Jack in Review

Jackson's Birthday

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old

11 months old

1 year old

15 months old

18 months old

21 months old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

What happened to my baby?!  How did 5 years fly so fast?

Jack Facts

Now that Jack is five years old, let me share a glimpse into his life today.

Jack Stats

Jack at his 5 year check up

• 47 inches tall!  (As always, off the charts!)
• 46.5 lbs.  (Can't remember exactly, but around 85%....long and lean.)
• 20/20 vision at his 5 year check up.  Whew!  What a relief that he took after his dad and not me.
• Size 13 shoe!  Can't find pants to fit the boy.  If they are long enough, they fall off him!

Jack Favs:

• Favorite TV shows:  Lego Ninjago, Tom & Jerry, Phineas & Ferb, Sponge Bob, and Octonauts (yes, I'm happy to say he has not grown up too much yet!)  He also loves anything on Animal Plant or the Discovery Channel.
• Favorite Movies:  Peter Pan, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, really he watches pretty much everything in our video library these days.
• Favorite Fast Food:  chicken quesadilla from Taco Bell
• Favorite Color:  black
• Favorite Sport:  baseball, swimming
• Favorite Book:  his picks rotate through all his books pretty regularly, but he does like Skippyjon Jones and the LEGO Ninjago books
• Favorite Toys:  loves Star Wars action figures, still loves cars, but especially LOVES conducting science experiments

About Jack:

• What he wants to be when he grows up? A scientist, although he will tell you he is already a scientist.
• The only vegetable he will eat is carrots and they have to be "bunny carrots." The big ones, not the little ones. He likes to gnaw on them like a rabbit.
• He prefers dark hair.  All of his girlfriends have had black hair.
• He likes Tinkerbell.  She is the only "girl" character he likes or will watch.
• Loves playing video games with dad. 
• Loves to wear anything camoflauge (picked this up from his cousin Bremen.)
• Happy kid.  Always in a good mood.
• Argumentative as all hell.  He likes to state his case and gets upset if he doesn't feel as if his point of view is heard.  (You can imagine how challenging his transition to Kindergarten has been.)
• He hates reading and writing, and art.  Another challenge in Kindergarten.  (We keep telling him he has to learn this before he gets to work on science.)
• He has an impressive vocabulary.  (I will take some credit for this, as I have always tried to use multiple ways to describe the world around him.)
• Loves his family.  When he snuggles with us, he gets the biggest grin.

Obviously, I could go on and on about Jack.  This is just a view into his life as a 5 year old.

4 to 5

For Jackson, this past year has been filled with changes.  Between his 4th and 5th birthday, Jack's mom (and best friend) went back to work.  Jack started preschool and then just under a year later, kindergarten.  That's a lot.  I also did not expect such huge developmental leaps between the 4th and 5th birthday.  Jack learned so much.  Not only writing and math skills, but his vocabulary and speaking ability soared in the course of a year.  He also gained so much confidence in his interactions with others.  He continually surprised me.  And, don't get me started on the growth spurts of the past year.  He is getting so tall!  He looks like a little boy, not a baby.  I am so proud of him. 

I want him to know that although my going back to work was absolutely the right thing for our family, that doesn't mean I wouldn't have preferred to be home with him until he went away to college.  I loved every second as a stay at home mom and miss it every day.  Spending days with this sweet spirit will always be a special memory for me.  I am a little sad that he doesn't remember a lot of it and that breaks my heart, but I do know that the time I spent with him influenced our relationship for the better.  It is the reason he and I are so unbelievably close.  It is the reason I am his favorite parent.  (Although Jack denies it, both Stuart and I know it is true.)  It is the reason he still tells his friends that his mom is his best friend.  I miss him every second that I am away from him,  I know that the most important job I will ever have will be raising this precious boy.

5 Year Old Photo Shoot

Here is my gorgeous 5 year old!  We were a little busy in August when Jackson turned 5, so we didn't take his 5 year old pics until yesterday.  Love that cute face.  As always, the outtakes are one of my favorite parts.  Jack did not disappoint this year.  He insisted on making up his own poses, and they were hysterical.  Here are a few:

Love this boy and his great personality. 

