The Landry Family Odyssey: 6 Years In

All the sudden he's so tall and skinny! And says things like "I don't care - whatever you want" with a total air of nonchalance. Who is this big kid?

This is so Jack right now! He's always catching an imaginary football pass :) Even as he goes to get a chest X-ray to see if he has pneumonia. (He didn't.)

Some things are the same! He's still a fruititarian who can put away mean amounts of fruit (and cheese). He still loves books and calms down instantly when a story is read BUT now he is starting to read. It's amazing to watch!

Some things are deeper. The interest in fire trucks is still there but the interests are more in-depth and grounded in real life - he wants to know about real fires and real disasters. The same intense focus he's always brought to fire fighting is now fixed on the world of sports. He knows who the Saints and LSU have played and how they did in each game. He can walk you through what happened in the Saints one Super Bowl win. And he's working some mad mental math skills as he plays solo games of football on the porch. He tracks his points and "the other team's" through a long series of plays.

Healthwise, he's had a nasty nose for more than a year and we are working to figure out why we can't get him cleared up. He had an awesome cardiology check-up and his heart is healthy and strong!

He's a conundrum. Why must you fight so much with your sister while being so tender to your baby brother? Why must you literally bounce off our walls one minute while showing such calm focus the next?

He's got a beautiful spirit. The kids love to get me to tell stories. I just start talking and out pop all varieties of tales. In one, "Luke's Bad Day," protagonist Luke was just not having a good day and as things continued to not go his way in the story and the world wasn't being kind, real tears welled up in Jack's eyes. THOSE are the moments that tell me we are doing something so right and that we have an amazing little boy. I love that inner compassion and I trust it will serve him well!

I look forward to quality time spent together over the holidays. I love his excitement and energy. When I feel prepared for it, we have such fun and enjoy life so much together!