Five

Jacob turned five today, and I can hardly believe that I am even typing that. Where has that baby boy gone??? Maybe I feel his aging more keenly as he is my only son. Just one "go around" of all things little boy for us!

Here's all you need to know about Jacob -

Nicknames - Jake or Big J.

Middle Name - Robert. A middle name he shares with his Grandpa, who also shares his birthday.  

Favorite Color - Orange. (Blue is a close second.)

Favorite Food - EVERYTHING! If I had to pick one - shrimp. No, sushi rolls. OK, Mangoes. Or Haagan Dasz Mango sorbet. This kid loves food way too much to just pick one thing!!

Favorite Animal - That's tough. Sharks and Rays tie for first place. He's pretty crazy about octopi too. He really just loves any ocean animal. And dogs. Oh and worms. That's probably it.

Best Physical Feature - His hair. I LOVE it. Definitely the best in our family. It's so thick and smooth and shiny - unusual for such a blondie. I also think his height and upper body strength will probably serve him well as he gets older.

Siblings - Man, is this kid tender with his three sisters.
Rebekah just thinks that he is the coolest little boy on the planet (still not allowed to take pics of her), and the other two adore him too. Jane follows him in everything he does and while he and Emily have their fair share of run-ins (mostly over space & belongings) they play and wrestle and love to hang out together. He is always "snuggling" them.

(Thanks Jeff T., for this picture.)

BFF - Colin Stanley! He still isn't over the fact that Colin and his family moved 18 months ago. Either am I for that matter. We've done a pretty good job at getting our families together every 6 months. These boys still adore each other, so we're going to have to keep it up. (I'm secretly hoping they'll end up being missionary companions someday.)

 Favorite Holiday - Halloween. The kid is crazy about Trick-or-Treating and costumes and all the spooky decorations we put up. He has loved pumpkins since he was super little, and I think that it doesn't hurt that it comes not long after his birthday. I think in his mind, Halloween is kind of an extension of  his birthday.

Talents - Should I be ashamed that he is awesome at video games?

 

Favorite Thing To Do - Play with friends! I have never met a more social child. He loves to have friends over. He asks kids in line at the grocery store for their phone number so we can call them to arrange a play-date. A day is just not complete for this guy unless he's visited a friend.

Who He's Going to Marry - Definitely Stella (next door) - he tells me all the time. I'm still holding out hope that he'll marry my friend Melissa's daughter so Missy and I can be related! But if he end up marrying Stella, I'll be delighted too because she's super cute.

Favorite  Movie - Star Wars. Hands down. 

Favorite Toys - He really, really loves Lego's.

Favorite TV Show - Magic School Bus. He's crazy about this show. Seriously, this boy spent the first 4 yrs and 10 months of his life NOT watching TV. A good thing in the long run, but tough on the Mom if she needs to shower or take her eyes off the kid for a second without disaster befalling her!  He watches it in the morning now while I exercise, and I'm pretty happy that he's learning from it too! 

MY Favorite Thing About Jacob -  Jacob is a tactile boy. One of the ways this translates is that he likes to play with my hair. I LOVE having my hair played with! He mostly does it when he's mellow - or bored. He'll crawl into my lap and run his fingers through my hair. He's done it since he was a baby.

Happy Birthday Buddy! We LOVE having you in our family.