Fish Are Friends, Not Food

Jake has a new pet! Welcome to Pluto the betta fish.

Jake has wanted a pet for a while. Since he can't have a cat (his first choice), we decided a betta fish would be a good starter pet. They're extremely low maintenance and inexpensive; the tank, food, accessories and fish all cost less than $20. And it's a lot less smelly than a gerbil and there's no chance of escape (or biting). Plus, Jake's classroom has a betta fish so he's familiar with them.

Jake picked out a lovely purple and white fish and a matching purple "house." (He wanted a green fish but you can't really find one.) At first he wanted to name his fish "Will" (rhymes with "Phil?") but ultimately decided on "Pluto." He's a little disappointed that he can't take Pluto for a walk, but so far has been a very responsible pet owner, carefully feeding Pluto each night.

Current Events Boy

The other day, Jake took a copy of the local paper, spread it out on the floor, and lay down to read it (I must confess, one of my favorite paper-reading positions). He quite seriously read through all of it, paying close attention to any car ads he saw. For some reason, he's convinced that we need a new car. He also muttered to himself at the articles, I guess disturbed by the news...

Happy Easter!

Jake had a great Easter. The Easter Bunny came to Daddy's house in the morning and at home in the afternoon. Double the sugar, double the fun!

Although at home, Jake's favorite Easter egg filling was quarters. And MeMe and PapPap sent money in a card. Jake said, "Look! A dollar!" We explained that it was FIVE dollars, but Jake insisted it was A dollar. Either way, he was happy. He spent his $5 and his $2 in Easter egg money on a book later that day. That's my boy...

He had a great time helping to make dinner. We made banana pudding with Nilla wafers, pudding, whipped cream, etc. and then topped them with purple Peeps. He was very artistic, layering his ingredients and putting the Peeps on just so.

He does NOT liked deviled eggs though. He took one taste and was practically scraping it off his tongue! Must be his father's side, everyone else in our family loves my deviled eggs...

Just Drive...

Doesn't Jake look too cool in his car? I predict a lot of broken hearts 15 years from now... (just because so many girls will want him, but he'll be too polite and nice to play the field, I hope)

Man Nipples?

Jake has a habit of getting completely naked during his evening "Poop Break," which was created to make sure he "goes" -- otherwise, he'd hold it for days with predictably uncomfortable results.

Anyway, I was sitting on the stairs outside the bathroom waiting for him. Suddenly, Jake got a very puzzled look on his face and the following conversation ensued:

J: "Mommy, what is this?" (pointing to his nipple)
M: "That's called a nipple. Everyone has two."
J: "But why?"
M: "Well, mommies like me use them to feed our babies, like I feed Charlie."
J: "So can I feed a baby?"
M: "No, only mommies can. Boys like you have nipples, but they don't work. They're just for decoration." (Well, what was I supposed to say? Not even scientists agree on why men have nipples!)
J: "But why? I want to feed a baby!"
M: "Sweetie, I don't know. But everyone has them. You do, and Poppy does, and so does Daddy."
J: "No, Daddy doesn't have them."
M: "Yes, honey, he does. Girls and boys have them, just like we have noses and toes and ears -- everyone does, including your Daddy."
J: "No! Daddy doesn't!"
M: (sighing yet laughing) "Yes, trust me, your Daddy has them, too."
J: "NO! Poppy does, but Daddy doesn't!"
M: "Okay, you can check next time you see Daddy. But everyone has them, Jake."
J: "Not Daddy."

I'm not sure why Jake insists that Daddy is nipple-free, but he is going to be sadly disappointed next time he sees Daddy...

Baby Van Gogh

This morning, Jake was sitting next to me with his paper and pens.

M: "What are you doing, Jake?"
J: "I'm drawing Monster Trees."
M: "Wow, Monster Trees! That's cool! I can't wait to see!" (trying to be supportive of my child's creativity)
J: (very exasperated) "No Mommy, I said I'm drawing a MASTERPIECE."
M: (face red) "Oops, sorry."

How Was Your Day?

Sometime during dinner, I usually ask Jake, "How was your day?" and then leading questions about what he did at school.

Last Sunday, Jake came home from his dad's and we sat down for dinner. Jake leans over and very seriously and sweetly says, "Mommy, how was your day?" When I said, "Pretty good, but I missed you." he replied, "I missed you, too! What did you do?" and then proceeded to make comments and ask more questions as I told him what I'd done that day. He did it again last night. The kicker is that he seems genuinely interested in the answers...too cute!