HAPPY BIRTHDAY

A picture history of the boy we love! From before birth to now...

Is it possible this sweet tiny baby is 16 years old?

How and when did this happen?

Big A has been a great son through out his time on this earth. He started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks of age, and has really been a great sleeper ever since. Naps were never a fight when he was little, heck they still aren't. He's never STOPPED taking naps, ever. He still takes one after school almost every day. But don't tell him I told you that.

His first pair of shoes were some Air Jordans.

He started walking exactly one week after his first birthday.

He was a very happy baby. We got so lucky to have him as our first born, because he was so easy as a baby. Had he not been the easy going baby he was, he would probably be an only child.

At the age of one, he discovered dinosaurs. Almost before he could really talk, he could say the names of dinosaurs, where they lived, what period they lived in, what they ate, etc. etc. He had to have anything and everything he saw sporting dinosaurs. Books, clothes, pictures, lamps, movies (yes, we own all the Jurassic Park movies and have had to watch them at least 2 hundred thousand times). He would walk around like a Velociraptor or a T-Rex and had a little dinosaur "dance".
Lucky for Big A, he was the first grand child on J's side of the family, so his dinosaur fetish was well taken care of by family. His third birthday had to be completly "Dinosaur Themed" with a dinosaur cake, dinosaur balloons, and a special "Pin the Tail on the Dinosaur" hand drawn by his Pam Grandma, of which still hangs on the wall in the bedroom...

He could read from a very young age (must have been all those dino books) and when in kindergarden he was already reading at a 3rd grade level. A love of reading had been carried into the teen age years for this boy.

He has always been a very cautious boy. No visits to the hospital ever for this boy. He has always preferred to be in the house reading or watching movies to being outside taking risks to his well being.

As a teenager, he's been a pretty good kid. He only has a couple of good friends that he hangs out with, and likes to be at home hanging out on the computer or texting as a way of talking to his friends. He really likes his summer job at Wild Island.

He's never been into sports. He played the saxophone in Jr. high, but gave it up in high school. He has always gotten fairly good grades in school; he's pretty much always liked school.

When he was in the 5th grade, he represented his school at the state Geography Bee in Vegas. And as a result, he was invited to be on the county-wide Quiz Bowl team for his school as the first and only 5th grader. It was quite and honor, and his picture still hangs in the multi-purpose room at the school.

He has a memory quite like an elephant. I'm always amazed at the things he can remember from when he was just a little guy.

I think he's still trying to find his niche in the world and who he really is and what he wants to be, but that's okay; he's got a couple years still to figure that out.


He's a great son, albeit a typical teenager that has to be asked and told several times to do stuff around the house, but compared to a lot of bratty teenagers out in the world today, our teenager is golden, and we love him.

Happy Sweet 16 Big A!!!!!!







We look forward to the next 16 years!!!!