NINE IS SO FINE!

My first baby turns 9 today.  Although he isn't a baby anymore I still view him that way.  When I look at his maturing, thinned out face I still see the chunky big cheeked baby that he was.  His body is thin and defined.  You can see tiny muscles forming under his tan skin.  He is turning into a young man right before my eyes.  9 years isn't very long yet it seems like a lifetime ago that he blessed us with his presence.

Jake has significantly changed my life for the better as all of my boys have.  Jake more or less taught me how to be a mother.  Before him I had no patience.  I still lack in the patience department but I am worlds ahead of what I thought I would ever be.  He taught me how to love unconditionally.  He taught me how to sacrifice and be happy doing it.

At 9 Jake is a super sweet and affectionate kid.  He is very self conscious right now.  He about died when we were at a party not to long ago and I called him, "babe".  Geez!  I call him stuff like sweets, baby, and Jakey pie all the time and don't even think about it.  I guess I better be more conscious of it as to not embarrass the little man.  Jake is definitely an old soul and he is very mature for his age.  Don't worry-he's still a kid but just a little beyond his years in my opinion.  I do love that about Jake but sometimes I wish he would loosen up a little.  I think I am part to blame because of the way I raised him when he was little.  I was very regimented and scheduled.  I would have a nervous breakdown if the "schedule" didn't flow like it was supposed to.  I can't be certain but I think this has alot to do with the way Jake is today.  He is very regimented and likes to know what is going on everyday and what time.  He is extremely meticulous with his schoolwork.  His teacher even told me that he has a hard time finishing his assignments in the allotted time because he is so particular.  I wasn't surprised one bit and I actually think that this is a good trait to have. Jake's favorite things lately are collecting baseball cards, playing with friends, nerf gun fights, swimming, baseball, playing/fighting with his middle brother.  He thinks it is a HUGE deal when he gets a real Coke.  I let him drink diet coke sometimes but barely ever do I let him drink real Coke.  Tonight at his party he gets a Coke.  I swear he thinks the stuff is liquid gold!  He has finally grown out of the "character" undies.  I know this seems weird to mention but this is a big deal to me.  He was obsessed with his Star Wars, Spongebob, Bakugon undies and now he only wants plain colored boxer/briefs.  I am dying a slow death I swear.  He won't be caught dead in his character undies.  At least Brady still likes them (for now).  I had to get him a cup the other day and I'm not talking about the kind you drink out of.  A cup for God's sake!  Let's just say at a baseball game he totally got nailed with a ball in his "special area" and never again will he wear his baseball pants without a cup.  I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this growing up stuff but I guess it's a good thing it happens in stages. 

The favorite part of my day is when it is bedtime and Jake wants to have "talking time."  This is where it is just he and I (a rarity around here) talk about whatever he wants to talk about.  Sometimes it is about our day and sometimes he likes to ask really complex things like last night he wanted to hear all about the day he was born.  He wanted details too!  Some nights he loves to tell me all about his Pokemon cards and what cool baseball cards he has.  He will even be so candid as to let me know the girls he thinks are cute and who he kinda likes. This is such a treasured time for me as I know it won't last forever.  I really do, no matter how tired I am, try to be very present and attentive during our "talking time".

Happy Birthday to my first baby!  I can't believe next year will be the double digits!  We love you so much!  I still don't know how he went from this:

to this:

pretty much overnight.