Brandon's 9th Birthday

(long post, tons of pictures!)

My baby is 9! I can't believe it. What a ride it has been. :) He is my boy, my "bud." I just love him so much. Nine years ago today I missed my college graduation because of this little guy. LOL! I was looking through the pics of Brandon on the computer and his baby pictures aren't on there yet (I'll need to scan them all in), but I did find some from his early years. He had a slight obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine. Here he is sporting the Thomas costume for halloween. This little Thomas contraption was earned by potty-training. :) He was totally ready for it, but we just needed to find the perfect bribe to get him there. LOL! He loved this thing. Here's the handsome little guy.

Isn't this picture adorable?! Here's Brandon holding Megan as a new baby. He was only 3. I love the hint of a smile on Megan's face.
Cheesy grin boy.
Silly face Brandon! Look at those eyes.
Brandon and Ben on his first day of kindergarten. He looks so little!

Here's Brandon holding new baby Carli. She was sooo tiny. He's got a bit of the 'deer in the headlights look.' Too many sisters! LOL!
Here are Brandon and his good friend, Evan, from when we lived in Austin. They have moved and so have we, but I thought this was a cute picture. We had taken a day to go down to San Antonio to see the Alamo and have some fun. They were such good friends.
This was the first day of 1st grade, when he was still smiling for the pictures. This year he didn't want me to see him through the camera. ;)

Hanging out on the lawn last summer during out UT vacation. Brandon has been the sweetest boy. He loves to read together--I guess it's our special time each day. I really love it, too. I'm glad that he still likes to spend time with mom. :) He loves pizza and macaroni (his choices for birthday dinner tonight--I encouraged some strawberries as well so we could have a ltitle nourishment!). He is brilliant at math and is a smart guy all around. He is very helpful and is usually willing to help me out when I need him. Last December he was diagnosed ADHD. He is definitely the H in the name. He just bounces off the walls! He was having a very difficult time at school and church and home focusing on what he needed to do and just controlling himself in general. He has started some medication and it has worked wonders for him and our family. Gratefully, it has been a relatively easy transition. We have not lost any of our sweet wonderful boy. He has been able to get work done and make good choices in all aspects of his life. If anything, we have seen more of who Brandon is and have gotten to know him better because he can actually express himself and get his thoughts out without forgetting what he was trying to say or not be able to organize his thoughts. It's amazing.

This morning I was trying to take a few birthday pictures of him. Here's what I got.

Then tonight we had a little family party for him. He opened presents and we had ice cream cake. It was fun. I love the family birthdays. I just want everyone to feel special on their birthday. I want them to have the things they love and I want them to know how much I love them by paying attention to the little things that I hope will show them that I do love them!

Brandon is always excited to get money. :)

Here he is holding his new Pokeball that Kate gave to him. He loves Pokemon!What a blessing Brandon is in my life. I'm grateful to have him as a son!