Jake- August 2010

Jake started 2nd grade this week. I thought it might be time for a kid update.... Tanner and Faith will get their own posts on their first day of pre-K and preschool (respectively).

My eldest son is turning into a football freak. Besides playing and loving Optimist Youth and watching games with Brian often (who knew that preseason football was so big???) he also is going to do a Fantasy league- the draft is this Friday. Boise State starts the year ranked #3 in the nation and a huge game is coming up against Virgina Tech next week, which we will all be glued to on ABC. It is hard not to get sucked into Football Fever here with the blue and orange adorning every car and body in the Boise area. We also are planning on several Capitol High games this fall. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Jake came home from his first day of school full of excitement about his teacher, Mr. Conant. He is a very well liked and well respected teacher at Hidden Springs and we were excited that Jake was in his class. Jake loves that he is in class with his best friend, Tyler, and a couple of his new football buddies. Mr. Conant definitely makes school fun and the year is sure to be a good one. He is excited to learn multiplication and to continue writing stories in writers workshop. My only goal for him this year is that he continue to enjoy school, work hard when he is there, and respect his teachers/classmates. So many parents here are so concerned about "challenge" for their kids, but both Brian and I feel that right now the challenge level is just fine- he is learning, he is happy, and he is well liked by the adults/kids. I'll take that combination for as long as we can get it!

He is riding his scooter to school with friends this year. No more family walks to school in the AM. Yes, it is a little sad, but it was time. He meets two of his buddies at the Merc next door and rides with them, then meets them at the end of the day and rides home. How did he get old enough to do this??? I have to admit, I wanted to follow him the first day to be sure he stopped at the intersections and looked both ways. Letting go is hard to do.

Picking out school supplies this year was pretty funny because my "too cool for school" guy had to have everything in BLACK. Black notebooks, black folders, black pencil sharpener, etc... His first day of school outfit was, once again, exercise shorts and a skateboard t-shirt. I am afraid he will never be the "plaid shorts and nice collared shirt" kind of guy and only wears that type of thing for VERY special occasions and only when Brian and I insist.

Besides football Jake also continues to love basketball and baseball and has started being more interested in building with Legos (mostly due to Tanner and Faith's involvement in this) and also in making "experiments". His latest was in trying to create a slingshot out of a rubber band bracelet, playdoh, and popsicle sticks. He still likes skateboarding and riding his bike and claims he wants to be in the X Games someday- even though "dare devil" has never been his middle name! He is excited to take snowboarding lessons this winter, too.

He is still challenging to us, emotionally. He is so sensitive and gets over tired so easily. He can still throw massive tantrums that outshine those of his brother and sister by the nth degree. He is much better at bedtime but still needs about a thousand lights on and the door wide open or he is terrified. (Hmmmm- as I type that I realize that my family might very well have described me that exact way, too, well past adolescence! Uh-oh.) Still, he is such a love, so sensitive to other people's needs, and even though he won't let me hold his hand at school any more (sob, sob), he loves to cuddle up with me when we are at home, we still sing songs together each night, and he hasn't started showing any signs of "body embarassment" yet.

He will be 7 1/2 years old Sept. 17th and, in short, I am so proud of him and challenged by him everyday.