Green Eggs and Ham

It has been unbelievably cool witnessing Jacob's progress in Kindergarten. And to see him eager to show us a new skill, or pass along a new fact. (And listen to him gossip about which classmate "made a bad choice" and got in trouble.)

There are mornings he grumbles about having to go to school. And sure, he occasionally complains about homework (who doesn't?). But the majority of the time, he loves it. Watching him get excited about learning makes it even more exciting for me to see.

But so far, the coolest accomplishment is his reading. Listening to him read is just...awesome. That new skill takes the cake, hands down.

For the past two nights, he has read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. And yes, there were a few words he needed help with. But there were way, way, way more words he read completely independently. And if he wasn't sure of a word, he sounded it out all on his own.

It was amazing.

I had tears in my eyes.
Jeff and I were both grinning like idiots.
And we were proud.
Including Jacob.

Then this morning, as a reward for the successful reading and in keeping with the theme, Jeff climbed out of bed and said, "I need to make green eggs and ham."

Apparently the boys were expecting it. And sure enough, within just a few minutes of his remark, Jacob and Alex came bolting into the room, chanting, "We want green eggs and ham! We want green eggs and ham!" So we all headed down to the kitchen to watch Jeff make good on his promise. What a great dad.

There was talk about green chickens laying green eggs. And little boys eager to know the secret of such fine gourmet cooking.
Jacob asked, "Daddy, will you teach me how to make green eggs and ham so that I can make it for my kids when I'm a daddy?" (My heart melted when I heard that and just melted again as I typed it.)

As they watched Jeff break eggs into a bowl full of (a ton of) green food coloring, the recipe was no longer a secret.



Green eggs. Yummy?

Green ham. (Gag.)


Jacob commented, "Hey, it looks like that healthy stuff!" He was referring to spinach.

Yep. It did.


I suppose the moral of "Green Eggs and Ham" is to first try things (in this case, green eggs and ham) before you jump to the conclusion that you won't enjoy it. Having said that, I feel that I would not like Chef Jeff's breakfast on a plate or on a gate. Or on a train or in the rain. Or here or there or anywhere.
I like eggs. And ham is OK. But something about the green...well, you saw it. (No offense, Chef Jeff.)
So I wondered if the boys would actually go through with eating it.

First bites were taken...


And the verdict is?



What do you know? They even asked for seconds.

Apparently eating green eggs and ham is just as fun as reading about it.