Jayden during the Winter and Spring;

It has been a long time since I have been able to type with two hands and even have time to talk.   This winter was very good and long.  Jayden has had a pretty good Kindergarten Year.  He likes his teacher and Ms. Hepworth has been a gift to Jayden.  He has score high on all of his math tests and done better than average in the language arts skills… but is absolutely terrible when it comes to following directions and listening and finishing his assignments on time. 

He will have to get better during the summer because as the teacher said, he will not have the constant pressure to get things done in first grade.  I understand as I know that my son is brilliant when it comes to things that catch his attention.  But if he does not necessarily see the significance in the work he lollygags.   It drives me crazy…..   But we will have summer school as I have taken some information from some of my collogues to help him with his reading skills and word formations.  He has been reading to his mother at night and that seems to be going well. 

In terms of social life, I know that we have been blessed with the luxury of having Madeline, Jonah, Wyatt and a big thank you to Dawson.  He and Jayden definitely are two peas in a pod.   I am assuming that they have adventures almost every day.  Jayden is also having to have adventures with his pushy yet interesting sister who pushes herself into Jayden’s sphere all the time.  But he puts up with her and even allows her to be his little follower.   Such is the story about the beds.  Kallee found out about Jayden’s trundle bed and always wanted to sleep in it… so she got to one long weekend…   She wanted to do it all the time.  Sleep in his room.. But Jayden refused… vehemently.

Then Alison did a great job finally taking out and donating over 40 bags of clothes to goodwill and we had a spare bedroom again.  Jayden found our old bed very comfortable and so he started sleeping in there.  And Kallee then took over sleeping in Jayden’s room.  Our life with those two is always entertaining.

Jayden is getting really good with putting legos together without any help.  He has made a few really big projects without any help.  Amazing.  He also can play videos really well.  I am looking forward to battling on Super Mario’s with him and Alison this summer.

In terms of size I think we are going to hit the size 7’s in terms of summer clothes as he is either a little over or right at four feet tall.  He looks bigger and he is showing signs of better coordination. Oh sure he still out runs his feet, or crashes into things because lack of attention to details like things in his path like doors, toys, steps, etc… but he is getting better. 

Speaking of getting better, since the weather has turned nice, Jayden is definitely more active.  He has been on his scooter or bike or outside hitting balls or playing in the dirt a lot.  The outside suits Jayden well and give his someplace to burn off his extra energy.  I have tossed to him as well I as con left handed because, “music to my ears”, he wants to play baseball next year.  We will try and get him in a league, which will please Grandpa Lee and I very much.. As baseball fans,, we are looking forward to watching Jayden.   Jayden tells me when he is hitting with Grandpa Lee he is hitting homeruns…. All the time, into the tree’s and in the neighbor’s yard. 

Okay, another story.  Jayden thinks this is a secret.  But during tax season he has been waiting up playing his 3DS to see if he can see his mother.  He loves to stay up and hang out with his mother and do anything to get more time.  Like say he needs to read one more story, or he thinks he is going to have a nightmare, or he tries to close his eyes but it just does not work.   He also will hear Alison open the door and that means time to sneak downstairs and tell mommy he loves the singing show (American Idol) or Survior.   That is cuddle time with mommy which both of them need.

Last Month Jayden turned 6 and we had a Spiderman birthday.  Alison stayed up till past 3 getting the house ready with a ton of spider webs all over the house that became a game to find the prize at the end of each of their webs.   It is amazing to think back on the past 9 years trying to have Jayden and what all went into it and how these past 6 years have gone by.  He has always been ready for an adventure.  This past year has been full of them.

·         Learning how to swim

·         Playing Soccer

·         Going to Hawaii

·         The sledding

·         Learning to read and addition

·         Riding a Bus

·         All the adventures with Dawson

·         Getting an x-ray

I love the Month’s of November and December with Jayden because he is right there with me in the Christmas Spirit.  Alison and I know how lucky we got having a son like Jayden.   I love him very much and look forward for this next year of fun adventures.

Jayden and I and the spirit that is the season

Jayden and I love the Christmas Holidays.  If we could we would go to the Christmas Train, the tractor lighted parade, the Polar Express in Hood River, the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Times Square… etc…

In July, He is wondering when we can get out the Christmas Lights in the Garage.  He has learned how to Zip Tie the presents and oh so desperately wants to help me on top of the roof… mommy says no.

He loves decorating the Christmas Tree and has helped out at home with Mommy’s guidance.  We watch all of the Christmas Shows and movies too.

We love this time of the year and I appreciate him for that.  For Jayden he still has such an imagination and adventurous heart that makes life a wonder every day.

He is doing quite well in school getting a 68 in the reading score and a 93 on his mathematical score.  He needed to score over 30 and 40 respectively to be average, but as I suspected, he is above average.  Jayden is also getting better at the social aspect of school.  He is doing better and better all the time and I am so happy that he has adjusted so well to the new environment and new school.

Jayden had a wonderful last week of school as he was named super star again at school and enjoyed getting picked up by daddy and playing with Kallee Boo and I until mommy came home.  He got to spend a lot of time with his grandparents and keeps telling us and Grandpa Lee that he wants an Ipad… we are telling him no way until he is a lot older.  Jayden made cookies with mommy and Grandma as well as a gingerbread house too.  He is very interested in how things work and how to make things as that is one of his favorite things to do.  He loves creating.

I will be talking about Christmas in the next post but I will tell you that I am NOT happy being back at work.. the break was great!!!  

Jayden is Amazing

Jayden is an amazing person... He is so nice to his sister when she is not as sweet to him.  He is loving going to school and has already done some great things.  Jayden ran over 11 laps to help raise money for the school and is learning to count well and add a little.  He had created 4 books already that he has read to both Alison and I.  He loves hanging out with Dawson and Jonah and Wyatt and Madeline for a while after school.  This makes him happy.

