Jacob’s 12th Birthday

Time is slipping by so quickly! I can’t believe it has been twelve years of loving this big guy. Jacob is such an amazing young man and watching him grow is an absolute joy.

This was the first year Jacob hasn’t had a “themed” birthday. He is growing up!

We loved celebrating our boy. We had all of his favorites for breakfast – orange rolls and breakfast sausage with chocolate milk! Then Jacob wanted to go to the trampoline park. Lydia and I stayed home (Lydia woke up with a fever and a cold and I wasn’t feeling too great myself) but the others had a great time! They loved jumping on the trampolines and they also had a “ninja” course.

Jacob wanted to stay home for his birthday dinner and have a mom-cooked meal! His request: black bean soup with biscuits!

For his birthday cake Jacob picked Grasshopper Pie Cake. It had mint chocolate cake layers with a mint cookie crust. Then it was filled with mint cream cheese and cookie filling and chocolate ganache – then covered with mint buttercream. It was a lot of work but it was delicious!

Our Twelve Year Old Boy

Questionnaire

• What is your favorite thing to do? Build LEGOs
• Do you have any nicknames? Jacobi
• What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian
• What is your favorite thing to do as a family? Play games
• What makes you happy? Snow, my stuffed animal
• What do you like to learn about? Math
• What do you do really well? Math
• If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? A house with everything in it!
• What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
• If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Alaska
• If you could have one wish, what would it be? Go to Hogwarts
• What was your favorite birthday present? Color by Number Painting

Jacob’s Favorites

• Food: Tomato Soup
• Holiday: Christmas
• Book: The Book of Mormon
• Treat: Chocolate Ice Cream
• Song: I Am a Child of God
• Animal: Polar Bear
• Subject in School: Math
• Movie: The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Color: Red

Jacob is such an amazing kid. I feel so blessed to be his mother and learn from him. One of my favorite things about Jacob is his desire to do what is right. He is humble when he makes mistakes and genuinely tries to be his best self every day. He has a strong moral compass and is truly an honorable young man.

Jacob has developed a great love for the piano. He has perfect piano hands with long fingers. It has been so much fun to listen to him as he has branched out into more advanced music. We have had several really great conversations this last year about how happy we both are that we stuck with piano because we are now seeing the “fruits” of all of that hard work.

Jacob surprises me. I feel like Jacob and I have a really close relationship and I am very grateful for that. I feel like I know him very well but he still surprises me in really fun ways. What I am learning: never underestimate Jacob. Give him options and he still surprises me at times.

Jacob loves Harry Potter. He is almost finished with the series and is gobbling them right up!

Jacob is sensitive. He is such a tender hearted kid that I love so much. I have learned this year how hard it can be to let go but also how beautiful it is to watch Jacob stretch and grow and become this wonderful person.

We love you so much, Jacob.

Growing Up