Good Genes, or Good Jeans?

Jaydon and I have been having some in-depth discussions lately. I don't know what has gotten into this child, but he is making some of the quirkiest comments...and I love it!
Going from a child who said very few words the first four years of life, to this, is well...a true miracle!

Over the weekend, he was at my mom's with Jeremy, Jacoby and Jilian.
Tia Jessenia came by and took him to eat dinner at Cheddar's. On the way there, he randomly says, "Tia, I'm going to miss you when I go to college." So she starts asking him if he knows what college is, where he wants to go, what he wants to do, etc. He didn't really know what he wanted to do, (He has told me a time or two that he wants to be a fireman, but I keep telling him that it's just a phase! {Dear Lord, please enable my son to be a politician, doctor, musician, model or actor!}) or what college entailed, so Jessenia explained it all to him. He soaked it in like a sponge, and can tell you the in's and out's of college.

Then yesterday, I told him that we needed to cut back on his Chick Fil-A consumption. Even though Chick Fil-A is one of the healthiest of the fast food joints, his $7.11 daily "#5 - 12-count with a Sprite" (sometimes orange juice) is taking a toll on his mom & dad's checkbook - those poor people!

Let me just rewind...Jaydon won't eat much of anything. When he likes something though, he will CHOW DOWN. McDonald's - 10-piece nugget meal, Chick Fil-A - 12 piece nugget meal.
We haven't been able to buy kids meals anywhere for 3+ years. He's only 6. Can you see where this might head if I don't nip it now?
...which by the way his 14-month old brother is right on his tails with that. Although Jacoby eats EVERYTHING you put in front of him. Fruits, veggies, meats, breads, cheese, dog food, toilet water! ...but that's a WHOLE other post.

Back on track...

Jaydon eats it all up, too! You look at him and wonder where it all goes. He's solid, but lean. He stepped on the scale yesterday and that boy weighed 65 lbs. - unclothed! I know that not even half of the kids in his class weigh close to that. I noticed a few little (tiny!) dimples on his belly and I thought - HELL TO THE NO!

My hot son will NOT be gross - THAT'S where I draw the line! He has a GREAT body and a cute face, and we aren't going to ruin it!

We have NEVER talked about weight or even about eating healthy. I've never worried about it because he's really a healthy child and not overweight.

So, I started the discussion with:

"Honey, starting tomorrow, we will not be eating out as often as we used to."
"Why Mom?"
"Well, because we need to start eating better. I know that you don't much care for many things, but we really need for you to try to eat more than just chicken, hot dogs, and ham."
"Why Mom?"
"Well, because it's important to be healthy."
"Okay - I can drink water and not Sprite, and then I'll be healthy. Water has no sugar and it's good for my teeth."
"Yes Jaydon, that's true, but drinking water is not the solution. We need to eat healthier."
"Why Mom?"
(Is this discussion going anywhere???)
"Jaydon, do you know what genes are?"
"Yes."
"The genes that mommy is talking about make you who you are. You have good genes son, and we need to do everything we can to keep you healthy and strong. Eating healthy and continuing to exercise is really important. You love baseball and jumping on the trampoline - that's all good exercise. Now we just have to focus on eating better. We need to keep those good genes strong and eat vegetables like carrots and green beans. A banana or a grape is good for you too!"
"Okay mom. I will try."

...and that's all I can ask for...is that he try!

After his shower, I go to his room to read to him and study his spelling words (which by the way, he has gotten a 100% on EVERY spelling test this year!) and the door is shut.

House Rule #59 - We don't shut doors...period...and Jaydon KNOWS this.
(We had friends over on Sunday for a play date - 2 neighborhood boys - and he says to them, "Houserule #62 - NO BALLS IN THE HOUSE! Take them outside please!" I wonder where he gets those random numbers?)

Back on track...

I knock on the door (because even though the rule is no shut doors, I do want him to know that I respect his privacy) and Jaydon is sitting on his bed waiting for me. I notice a few pairs of jeans on the bed. I pull the covers down, and he is wearing his "GOOD PAIR OF JEANS"!
I look at him and before I can laugh or get a word in, he says, "Mom, you said I had good jeans, so I wanted to wear them to bed so that I could be healthy."

That was my cue to leave. I doubled over with the giggles for the next hour.

How can you not love that boy?

We'll try the whole "gene" discussion again later...a LONG time later!

God bless that boy, his "good jeans"...and his belly dimples! :)