Jacob's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Jacob's first day of kindergarten. He's been saying he's excited, but it might be only because he thinks we expect him to say that. He's going to kindergarten at his daycare, so a lot of his daily routine will remain the same. The hardest part for me is going to be remembering that I can't keep him home just because I feel like it if I have a day off.

So, we took a photo in front of the tree in front of our house.

It was only about 6:10 AM, so it was still dark out.

Jacob came home from school with this:

Jacob and Moron? Huh?

When I asked about this drawing, he said, "It's me and Mauren (sounds like Lauren)." I asked what they were doing. He said the guy in the middle was saying, "I now pronounce you man and wife." I asked, "So, you're getting married?" He said yes, but couldn't really give me any more details.

Hats Make Everything Better

Watching Greg cut the grass is very serious business.

Mini Builders

I'm having issues with Blogger. It lets me choose the size of the photo, but keeps only changing one of them... I don't know. I need a Blogger tutor. Anyway, on Saturday, we went to Home Depot for their monthly kid workshop. This week: School Bus Pencil Holder. Pretty cool! It was all going so well until I "helped" Jacob with his and accidentally put a piece in upside down. Luckily, Greg was able to take it apart again and fix it.

Have I Posted This Before?

Take Benjamin's face, Jacob's coloring, and make a sweet little girl...

Pool Time

Last Saturday, Greg's sweet Aunt Jama and Uncle Dave invited everyone over to swim. It was cloudy, which worked out perfectly... not too hot, and not too much sun!

A Very Short Visit

Have you heard of Silly Bandz? Long before they appeared in MY house I'd heard of them, and I was grateful Jacob hadn't discovered them. And then they came. One day home with a band from the treasure box at school... a few days later, another one... and so it started.

Jacob has become obsessed with them. He kept asking to get some, and I kept saying no. As long as he had one from school, that was enough. On our back to school shopping day, he was crazy over a t-shirt because it had a pack of silly bandz attached. Really? I explained that we don't choose t-shirts based on what's with them. He didn't get it and then tried to convince me that the shirt was really cool, too. We didn't buy it.

We headed to the mall next, but it was only 9 so the stores weren't open yet. A couple of lonely kiosks were open, including one exclusively for silly bandz. Buy two packs and get one free! So... we did it. Jacob carefully chose his packs. I told him he couldn't open them until we got home, but he did get to hold them in the car (unopened) after a couple hours of shopping. As we drove home, Jacob asked if he got to open them right when we got home. I said no, he'd have to eat lunch first. So... as I carried in groceries (we made another stop on the way home), he opened the first pack on the couch. So... away they went. He kept asking me about them, and I finally told him he wouldn't get them that day if he asked again. So he tried more roundabout ways of asking... just mentioning them, but not actually saying when.

I let him have a pack when Greg got home, and let him know he'd just have one pack for a while. We'd go through one pack at a time, and we'd give him more when his others ran out (they're even less durable than rubber bands).

The next morning, Jacob apparently took them from our bedroom before we woke up. We found him later in the morning with his arms covered in silly bandz. And, so away they went. For good. Yeah... we're mean.

Half an Hour With My Sharp Little Man

I'll post more soon about what's been going on in our lives, but for now, here's a brief, simplified recap of our car ride home tonight (approximately 30 minutes)...

Jacob started asking why people put lights on just about everything except for plants. Greg asked what he meant. He said like on buildings. Greg explained that lights help people see and also help deter burglars. He explained that some people want to break in and steal things so they can sell them, and that if it's dark they're more likely to do it because no one will see them. Greg then said in the wintertime, it gets dark around 5:30, which lead to...

Jacob asked why the days are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. Greg explained that it depends on how the earth is positioned in relation to the sun (much more discussion about this, but I can't remember the wording). First, Jacob asked, "Oh, so does the earth spin faster in the winter?" He ended up talking about seasons and asked if snow is just rain that comes during winter and freezes because it's so cold out. This led to discussion the shape of snowflakes and how the shape affects how it falls.

I mentioned to Greg that while Jacob and I were in the mall, he asked about a sub shop there. He said, "Why are they called subs?" I said it was short for "submarine," and that it was because they resembled submarines because they're long and thin. Jacob paused, looked confused, and said, "But... submarines have a thing like this (and did a detailed outline with his finger in the air) that sticks up so they can see and a propeller like this (another detailed outline) on the back." I tried explaining that it was just because they were both long and thin, but he didn't seem to buy it.

Greg told Jacob the thing that sticks up can actually go down into the submarine so you can't see it at all outside and that a cover goes over it. (He also told him it's called a periscope.) Jacob asked how boats float. Greg explained that it depends on how much air something holds and that boats are shaped to hold a lot of air. Jacob said, "So, if you turned the boat upside down, would it sink?" Greg said, "Well, if it still had air under it, then no... but most of the time it's a little sideways and water goes up in it and pushes the air out, so it would sink."

Greg said sometimes ships sink when they get a hole and then water comes in and fills up the ship. Jacob said, "But what if there are two holes and the water keeps going out the other hole? Would it still sink?"

At some point the conversation went to torpedoes and missiles. Jacob asked if submarines had them and then said, "Because missiles are in the air and torpedoes are in the water?" He asked questions about if a torpedo missed ("Would it sink?"). Greg said it would and that sometimes people aimed wrong. Jacob said, "So, it would just slow down and then sink?" He also said things like, "What if it had a sensor or a camera on it and the submarine had a sensor on it, too? Could someone control it?"

This kid and his brilliant mind. He blows me away. I'm so glad his dad remembers all of his science lessons and I'm so glad he remembers them well enough to explain them to a very inquisitive five-year-old.