of what I think we should do tomorrow.)

13. One of my new favorite phrases is, “Ellie you’re not the Mommy.” I also say, “I’m not the mommy. I’m the brother.” One time Mommy tried to role-play with me about obeying, and she said, “You pretend that you’re the mommy, and I’ll be Jack.” I didn’t know what she meant by “pretend” so I started crying and said, “I’m not the mommy, I’m JACK!!” I got really upset.

14. I still can’t say my “L’s” so I say, “Eh-yee” (Ellie) and “wook” (look) and yewwow (yellow).

15. My mommy’s current favorite mispronounced word of mine is “room”: I say, “Jack’s worm” or “Mommy’s worm.” This makes Mommy laugh, especially because Ellie mispronounces it too and says, “Ellie’s woomp.”

16. I like to have privacy when I go potty (who doesn’t?) so I always tell my mommy to “go out” or to “go in the house” and I shut the door.

One of his favorite indoor games...jumping off the window sill onto the couch. He LOVED this picture of himself mid-air.

17. Sometimes my mom and dad ask me so many questions about school that I get annoyed and I say, “Please stop talking to me” or “Leave me alone.”

18. I have my own red clock in my room that I am VERY proud of. I know what 7:00 looks like on the clock, and I know that I can’t come out of my room in the morning until it says 7:00. I come bursting out of my room every morning yelling, “IT’S SEH-MEN!!!!!”

19. Despite being so picky, my two favorite foods that are sure to please me any time are deep-dish pizza or a bowl of rice and black beans from Chipotle.

20. I love to have sips of my mommy’s “coppee” (coffee) when she gets it. Sometimes I get my own coppee. (Kid’s hot chocolate.)

21. I am on a huge Buzz and Woody kick right now. I love my Buzz Lightyear action figure. And my Woody doll, although Ellie and I were fighting over him and his arm ripped off. (How’s that for life imitating art?)

"Woody's been shelved!"

22. I love love love love love love going to Trader Joe’s. I am so good at finding the little purple and blue monkey they hide in the store. I always get a sucker because I can always tell them exactly where the monkey is. For some reason the person at the check-out always laughs. I must be darn-cute or something.

23. My favorite song to sing right now is the Zaccheaus song. I sing it over and over again throughout the day. I also sing Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves the Little Children, The B-I-B-L-E, and Go Tell it on the Mountain. And the theme song to Little Einsteins. And Wonder Pets. And Diego. And Veggie Tales. Yeah, I’m pretty awesome.

24. I am a very sweet boy, or so my mommy says. I share my toys with Ellie, I always get her a fork when I get my own fork, and this week I saved a piece of my special Easter chocolate from school just for her. I am very helpful and have small responsibilities at home, like hanging up my coat and putting away my shoes, taking my clothes to the laundry room, taking my plate to the kitchen after dinner, and getting dressed by myself. I am very proud of all the things I can do by myself.

25. My 4th birthday was in April. I counted down for weeks. I was SO EXCITED for my birthday to come finally, after watching all my friends at school celebrate their birthdays since September. My mom made me a Thomas the Train cake, and as I watched her put the icing on, I sighed happily, patted her arm, and said, "Oh, I love you, Mommy." I spent the morning of my birthday at the children's museum with Daddy, and then had McDonald's for lunch, pizza for dinner, and then so many friends came to my house with PRESENTS! It was the best birthday EVER.

So this cake was a disastrous experience. The instructions that came with it were totally wrong, and an hour before his party I was still piecing this thing together and frantically trying to ice it. I wish I could make it over again because I could do it much better...but this one sufficed. And HE loved it so that's what matters. He already told me that he wants a red "James" train next year. Maybe I will get that second chance...








Horrible picture, but can you see the GLEE in his face here?



HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, JACK-A-BEE!