Happy 8th Birthday Jackson!

My Jackson Daniel is 8 years old!!! 

I don't know what it is about Jack, but for some reason he is stuck at 6 years old in my mind. Every time I have to think about how old he is I'm always surprised that he's older than that. Not because he acts like a 6 years old at all....maybe that's just the age I wish he'd stay forever. He was a terrific 6 year old. He's been a great 7 year old too and I'm sure he's going to rock being an 8 years old as well! Here are some of the pictures of Jack during this last year! 

Our church has kids church and each Sunday is a theme. This particular Sundays theme was Mustache Day. I used my eyebrow powder to make it look like Jack had an actual mustache, but then he ended up winning this fun stick on mustache. I loved it! He looked so cute, but for some reason he was super embarrassed and took it off probably less than a minute later! 

  

Jackson loves being a big brother to Zeke....him and Ella have a finicky relationship. He loves that Zeke is his buddy when it's time for the kids to hold hands and he loves that Zeke and him look so much alike. He also loves that he's getting strong enough to carry Zeke around. 

On BYOC Slurpee Day he was pretty stoked that his container held the most out of anybody else...48 ounces baby!!! 

Jack is shy, but then at times he likes to draw attention to himself. For example if one of the kids gets a milk mustache then Jack will make sure he ends up with a milk mustache as well. Or in this case whipped cream lips! 

Jackson is my sentimental kiddo...he loves getting pictures with things he loves and he also loves keeping EVERYTHING! 

Jack loves to get his picture taken in general! 

Jackson loves food and will try most everything without a fuss. He is my fruit syrup boy...he and I will have my homemade blackberry syrup while everyone else will have the normal Mrs Buttersworth syrup. 

Getting his Valentine's ready he was so sweet to think about each classmate and pick the colors that they would like most. He honestly knew a little bit about almost everyone in his class. 

Jack amazes me with the things he draws. He's so imaginative and so detailed. He always shocks me by knowing so many details of something when I just look at it as a whole he sees all the little parts. Plus he's never afraid to try and make a mistake....such a good trait to have. 

Enjoying the last little bit of the frosting from our Christmas cookies. 

Having the kids help me with the Christmas cookies last year was genius. Jackson is still quite messy when he does pretty much anything, but it didn't matter to me since I didn't have to frost dozens of cookies by myself!

He loves to do things well and takes his time making sure they get done the way he truly wanted it to. 

Jackson learned how to ride on 2 wheels this year and he's doing so good. He gets more and more confident each time he rides. Although if he just wants to have fun he still reaches for his scooter. Riding his bike isn't second nature yet and it takes a lot of concentration for him...poor kiddos knuckles are white when he's riding! 

Jackson was so cute when Santa Al was going to give him his present he asked Jack to sing a song and Jack did....he sang The Grand Old Flag song that he learned at school. 

Jackson is always happy with whatever gift he gets, but he tends to not be very polite right after he opens something if it's not exactly what he asked for or wanted. He's totally thankful, but just needs to learn some common courtesy. 

Jackson was one of the lucky few 2nd graders that got to participate in the LEGO club with the older kids. The day that the younger kids had LEGO club he was busy with after school learning. At first I wasn't sure how he would do with all those 3rd - 5th graders. He did awesome and for the most part his table was filled with the 3-4 other 2nd graders. 

Jackson is totally fine with playing with any toy....even if they are girly toys! 

Jackson getting to do his job of putting the star on the tree. I love that this is HIS job....even though right now he places it and then Michael has to fix it so it doesn't fall over....it's still HIS special job and he takes it very seriously. 

Jackson had two teeth pulled this last year and lost another two. His top front teeth have actually grown in quite nicely. His bottom two that were pulled have just now started to grow in and there seriously isn't any room for them. Poor kid might end up having more teeth pulled and for sure braces are in his future. 

Tea bag in the mouth and a tooth in the hand....just another day at the Martin household! 

Love that cute toothless smile! 

Jack rocking his Spiderman vest that Ga-Ga bought him in September 2014!!!

When it gets close to Christmas time or the kids birthdays we usually go to the store so they can get pictures with toys they like. Jackson ended up getting this for Christmas.  

Hanging out in Daddy's work boots! 

Jackson is my super hero boy...he loves the good guys!

I love that my boy doesn't mind having to have a homemade shield for his costume. In fact I think he might actually like it better than the plastic one he bought himself a few months after Halloween. 

Jackson is getting better and better at using his hands. He's so much more confident in his abilities. 

He is also quite a determined person! 

We were at this cow roping area for almost 10 minutes and he was just not going to quit until he got it. 

He was so brave when it came to getting his teeth pulled. 

He didn't get scared at all! 

Super Undie Pants Man! 

Jackson loves a good adventure. He loves going to new parks and visiting new trails. 

He also is convinced if he runs fast enough and jumps he's actually flying....if only for a moment! 

Jackson has a sweet tooth and is usually the one I catch with his hand in the "cookie jar"!

