Being Brothers is Awesome

Right now, against Ben's better judgment, we are trying to put the boys in the same bedroom. This will free up the other bedroom for a playroom. So far, this mission is being very unsuccessful. Jackson has the top bunk, Parker has the bottom. (Don't freak out, we have the reversible bunk beds from Ikea, the top bunk is only as tall as Jackson, so it's not that far from the floor.) Every night, it goes something like this:

Parker: "I uh sweep in da' PongeBob bed, k, Mom?"
Me: "Pk, Parker, you get one chance. If you get up, you have to go to the baby bed, ok? Do not get out of the Sponge Bob bed."
Parker: "Ok, Mom."
(lay him down in the bottom bunk, which is on the floor level.)
3o seconds pass.
Parker: "Mom, I'm not up."
Me: "If you're up you have to go to the baby bed."
Parker: "I will get back to my PongeBob bed, den, Mom."

Then, the hysterics ensue from both kids who want to share a room very badly... all because Parker told on himself!

The bond between brothers is amazing. I'm so, so glad Parker turned out to be a baby brother, even though Jackson originally requested a baby sister. I wanted Jackson to have the exact brotherly bond they're building right now. It is awesome! They can fight like cats and dogs for a minute, then kiss and cuddle for a minute, then Parker will go back to pulling hair or clawing out Jackson's eyes. All done with love, of course!

Jackson reads to Parker every day. He lets him play with even his favorite toys. Parker thinks the sun rises and falls on Jackson. (For the record, Jackson is an exceptional reader. I think it's partly so he can read to Parker!)




This is an older one, from last fall at Kings Island, I think.


This may be my favorite of all time - they're sleeping, but holding hands... love it!

Big Kid is a Karate Kid

So anyone that asks Jackson what he wants to be when he grows up already knows this... he wants to be a ninja. And, he's totally serious. So, we decided it would be best to improve his future butt-kicking career and get him into martial arts now. He's been there for almost a year and is now an orange striped belt. Within the next few months I look for him to move from kinder karate to youth karate. (In youth karate they get solid colored belts - and eventually will become a black belt if he sticks with it.)











































Every three months, Jackson is eligible to "belt test" where he goes in front of his sensei and another judge. He has to demonstrate skills, or "do moves" as Jackson says. He has to know the Japanese words for things - colors, numbers, body parts, moves. The picture right above this paragraph is Jackson doing his kata. I'm really proud of how far he's come in a short time.



(That's Jackson on the right and Darby on the left. They belt tested together, but she decided to focus on other things for the summer, so she isn't doing karate anymore.)

On May 22, we had a karate competition - there were schools from other states there even, for real like Karate Kid style. I honestly did not realize it would be that big a deal, but it was, and I was shocked. Every kid got a trophy, but y'all know how competitive I am... of course I need to say Jackson had the best score of the orange striped belts. He did his basic skills and got scores of 7.4, 7.4, and 7.5. During the sparring portion, he won against his opponent. He was really just excited to get another trophy that weekend.

Yeah, I know. I suck at blogging. Quick Recap

Sorry. I realize it's May and my last post was December... I suck at this. You know me, you love me, you know this is how I am!

Let's get a real quick catch up... Parker turned 2. He had a Mickey mouse Clubhouse party. We had hot dogs for dinner (hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog...) It was so much fun!!






Parker also gave up the paci... "Pacis are for babies." Sometimes, he still claims to be a baby... but this baby does not have pacis. When we first took it away, we told him we were all out. In the middle of the night, he woke up and cried for me. I went into his room and he said, "Momma, we need a go a Tah-get white now! We need a dit more pacis." I told him Target was all out of pacis and he said, "Ok," and went back to sleep!



Jackson lost two teeth, the bottom front ones. He is very proud of this fact and likes to tell people all about it, including the blood part.







Jackson just turned 6, we will be having a party at lazer Kraze next week. He also won his soccer tournament (on his birthday nonetheless) and his karate competition went really well (the day after his birthday) - he got trophies, so he is golden!

Happy 6th Birthday, Jackson!

Turning six is a big deal. Well, all birthdays are a big deal at our house. We love birthdays.

Jackson's birthday weekend was filled with a soccer tournament, then a karate tournament. So, we had to plan his birthday party for a few weeks after his actual birthday. His actual birthday was on Saturday, which was his first ever soccer tournament. He wanted Granny and Papa and Dianna and Darby to come, so, of course they did. He also thought it would be a good idea to bring cupcakes for his friends after the game...









Everyone who participated at the karate tournament got a trophy, but Jackson scored the highest on his routine and won against his opponent in sparring. Yay!









For months, Jackson has wanted to have his birthday party at Lazer Kraze (which is a laser tag place.) We have never had a party anywhere but home, so I wasn't sure. I'm a little bit Type A about my party planning, so giving up all the responsibility and power to someone else, and paying them to do it, was a big deal. I agreed because he wanted to do it so badly...



(Yes, this cake is ugly, but he loved it - it's exactly what he wanted. The red and blue lines are lasers.)



We ended up having about 25 kids there - it was great! Everyone had fun, played some tag and some games, ate pizza and cake and went home. Our first outside of home party went pretty darn well!

Kindergarten Program

They don't have "graduations" from kindergarten any more, now they have programs. They kids learn songs and get all dressed up and everyone comes to watch them sing for 30 minutes.



I was asking Jackson all about it before the big night - what songs are you singing, what will happen, etc. He said, "You're just going to have to come to my program and find out!" (Like I would miss his kindergarten program! No way.)

Jackson did not tell us he had a "part" where he held up a U and said "U is for umbrella and up." Normally, this would have freaked him out - he does not like being in the spot light. He did a great job though!