I Can't Keep Up...

Jacen is learning things so quickly. I am writing this post because I am sure if I don't write all down, I will forget. Here is a list of what Jacen has learned in the last month:

~how to say 3-syllable words, and put up to 5 words in a sentence (including some unusual vocabulary, such as "delicious")
~to count to 10 by himself, and 15 with help
~to identify shapes (circle, oval, square, rectangle, star, diamond, hexagon, octagon), and recognize them in real-life settings (the buttons on the elevator are rectangles, the picture on the back of his book is in an oval)
~to identify colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, brown, white)
~how to put on a t-shirt with no help
~how to kick a soccer ball while running
~to recognize and name familiar places (church, home, Target, grocery store)

He does so many other funny things. He recently started drawing scribbles on his Doodle-Pad and then telling me what animal it is, based on the shape and size of the scribble (a large round scribble might be an elephant, a long skinny one is an alligator). He also will "read" familiar books to himself, turning the pages and reciting the words.

This kind of sounds like a brag list, which was not my intention. He is simply blowing me away with new knowledge and skills every single day.

Awww....

Nice Mommy!

That's what Jacen says every time he gives hugs and kisses. Nice Daddy, Nice Puppy, Nice baby. And it always has the "Awww..." in front of it. I would love to know where he learned that, because it doesn't really sound like something Ethan or I would say. But he says it all the time. We recently recieved a picture of a friend's baby in the mail, and Jacen carries it around saying, "Aww, nice baby!" When he gives Ethan good night kisses he says, "Aww, nice Daddy!" It's really very funny.

Here's a few recent pictures of Jacen:

Playing "airplane" with Mommy

Playing in the back yard. It was 80 degrees in February!

Helping Daddy "fixin'".

I found him curled up in our bed one morning around 10. Nap time isn't usually until noon!

Bringing them up in the Lord

About three weeks ago Jacen started going to Sunday School. In the two's and three's class they listen to a Bible story, do a related craft, and learn a simple catechism question. He's the youngest in his class, so his teacher and I had decided to do a trial period for a couple of weeks to see if he can handle it and if he understands it at all. I was happy to find out that his teacher says he's doing very well sitting still. But how do we know if he's getting any of it? Today I picked him up from Sunday School and he showed me his craft: a little sign on a stick with a picture on each side. They had talked about Jesus raising the widow's son from the dead. He pointed to the picture of the widow mourning her son. "Sad," he said in a very serious voice. Then he flipped it over. Now the widow was hugging her living son. Jacen jumped up and down, "Happy!" he yelled. That was enough to convince me. I know he doesn't understand yet, but he is learning something, and that's a good start.

Yesterday we had dinner with a couple from our church. We were all sitting down to eat, and chatting a little bit before we began the meal. Jacen picked up his spoon to get started and then stopped. He looked at Ethan, held out his hand, and said, "pray." As we prayed he bowed his head, and when we finished he threw his hands in the air and shouted, "Amen!"

These are the things I pray for as his mother. The most important things I can teach him.