Get 4

Eleven days ago, Jacob James turned the big 4.  I’m running a bit behind on my commemorative blogging… and maybe a few other things *cough laundry cough*.  He’s been talking about when he “gets 4” for months now.  And now that he’s reached it, he’s already talking about when he gets 5.

In the meantime, he’s planning all the things he wants to do.  He wants us to take him hunting.  For what?  I’m afraid to ask.  He even has a plan for Nate.  “We’ll take Nake to Grandma’s house so she can watch him and then you and me and Daddy and Granddad can go hunting.  Nake is too little to go hunting, right Mom?”  I appreciate that he’s thinking through the logistical details.  Grandma probably doesn’t want to go hunting anyway.

Jakey loves swimming.  And talking about coconuts.  Everything is coconuts these days.  “What’d you do at school today?”  “Coconuts.”  “Who’d you play with?”  “Coconuts.”  And every dinner conversation seems to involve, “May I have some more sauce, Coconut Mama?”  To me it’s just nuts.

He loves animals and trying to lure birds into his birdhouse.  This weekend he drew a bird on a piece of wood and then nailed the “sign” to the tree so birds can follow it.  He’s learning shapes and numbers and can write a recognizable J and A.  His favorite food is gyoza drenched in rice vinegar.  Well, it probably ties with chocolate.  He eats salad and prawns and all manner of fruits and vegetables.  He’s recently replaced his Sunday morning pancakes with lox on francese toast.   He still won’t eat kid food like mac & cheese, quesadillas or hamburgers.  His pockets are full of rocks and avocado pits.

JJ still works in Santa Cruz.  So do his puppies.  He’s very into cooking.  “No real food, Mama, I want to cook real food.”  He likes building and hammering and checking the weather on Daddy’s iPhone.  He still doesn’t like sleeping, but he can actually be talked into laying in his bed at nap time.  This is a dramatic achievement.  He is a stealthy negotiator, especially when it comes to book reading.

He is eager to implement time outs… for Nate.  And three days before his birthday, he left his nighttime pull-ups behind, cold turkey.  As well as the evening round of milk baba’s (sippy cups).  What else can I say…

“Hey James, what’s Jakey into these days?”

“Coconuts.”

“Yeah, got that.”