I Have a 10-year-old

There is nothing that makes me feel older than seeing how old my kids are getting. Austin turned 10 on August 11th, and even though he has looked at least 10 for quite a while, it still got to me when people kept asking him how old he was that day, and he kept saying 10. Weird. I guess it takes a while to sink in when your "baby" is that old. I'll be in real trouble when he turns 30 ...

He got some fun Lego sets to spends hours and hours putting together. He loves that kind of stuff. Just the site of everything that comes out of a Lego set box makes me a little dizzy, but he gets all excited and jumps right in there and goes to work. A few hours later, he has some amazing contraption all put together with hundreds of little pieces. Amazing. He also got an Indiana Jones computer game which he is now obsessed with. I guess it must be a pretty fun game, because he talked Dave into playing it with him and Jackson the other night, and I had to threaten to turn off the power to the house before they'd quit playing and get to bed (it was a school night - HELLO?!!). We got him an Ipod shuffle too, and he loves it, but I think I've used it more than he has .... comes in handy on my bike rides. Thanks Austin!


We let Austin pick between having a friend birthday party or going to a place like Seven Peaks or Boondocks or something like that. His choice was Seven Peaks, and his reason for not wanting a party was "I don't like all the attention to be on me." He is definitely my most sensitive and tenderhearted kid and gets embarrassed pretty easily. He's definitely not one for large crowds. The choice was fine for us, and we had a great day at Seven Peaks. I forget how fun that place is. Next year we'll have to go a little more often I think ...

Austin lucked out and got two cakes - a cupcake one after Seven Peaks and brownie sundaes with ice cream a few days later. Lucky kid. I guess that means he got two wishes too ... that could come in handy.


Austin was really interested this year in my time being pregnant with him and the fact that he was over a week late. I mentioned to him on August 3rd that he was supposed to be born that day, and he was all annoyed that he had to wait 8 more days for his actual birthday. Of course, I shared with him that 10 years ago I had those very same feelings ...

It was fun to share with him about how I felt when he was born and some of the stories from his first few days. He's never really asked about it before, so that was kind of nice to remember that time and talk about it with him. Austin was born via an emergency C-section after 16 hours of unproductive labor and a rapidly sinking heart rate on his part. There were complications for me with the anesthesia during that procedure and additional complications with the pain relief following the surgery. Austin wasn't doing that great himself, so I didn't get to see him or hold him after he was born. He was born at 12:18 in the morning. Around 4:00 a.m. I woke up from the anesthesia and still hadn't seen or held him. The nurse who came in to move me knew I hadn't even seen him or touched him yet and felt so bad for me that she caused a big scene and likely broke a few rules to make it happen. While wheeling me down the hall to my room, she steered my big old bed right into the nursery and right up next to his little incubator. I was so groggy and out of it, so she lifted my arm up and into his little incubator and put his foot in my hand and just let me hold it and feel his little toes. I was so touched and so grateful to her for that moment. I had been through so much that day (and night) and was so grateful to feel the reward of all my efforts. Just holding his foot made it all worth it.

Austin loved hearing that story, and I love it too. I remember it so well. I guess it hasn't been that long after all. We are so grateful for Austin. He is such a peacemaker in our family and reminds us all to be kind to each other. He has such a kind heart and truly cares about others. It is fun to see his talents emerge and develop and to watch his progress in school and scouts and sports and everything he does. He is a big help to me and spends a lot of time entertaining London and T.J. and even Jackson with his wild imagination. He comes up with some crazy stuff to do, and they love it. He is an amazing brother. Way to go Austin. Happy Birthday!