He's a TEEN!

An official
TEENAGER
in the house!

Ethan celebrated his 13th birthday last Friday with a Pumpkin Pie!

It's just crazy to think that
MY BABY is 13!
As parents it's been 13 years of trial and error with this poor boy, yet Ethan has sailed through beautifully! We couldn't have asked for a better first born!

Ethan has taught me a lot in the last 13 years! He's caused my heart to feel emotions stronger and deeper than I ever thought possible!
I can remember when he was just an infant. I had no idea that I could feel that kind of love for someone. He was tiny, he was perfect, and he was mine! I couldn't believe that Heavenly Father had entrusted me with him!
As an infant he absolutely hated to be in his car seat! My heart would ache with REAL pain as he cried every time we drove anywhere. It was almost more than my heart could take!
I remember when he was about 4 years old and decided one day that hugging and kissing his mom goodbye before going to preschool was NOT COOL! In fact, he thought it was embarrassing! I was heartbroken! literally heartbroken!
Ethan has always had the best imagination! It was always so fun to watch him as he imagined things up in his head. Does anyone remember "Friend Dos"? That's actually Friend Ghost for those of you who don't remember. Friend Dos was apart of our family for quite some time. We loved Friend Dos!
I never wanted anything bad to happen to Ethan. But I can remember the first time Ethan was mistreated at school. I turned into a Raging Mad Mom from... well, you know where! I was so angry and EVERYONE down at that school knew it! Nobody messes with my boy!
Ethan has always impressed me. He has always had a talent for drawing. From the time he was very young he could watch a movie and then from memory draw all the animated characters really well! Ethan has single handedly read more books than I could ever imagine reading in my lifetime.
Ethan is one smart kid! When he was probably 5 years old we asked him if he would like to work at Disneyland someday. He answered with a "NO! I want to own Disneyland someday. I want to be the boss of Disneyland!" Around that same age he started his own little business drawing letters of the alphabet for people. He charged 1 dollar per letter. However with every order the letter A was free! It was fun to watch him at family events go around and try to sell his aunts, uncles, and grandparents on this idea. He made $26.00 at one family gathering and then told me that I needed to make the letters for him. When I told him "No Ethan, this is your business and you need to be the one to do the work." He said, "No I'm the boss and you need to do what I say!" I told him, "Well you don't pay good and your not being a very nice boss and so I
QUIT!" "You can't quit!" "Oh yes I can!" ....And then he made the letters himself!
Ethan makes us proud! He is GOOD to the core! He tries his best to do what's right and to live his life in a way that his Heavenly Father would be pleased. He won't even drink anything caffeinated! At dinner he sits and waits patiently for a blessing on the food before eating. Sometimes I don't realize that he has been sitting there waiting. He always reminds us to have family prayer each night and before his 13th birthday this year he finished reading the Book of Mormon. Last year Ethan received the priesthood and passed the Sacrament for the first time. What a special experience that was! There is just nothing like watching your baby grow up, make good choices, and do you proud!

Happy Birthday Ethan!
We sure do love you!