Our buddies Sarah, Gabriel and Henry from Allentown, PA came to visit and Lyle, Josh and baby Cooper came over to play too. Lots of Pokemon battles ensued and there was all sorts of talk of "damage" and "energy" and "evolving" and trading and all of those kinds of things that still make no sense to me, but that nonsense seems to occupy them for hours.
Couple days later was the first day of school for Jacob. FIRST GRADE! Fortunately, this year the first day of school wasn't also his birthday. Shew!
Instead, it was the second day.
Neighbors Hannah, Noah and Jacob & Owen ready for school (except Owen doesn't start til next week).
Once day one was over, we quickly shifted into "Jacob's 6th birthday" mode. Some friends came over for a few completely out of control water games, pizza and cake and then a water balloon fight which was a mix of the movies Lord of the Flies and Hunger Games. My only advice to them before saying "go" was..."I hope you survive" and "Someone quick move that baby (Finn) out of the way" (Thanks Mike!).
The August 26th Birthday Crew! Happy birthday to Pepaw and Beverly too.
Now for my memory book:
Jacob is six. A first grader. I still feel he's got more energy than everyone in our immediate family combined. Even though a lot of times I get tired just looking at him, I simply love his spirit and his (for the most part) can-do, hard-working attitude and that he is generally a really happy guy. He loves Ledo's pizza, collecting Pokemon cards, soccer, playing games (Life, Monopoly, Uno are some favs), riding his scooter, anything that has to do with water and learning about animals. He loves math at the moment and he's learning to write and read - his favorite books are comic books. He's good at expressing his feelings and has a good vocabulary - I love asking him to define a word he uses now and then because he usually gives an answer that is even more thoughtful than what I could come up with. When he's not moving a mile a minute (and talking VERY LOUDLY, which he does a lot) he's often observing and is very curious about life and what happens when we die and asks some very thought provoking questions. So, it's been fun (and trying and exhausting and crazy) watching him grow this year, through the anxieties of school and the interactions (both good and bad) with his brother and family and friends, and learning more and more about him along the way.
