2nd Grade - here he comes!!!

Preschool

Blink

Kindergarten

Blink

1st grade

Blink

2nd Grade

That's how it feels....right, fellow parents? You blink and you've skipped ahead a few years, a few smiles, and a few grades in school.  It's unbelievable. 

I'm happy to report that the 2nd grade year has started out on a positive note, with Jake being excited to head back (after some initial first day jitters) and reporting back on day one that 2nd grade is awesome and his teacher is fun.  Glowing review from a 7 year old!!

One thing that happened earlier this summer that was kind of a weird punch in the gut to me was the day that Jake declared he needed a "big kid" backpack, and did not want to get anything with characters on it.  He wanted either a Nike backpack, or one from Pappy's store (Columbia)  After showing him the pictures of what was available at Columbia, he picked out what he declared to be the coolest backpack around :)  I don't know why, but this really got to me!!  He was happy with his decision though, and proudly rocked that backpack yesterday.  The good news is, it should hold up better than the cheap character backpacks, which usually fall apart by March.

The only person who was unhappy about the first day of school was Liam....he won't start kindergarten until next year, and the boy left behind this year shed some tears in the morning about not going on the bus with his big bro.  Exhibit A of this disappointment can be found on his face in all of the following pictures:

 

He perked up a little bit right before we headed out to the bus stop....

 

 

A few silly pics, and we were off to the bus stop!! 

 

Any nerves that were still lingering seemed to leave once we got to the stop; Jake reunited with all of his usual stop buddies and everyone was comparing teachers and wondering what they would do that day when they got there :)  He was so excited when the bus started to come down the hill that we had to call him back over to us to get a hug goodbye! 

 

He skipped off the bus after school and was happy to tell me all about his day and show me everything that was sent home with him. What else is there to do other than celebrate with ice cream after that kind of day??

Happy back to school, everyone!!!

Happy 7th Birthday, Jake!!

Dear Jake,

7 years old.  1st grade.  How did these things sneak up on me? It seems like this was just yesterday, not 7 years ago!

So much has changed, but you can still make us smile, just like we are in that picture above.  You are funny, witty, smart, and athletic.  While you sometimes get frustrated with school work (especially homework), we know that you are trying your hardest, and it's a great feeling to see the huge smile on your face when you come home with a good grade on a test. 

Your love for skiing has continued into this year, and I know you're excited that there are still a few more months left to enjoy your favorite sport.  You gave basketball a shot earlier this year and didn't love it, but you stuck with it and have already said you want to play baseball again this spring. 

Your favorite shows right now are the new Star Wars cartoon you just discovered along with some of your old standbys, like Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  And you'll sometimes volunteer to watch Paw Patrol with Liam; you like to act like you're doing it for him, but I know you love it too :) 

If given the chance, I'm convinced you'd be outside 24/7 if we let you.  You are happiest when you're running around the yard, or riding your bike, or shooting hoops in the driveway.  If you must be inside, you can usually be found building Lego structures, playing Minecraft, sketching football players and helmets in your new sketchpad, or rearranging your various "collections" (football cards, tiny football helmets, etc)  And football!  Football, football.  We play football, we read books all about football, we watch football.  This has been your new obsession as of late.

For as independent as you have become, there are moments when you will still come curl up in my lap and just want to sit there.  You always want to snuggle in as close as possible if we're watching a movie or reading a book (you especially love to "tuck your feet in", meaning that you like to slide them under my legs to keep them warm....but only if I'm wearing cozy pants, you get very frustrated if I have on jeans!)  And Jake, I hope those moments don't stop anytime soon.  You are go, go, go all day long....you seem to have endless amounts of energy....but when you do pause to snuggle, it makes my day.  I can immediately remember sitting in your glider late at night in your nursery, holding you, enjoying the quiet, and breathing in your baby smell.  Your hair now smells like regular shampoo, but it doesn't matter :)  I still sniff it sometimes anyway, which sometimes causes you to wiggle off my lap and say "Mooooooom!" but I just can't help myself.  I try to remind myself that these moments won't last forever...you won't always want me to lay with you for a few minutes before you go to bed.  So even though I always feel like I have a hundred things to do once you guys go to bed, I try to enjoy those few minutes of just laying there with you.  It's sometimes when you turn into the most chatty you've been all day and share things about your day with me. 

Daddy and I are so proud of you, for your effort in school, your progress in sports and most importantly, for the kind heart that you have.  Happy birthday, Jake!!

1 week old baby feet!

2 weeks old

15 months old-passed out cold while eating Easter dinner :)

2 years old

2.5 years old

3.5 years old

4 years old

5 years old

5.5 years old

5.5 years old-and a moment in Jake's life that he still talks about as being one of the best :)  fighting Darth Vader at Disney World!

6.5 years old

allllmost 7 years old :)

First Day of First Grade!

It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since I put my first baby on that big bus and tearfully waved goodbye.  I can't say this year was without tears (his or mine) but there were less than last year, so we are making progress.

image source: http://classes.slis.lsu.edu

 But he's ready....he may not think he is, but he's grown and learned so much over the past year that I know he's going to tackle this year head on.  

love this shot, he's like yeah....I got this!

showing off his new ninja turtle backpack

He was so excited to get a Skylanders lunchbox, even though we don't own the game...wishful thinking for Christmas, I guess!

This picture is just so....them.  Love it.

Liam was saying, "Jake, do you need a hug??"

Nana was visiting so she got to come to the bus stop!

Go move some mountains, kid.

Goodbye Kindergarten, Hello First Grade!

I just realized that it was well over a month ago, but I forgot to post about the end of Jake's kindergarten year.  As with most things in life (especially since having kids) the year just took off and was gone in an instant.  I'm happy to say that even though kindergarten started out a little shaky for our little man, he worked things out and we ended the year on a positive note (aside from him crying the last week of school because he didn't want to leave his teacher...but I guess even that can be looked at as a good thing!)

Here are some comparison pictures of the first and last days of school...

First day, August 2013:

Last Day, June 2014:

A few days before school ended, I sent Jake in with a copy of Oh the Places You'll Go, along with a note to his teacher, asking if she would sign the inside of it...kind of like a yearbook message.  I'm hoping to do this every year for him (at least until he finds it to be embarrassing and begs me to stop...even then, maybe I'll just do it behind his back!)  Here is the message she wrote:

Dear Jake,

I loved having you in my kindergarten class this year!  I remember seeing you play Battleship on the first day of school, and now you can read and write!  It has been so nice to see you learn, grow, and make new friends.  You are a hard worker (and neat too!), and you have a great sense of humor (your laugh is contagious!)!!  Always stay that way :)  I can't wait to hear about your future elementary school adventures, so be sure to visit.  Maybe I'll even see you zipping past me on the ski slopes!  Best of luck!

I really feel so lucky that we were able to have such a great teacher for his first year of school!  Jake wrote her a little note for the last day, and we sent it in along with a plant and a Panera gift card:

Less than 2 months until we have a first grader....