Playing Catch Up

So 2011 kind of flew past me. I didn't really blog, I didn't take as many photos, and I didn't document as much of the special moments with the kiddos as I would have liked... So, in big mish-mash style, here are a bunch of photos, Facebook updates, and random "jottings."

FACEBOOK

2/6/2011 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?

2/22/2011 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."

3/6/2011 Yesterday I while I was in the shower, Jacob decided to help Benjamin use the potty. This is what I heard:
Benjamin: Wah! I just went pee pee in my mouth!
Jacob: Well, that's because you weren't holding down your weiner!
SO wrong.

4/2/2011 I am in a REALLY good mood. Completely in love with Butler and especially enjoyed singing the Butler War Song with Greg and the boys when they won! Woo hoo! :) Benjamin might not know all of the words yet, but he got a few and made up for the ones he missed with happy dancing.

5/8/2011 Jacob just gave me a card he made and a bag of pine cones he found at school. Benjamin said he also had presents for me and brought me a reading book, a drum stick, and the trailer from a toy truck. I said that was probably enough presents. He said, "Yeah, you can have the rest at Christmas." Hee hee. I love my boys. :)

5/14/2011 During lunch today, Greg opened the blinds in the kitchen to let in some sunshine. Jacob said, "Oh, so we don't need this anymore" and turned off the kitchen light. 

Benjamin's whole body crumbled and he started sobbing, "I can't see! I can't see!"

5/14/2011 Jacob, on showering before his girlfriend Lindsay's Birthday party: "I'm going to use conditioner today because it's Lindsay's birthday!"

5/15/2011 Benjamin, looking at the mousepad: "Oh, is that a mouse coaster?" :) Love it!

6/24/2011 Benjamin charmed the socks off of about 50 different people at the grocery store tonight. He smiled at anyone within a few feet and said, "Hiya! I'm making friends!" and would then chat about anything that came to his sweet little mind.

6/29/2011 Wisdom from Benjamin: "People don't like to smell feet."

7/1/2011 We had a VERY random dinner tonight: PB&J on hotdog buns, blueberries, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, crackers broiled with cheese and bacon bits, and banana chocolate cake (end of the week, just grabbing whatever out of the fridge!). Jacob Stone said, "It's like a George Bob (Jane Thornquist Bogetto) meal, only hers don't usually have vegetables." Ha ha. :)

7/6/2011 ‎Benjamin Stone: I didn't get a snack. Me: Yes, you did. Where did it go? Benjamin: I lost it. Me: Where did you lose it? Benjamin: In my mouth.

7/21/2011 Tonight Benjamin Stone told us he wants to be a fire engine when he grows up.

7/24/2011 On Friday we were listening to music and Jacob said, "I think that's a timpani." Greg said, "It does sound like it. Where did you learn that?" Jacob replied, "I taught myself. I teach myself most things. Well, except for things about the world. I learn that in school." He taught himself to ride a bike, pretty much taught himself how to swim, and has so much random knowledge in his little head... he may be right.

8/1/2011 Jacob just brought me something he thought was hilarious... a typo in his Book of Trivia Questions and Answers. My sweet baby makes me proud. :)

8/5/2011 At the Indians game. Jacob cheered through the whole thing. He is completely in love with baseball. On this hot, muggy night, he did note that it "smells like old socks." Ha ha. So true.

8/7/2011 ‎Benjamin Stone, on the VERY brief rain shower just now: "You can actually hear it sparkling outside. Sparkling is rain."

8/8/2011 Jacob, on a (tiny) spider building a web under his desk: "It already built the spider web and now it's probably gone out to mate." What???

8/9/2011 A little nervous about Jacob's first day in "real" school... It seems like I'm going to forget something. And... today Benjamin went to Time Out, misbehaved in Time Out, and had to go to the main office. Wow.

8/12/2011 Jacob, in one breath: "Goodnight, Mommy. Did you know the oar fish can be as long as five canoes?"

8/13/2011 I can buy Jacob's love with breakfast food. Jacob, as I'm flipping a piece of French toast: "Ooo, French toast! (pause) I love you, Mommy." *Hug* It's way too easy.

8/15/2011 Benjamin, at Jacob's baseball game: "Is the construction site open?" (He meant concession stand.) And, while talking about his babysitter: "Becca has bracelets in her mouth. Do only girls have that?"

8/19/2011 Jacob: "Those are crickets. Probably trying to find a mate." Me: "Did you read that in your bug book?" Jacob: "No, I just knew it." Me: "Well, you have to learn it somewhere." Jacob: "No, I just told myself. I do that. A lot. I don't know why. I guess my brain is silly."

