He's 6! (and I'm eating my words)

It seems like just yesterday that I was holding my brand new baby boy. But it wasn't yesterday. It was SIX YEARS AGO yesterday! That's right, Jake turned six, and I still can't believe it! He is really turning into a big kid - and a good one!

So it only took six years for me to eat my words as a parent. Okay, so it's happened before. You know, I used to have such high ideals when it came to parenting. I believed in things like making one dinner for the whole family (I promise you, my kids WILL starve themselves - I don't care what the experts say) and cleaning up toys before more came out (I haven't seen the playroom floor in weeks). Needless to say, I've learned to bend a little. But there was one thing I would never give in about. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, we gave Jake a skateboard for his birthday. It was all he wanted. We've heard about nothing else for the past three months. And he is a very happy boy.

Have you figured out yet what I was never going to give in on? That's right. My children were never going to have skateboards. I mean, come on, my dad - a grown man - fell and broke his arm while trying to impress some pre-teen girls on a skateboard. My children were not going to be doing that.

Jake has to wear a helmet, elbow and knee pads, and wrist guards if he so much as thinks about that skateboard. He thinks it's a small price to pay. And me? I still cringe a little (okay, a lot) when he gets that thing out. But it's a small price to pay to see my boy so happy. And you know what? He's actually pretty good at it!