On Jman turning 12 ...

Jackson Cam Wester is now officially .... 12 years old.

Funny .. no matter how many Bday's Jackson has, he never seems to get older in my eyes. This isn't the case with Hayley and Eli for some reason. Jackson stands still in time for me. I wonder why that is...

Maybe because he's so innocent. Because his heart is so big. Maybe it's because he's still childlike inside and out. I love this about Jackson. He's such a giving child. If someone has to take the rap for some wrong done in the house .. he steps up. Not because he actually did it .. but just to make peace for everyone else.

He is well liked by everyone. Teachers adore him. He's just not a high maintenance kid.

For example .. on the last day of school this year I went in a few hours before school got out. To give the teachers a thank you gift and hug them goodbye. I walk into Eli's classroom and his teacher immediately catches my eye.

"Ohh .. Alana ... thank you. You ARE here to pick Eli up right?" me .. "uh - no. You still have two hours left that he's still yours. Suck it up."

I then walk into Jackson's classroom. Here's the stark difference between the two boys. His teacher comes up to me ... "oh .. I'm so sorry to say goodbye to Jackson. He's such a great kid. I'm really gonna miss him".

Exactly.

He's the first one to finish his homework. The first one to finish his chores. The first one to actually do what I ask him to do at home. The first one to say thank you.

I have to say ... even though he is BY FAR my easiest child .. he also has his moments. He's very OCD which drives me crazy. He will obsess about some minor detail until he gets physically ill over the worry. Or he will constantly be in my ear reminding me about something that's worrying him. If he loses something ... oh. my. gosh ... we will ALL suffer.

Recently he's also learned how to annoy his brother. What buttons to push. And he does this all silently. Pushes the button and then quietly walks away. We have all just caught on to this .. and it's pretty annoying. Busted. It's hard for him to pull it off now. When Eli starts screaming we all immediately say "JACKSON!"

His birthday was fun for him this year ... he got to take a few friends to Water World. It was a full day of fun in the sun. It was nice that they can all be turned loose in the park to do their thing and check in with me every couple of hours. Age can be freeing.

So Happy Birthday Jackson Cam!

Glad you are apart of our family. You complete us.