Birthday Boy

It's hard to believe my sweet Jacob is 4 today! Where has the time gone? We had a great party over the weekend and we got to celebrate today at school as well. We are off to another party this weekend at my parents since they weren't able to come last weekend to celebrate. There is nothing like spreading the festivities out over several weeks!


A big boy bike was his big gift this year. He has been so excited about getting a new bike and he just had to have a Spiderman bike.


All geared up and ready to ride


Look out world, here comes Jacob


Little Luke had to give it a try, just a little big for him. But at least now he gets Jacob's retired tricycle!


And of course we had to have Spiderman cupcakes for the party. Believe it or not, I actually made and decorated them!


Family photo


We had his party at Boomerangs, a huge bounce house place that Jacob LOVES! Here is Luke hard at play, he loves it too!


Boomerang's mascot is a kangaroo


Is this a happy boy, or what!!


Sitting in the special birthday chair with nothing else but a Spiderman mask




Singing "Happy Birthday"




His little friends


Party today at school


Here are a few past birthday pictures- Jacob's 3rd birthday


Jacob's 2nd birthday


Jacob's 1st birthday

Karate Kid Part II and our Little Slugger

Jacob is really enjoying his little karate class. He got his Gi and he loves wearing it. He wears it around the house all the time practicing his moves.

Doesn't he look official??




Being "tagged" by the coach


Gross motor exercise





Jacob also LOVES playing T-ball in the backyard. Except now he prefers for the ball to be thrown to him to hit (thanks to my Dad). He has gotten really good. He hits about every 3 out of 5 balls thrown to him. He has great hand/eye coordination.

Playing with Grandpa


About to whack the ball, how's that for timing


He hit several balls over the fence on the other side of the yard


Sweet pic of my mom and the boys


So, I have to say that I am starting to feel bad that the past few posts I've made have been all about Jacob. My sweet little Luke is soooo at the age where I am getting a lot of shots of him looking down or of the back of his head b/c he's not so much into the camera these days! (with the exception of the above picture) But, nonetheless, Luke is doing great and doing so much! He is just a ball of fun no matter how you look at it!

Table Talk

To me, one of the most important times in our day is sitting down all together at the dinner table. Not because of the food (sadly our dinner menu isn't that great, haha) but because of sitting down together as a family. Recently we decided to really take advantage of this time and turn the TV off, talk about our day and read from a preschool daily devotional. So, we each go around and talk about our day and say what we are the most thankful for from the day. (we obviously get to guess what Luke might want to say). Jacob has really started to like doing this and here is what he had to say tonight...

"I'm thankful for like 3 or 5 things. First I got my favorite drink at Sonic, Ocean Water. Then we got to see Aunt Rhonda and baby Emily today at the mall. And that I got to play at the mall. Oh and I know what else...I got to see God and Jesus today." I say, "oh and where did you see them?" And he said "In my heart". Is that not so sweet!

Karate Kid

Jacob started his karate class today. It really was so cute and funny to watch all the kids. All of us moms were cracking up! There were about 7 kids in the class and boy do the coaches have their work cut out for them! haha! It is very structured and teaches great discipline, motor skills and confidence, so they say! I think this type of activity will fit Jacob's personality very well!

Stretching to warm up- Jacob is in the gray shirt and khaki shorts- 2nd from right


More stretching- in the middle


Learning the correct way to sit- 3rd from the left


Learning how to bow-2nd from right


Learning the arm positions


Slithering across the floor like a snake, apparently to build strength. One boy stopped, stood up and said "this is too hard!" It looked hard!


It's as if he's saying, "Mom don't take my picture, how embarrassing!" I dread the day when that comes.


Look at that form, haha!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Where there is Jacob, there is Luke. Where there is Luke, there is Jacob...



They love laying on our bed to watch TV


Helping Daddy put together a bookcase for their playroom


Playing in the bins


Jacob made an airplane out of a sheet and the pillowcases as the wings and tail. Of course he was the pilot and Luke and I were the passengers. He came up with this little creation all on his own, his imagination hard at work.


Pilot in action


Snack time


Drink time

Back to school and Luke's Gymboree

Jacob started back to Pre-K yesterday and did great. He wasn't excited about it but didn't cry when I dropped him off so I was thrilled for that. When I picked him up he was smiling ear to ear and just so excited about his day, his class and his teachers. He actually shared quite a bit with me about his day which was nice and a huge change from last year. One thing he said that cracked me up was "we went out to play on the playgroud but it was terribly hot". Terribly hot! He goes Tues/Thurs from 9-1. I have also included a few pictures from last year. Boy, how he has grown!

Getting ready to leave








At school


Luke wanted to join in


In his classroom


From last year...look at that baby face




Also, I have wanted to do some other activity with Jacob. He did gymnastics last year but got burnt out after about 7 months. Since T-ball doesn't start up until the Spring (which I can't wait for) we decided to enroll him in Tae-Kwon-Do. He starts next week so I'm anxious to see what he thinks. Our thought is to expose him to lots of different activities so he can figure out what he likes. I'm excited to see how he does so be ready for lots of pictures! :) So between his school on Tues/Thurs, Luke's gym on Tues and Jacob's Tae-Kwon-Do on Wednesday's, we have our weekly schedule in place.

Little Luke and I enjoyed our time together while Jacob was at school. We went to his Gymboree class and ran a few errands.(which is so much easier to do with just one.) He is doing more and more each day. Here's what's new...
-He can use a fork when he eats
-He loves trying to do the top buckle to his carseat. It won't be long before he can do it on his own.
-When I ask him for a kiss, he loves to run away and giggles the entire time and looks back to see if I can catch him.
-He loves to be silly and has mastered a fake laugh which makes me laugh every time.

Luke playing at Gymboree




Luke loves getting stamps at the end of class, he especially loves getting one on his tummy


Random pic...there is something fun about playing in the laundry basket!