8/21/2011 Benjamin is wandering around the house singing bits of "Half Crazy" by Jukebox the Ghost. It's also one of Jacob's favorites (he sings it start to finish, including the instrumental parts - hilarious). My boys are awesome! :)

9/18/2011 For an early celebration, I bought my chocolate-loving son a DQ ice cream cake. I offered leftovers as a snack. "Well, Mom, it's mostly vanilla ice cream." "Oh, so you didn't really like it?" (He hadn't said a word while eating it.) "Not, really. (pause) But I'm still very thankful for it." Some days, he is so incredibly sweet! :)

10/20/2011 Tonight, in exchange for a new movie ($7.99), Jacob promised to not cry, complain, or pout for one YEAR. We shook on it. I love entering into agreements with 7-year-olds.

10/23/2011 While watching the pumpkin-eating dinosaur at Waterman's, Jacob said, "I thought dinosaurs were carnivores!" I laughed and said, "You're silly, Jake." He said, "I know. I was joking because I KNOW dinosaurs were carnivores." Ha ha.

10/29/2011 The Toys R Us big catalog came recently. Jacob wants a huge Lego set from Santa. I asked Benjamin what he thought he'd want. He replied, "I'll just like whatever he gives me." I think it's pretty true. He's a pretty laid back little guy. :)

10/29/2011 Benjamin doesn't think I can keep him safe in his room because I'm not 33 (like Greg). I said, "Don't you want me to stay in here with you?" He said, "Well, do you want to?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Well, but... sometimes I get scared with people who are only 32."

11/5/2011 Benjamin: What is Easter? Greg: It's when Jesus rose from the dead. Benjamin: And dropped chocolate on the ground?

11/11/2011 Jacob, on the way home: "What does gross mean?" I asked where he'd seen it. "On a sign that says, '11,000 lb gross limit.'" I explained that it was a weight limit for how much total could be on the bridge at the time. He said, "So that means it can only hold five and a half tons?"

11/14/2011 Tonight Jacob chose an apple for his bedtime snack. He said it was because it's "delicious, good for you, and only has natural sugars." He is such a funny and wonderful kid!

11/26/2011 Benjamin told me he's going to get us "grown-up stuff" for Christmas: computers, phones, and gum. :)

12/12/2011 thoroughly enjoyed the car ride home... Jacob suggested taking turns choosing Christmas carols to sing. For his turn, Benjamin said we should all just laugh. He started with an over-the-top fake laugh, which ended with the four of us laughing pretty hard. :)

12/26/2011 On Saturday night, Greg Stone was putting Benjamin Stone to bed, and Benjamin asked what the garage door noise was (at my parents' house). Greg said it was Uncle Ben going out to see some friends. Benjamin said, "But he forgot to take me! I wanted to go to the party with him. I was going to be his wingman."

11/21/2011 Email from Greg: Last night when I was putting the kids to bed, I asked Benjamin what he was going to ask Santa for. He said, “A tuba – the kind you wear.” 

Little Guy on the Field

This past spring was Jacob's first time playing baseball. He'd played soccer the year before. He liked it, got into it, and had a pretty good time. Then he started baseball, and from the very first practice, you could see that he LOVES it. He is passionate about it and he loves every second of each practice and each game. 

In the spring, he played on a team with 4- to 6-year-olds. He was one of the tallest kids on his team, and no one had been playing for very long. While he wasn't the strongest on the team at batting, throwing, or catching, he wasn't the worst, and... he really stood out for his running. He is fast (it doesn't come from me!) and his head is in the game. He knows where to throw the ball, even if his arm doesn't get the ball where he's aiming. When covering first, he once got three batters out in a row by running past the kid running to first, grabbing the ball, and then beating the kid back to base. Fast.

This fall, he's playing on a team with what we're guessing to be 6- to 8-year-olds. He's one of the babies. The kids on his team are impressive. They are tall and some of them look like 10-year-olds to me. They can throw, they can catch, and they know what they're doing. They have weight behind them to actually hit home runs. And they don't have the patience to indulge a sweet little boy who's still trying to get the hang of things. 

At today's game, Jacob struck out each time he was at bat. As a great improvement from his first few games in the spring, he no longer makes a dramatic exit with a very slow, drawn out walk off the field, but you can definitely see a slight slump of the shoulders and the disappointment on his face. Shame, even though I wish he wouldn't feel that way. 

