Countdown to Summer

Things have been a little crazy here. I feel like the boys are changing so much and doing so many things, but it's all getting jumbled in the end-of-the-schoolyear madness. We've had some nice weather, so the boys have enjoyed some play time outside. I did manage a few pictures throughout the madness, so enjoy!

Ethan:
Lately, I've caught myself looking at him and just being in awe of his big-boy-ness. He recently got a buzz cut, and he is just ALL BOY. He's been eating like a horse - I think he's growing! Maybe he just looks so big next to Jack, but I just can't believe how much the almost-five-year-old has changed lately. Maybe that means he's going to be calm soon. He's come home with scuffs on the toes of his new shoes (the 4th and 5th pairs of the year) because he likes the sound they make when he drags them. We finally got him to stop doing that (bribery and nagging work well...), and he's decided to run and slide on his knees during play time at school. Every time he's come home the past three times, he's had giant holes in the knees of his jeans. We've told him he's out of pants - shorts or pj's are his only options. He's pretty worried about that, so maybe his new big-boy-ness will make him remember that the next time he goes to slide.

He's decided on a party theme - Lego. We ordered a special shirt for his big day, which he picked out. Guess what color he chose??? Um. Red - duh.

We're getting all ready for kindergarten - we found out Big Guy scored advanced on his early literacy placement test. We are very proud of the evil genius :-)

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Jackson:
Little Man is talking up a storm. It's awesome - he just repeats everything, points to everything and comments, and makes himself (and us) laugh non-stop. We have discovered, though, that he has officially entered The Terrible Two's. Let me tell you - he's going to be a trip, that one. Ethan would cry and pout, but Jack has completely shown him up this week. Not only does he cry and pout, he also throws himself on the floor and fake cries/screams at the top of his lungs. It's actually pretty hard not to laugh at him. He wanted outside in the worst way the other day - stinker stood at our back door, pounded on it with his little fists and screamed, "OUTSIDE!!!" for twenty minutes. He even brought me his shoes a couple of times.

He's still very cuddly and fun most of the time, though. He's much more laid back and playful than Ethan - Ethan's fun has always been loud and manic. Jack is still much more content to lay on the floor pushing an airplane around and singing to himself. It takes his brother - his absolute idol - to get him all wound up. I love watching them play together. Jack's still not quite old enough to do all Ethan would like him to do, but it's getting closer. I love it!

He's also really into books lately. He loves to flip through them, babbling the whole time. He pretends he's reading, calling out tons of random letters. He's usually totally wrong, but it's pretty cute nonetheless. We feel like he's going to be the more creative/artist type. Definitely not a rule follower and stickler for accuracy like his brother. It's funny how they can be so alike in some ways, but so completely different in other ways.

By the way - Jackson (sort of!) has also chosen his birthday theme - airplanes! The kid is always flying a plane around our house. We also chose a special shirt for his big day. Hard to believe in six week, we'll be celebrating his second birthday. Yikes.