10 Years Ago...

I've been trying to figure out what I was going to write for this post for the longest time, and i'm still not exactly sure. I've had such feelings running around in my head with Byron's upcoming 10th birthday. I really can't believe that he's 10. In my head I just keep repeating 10 years, 10 years, ten years ago that we had him. Where has all the time gone? When he was born I felt complete. I knew this was what I was supposed to do and I was finally able to start doing it. Each year it feels like my purpose is ending. I know this is not totally true, so I remind myself of all the wonderful times I've had with him and all the amazing times that are still to come. How he's grown and turned into the amazing 10 year old that he is baffles me at times. I couldn't be prouder of someone then I am of him. He brings out the best in both me and Porter. We feel so blessed to be a part of his life. And even though we tell him each day to stop growing, we love watching him turn into the man that he will become. Happy Birthday Byron

The Big 10

Here he is our one and only.

For his birthday he asked for a strawberry cake, but not just a regular cake he wanted a really tall cake like they make on food network challenges. I gave it my best shot and made my first ever 4 layer cake. Yes that that's right, 4 layers made with only 1 9 in cake pan. It was a true labor of love. But was this enough for our man? Nope, he also thought we should have chocolate cupcakes in case someone didn't like strawberry, and maybe a trifle, because he and dad really like trifle.
As you can see I drew the line at the trifle.

The morning of the party I headed out with Byron to get the candy for the party. Before we left he pulled me aside and said "Mom, do you think that just for today you can pretend like we have all the money in the world, and by all the candy I want?" fortunately he didn't seem to want to much. His big request was every brand of jelly beans imaginable to man. I was pleasantly surprised the next morning to find the majority of the candy uneaten. =)

Here is Byron's crew, clockwise from Byron, Robbie, Bruno and Trey. These boys are great! We couldn't ask for a better set of boys to be Byron's friends.

Roller-Rama

Byron decided to go roller skating for his birthday this year. This was our first time skating in Maryland and it was a bit different. There are a surprisingly few rinks here in MD but we did manage to find one although, it was a bit different then what we were used to. Apparently people in Maryland take their roller skating seriously. When we got there an 80 year old woman was sitting in the DJ booth giving roller skating lessons to patrons. We found the skate counter and discovered that the skates were 80 years old too. Byron actually brought his own roller blades but when the 80 year old counter attendant saw that Byron was wearing roller blades he was not happy. He pointed to a sign that said "No rollerblades unless brakes are taped - .50c." We paid the .50c. and got 4 inches of duck tape. He informed us that the professional rollerskaters did not like to see scuff marks on the rink. It was pretty funny. I didn't even know there were such things as professional rollerskaters anymore. Apparently we had stepped through a time warp. =) I wasn't planning on skating but when the music started and one of the boys wasn't getting it I jumped at the chance to lace up those 80 year old skates. When I wasn't keeping a 10 year old from falling I had a wonderful time and pretended that I was 11 again trying to get back to xanadu! Oh the memories. But I have to say it is downright tiring watching little one's skate. They put so much effort into what should be an effortless activity. But at least they had fun and only had 1 blister between them.

If you look closely you can see Byron giving you the thumbs up

Last but not least, the presents

Byron asked for 3 things this year, an Ipod, a controller for his wii and a ripstick. He got everything with a few exceptions. He didn't get an ipod (were not made of money here) instead he got a spongebob mp3 player $12 vs $50. We told him that if he kept this in good condition and didn't loose it maybe for christmas he could move on up to the ipod. So far we only had 1 song that was in the right form to download, so for the last day and a half he has been walking around with the earphones in listening to the one song over and over. He's feeling pretty cool right now. He pretty much already knew that a ripstick was in the big box so as soon as he unwrapped it he and his friends spent the next 5 minutes playing with the packaging. So even though it's been 10 years he still finds boxes and filler more fun then toys.



The crash at 2:00 am


The awakening. Byron was the first up then Bruno. The two of them sat there and stared at Trey and Robbie until they finally woke up. Byron had never heard of anybody besides his dad sleeping past 9:00 am.

Pinewood Derby 2010

We'd like to introduce you to Sting, Byron's 2010 Derby Winner. Byron placed 1st in every heat and 2nd or 3rd depending on how you look at it overall. Porter, I mean Byron worked really hard on the car this year. Way to go Byron (porter)!

Third Place

Not bad little man!

Boy in a Box

I've got to say when this trick was first done in a suitcase it was adorable, this time it was a bit more shocking. Porter was finally getting rid of this old box. He asked me for help breaking it down, I should have known then what was in store. But now we know that Byrons can still fit in boxes for shipping so if anyone wants some company we have a box, and a Byron.

The Sound of an Out of Tune Piano

Now everyone can enjoy the sound of our un-tunned piano. This is a piece he'd only been working on for a day or two so it's a little rough, but I'm still amazed that he's using the foot pedal and moving his hand positions. I never even made it to using sharps and flats.