Brodie

I was 38 when I had Brodie. Yes, old. Here’s a quick recap of the first 2 years: gallbladder surgery for me when Brodie was 7 weeks old; RSV and 3 days in the hospital for Brodie just as he turned 3 months; breathing treatments every 2 hours following that hospital stay that really messed up his sleep schedule; crying, fussing and basic dissatisfaction with everything the first 2 years of his life (Brodie, not me); didn’t sleep through the night until he was 19 months (that would be both of us). Needless to say, it was a rough period of time for the whole family. We always laugh at this picture that pretty much sums up those first couple of years. If Jamie had been with us, his face would have been much like Tylar’s.

But slowly he grew out of the fussing and waking up 5-10 times a night, and we saw that he was much more than crying. He was crazy smart. He was funny. He was scared of clouds, dogs, and baseballs coming out of a pitching machine, among other things. He was very tech savvy. He was creative. He had an adult’s vocabulary.

And so he grew and grew into the 14 year old he is today. He is still crazy smart, tech savvy, funny and has that advanced vocabulary. He isn’t scared of clouds, dogs and baseballs anymore. Sleep is just now becoming important to him. As he becomes a young man, I am so impressed with his love for Jesus, his willingness to walk away from behavior that isn’t becoming, his amazing creativity, and his insistence on being an individual. He has a quiet confidence when it comes to being himself, and I think that is really amazing for someone his age. He is comfortable with himself, and thank goodness he is. There was a time when I wondered how he would react to being Tylar’s younger sibling. He could have felt pressure to live up to her, but he really isn’t very impressed with all of her accomplishments. He is making his own way, and I love watching it. Here are some of my favorite photos of him from over the years. I have probably 30 more that are similar. Someday, I’m going to make him an album with all of his crazy poses. I hope he never outgrows them.