When they first came out onto the field, the older kids on his team were throwing the ball back and forth as players do. Jacob kept putting up his glove and saying, "Here! Throw to me!" and they ignored him. Again, a slight slump of the shoulders, but he didn't whine or complain, which is a big accomplishment for him on some days. This is what is hard for me. I wanted to go out on to the field and tell those boys to be nice. I wanted to tell them they have to take turns and they have to include everyone. I wanted to see my baby happy and smiling on the field. But that isn't how it works in sports (from what I hear, not that I've ever actually participated). He has to take it, deal with it, and get over it. 

I worry that playing with kids who are so much better will crush his excitement. I have never enjoyed doing things when I'm not one of the best. That's usually my signal to quit. I see those traits in Jacob at times, and I hope his love of baseball will overcome them. We talked on the way home about how the other kids are older and have been playing longer, and how they weren't as good as they are now when they were his age. We talked about how he'll be able to do a lot more in a couple of years when he's bigger. He seems to accept this for now. Fingers crossed that it will keep him going until his body catches up to his brain!

I took the summer off and Jacob's first day of school....

 So apparently I took the summer off. It wasn't intentional, but things just got busy. Really busy. And it's not that they've gotten slower, it's just that I feel I'd be failing as a parent if I didn't document Jake's first day of 1st grade....

Yesterday Jacob had his first day. We were so nervous about it, but Jacob sailed on through. When I picked him up, he told me about breakfast, about lunch, and about snack at the after school program. And that's about it. Today, he told me about snack after school and what they're having tomorrow. Can you see what's important to him?

Yesterday I had his outfit picked out... plaid shorts because Jacob loves plaid and a white shirt so it was still match-y. I didn't think about socks, (stupidly) assuming he'd just choose white ones.

 He managed to get a little "Jacob flair" in... I saw this after school.

And here's my other little stinker. He had frowny faces on his daily report THREE days in a row. One day he went to time out for throwing mulch at his teacher, and in time out, tried spitting at her, so he was sent to the main office. Nice. Today he finally came home without a frowny face. It's impossible to stay mad at this face. He entertained us at dinner by telling us the little song about a peanut on a railroad track turning into peanut butter. Super cute. :)

In other news, Jacob told me last night he's saving up for a metal detector to hunt for treasure so he can become rich. Ha ha. I asked if he planned to hunt for pirate treasure in Indiana. He said, "Um, no. I would have to go near the beach, somewhere like Florida." Duh, Mom.

My Amazing Little Guy

We were at BD's Mongolian Grill last night (tasty!). Benjamin was being Benjamin. To be fair, it was late and they were tired, so it was to be expected. Benjamin kept saying he wanted to get a cherry cheesecake dessert. They were only $2, so we let him choose his own. He is a chocolate fiend, so we were pretty sure he wouldn't like it much. He didn't. Jacob chose to share a full-size dessert with Greg. A chocolatey, gooey mess of deliciousness. Benjamin wanted this, but only said so once Greg and Jacob were done with it. Benjamin then dropped his spoon on the floor. Our server was only somewhat competent, so it seemed like we'd be done before he brought a replacement spoon. Instead, I asked Jacob to go get a spoon from the soup/salad bar for Benjamin. It was, no surprise, a soup spoon. That doesn't work very well with a tall, skinny glass for ice cream sundaes. Benjamin didn't want to use anyone else's spoon. I cleaned Greg's off and offered it to him. Nope, he didn't want it. He didn't want the soup soon.

And then, Jacob came up with a brilliant idea. "Hey, I can take the spoon over there (the soup/salad bar area)   and pretend to come back with it!"

Would it really work?

Jacob went off with the cleaned off tall spoon and took his time going to the soup/salad bar area. He came back and presented Benjamin with Greg's cleaned off tall spoon.

It worked like a charm.

Things They Say

5/17/2011:

Me (to Benjamin, while hugging him like crazy): You're my cuddle bug.
Benjamin: Yep. And your other cuddle bug is at the baseball game.

6/4/2011:
A storm was getting ready to start. Benjamin was nervous. I told him it would just bring rain to help the trees grow and that we'd be safe in the house. Benjamin didn't want to hear the thunder or see the lightning. I said our house was really safe during all of that. Jacob said, "So we probably wouldn't get hit by lightning?" I said no, because our house isn't very tall and we don't have anything around to attract it. Jacob said, "Right, because it would probably go to tall things like tall trees and tall buildings downtown." (pause) "Except it wouldn't hurt the tall buildings downtown because they have things on top that keep the lightning from hurting the building."