Last night, Jude took him to the Preds-Senators game, while J.P. and I had a "Guytown" night together. We walked to P.M. and ate Sushi, then walked home and played NHL '18 on the Xbox. I lost, of course, 1-0, in overtime. I'm not very good.
Today, I'll pick up an ice cream cake for Joe from Baskin Robins. Jude will take him to basketball practice and I'll have pizza ready for them when they get home. Then, presents for Joe. Lots of presents.
Joe at six. What's he like? Well, let's see.
Just like his brother (and his parents), he's very competitive. He hates to lose and especially recently, he gets really angry when he loses. That probably comes from watching his brother and it's something we're working on with him. I firmly believe, though, that you can control and channel the competitiveness in a child but you can't put competitiveness in him. It's either there or it's not.
Joe's physical, more physical than J.P. If he gets mad at me or J.P., he slugs us, simple as that. It's tough for J.P. sometimes because we don't let him hit Joe back. Adopting that philosophy may have been a mistake and may be something we need to revisit, as Joe seems to have figured it out. He realizes, I think, that he can hit J.P. with impunity with no fear of retaliation. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.
Joe seems to be a natural leader. When I drop him off at school, the other children gravitate to him. That may be because he's one of the older ones, but I noticed it last year, as well. He focuses on helping the younger children, sometime too much and to the point that his teachers want him to let them figure things out on their own. I like where his heart is, though.
In many ways, good and not so good, he's a smaller, younger version of J.P. He says what J.P. says and does what J.P. does, for better or worse. I'll tell you this, though, he worships his big brother. I've always told J.P. - and it's true - he's a super hero to Joe. He really is. It's pretty cool to see them play together, which they do, all the time. Nothing makes Joe happier than to watch his brother play Madden or Subway Surfers on the iPad.
Joe loves Spiderman, just like his old man did as a boy. He's got 3 Spiderman books that have 16 page, 5 minute stories, and it's almost all he wants us to read to him. He's way into Spiderman.
Much like happened with J.P., Joe suddenly started reading. I say suddenly, but the reality is that Jude has worked with him and he gets great instruction in reading at school, I think. Still, it's pretty cool to watch and listen to him read a book. As avid readers, Jude and I love that, for sure.
Joe's athletic. He played basketball for the first time this fall and winter. He's the youngest player on his team, by far, but still held his own. Ball handling is not his strong suit, not yet, anyway. But he's aggressive and not afraid to shoot. Again, that's what I want as a father. He's not afraid, not a bit. He plays baseball - very well - and soccer too - not as well.
He's a big Vanderbilt fan, much to my chagrin. He loves Belmont basketball, though. We have season tickets and great seats on the third row, close to center court, at the Curb Center.
Joe loves all sports. Playing, watching or talking about them.
Lately, he's really gotten into playing, of all things, this old school Mattel knockoff electronic basketball game that I think my sister gave me for Christmas as a joke a couple of years ago. It was something I played with as an 11 or 12 year old in the last 1970's. Joe loves it and he and I play it a lot.
In many ways, my long afternoon walks with Joe in the Baby Jogger City Elite stroller - now tucked away in our basement - have been replaced with the morning time I spend with Joe during the week. We call it "Joe Time," as in "Daddy, what are we going to do today for 'Joe Time?'" I normally take Joe to school and because Jude leaves earlier to take J.P. to school, Joe and I have almost an hour to spend together each weekday morning. That will change next year, of course, when he starts at University School of Nashville.
Occasionally, but not too often, we watch "Daniel Tiger" or " Curious George" on television. Sometimes we play "Change" upstairs in the playroom on our Nerf-life basketball goal. It's a game J.P., Joe and I invented that involves shooting baskets and a lot of trash talk. We also read.
Some of my favorite mornings are when we go to Bonjo Java, Frothy Monkey or Portland Brew. Joe has a "second breakfast" or just milk, while I have a cup of coffee. We play Battleship (one of our favorite games) or War (with my Bonnaroo playing cards). I treasure that time together because I know it will end when school is out in a little more than three months and the boys hit the summer camp circuit.
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