Sydney Wants to Play at Mama's School. Jack does, too!

Dear Jack,

Yes, I still call you "Jack."  Most of the time, anyway.  Lately, your dad and I have been using both "Jack" and "John" and you respond equally well to either.  But in my heart, you are still "Jack" right now.

I keep telling myself this has nothing to do with the Halloween costume I already have picked out....

In any case, sweet boy, I took you and your sister and Andrew up to my school this past weekend and that's mostly the real point of this story.

Sydney and Andrew really did their own thing and you did your own thing the entire time we were there (and that at the end, you will see is the other half of the real point).  You found my Superhero ABC book (well, the copy that lives at school, you have a copy at home as well) and looked for your favorite superheroes and your favorite letters.  Which was nice since in addition to being John these days, you are also Batman and Superman and Superhero Good Guy and Bubbles (she's a Power Puff girl, of course).

You played with the cars and did not seem to notice at all that some of those cars and sets used to live in your room.  (Whew.)

You played with the dollhouse and I'm pretty sure that's your dolphin playing in the house there with you, by the way.

The same dolphin that had to come back to school the next day.  While you are asserting your independence by claiming your own name, you are also in the midst of an absurd copying phase.  I don't care what your sister says, you have to repeat it.  If she likes pink.  You like pink.  She thinks it's hot in the car.  You think it's hot in the car.  Her nose hurts.  Your nose hurts.  And so on Monday, when she had to bring a stuffed animal in the car, you had to bring a stuffed animal in the car.  When her stuffed animal had to visit daycare, your stuffed animal had to visit daycare.  And so when she told me her stuffed animal couldn't be left alone in the car, you didn't even have to tell me; I just knew.

So I took both stuffed animals in to school and took pictures of their adventures there.

Happily, when I accidentally left both stuffed animals at school, your sister's dire claims of never getting to sleep without her stuffed animals were uttered after you had already peacefully gone to sleep without yours.  Otherwise I am sure that although this dolphin doesn't even live in your room, much less your bed, you would have never been able to get to sleep without it.

Mostly, your dad and I are thrilled that your sister doesn't mind all that copying and that despite constantly repeating every opinion out of her mouth, when it comes right down to it, you are happy to play apart from her, to let her have her own friends, and to just be your own little person.

John.  Jack.  Superman.  Batman.  Baby Bamboo Shark.  Bubbles.  Superhero Good Guy.  You know, YOU.

Love,
Mom