Aw... Young Love

Jaden and I were driving to his Hap Ki Do practice and listening to Christmas music when he started this conversation:

Mommy I have to tell you something.
What's that?
I think... (in a shy voice)... I'm falling in love.
You are?
Yes.
With who?
With Kyla.
How do you know?
Because whenever I see her (big smile) ... or talk to her... my heart just goes Boom Boom Boom! And it beats really big and I can feel it. She makes me feel so happy.
Oh.
But I don't know if I am going to marry her. I can't choose.
Is there someone else?
Yes. 2 more. Kaitlyn... I like her, but she has another boyfriend. I think his name is Brighton, or something like that. And the other one is Avery.
Who's Avery?
A girl in my class. I really like her too. She's so nice.
Oh, do you play with her now?
Yeah, and today she slipped and fell down on the ice, so I helped her up.
Well that was a very sweet thing to do, good job!
Yeah, so I don't know which one I am going to marry.
That's okay, you still have PLENTY of time.
But I think I'm gonna choose Kyla.

I love that he feels open enough to tell me these kinds of things. And I know it's only a matter of time before he starts to keep his feelings to himself. He's such a sweet and emotional boy. It's going to be hard for me when he becomes more private, so I will cherish these moments now. Jaden, please don't grow up!

A Mended Heart

Are you just dying to know what happened at the Halloween Party? Well, our story continues...

We all got dressed up and headed over over to the church building for a a small carnival before starting the Trunk-or-Treating. Jaden as a Knight, Kaleb as Batman, Bradley as a Tiger (thanks Julie!)


and me as... a witch, I guess. Bradley was so scared of me he wouldn't let me hold him. But here is proof, that I should never get bangs... or have really long hair... or dye my hair purple... or get a big ugly mole.


Our first game was to go fishing for treats. The kids were pretty quiet and not so sure about this whole carnival. The next game was shooting a rubber band to try and knock down a pyramid of cups. The kids started to liven up a little here. Here's Bradley taking his shot.



Then Kaleb.


Then Jaden.


But lo and behold... guess who happened to be standing at the back of the line... Kyla (formerly known as K. I have received official permission from her mom to exploit her identity.) She is the cute cheerleader-princess in pink on the left. Her little sister Calissa, who is Kaleb's age, is the one in yellow.


They find each other...


They pose for a picture. Kyla's mom instructs her to put her arm around Jaden. Jaden still talks about that. "I can't believe Kyla put her arm around me!"... as he tries to conceal a smile.


Jaden watches her take her shot.


Then they went to the next station together... bobbing for apples using sticks. Here is where we ran into Jaden's "other 2 girlfriends, Katelyn and Brook" because he has 4, remember? These girls are so cute and so funny. They were happy, I promise, but not a fan of the camera. Whenever I popped it out... instant gloom. Which is so funny because they are SO not like that.




Kaleb is very shy at first around other people. He kinda hung back with Charles the whole night. But I forced him to have his picture taken with Calissa. Kaleb really likes Calissa. He talks about her a lot. But he is too shy to say a word to her. Isn't she so cute and tiny? She's a little older than Kaleb, but so so small!


Calissa really likes Jaden. It's cute to see her light up just as much as her older sister when she sees him. Here they are after Jaden very politely asked each sister, "Would you like to hold my hand?" Kaleb did not join in. Poor kid. :(


After the games, the Trunk-or-Treating began. Kyla and Jaden decided to go around together. Kaleb hung back.


Here they are trunk-or-treating at MY trunk.




You can see also kind of see little Calissa on the left going around with her mom and dad.


Afterwards, the boys said goodbye to their friends, and we went back into the building for nachos and hot chocolate.



I'd say Jaden is feeling MUCH better. The next day was Sunday. At the end of church the Primary kids like to race to the Bishop's office to wait in the "Candy Line." This is how the Bishop learns all the kids' names. He briefly talks to each child and tries to get to know them a little better before giving them a piece of candy. The kids just LOVE it! Well when Jaden saw Kyla and Calissa they all ran to each other, held on to Jaden's hands and took off for the Candy Line. Poor Kaleb gets left behind a lot. (We've had to talk to Jaden about trying to include him more.)

Later that day, while we were home eating lunch, Jaden said out of the blue, "I CAN'T believe Kyla put her arm around me!"
Charles and I just looked at each other and tried to hide our smiles. It was quiet while we ate for a few more minutes, then Jaden broke the silence with, "And I CAN'T believe Kyla KISSED me!"
Again Charles and I looked at each other... but with a different expression. After a few seconds, I said casually,
"Oh really? Where were you?"
He said it happened by the Candy Line. Kyla and Calissa came to give Jaden a hug goodbye and then Kyla kissed him.
"Oh, you mean like on your hand?" I asked.
He shook his head no.
"Oh, on your cheek?"
He again shook his head no, then smiled and touched his lips. "Right here." Charles and I again had a hard time hiding our smiles. We both sucked in our lips and looked at our food. Then I said, "And then what happened? What did you say after she kissed you?" "I said, 'BYYYEE!!' and ran away."
That was it for that conversation.
Even though I know it was harmless, I mentioned to Jaden a little bit later, that it's a good idea to wait till he's a man before he kisses anymore girls on the mouth. :)

Later on, Charles joked about it to my family. He said, "I don't know what this Bishop is doing, promoting make-out sessions in front of his office!"