JJ is also very impressive in his swimming lessons.  He has gotten so good about keeping his head underwater and getting oh so close to wading and staying a float.  He can hold his breathe and can go down to the bottom without help.  JJ also is getting comfortable on his back in the water.  The improvements since last swimming lessons is amazing... really amazing.  You can tell the beach water works in Maui helped as well as his age.  JJ is so big that he can touch the bottom of the pool through most of the pull.  Amazing....

Kallee is also getting so big that she is almost all the way out of 3T's and is going to 4.  It is so amazing to see the growth in both of them in the last 6 months. JJ does not use baby talk anymore and is showing great poise while still loving the adventure.

How big is he, well yesterday he came upstairs while I was folding laundry and showed me that he had pulled his own tooth!!  He did it all himself.  The Dentist did the first one,,, we were at the dentist so the dentist pulled his first one.  His 2nd tooth he lost he pulled it himself... amazing...

No tears, just excitement that the tooth fairy was going to visit him again... and the tooth fairy did so everything in JJ's world is perfect.

Jayden and Soccer and School

Jayden and Soccer,

What a difference a year makes.  JJ is really improving at the game.  He is still a little crazy out there running in circles and diving on the ground and not paying attention to the coach.  But then there are times of clarity that shows that he really understands what is being told to him.  Jayden has listened to his coach and has made some good passes to his teammates for scores and his throw-ins are top notch.  But my favorite is the time when he scored his second goal of the game.  I told Jayden to go to the goal and look for a pass because you do not have to chase the ball but be ready for a pass.  Well the coaches boy was running up the sideline and Jayden did what I told him to and the he was passed the ball and JJ one timed it into the goal.  It was just like what you right up when you are a coach.  It was beautiful; he also saved two goals in the game by kicking them out of the goal box.  He still has to learn to control his emotions and energy, but he has improved so much in one year.

JJ is also doing so well at school.  He has been given awards and has created some very impressive books.  I am so proud of how he has adjusted to Kindergarten and how he seems to be excelling.  He loves the library and the ability to check out books.  He loves music class.  He really loves gym and ran 11 laps for the school.  He made good money for his school and he is hoping to win a bike.

He amazes me everyday with what he can do and how much he knows. 

He is getting better at doing chores and maintaining his room.. though I still do get frustrated with his ability to take forever to get it done…. Ughh

 Pictures of Upward Soccer and JJ and Kallee Boos

JJ and Kindergarten

JJ and the Fight Jayden has started Kindergarten and it has been a really nice experience except for one small point. Jayden punched another kid. Why, he wanted too. Did the boy do anything to him? No. Was He angry? No. So we had to have the “what are you thinking” and “you did something hurtful and bad”. It was hard because you could see on his face he was embarrassed and hurt and felt dumb. But you have to be a parent or it will happen more than you want. Jayden also spent some time with me at Open House at my school. He drew on the board and wrote a apology note and really wants to come back when there are games to be played and hang around the school. He is getting old enough that this is a very viable option. He had a good time and I enjoyed him being there. Jayden also started upward soccer again and seems to be having fun 70 percent of the time. He pouts sometimes but it is getting better. He had a lot of fun at the Sausage Fest that Christ the King put on with Kallee and his Cousins and cannot wait to do again next year. He is improving everyday on his writing and pronunciation of letters. I am really proud of him. He is grown so fast this summer both emotionally and physically. He really makes me proud of him when I see how he is with Kallee and with his mommy. The way he is getting better about cleaning up after himself and how he wants to help fix things. His ability to work on things and his curious mind that tries to figure out how things tick. PS He loves that he gets to ride the school bus… in fact he wished the bus went the long way so he could be on it a little longer… that will change over time.

Jayden and the Start of Kindergarten

Jayden and the Start of Kindergarten

The end of summer was anti-climatic to the start. JJ, Kallee, Alison and I did some parks and went to the Fair and a few other small things.

The biggest moment was really seeing if Jayden was ready to start Kindergarten. Not Physically because he is a big boy. Not Mentally because he can count to 100, He knows he letters and can write the alphabet and type his name as well as sound out a few words.

Jayden and I spent hours at the end of the summer writing and sounding our words and even trying to learn his colors in Spanish. We talked about money and what the different coins represented and how much they were worth.

He is very talented and I have to give props to Mrs. Sutherland and Mrs. Travis at Childrens Garden. Their borders and work with Jayden have paid off. I may have not been as patient as they were with Jayden but in the end he performed well.

It would be emotionally. He was talking “Baby” talk almost all summer.. and it was getting to the point of annoyance . He also still was really whining and pouting at times. He was getting so excited that he would act younger than his age. I had tough talks about Jayden with people and they were nervous about Jayden starting out this year as well. It was a big slap in the face to Alison and I about what we needed to do for Jayden to be successful. Alison gave Jayden calming talks and soothing rebuffs. I was honest about what kids might say to him if he acted the way he was, and they would make fun of him.

Jayden changed, not just because of us, but because he wanted very much to go to Kindergarten. He stopped wearing night diapers and slept in his underwear. He has cut down a lot on the baby talk and did his “schoolwork”. I still get really nervous for him because I do not want him to fear school or not like it like he was at the end of last year. But not as nervous as before. So…

We had an open house to see his new teacher Mrs. Heppworth. He also got to hang with mommy and a bear one day and finally, last Friday he went to his first day of school.

He loved it. He met a new friend named Jackson and likes his teacher and loves playing at recess with Jonah. He loves spending the afternoon at Auntie Emily’s and having adventures with Dawson. He likes going to school in the morning and can stand in line without touching anyone else.


Here are some pics from his first week. He is growing up so fast…