Jackson has always believed he is older than he is. It seems like every new person he talks about from church is two or three years older than he is. Just last week I asked him about the friends he was making in preschool.

"Well Josh is my best friend in preschool, but he's only four."

Jackson is only four. But since birth he has felt comfortable with adults. Maybe too comfortable. We always have to warn our adult dinner guests that Jackson believes they are there for him, and will latch onto them immediately. He never fails to do so.

At home, he begs me every minute of every day to play games with him. Apparently playing trains or basketball with Bennett, or [gasp] doing something on his own, is just not an option.

So the minute we sit down for breakfast I hear the inevitable "okay mom I have a game..."
And at lunch.
And at dinner.
During every drive.
And pretty much every minute in between.

Here's a short list of the games Jackson and I play on a daily basis. I am not joking that we play each one of these games EVERY day.

1. "Mom here's the game, you tell me a scripture story and I'm going to guess who it is about."
2. "Mom lets all go around the table and talk about our very favorite foods"
3. "Mom for this game you trace a letter on my back and I will guess what it is."
4. "Mom lets name all of our favorite rides at Disneyland."
5. "Mom will you play I spy with me?"
6. "Okay mom, for this game, I'll tell you a type of food and you tell me where it comes from (what animal, tree, plant etc.)"
7. "Mom lets play guess what I'm thinking." (similar to 20 questions)
8. "Okay, I am going to hum a song and you guess the song that I am humming."
9. "Mom lets play the game where you say a word and I'll tell you the opposite."
10. "Okay, you choose a letter and I'll tell you all the words I know that start with that letter."

Most of the time I give in to his requests, because at this stage in pregnancy, I can't exactly get on the floor with him and do puzzles or play soccer. But by dinner time I am so ready for some normal, non-game conversation.

"Okay Jackson, for this game we are just going to eat quietly and talk about our day without turning it into some kind of game."

Parenting can exhaust me in so so many ways.