"Jacksonator"

I haven't written a post about my favorite little guy in a while.  He's almost not even in the category of a little guy any more.  He's looking more and more like a grown up kid which makes me proud and sad all at the same time.  He is still as sweet natured, cuddly, and mild tempered as he has ever been.  Jackson can still play with any kid from one to ten and have a great time.  He is fine running the show or doing what everyone else wants to do.  He is learning the joy of sarcasm (thanks in no small part to his father) and makes me want to laugh and scold with much of what he says.  Here are some things about Jackson I've noted over the last two months:

• He loved the March Madness basketball tournament almost as much as I did and would watch all of the games with me.  I let him stay up until almost midnight watching one of the KU games with me and it was one of the coolest Mom/son experiences I've had yet.  Here are some of the comments he made within the first ten minutes of that game: "good hustle", "Nice rebound, do something with it", "let's rock and roll", "what are you waiting for shoot it", and the one I'm least proud of... "Oh freakin..." He completely understands the games and it is awesome to watch with him. At one point during the game he said "nice" when the other team did something good and I tried to explain to him that it wasn't good for us.  He looked at me like I was an idiot and said, " I know, I didn't mean nice, nice; I meant the bad kind of nice." I said, "Oh you mean sarcastic nice?" and he said "Yes, that kind."
• Jackson asked me if I was a teenager.  I told him no that I was thirty and you were only a teenager from 13-19.  He replied that he knew that but that I looked like a teenager still.  I asked him if he thought Dad looked like a teenager and he said no.  He got extra hugs that night :)
• The night I had him stay up with me and watch the game he looked at me and said, "Thanks for letting me stay up with you mom, this is the best night ever". I nearly cried and said to him, "Thank you for liking basketball and wanting to watch with me." He replied, "That's not something you thank someone for."
• Jackson is an awesome reader and has developed a real love for reading.  Recently in the car after getting a new book he told me he didn't want to watch a movie in the car, he just wanted to read.  That's a proud moment for a parent.  The next day he had another new chapter book from the book fair and I watched him get off the bus while reading and walk off the bus and down the driveway while never looking up from his book.  He had already read fifty pages since getting the book.  He looked so old reading and walking at the same time so absorbed in his book. I only later realized it was Captain Underpants and pretty inappropriate for a six year old.  I learned this after he told me an inappropriate joke about "Weenie the Poo" while pointing to a certain area to make sure I understood the pun and why it was so funny.
• Jackson is still super sensitive to others feelings and lately he has been trying to comfort Anna when she gets hurt which only leads to her not allowing him to comfort her or even worse, yelling at him because she is mad she is hurt which then leads to Jackson crying because Anna is crying and won't let him comfort her.
• Jackson is super polite and has taken to saying "Yes, Ma'am." all of the time.  I find it incredibly southern and charming.
• About a month ago Jackson started crying, I mean screaming and crying hysterically when Kurt would leave his room at night so that he could go to bed.  I finally came in one night and told him he had to calm down and then I would talk to him.  After he calmed down I went in and explained to him that daddy was never going to come back in and stay longer when he acted like that and that it would never work so he should stop.  He calmly looked at me and said, "Yes it does sometimes, it worked once. Once I cried and he came back in and cuddle with me some more" The power of intermittent reinforcement.  I explained that it wouldn't again for sure.  
• A few weeks ago when we were eating ice cream at the ice cream shop downtown Jackson looked out the window and started laughing.  I asked him what he was laughing at and he told me he was "Imaginating something..." When I asked what he said he didn't want to tell me but it was funny.
• Jackson has finally started to play pretend play on his own, thanks to Anna teaching him how and how fun it could be.  She usually takes the lead but I have seen him create some of his own play schemes lately.
• Jackson and I started a journal to each other to be passed back and forth and write things to each other.  He is really excited about it and made me pinkie promise him that I wouldn't forget to write him tonight.
• Jackson finally lost his two bottom teeth and was so excited about the tooth fairy coming the first night he didn't go to sleep until after midnight.

 Jackson played on a basketball team from Nov-Feb.  He really got the hang of the games by the end of the season and scored four points in their last win in the tournament in a nail-biter which went into overtime.

Overall, my sweet little boy is growing up into a big sweet kid way to quickly.  I love that guy and think he was born to be a big brother.  I hope he loves us the way he does now ten years from now and still wants to cuddle and talk at night before bed.