Transforming Into a Little Man

My little Jakob turned six (six!) on Sunday. And, as is custom with him, he has a new current love: Transformers.

On Saturday, Pete took him and the other boys to the G.I. Joe movie, then we ate at his restaurant of choice, McDonald's (yum, yum-blech-but hey, birthday person gets to choose, so there it is).

Then on Sunday morning, we had him open one gift before church-the Book of Mormon he had been asking for, complete with a bookmark. He was so excited. (It made me so glad that when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, the first thing out of his mouth was "scriptures".)

I made his cake, and surprise!-it has the Autobot logo on it. I did the red part with fondant, which is like a smooth frosting. It's consistency is kind of like dough, so I rolled it out, and cut out the pieces following a picture I found on the lovely internet. It was my first time trying my hand at fondant, and it turned out fairly well. Although up close it looks all wrinkly. Like a grandpa sans dentures transformer. But can I get a "what what" for at least trying?

Besides scriptures, Jakob got clothes (which, like Troy, he immediately dismissed), a CTR ring, a transformer and the Transformer movie (yay for good parenting and giving our child a PG-13 movie!), a watch (which he also had asked for), a little bank because he's going to start earning an allowance and helping me with some chores (which Brock snatched up and tried taking the money out for himself), and some coloring/ painting/ drawing stuff.

I love my Jakob. I love his little faces and expressions that he makes. I love that he's trying to learn and asks a million questions, and how good of a reader he is becoming. I love that he loves this, and totally tries all the moves himself. He's a wonderful older brother and a terrific helper to his mom and dad.

My six-year-old, soon to be 1st grader, soon to be a karate man:


And what would this birthday post be without a slide show?

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

It's Dapper Superman!

Shhh...

Ironman is sleeping.















The last two nights, Jakob has laid out his Ironman costume concoction, put it on pillows, and covered it with a blanket. I guess even superheroes need their sleep.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

HADES has frozen over!!

Ironman has surpassed Spiderman in the COOL SCALE!!!

Name that Villain

Jakob: Dark Vader! (used to be Dark Wader)

Brock: Garf Weeder!

Troy: Raaar!

You know, I think it really would make more sense if he was "Dark Vader". After all, he doesn't join the "Darth Side", does he!

A Spiderman Post, of Course!

Just when you think you can't get anything else Spiderman...

Jakob got a Spiderman bike! His other bike was WAY too small. He's still working on pedaling well, and if we'd have consistently nice weather then maybe he'd get better at it! But soon enough it will be nice all the time, and then I'll be able to ride my bike, too!

And apparently, Jakob thought our garbage can needed a little extra something. That's a Spiderman, with his name (kind of) underneath. One day when he's a famous artist, everyone will know who did it!

CinderFella

As you may know by now, Jakob is a huge Spiderman fan and has been for, like, a year I think. He'll get a scratch and tell you it's a spider bite. He'll shoot a web at you if he's upset with you, or if he's trying to defend himself in some way. He pretends to climb on walls, and jumps off of things while shooting or holding a web. He wears his Spiderman costume pretty much every day, sometimes under his clothes just like Peter Parker.

So when my mom got a Spiderman Mr. Potato Head at her house, Jakob begged to go over and play with it. We went over Monday, and when we left that night Jakob asked if he could have a Spiderman Potato Head for his birthday. I said, "Sure, but you know your birthday is 5 months away, right?" Not that he knows what that means, but I think he realized it was a long time. So we decided that instead of listening to him beg and cry for one for the next 5 months, that we would have him earn one by doing chores.

We set him to work with the following: scrub the toilet, make his bed, dust in Mom and Dad's room, pick up toys, put his folded clothes away, say 4 prayers, and help put dishes away. I know, I'm a slave driver. Some of these things he already does, like put away toys and say prayers. But the other stuff he was a first-timer. And I tell you what, he rocked! We have three toilets, and I wanted to show him how to scrub the bowl of his toilet, so I started in a different bathroom. But he wanted to scrub all three, so I totally let him. I was going to fold some laundry and have him just help me put his stuff in his drawers, but he helped me put them in the different piles to take upstairs, and even hung up one of Pete's shirts by himself. That kid was so motivated!

He finished his chores on Wednesday, so that night we went and found his Spider Spud. I have a cleaner house, and he has a new favorite toy. A win-win! I'll have to remember this chore thing! Now if only I can find something to motivate Brock with for potty training...

Our Friendly Neighborhood Treadmill

Jakob took some of his stuff (which he has a plethora of Spiderman items) and dressed the treadmill up like Spiderman. There's a hat and three webs on top, some gloves on the left side, and a shirt hanging off the right. I doubt it will be able to whisk people to safety, though.