Jackson

is 6. 6! Holy cow, and what a six year old he has become. I remember when Tyler's parents left to be mission presidents and his mom said that when she gets done Jackson will be 6. I thought that was horrible and terrible and he'd be so big and so grown up. But it's not terrible or awful. He's just as he should be and I still think he's nice and little. Here are some things I don't want to forget about Jackson as he is right now.

*He loves kindergarten and he loves the days when he has "centers." Whatever that means exactly. He loves his teacher Mrs. Burk. Loves loves loves her.

*He can seriously read books! It's crazy and he's so good at sounding out the words.

*He still can't say his R's. I should probably work on that, but it still sounds so cute.

*He loves to color and it a perfectionist about it. So much so that in his evaluation his teacher sent home today she said that they are working on finishing things on time. He's not distracted, just intensly focused and takes his sweet little time.

*He's pretty stubborn, and would rather play alone at recess than play something with the other kids that he doesn't want to play, which I'm proud of. It means he's not a little duckling like I was.

*He's obsessed with Star Wars. The movies yes, but mostly playing Lego star wars. Obsessed obsessed obsessed. He tells me things about the game and he's so excited about what he has found that there is no controlling or containing his enthusiasm. It's infectious - even if it is about a star wars game. As is his enthusiasm about anything. If Jackson likes something you're going to know about it, ALL about it. I love it.

*He still likes transformers and has so many. Right now he plays with a 5 pack power core. You put 5 different pieces together to make one guy. When he talks about it he always says, "My 5 pack" and the way he says it makes me laugh. I could listen to it all the time. Good thing he tells me about it every day.

*He is exceptionally skilled at spinning his light saber around. Before we got him one that makes sounds he would make them all on his own. I could hear, "Hmm mmm mm pchouuuuu" all the time. He stands like a Jedi and fights using moves from Star Wars. He's totally intense when he's doing it too, but it kind of reminds me of the mid evil club at BYU and I secretly pray he won't ever be interested in something like that.

*So far he is so great at practicing the piano. He gets excited about his piano lessons every week. I don't know what I did to deserve this and I'm scared at the retribution I might receive someday for how I acted when it was time for me to practice. eeek.

*He loves to play with his little brother. They fight occasionally, but usually he is his protector and they're best friends.

*When Jackson is playing Lego Star Wars he sets up a chair for Hayden to sit right beside him. He doesn't want Hayden to join in the game, but since there are multiple characters on your team at all times, he tells Hayden which one he is and keeps him informed of everything his character can do and how helpful he is to Jackson, and somehow this keeps Hayden entertained. Hayden will sit next to him for way longer than he should just listening to Jackson and watching the game.

*He keeps me on track. In the morning I kind of verbally list everything we need to do for the day, or what he needs to do in order to get ready. This is for me to remember what they heck I'm doing and to kind of organize my brain, and then mostly for Jackson so he has some structure. He'll repeat back the days activities to me and reminds me if I forget something or do something out of order. "K Mom, first, I need to brush my teeth, and THEN I'll get my pants our of the dryer and pick out a shirt, and THEN I'll find my socks and put on my shoes an THEN we'll eat lunch go to school." I wish I could describe the hand motions and facial expressions that go along with this. It's really cute.

Thank you Jackson for being so awesome. You have so much personality that I can't even begin to capture in words. Mommy loves you. Thanks for always being my good boy.