He loves to build with LEGO....or I should say he loves to have me build his LEGO sets...which I don't mind...then he loves to play with them. Until he breaks them apart by accidentally stepping on them! 

Jackson has a great sense of humor and is always quick to laugh at himself! 

He also has the most pathetic fake cry ever!!! 

He is a cute shy guy that surprisingly has no trouble making lots of friends. Good friends too...he has a good radar for that! 

My boy loves super hero or action adventure movies....we recently let the kids watch the first Indiana Jones movie....there were a few scary parts that they had to look away from. Jack does still have an active imagination so we didn't want him to have bad dreams. 

Jack loves to test himself and see what new skill he can do. 

Or he'll just work on a skill he already has and just try to do it better and faster. 

Jackson is my only kid that flat out refuses to wear sandals...He is quite content in socks and shoes all year long! 

My boy is a fashion savvy boy as well. For the longest time it would take him way longer than it should have to pick out his clothes. He's gotten better at doing it more quickly though! 

Jack's true smile is enough to just melt your heart! He's such a handsome dude! 

He is also fantastic at making the goofiest faces on the planet! 

Even though he likes me to put together his big LEGO sets he doesn't mind putting the smaller sets together on his own! 

The color on Jack's head is always a good indicator as to how he's feeling. If his cheeks are bright red he's hot and if his ears are bright red he's not feeling good. His Daddy's ears do the very same thing! 

Jackson is always coming up with new crafts for me to make for him. In this case he had this little bottle and he wanted it to look like treasure so we put some floor cleaner inside and the swirled around some glitter! 

Mommy introduced him to a classic last summer....Root Beer Float! YUM! 

This kid knows how to play HARD!

He is also so observant...when we were stopped at a red light.....it had just turned green....he asked me to take a picture of the mountain because it was so beautiful! 

Jackson is just now fitting into size 7 pants and his shoe size is a 12 1/2.

Jack's favorite color is definitely red....he's always trying to match things to his favorite pair of Nike's. 

Jackson can have a picture of something in his mind and just know how he wants it to look. In this case he told me he wanted a LEGO set up of the battle at Mustafar. It was so fun creating that for him! 

Chilling on the river! 

The LEGO store near us has been a serious spot where Jack likes to spend his money. So far he's bought this LEGO set and 4 mini figures. I'm sure they'll be getting more and more of his money in the future! 

This sweet boy just loves to have one on one time with his Mommy and I'm going to enjoy that for as long as I can! 

Obviously he likes to pose all fun when he's eating candy! 

Trying out jumping on the trampoline. He tried so hard, but never was able to flip! 

All soaked from the bumper boats and having a blast!

Jack loves sitting in the middle seat next to Zeke. He's always willing to help Zeke reach something and throw garage away for him as well. 

Jack loves the water, but he usually isn't out there for hours on end. He does get a great tan in the summer! 

Future American Ninja Warrior! 

And marathon runner! 

First grade to second grade was a big jump for Jack, but he has grown by leaps and bounds this last year. His reading is so great. I love listening to him read to me especially when he reads me a Berenstain Bear book because he not only does Papa Bear's voice he also does Mama Bear's as well. 

Jackson is a fruit lover! He would probably eat an entire 2lb container of strawberries by himself if I let him! 

Jackson Daniel you are such a gem to our family. You fit in so well and in all honesty you probably are the one that has to be corrected the least. For the most part you just roll with it. You are what I consider our true middle child. Ella is in the middle, but she's the one and only girl so she's got that going for her. You are the middle and my heart is always keeping that in mind. I never want you to feel left out or forgotten. I read a book about birth order years ago and it actually said that middle children are usually the most well rounded adults and I can absolutely see that. You are a hard worker, you strive to do right and you stand up for justice. If I could guess what you'd become when you grow up I would say something in regards to law enforcement. We lovingly call you the KP at our house...Kids Police. 

I love your big heart buddy. Your prayers every night are about homeless people, orphans, criminals and people that don't know or believe that Jesus loves them and died for them. You can't even fathom why someone wouldn't chose to love God. You love to be the one to hand the food to the person standing on the sidewalk with a sign. Whenever they see it's a kid giving them something it never fails to put a huge smile on their face. You truly love people the way God loves them. What an amazing gift! 

You are always quick to apologize and write a note saying you're sorry. You are leader in our house when it comes to using manners. You say thank you and the other kids follow. You love to teach Zeke and show him new things....I love listening to you say, "Come on buddy!" as you lead him off to do something fun. 

Jackson you are such a delight! You are honestly the only child that we truly weren't actively trying for and what a wonderful surprise you were. I'm so thankful that God decided to add you to our family when he did. You are my boy, my sweet soft skinned boy that I love to kiss on every morning. You are loved by everyone who knows you...especially a few of the girls in your life! I pray that you will flourish this next year....3rd grade gets even harder! I know you'll do your best and you will grow and be better for it. Remember that God is always there with you and he'll never leave you. Trust in Him and He will guide you! I love you so much buddy, but He loves you even more than I ever could! 

Happy 8th Birthday Jackson!