J.L.E.

Happy Birthday to my boyfriend, Jacob!

On Valentine's Day '08, this little guy asked me to be his girlfriend. I accepted and we have been together ever since. I must say, I have had a lot of boyfriends in my day, but this guy definitely is in the top 3.
This guy celebrated his 5th birthday last week. Since Ty's bday is in January, poor Jake counts down the days (and there's a lot between Jan. and end of March) until his big day. On his actual birthday we of course had the traditional bday breakfast. His specific request was a "J" shaped pancake with chocolate chips and sprinkles, eggs and OJ. He opened his presents from us. Then we played with his toys and then went to pick up Tyler from school. We went to Rainforest Cafe for lunch, with a surprise visit from Daddy and to the Lego store to pick out something fun. Jake picked out Lego archery sets for Tyler and himself. Thoughtful brother! After the mall we came home and relaxed for a couple hours. Then a few friends came over and we headed to Chuck E. Cheese to party it up. The kids played lots of games, ate dinner and enjoyed cupcakes. We left straight from there to go to baseball pictures and finally made it home around 9 pm. What a fun but busy day!

Jake is an amazing person! I have thought since he was born, that I am so blessed to be his mom and to have him as part of our family. One of my favorite things about Jake is his enthusiasm. This guy is excited about everything and he does everything with passion- so much so that he sweats all the time! He's been that way since he came home from the hospital- sleeping, eating, playing video games, coloring- and don't even get my started on anything physical. (he takes after his Dad) He is very active and is good at everything! He's been riding a 2 wheeler bike for almost 2 years now. He's an amazing soccer player, baseball player and loves to try all sports. He's great at riding his bike, skateboarding, his scooter and now he just got rollerblades for his bday and he's really learned quickly.He is very smart and LOVES homework. He actually had me ask his teacher to give him extra homework. He LOVES school (preschool) and can't wait for kindergarten next year. Another favorite thing about Jake is that he is very positive. He gives compliments all the time- to other kids, his siblings and to Aaron and I. Every night for dinner he is always the first to say "wow, Mom, this dinner is really good." It's sweet because he does it even when it's not his favorite thing. He tries really hard to be good and to choose the right.I often thought, during his toddler years, that he was going to be a handful when he got older, but time has proved me wrong. He has really changed over the last couple years. He has settled down a lot and although he is busy, he is a good boy.
I love him more than I could ever explain. He is like a big ball of energy and smiles and happiness and cuddles. I am so glad Heavenly Father sent him to our home- and I am so glad he's my boyfriend!
This is one of my favorite pictures of Jacob. This was after Tiny Tots (preschool) graduation last year. They have a swim party after the ceremony. He came home and was relaxin' with his graduation cap on, still in wet swim shorts and sucking his thumb. Oh, the life of a 4 year old!