Happy 6th Birthday, Jack!

Jack turned 6 on August 17.  We did our typical 10-day balloon countdown leading up to the big day.

Here is what the note inside each of his balloons said:
10. $10 for the toy store - he picked 10 Hot Wheels (9 for him, and 1 for Charlie)
9. Your surprise is in the laundry room (a new puzzle)
8. Sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed tonight
7. Ask for clues to find your gift (Big Book of Dinosaurs) (side note: we LOVE these 'Big Book of' books)
6. Ice cream or sno cones - your choice (this was also the first day of school)
5. Look in a closet for tonight's gift (Monopoly Jr)
4. Surprise in the living room (Sleeping bag, which he needed!!)
3. Follow the scavenger hunt to find a surprise (refill arrows for his suction cup bow & arrow set from last Christmas) (another side note: I discovered these pre-made scavenger hunts and they are so easy and fun!!)
2. Buy a souvenir at the Cards game! (He chose a small logo baseball and Charlie got a wallet)
1. Find your birthday present in Mommy & Daddy's room (Lego Star Wars Tie Fighter)

 The day before Jack's birthday we headed down to the Cardinals game.  It was a hot day, but we had fun.

 After the game, we went over to Cyndi and Todd's house.  Lily's 7th birthday was on 8/14 and Jack's is 8/17, so this year we had a joint family gathering to celebrate our birthday kiddos.

Both Grandmas bought the same card - ha!!

The highlight for Jack was Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter Lego set, which he has been asking for since last Christmas.  It is a discontinued model, so it's very pricey online, but we found it on Craigslist and swooped it up.  Grandma and Grandpa Clayton were the heroes this year!

Trying out the new Stomp Rocket

Another of Cyndi's super cute cake creations!

Jack's birthday was on a Monday so I brought him McDonald's (his choice) for lunch.  It was fun to get a glimpse of their routines, if only for 15-20 minutes...

 So, about our big 6 year old:

Jack is a very bright little guy.  He always impresses us with the things he says, and he asks a LOT (!) of questions to make sure he fully understands things.  He's doing a great job reading, and can read most early reader books on his own.  Depending on his mood, he's either really great at sounding out words, or he gets frustrated quickly and wants us to help.  Generally though, he's doing great on the reading front.

He also really loves math.  He's always adding and subtracting numbers and asking us if he's right.

As is probably pretty evident from the multitude of sports-related blog posts, this guy is a sports lover.  He really loves playing both soccer and baseball, but I think he will want to try others when he gets a little older too.  He's a good athlete and plays really well with his team/league of mostly 1st graders.

Jack and Charlie have a mostly good relationship.  They can usually play together for an hour or two before someone gets upset or frustrated (usually Charlie).  They spend most of their down time together building new things out of Legos or outside playing kickball or baseball.  Jack can be a really encouraging, helpful, loving big brother when he wants to be, but he can also be an ornery stinker sometimes too, telling Charlie his artwork isn't good or he isn't good at math (what 4 year old is??).  We have to remind him what it means to be a big brother sometimes!!

The two of them can get really wild sometimes, usually with Jack as the ring leader.  We used to be able to head it off by sending them down to burn some energy on the trampoline, but even that doesn't work every time anymore.  It is really hard to get them to calm down when they're wound up and feeding off of each other.  I suppose this is what a house of boys is like....

Jack loves to color and draw.  I think he's already surpassed his mama in this category; I am not an artist.  Lately, he's been into making books, which is really fun.

Our big guy is generally a good boy, but he has a bit of a stubborn streak as well.  He came by it honestly; Jason and I can both be pretty pig headed!  He tends to get emotional when he doesn't get his way and loses patience quickly.

Jack was a napper up until the last month or so before kindergarten started, and we could tell from the beginning that these days are exhausting for him.  Boy does it show when this guy is tired!!  Phew!  We've been moving bedtime earlier and earlier, and now we start our routine (potty, teeth, book) at 7:45 so they're asleep by 8:30 at the very latest.  He switched from baths to showers this summer, which certainly shortens the evening tasks.  He can take a shower on his own, but often wants one of us to help him get clean and/or get the shampoo out of his hair.

At Jack's 6 year check-up, he weighed 54.2 pounds (85th percentile) and was 48" tall (87th percentile).  He's going to be tall!

I did the same questionnaire as I have done the past few years.  Jack was not in a very cooperative mood, so it was kind of like pulling teeth (speaking of which, he hasn't lost any yet, much to his dismay).  I did eventually get him to answer most of his questions.

That's our Jack in a nutshell.  A typical energetic, smart, silly, thoughtful 6 year old boy that we can't get enough of!!