A Broken Heart

**WARNING!!! If you read this story, you must promise not to talk to Jaden about it. It is personal to him and he is very sensitive. Ka-peesh?**



This was too sweet not to record. I am not writing this to embarrass my child, but because I think that later in his life or his future-wife's life, they will enjoy this story. And I don't want to forget it.


A sad little 5 year old...

Mommy? I'm sad.
Why are you sad?
Because my girlfriend has a new boyfriend.
She does?
Yeah. And she always plays with HIM at recess, and never me.
I'm sorry. Have you tried playing with both of them?
Yeah, but she just wants to play with HIM. Because he has a higher age.
He's older? How old?
8.
Ummm, I don't think 8 year olds are allowed at recess with the Kindergartners.
Well he's not really 8, but he tells her he is.
Oh.
But you know what?
What?
Ever since the first day I met her, I was always... so nice to her.
I know you were. You are a very nice boy.
But now she has TWO boyfriends.
Well, that's okay. How many girlfriends do YOU have?
I only have... 4. K, her little sister, Katelyn and Brook.
So everyone has lots of friends.
But I just want to play with HER again.
Who do you play with now?
I play with Mason again.
Well that's fun!
Yeah, he doesn't have his girlfriend anymore.
Oh.
They broke up.
Really? What does that mean?
That means broke up. They don't like each other anymore.
Why not?
Because she got a new boyfriend.
Did that make Mason sad too?
No, he was glad. Because she wanted to marry him, and he didn't want to.
Well are you guys having fun playing together again?
Yeah...
That's good.

(The conversation ended, but about 10 minutes later I found Jaden sitting alone in the living room like this. I already knew what was going on, so I quickly took a picture... for memory's sake!)


Jaden sweetie, what's wrong?
(Tears rolling down his cheeks)
I miss someone.
Who do you miss?
A girl. I miss K.
Awww, I'm sorry.
I just always loved to play with her.
I know.
( I held him on my lap)


(I know what you're thinking... How can I properly console my poor child while taking pictures of him? It was his first heart break! I had to preserve it! I won't do it again, okay?)

Well, you know what?
What?
Now that you're off track, maybe we'll need to invite her over to our house to play.
(hope in his eyes)
Yeah?


Yeah. And you know what else?
What?
Tomorrow is the Halloween party at church. I think she'll be there.
She will?
Yeah, I think so. I think she is going to be a princess. And YOU are going to be a knight in shining armor. Maybe we can take a picture of the 2 of you so you can look at it the next time you miss her.
Yeah! Ok!

(He became happier after this, but you could still see in his eyes how upset he had become.)

5 going on 13

Me: Hey, you have a short day at school today, are you excited?
Jaden: No.
Me: Why not?
Jaden: Because that means no recess. And besides, no recess means I don't get to see my girlfriend.
Me: You have a girlfriend?
Jaden: Yes
Me: Who is she?
Jaden: Her name is K.
Me: Oh. You play with K at recess?
Jaden: Everyday! She runs and I run, but she is faster than me. She tags me and says, "You're it!" And I can never catch her.
Me: What about your friend Mason? Don't you play with him anymore?
Jaden: No, he has his own girlfriend now too. But he doesn't like her.
Me: Why not?
Jaden: Because she wants to marry him and he does NOT want to.
Me: Oh. (I did not ask anymore questions)


Later that day I took the kids to Jumpin Jacks (an indoor place full of bounce houses) Little did I know that K would be joining us. As soon as she and Jaden saw each other, they ran up to each other and started holding hands. They went down all the slides together and just could not be apart. If K was out of his sight for more than a few seconds he would stop whatever he was doing to look for her. K also has a bit of a dramatic side. As she was following Jaden up a ladder to a slide she would "slip" and then call Jaden for help. Jaden would turn around, reach down and pull her up. K's little sister thought that was fun and she decided to give it a try with Kaleb. As we were leaving, Jaden and K said their goodbyes over and over. They also gave each other a hug. Another girl Jaden's age was also there and she said goodbye to Jaden. Jaden must not of heard, becasue he then said goodbye again to K. The other little girl just looked down and said, "Jaden like's K more than he likes me!"

I wasn't sure what to think about all that had gone on that day. I know he's only 5 and that everything was innocent... but there were a few moments when I felt like I was keeping my eye on a 13 year old! I didn't tell him to stop what he was doing, but I DID have a talk with him about how fun it is to have LOTS of friends, and that maybe he would have fun with the other girl that was there too... as well as other boys!

We had decided a few days earlier that we wanted to make and decorate cookies to give to some of Jaden and Kaleb's friends around the neighborhood. When we started talking about it he asked if he could give cookies to K and the other girl. He said he now had 2 girlfriends. I told him that would be okay and he said, "I think we should do pink and purple because... girls like pink and purple, right?"

Jaden and Kaleb had fun making their cookies and cards, and delivering them to their friends. When we were on our way home, Jaden said, "I know my friends liked it, but it made me feel really happy to give everyone those cookies."