Teenager in 'da house

We have officially had a teenager in our house since November- I can hardly believe it. Better late than never for some long overdue posts, eh? It feels unreal to have a kid that old.

A sad attempt at an iPod cake.

And I've forgotten how a teenagers needs are fairly simple. Music, books, video games, friends, distance from the family.

We had a fun little family party and then he had a friend sleepover/party with the 'boys' on Friday! And due to the whole 'distance from the family' thing, I regret the fact that I was unable to get pictures of them doing the teenager thing.

This is such a Taylor-type expression. He is such a joy to have in our family. In celebration of his 13th birthday, a list of 13 of the MANY things we love about Taylor.

1. His goofy antics that make him who he is!
2. He is such a wonderful helper to those around him.
3. His tender heart.
4. His hugs! I hope he is always as free with hugs as he has been.
5. He is a great singer! Love to hear him belting out a song when he thinks no one is listening.
6. His trust worthiness.
   
7. He is incredibly smart! You forget how much you don't know until you have a smart teenager.
8. His love for reading.
   
9. He is focused & determined...relentless at times, too!
10. He tries hard to be a great kid in a nasty world. (We'll exclude his sisters in this one.)
11. His persuasiveness.
12. His uniqueness.
13. That we are lucky enough to have him in our family!!!

Get on your feet

The girls decided it would be a lot of fun to walk in Dad's work snow boots! We laughed and laughed as they kept trying to stand up all the way in them.

Almost there...

Tada!!!