Meet Jake Anthony: OMG...Multiplication & Division at Age 4?!?!?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

OMG...Multiplication & Division at Age 4?!?!?

OK, so let me start out by saying that I am just SOOOOOO far behind on these posts that any hope of catching up is nothing more than a pipe dream. Yes, yes, yes, I know, I'm a BAD mommy... let's just get that out of the way as well. I have a bunch of excuses (training for marathon, crazy job, Lyme disease, etc.), but they all sound so lame, they're not worth wasting any valuable typing time on them. After all, this blog is about THE AMAZING BOY we all know and love.

So, what's he been up to these days (and all those I've failed to write about)...Well, I know it sounds CRAZY, but it's TRUE...Jake is learning how to multiply and divide in school now. And not just the easy stuff either, he's gone all the way through to his 10x tables and is learning to divide by 2, 4, 5 and 6. And for those non-believers who may wonder if this is just a little mommy white lie or exaggeration, not to worry, I have pictures to prove it. (And to be totally honest, I didn't even believe it myself when Nanny told me until I saw the worksheets and quizzed him a little)

Now, I was considered pretty darn good at math when I was growing up and they even brought in some high school work for me when I was in middle school...BUT, I'm sure that I was in 5th or 6th grade when I learned multiplication and division. And even if I'm off by a grade, I know for certain I was NOT 4!!!!!!!!! I'm scared to think what he will be doing when he's in 5th or 6th grade...maybe teaching it??? LOL

Here's the proof...

And for those who were thinking, oh that's not so hard, he just had to count by 2 or count down from 7...here are the mixed numbers problem sheets. Since this time, he's started doing problems like 2,222 x 4, which for him is as easy as 4x2. CRAZY!!! I'm running out of room on the refrigerator to display all of these amazing pieces of work. Anyone with any spare room on theirs, please let me know...LOL

When he's not totally wrapped up in math of some sort, he's really into puzzle balls these days. Regular puzzles were starting to be way too easy, so these puzzle balls (3D puzzles) are SO perfect for him. Unbelievably, they even include a link to his favorite things in life - numbers - as the back of each piece has a number...some up to 540 pieces. His absolute favorites are the ones that I found that include the 8 planets in our solar system. It used to take US days to put one together and that was with quite a lot of team work, but these days, he's able to do them ALL by himself and this usually buys me a little more sleeping time on Saturday mornings. Today we donated a set to his classroom at school which made the teachers chuckle a little when they told me that Jake would likely be the only one who could actually do them. Which again is a little shocking considering some of the kids in his class are 7!!

Here's a picture of the entire solar system (I did my best, but I'm sure I don't have them in the right order...I still can't tell Mars from Venus and Neptune from Uranus...oh vey)

and a close up of Jupiter (my personal favorite).

Last month, in light of being hit by snow storm after snow storm, Jake had a chance to go sledding quite a number of times. We even dragged Nanny along with us one time and had a BLAST listening to her SCREAM the entire way down the hill. Of course, I have NO pictures of these events because I've somehow slipped into this no picture coma and try though I may, I've not managed to snap out of it. I have like ZERO pictures of the boy from the month of Feb and so far in March...at this rate, next year's picture book is likely to take much less time to put together and cost a whole lot less. I think I may be experiencing second child syndrome with the first child...is that even possible?!?!? Whatever it is, let's hope I snap out of it SOON. (And it doesn't help that Nanny's camera has gone MIA...yes, another one!! Nanny goes through cameras like Jake goes through shoes...LOL)

A late addition to this already late post... I DID manage to break the camera out of retirement and take some pics of our recent trip to Turtleback Zoo, a pre-race dinner for No-No with the Posse and some cool bike riding pics with Nanny and La La. Will continue that in the next blog... and yes, that new one will come before he enters college...LOL

Back soon...

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About Jake Anthony

Jake was born on Aug 19, 2005, he weighed a hefty 9lbs 10oz, was 22 inches long (before you say "ouch" it was by C-section) and was welcomed into this world by his mommy, nanny, pops, uncle JJ, LaLa, Aunt Bear, Aunt No-No, Aunt Amy, Aunt CC, Aunt Razz, Aunt Titi, Aunt GG and Aunt Tracey (soon to be Aunt Dana too). To say he was a "dream come true" would be the understatement of the century!!

I had always dreamed of being a mommy and for some reason, had always wanted a boy. (So much so, that I enrolled in the MicroSort clinical trial for gender selection and had the sperm sorted to increase the odds to 85%.) Jake was conceived using IVF and donor #1876 from Fairfax. The donor selection was a VERY serious process including a thorough analysis of every detail imaginable. In the end, the pool was narrowed down to four possible choices, and each of the Posse (his group of Aunts) had an opportunity to evaluate the bio and stats and vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice. The votes were tallied and actually, there was a tie between the one we called "Giraffe" and the one we called "James" (because he looked a lot like my brother). For the initial attempt, I went with Giraffe, but after no luck with 2 AI cycles, I switched to "James" (1876) and transitioned to IVF.

The first IVF attempt resulted in 8 eggs, 6 of which survived the fertilization process and 5 of which made it to day 5. PGD testing revealed that there was only 1 healthy normal embryo in the mix and luck would have it, it was a boy! The pregnancy, however, lasted only 8 weeks before I was told it was a non-progressing pregnancy. After that VERY big disappointment and weeks of waiting (and a DNC...uggh), I had the opportunity to try again.

This time, I was rushed in at day 3 and told that the 3 remaining fertilized eggs would not make it to day 5. The absolutely FUNNIEST part of this whole story involved my mom. I had not planned to go to have the procedure on Day 3, so my mom and I had to scramble to get there. (I received the message so late that they actually had to stay open late for me and I had to drive up from South Jersey 3 hours to get there....talk about driving at the speed of light.)

So, my mom meets me and we drive up together and on the way up I tell her "mom, no matter what they say, I only want to put 1 egg back in. I'm having this baby on my own and we already have a strong history of twins in the family and I don't want to risk ending up with 3! Mom, I really need you to be with me on this because they always push you to put more in to increase the odds of success." To which she replied, yes, no problem, I understand."

So, we meet with the doctor and he says, you have 3 remaining embryos, we couldn't do the PGD so we have no idea if any are normal (let alone the sex), so I'm recommending you put all 3 back in. My eyes open wide and I say "ALL 3????" I turn to my mom and she says "I agree with the doctor"...LOL!! And before I knew what hit me, off I went into the surgical suite...

And the result, is the most lovable, adorable, smart little boy in the whole world...hope you enjoy reading about him even half as much as I enjoy raising him...