Dear Jack

My Dear Jack,

Today you are five years old.  I really cannot believe it.  This last year has been one full of big changes for you.  As I returned to work, you began preschool, and now kindergarten.  It has been so hard for me to be away from you; to trust others to care for you in my absence is harder than I ever imagined it would be.  Although I miss you so much while we are apart, I know these changes are important for you, so you can grow and become more independent.  You are developing such great relationships.  You have new friends, new teachers, and even have your first girlfriend.  You also are getting a chance to develop a deeper bond with your dad while I work.  I am so glad for all of these, but if I'm being honest, I'm also jealous.  I'm used to being your everything and now I share you.  It's very hard, but I am so proud of you.

You are such an outgoing little boy.  When you met your kindergarten teacher for the first time and bravely shook her hand and said, "I'm Jack Allen," I thought I might burst with pride.  When I drop you off at school, you barely have time for a good-bye because of your excitement for the day.  It's wonderful to see, even if it's hard for me to experience. 

I love our conversations.  I love your enthusiasm.  I love how sweet you are.  I love that you still kiss me multiple times a day.  And, I love that you still need me. 

I worry everyday that I don't do enough for you.  You deserve the best and I fail often as a mom, but know that I will keep trying for you.  I will strive to give you more attention, more patience, and more understanding.  You are the person who drives me to be better.  I am forever grateful to you for that.

I love you more and more each day.

Love,
Your Mom

Making a Boy

Jack was carefully placing his clothes on the floor one day, and I asked him what he was doing.  He replied that he was making a boy.  Now, I often find his clothes like this around the house.  Crazy little kid.

Wompa

Recently, Jack pulled this little guy out of his stuffed animal pile.  He decided to name him "Wompa" for the sound he makes when you push his belly.  He takes really good care of his Wompa.

I love watching these tender moments with Jack.

Reasons I love Jack

Jackson is growing so fast that I can't believe it sometimes.  Here are just a few of the things I love about Jack today:

• He always wakes up happy.
• He wants to be just like his dad.
• He always tells Stuart and I that we are his best friends.
• When he say remember, it comes out dinember.
• Everything that happened before today was "last year."  "Mom, you dinember, last year when we went bowling?"  It's so cute.
• He still gives me lots of hugs and kisses.
• He is so sweet and loving.  He has a hard time understanding when other kids are mean to him and it breaks my heart everytime.
• He is so outgoing.  When I meet other parents at his school, they always know Jack and tell me that it is because he comes up and introduces himself.
• He talks CONSTANTLY.  Stuart gets frustrated with this, but I remind him that we have 2 girls that we would love to hear from more often, so he should enjoy this stage for as long as it lasts.  Besides, his conversations are hysterically funny.  I wish I had a video camera going 24/7.
• He has a laugh that can always brighten my day.

Easter

 Jack was thrilled to get a Boba Fett air launcher in his Easter basket.  He didn't care one bit about the candy and didn't even ask for any of the candy until days later.  He did play with this rocket for 2 days straight.  And, he slept with it.  Always a sign he loves a toy.

Check out the action shot I captured!  Very cool.





We also decorated eggs, of course.  I was so proud of Jack.  He did 90% of the work himself this year.  He is growing up so fast!

He loved the egg holder.

I have no idea what he was doing here, but the picture cracks me up!

It takes serious concentration to get it right.

I love that we have half camouflage and half glitter eggs.  (Jack's choice.)  It shows perfectly how Jack straddles the line between little boy and big boy!

Before dying the eggs, Jack and I had a discussion as to what the eggs symbolize for Easter.  I really want him to understand the meaning behind some of the fun traditions that we do.  He listened intently as I explained in very simplistic terms.  I didn't expect him to totally understand at this age.  When we dyed the last egg, however, Jack turned to me and said, "Now I can live forever because I dyed the eggs, right?"  I tried to clarify, but he was adamant that he could live forever now that he had dyed Easter eggs.  Uh, well, maybe I need to work on my explanation...