James Isaac - Year #4 almost gone!

James - boy through and though!

I can't believe it, but my crazy, big-hearted boy is growing up. I figured, since it his birthday is coming up next month (and to set a fun trend) I would do a post just about him, and then continue to do a post about each of the kids around their birthdays. :)

So, James will turn 5 on August 29th. His birthday is right before the deadline of entry for Kindergarten, and he is SO excited to go, especially since he will get to go to school with his big sister Morgan. :)

S'Mores: a favorite Family Home Evening Treat!

 His fourth year of life has been a full one - He loved going to Preschool with Miss Gina, where he made new friends, had a ton of fun, and learned a lot! I am blown away especially by his recognition of numbers! Maybe he's a math guy! Which, with his love of all things electronic, I could see such aptitudes coming in quite handy in a lucrative future career! :)

He has continued his love of scootering - he can ride with the big boys at the skate park, going up and down ramps like a pro! He learned to do more tricks on the trampoline. front flips, bum wars, and crazy tricks that he makes up names for, like "Ninja bomb!" or the like. He also jumped off of Grandma Patsy's roof onto the trampoline below, blowing away his uncles Skye and Tadj and cousin Michael! Not to mention Grandma! 

His interests have been as follows: swords, swords, swords, x-box, swords, jumping on the trampoline, reading books, having books read to him, swords, riding his scooter at the skate park (and boy can he go! He is so daring!), riding his training wheeled bike (hand-me-down pink one from his sister, but he doesn't seem to care), swords, playing hop-scotch, wrestling.....HARD, swimming (especially in a life jacket), playing with friends, and did I mention swords? I need to get a picture, but he will stick one down his shirt behind his head so that his collar holds it in place, and then put the other through his shorts, with the end hanging out the bottom!

Burn that marshmallow!

He also loves his sisters (sometimes in rough and tumble ways which they don't always appreciate) and especially his little brother Joseph, who he has christened Jo-Jo, or sometimes Bo-Bo, both of which have stuck. And he really does love them. Jonny and I have loved seeing how much more caring and concerned he's been toward them - seeing how his rough play can make them feel, hugging and kissing it better, and saying he's sorry. He really is a big teddy bear - and I hope he stays that way. I could see him being the kind of guy no one wants to mess with at first glance, but also the kind of guy who would never start stuff, just be there to protect and watch out for his sisters. :)

His mind and body have constantly been on the move. You can see it in his eyes when he's processing things. and I love the funny things that can come from his ever-moving mind. The other day, in a moment of frustration upon seeing the state of his room, Daddy and I were explaining that we can't let our house get SO messy, because it's hard to find what we need and even more important, hard to feel the Holy Spirit. We compared it to our bodies and how we need to keep them clean and put good things inside them too. He thought about this a moment, then said,  in his matter-of-fact way,"Yeah, because we shouldn't eat too much chunky food." (I.e. Junk food). I couldn't help but smile. Another favorite was from a bottle of root beer with a bull-dog on it. He told me, "Mom, look! The bull-dog makes the bubbles chubby!" :)

James is a warrior - he is not afraid of anything. Ever since he could start walking and climbing, he would push the limits. The memory of him climbing up onto a high picnic table, and then jumping off, and he wasn't even 2 yet, still amazes me! But, like most of us, he doesn't like not getting his way. He can be quite free-spirited... and un-bending, which I hear will serve him well someday, but....since he didn't get those traits from the sand-man (James and I are very similar in many ways), we often will butt heads. However, we're both learning a lot from each other, and for that I'm glad.  We love our James!

James is creative - after lots of sprinkler fun, when I put the hose to a trickle, and put it on the trampoline, he made his own pool, and even included his little sister in the fun! That's our James: always wanting to share the moment! He is a quality time kind of guy - "Mom, come watch me do tricks!" "Mom, will you come jump on the trampoline with me?" "Sarah Grace, do you want to go outside?" These are common requests - he just likes to be with you. :)

James has the best laugh, and his eyes shine when he's happy. When he was a small, well...smaller... (he was never really little, we called him Bull-dog as a baby - those big jowels of cheeks!) though, people would often ask if he ever smiled....he was SO serious. Not as outgoing as his big sister, and not needing to be in the lime-light, James would sit back, observe, and approach people cautiously. But boy, could that baby eat: my best nurser yet, 10 minutes or less, and he was done...and he has been a fast-moving guy ever since.  RapiJames is his "Pokemon" name from the night-time stories Daddy will tell to the kids, and he lives up to it every day. We love you Buddy!