The Girlfriend

So tonight I asked Jacob about Lindsay, his girlfriend, and what all of that means. He wasn't sure how to explain it at first, but finally said, "It's just, well, she seems so special to me."


Oh my gosh!
I had to more questions, though...


Me: What happens when you go to different schools next year?
Jacob: I don't know. But I will never forget her.
Me: Oh, that's sweet. Do you think you'll have other girlfriends and she'll have other boyfriends then?
Jacob: I don't know yet. I just know I will always remember her. No matter what.
(He was looking at me with his big-eyed, super serious look.)
Me: I know, Jake. I'm sure you won't.

Oh, Kindergarten Angst?

Lindsay's parents found this note recently. Her mom scanned it and emailed it to me. 

I was floored.

Really?

He's six. Come on.

I wondered what could have triggered this note. 

I wondered if maybe a classroom assistant helped him come up with the wording? 

I wondered if he even wrote this at all?

I wondered if this was something to worry about.

So, I decided to ask. Luckily, he's still young enough that he doesn't question how we know things. He doesn't mind that Lindsay's parents saw the note or that they told me about it (he doesn't know she actually sent a copy of it to me). 

Me: So, do you remember a note you wrote to Lindsay a while ago?

Jacob: Yes. And I wrote another one today.

Me: Oh. What did it say?

Jacob: I love you Lindsay.

Me: What did the one before say?

Jacob: It said, "Lindsay, I know that sometimes you get upset but I want you to know I love you." (He actually said it exactly the way he'd written it weeks before.)

Me: Why did you write that?

Jacob: Just because.

Me: Did you get into a fight?

Jacob: Well, sometimes we fight.

Me: A lot?

Jacob: No. It's just... well, sometimes we argue about who's right and who's wrong.

Me: Oh. And then she gets upset?

Jacob: Well, it's just how she is. 

Me: She gets upset?

Jacob: It's just how things are, Mom. 

Me: Um, okay. Did anyone help you with the note?

Jacob: No. I just wrote it. 

Me: Oh. Well, it was nice of you to care about her feelings.

Jacob: Yeah.

Me: (Hoping to stress the whole friend thing instead of the boyfriend thing) I'm glad you're a good friend.

And then I didn't really know what else to say. The note just sounds so grown up! And really, I don't know where this comes from. He doesn't see this modeled at home. Greg and I don't get into fights. We don't argue in front of the kids. If Greg writes me sweet notes, Jacob doesn't ever see them. 

This one's going to keep us on our toes.

A Quiet Sunday Afternoon

After our weekend visitors left and Greg headed to work, I thought fingerpainting would be a fun treat. Here they are before beginning:

 Benjamin during the artistic process.

 

 Jacob during the artistic process.

Benjamin's paint plate halfway through.

 Jacob's paint plate halfway through.

Benjamin posing with his finished art.

 Jacob posing with his finished art.

The paint plates at the very end.

Jacob's fingerpainting of the family at the beach. Greg totally holds me up with just his hands all the time. 

Jacob made a painting of Benjamin. I know the red is just the outline of his head, but the lower part makes me think of hands on each side of the face. Then it's a very humorous picture, I think.

And Benjamin's masterpiece. :)

 Benjamin showing me his sad face. How could you say no to this?

My sweet, sweet boys. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time for a bit.

It's Been A While...

Here's a random photo of Jacob on his sick day at home a couple of weeks ago. This boy has a way of scaring me when he gets sick. Sunday night he said he felt sick. I took his temperature, and whaddaya know, he was running a fever of 103.6. Yowza. And suddenly looked pretty awful. Note the purple circles under his eyes. So we had a day at home together the next day. I let him sip some mint tea. I think he felt pretty cool. :)

 My dad and sister came to visit this past weekend. Papa (not shown) played a rowdy game of "Statue" with the kids. Jacob and Benjamin's cousins came over for a while.

 My beautiful boy.

 I love when he's just happy without thinking about it.

 Goofy bunch of kids!

 Just looking at this photo makes me feel like the luckiest person alive.

Language, Questions, and a Cool New Skill

Jacob: Daddy washed all of those dishes.
Me: No, I did some of those.
Jacob: Well, I thought Daddy did most of those.
Me: Well, Daddy might have done a few, but Mommy did most of these.
Jacob: You're talking in the third language.
Hee hee. 
And he just corrected it to: My friend, who's not really a friend, Malachi, talks in the third person language.
What kind of 6-year-old talks about third person?

This was followed with a conversation about slavery ("If the big fight about slavery hadn't happened, would my friends still be slaves?" and talking about how no one can "own" a person. Then multiplication (specifically, 13x19 and 14x19). He has an incredibly active mind!

Just to balance things out, after dinner, he came in and said (to my friend), "Aunt Sarah? I have something to show you." We waited, expecting something brilliant. He stuck his hand in his shirt, under his armpit, and made a farting noise. Moments like this reassure me that he's still a six-year-old boy. :)

We Still Don't Know What He Meant... and Potty News

Tonight we had chicken marinated in Italian dressing with roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, and basil. As I was putting the fresh mozz on, Benjamin came in and said what sounded like, "Is that ass cheese?" 

Um....

Me: What did you say?

Benjamin: Is that ass cheese?

Me: What kind of cheese? 

Benjamin: Ass cheese! Ass cheese! Ass cheese!

Me: I don't know what you're saying, Benny. As cheese? Ash cheese?

Benjamin: No! Ass cheese!

Jacob (from the other room): He's saying, "Ass cheese," Mom!

We still don't know what he meant. As we were laughing about it a bit later, I told Jacob it's not something he should say. He said, "I know. And I know why, too. I know which part." 

Argh. He's growing up too fast!

Speaking of growing up, Benjamin has now gone TWO days without an accident. He was in big boy underpants all day yesterday and all day today. He woke himself up during naptime to go. And tonight, after two very dramatic hours filled with tears and denial, he pooped on the potty. 

Victory!