DOUBLE DIGITS?!!! How?! When did this happen!
Ten feels like such a big number! I truly do not know where the time has gone. But watching this boy grow continues to be one of the greatest joys of my life.
Kids get so excited for their birthdays and it’s so much fun to watch and feel of that excitement. Jacob was thrilled to be turning TEN. He planned every part of his birthday and we loved just being there with him.
Animal Party
Jacob started the day with his favorite chocolate muffins from Costco – complete with chocolate milk! CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE!
We all got ready and made our way down to Denver. The kids have absolutely fallen in love with Denver and love our trips down there. And it should come as no surprise that Jacob chose to go to the Denver Zoo for his activity.
It was the perfect day. We have been having some HOT days lately, but this day was cool and overcast and so you better believe we had a happy little family! Jacob loved the otters!
After several hours we made our way back home. The kids played in the yard for a couple minutes to get out their wiggles and then we went out for dinner. Jacob requested Mexican food and guess what he got – a corn dog. Kids are funny.
We came home, opened cards and presents, and had birthday cake. It was a full day, full of love for our BIG KID!
Our Ten Year Old Boy
Jacob’s Favorites
- What is your favorite thing to do? Drawing
- Do you have any nicknames? Jacobi
- What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian, a baker, or an artist
- What is your favorite thing to do with family? Play family games
- What makes you happy? Snow
- What do you like to learn about? Animals
- What do you do really well? Art
- If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? Go to lots of zoos!
- What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swings
- If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Alaska to see the polar bears
- If you could have one wish, what would it be? To have a bear cub
- What was your favorite birthday present? My wild animal encyclopedia
- Food: Muffins
- Holiday: Christmas
- Book: The Hardy Boys series
- Toy: LEGOs
- Treat: Cake
- Song: The Winnie the Pooh Song
- Animal: Polar Bears
- Subject in School: Math
- Movie: Animal Documentaries / Relative Race Show
- Color: Purple
For whatever reason, this birthday of Jacob’s has made me more reflective than most – which is kind of saying something! But the whole month leading up to Jacob’s birthday it’s just made me think of him and his journey in life so far and my journey as his mother too.
It’s hard being the oldest. I think Mark and I have come a long ways in honing in on the parents we want to be – and we are definitely still learning – and always will be. Jacob has always given us such grace and kindness as we learn though.
One thing that has hit me more than anything as I’ve been thinking of Jacob is I feel like sometime in the last year we really turned a page with him. We are leaving behind this early childhood time and going into a more mature relationship and I am actually loving it. I thought I would be more sad about that, but it has been exciting and wonderful to enter this new stage.
Our conversations have more depth and Jacob truly teaches me so much! Jacob is an animal guy and we want to support him in that. I remember some people telling me that that was a childish thing for him to be interested in and I disagree. We are starting to see a maturity in this interest and I love it. Jacob is really passionate about animal conservation and I love that about him. He spends so much of his spare time just devouring animal encyclopedias and non-fiction books about various kinds of animals. He loves them. And I love that he loves them.
It was so fun to be at the zoo and you know when your kids are like, “Mom, Mom, did you know…” and in your mind you are thinking “yes, yes, of course I know that” but you act like this is a rare gem of information you’ve never encountered before. Well, Jacob and I would be watching some animal at the zoo and he would tell me these amazing things about the animal and I really DIDN’T know that. It was so fun to learn from him and just enjoy his interests with him.
In Jacob’s spare time he enjoys reading – his current favorite series is The Hardy Boys. He also enjoys building with his LEGOs, painting, drawing, and writing essays about all the animals and places around the world he loves so much.
One thing I have loved watching in Jacob this year is I feel like he has softened a bit. Jacob used to be pretty rigid in things (and he still can be in ways), but there are definitely some areas in his life where he has softened. The one that has brought me the biggest joy is his relationship with Ben. These boys really had a rough go for a LONG time. But they are spending time together happily and making memories just the two of them and it has been so sweet to see.
Jacob is a great big brother. The four of them are truly each other’s best friends and it makes me incredibly happy. And he is the leader of the pack and I am so grateful that they have him.
The move was harder on Jacob than I thought it would be. The whole experience was really overwhelming at first, but he loves being here in Colorado now. He feels connected to people more than he ever has before and I am so grateful for that.
Jacob, we love you. We can’t wait to see what this next decade has in store for you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your love of animals, your kindness, your bravery, and your willingness to try every day. We couldn’t be more proud of you and the man you are becoming. Love you forever.
The Ten
*** No, I am not crying as I post these…(sniff, sniff, sniff). ***
