14 years with Bud... how have we done it?

(warning: partial re-post)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD!

I found a few pictures that describe the adventure that has been the past 14 years with Bud. No one can adequately describe what life with Bud has been like as he is as unique as a $3 bill. Hopefully these pictures can give a bit of a glimpse.

Age 1

Age 2

2 years and already working the phones

 By 18 months we had to Bud proof the house. We bungeed ovens, dishwashers and fridges shut. We even used bungees to hold the kitchen chair legs together under the table so that he wouldn't use them to wreck havoc or get himself killed.

This about sums up Bud's whole personality.

He LOVED The Price is Right and Blues Clues. He had every Blues Clues gizmo, gadget and replica known to man. Here he is singing with his Blue. Cute Bud.

Hmmm...how did he get up there? I can guarantee that those chairs are bungeed together under that table.  Dude that is a couple of U.G.L.Y. couches.

Age 7 at the Salt Lake Bees game. (baseball)

Age 8 Fisherman's Wharf CA

We enrolled him in a hip hop dance class for a few years and he really loved showing his 'tude. He was one "bad" dude.

He started football at age 11. I had always said we could try it when he was 12. Not only was it hard holding his dad off that long, his pediatrician took one look at him at his yearly check up and told me I was crazy not to let him play. "He will not be the one to get hurt in a collision" he said. "He is built for the game and somewhere there is a team out there searching for a player just like him." Dad was thrilled, Bud was scared and so was mom and we forked over the wad of cash and registered. I have to admit, it was the best thing we could have done for him. His confidence, body image, self esteem, social skills, work ethic and overall health have benefited so much from the two years he has played. He has a real talent and improves every day he is on the field. (He is also dang cute when he's all decked out in his uniform.)

The whole family; Nana, Papa, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Jay and baby Connor all come out to see him play each week. I wonder some times if he is as excited as the rest of us for the season to start.

Cabo San Lucas 2010

I feel old this year.  Other birthdays have come and gone and I don't seem as effected as I do this year.  Maybe it's because this year he is getting an electric razor for his birthday.  Something just seems wrong about that!

We love our Bud.

To catch some of the Conversations with Bud (which are a serious crack up) click on the tag below "conversations with bud"