10-year-old in da house!

It's hard to imagine I gave birth 10 years ago.  In some ways it feels like Brady has been around for a while, but not 10 years.  That's a long time!  His birth was my least favorite of our four children. Let's go back to post-Christmas 2006 in sunny Southern California on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. I was in the hospital being induced for something like 44 hours before we finally concluded that a c-section would have to get the job done.  It was December 31, and I was determined not to be pregnant in the new year, especially considering he was already 8 days late!

All suited up for surgery

I was quite fascinated with the whole process.  I wished there was a mirror on the ceiling so I could see all those organs coming out of my numb body.  I told Cory to watch, but he didn't want to.  The surgery seemed to go quickly, and after some pressure somewhere on my body (my chest maybe?), and a loud suction sound, out came our healthy baby boy.  As soon as I heard that cry I was in tears.  There is nothing like finally meeting your baby for the first time after all those months thinking about and planning for him/her.

 Just for fun I'm including a picture of Brady every year of his life.  10 is a big deal, so it gets a longer post in my book.  And he is just too cute to pass up the opportunity!

And that brings us to his 10th birthday.  He got to party with his best buddies.

They were all good sports putting on my purple glittery sleep mask for the pinata-whacking.

 

We have never done a pinata before.  It seems like something for younger kids, but these boys ate it up!

 Speaking of eating...Brady has chosen to go to Golden Corral for his birthday dinner 3 years in a row.

 Then we go to Boondocks, three years in a row.  But we mixed it up with bowling this time.

 The kids all cheered each other on and it was so fun watching them enjoy being together.  (That is definitely not the case around here much of the time!)

Cory was sick, so he stayed home with Jocelyn.  Fortunately Grandma was here to help us celebrate.

That said, Brady is such a sweet big brother.  Yes, he does have some serious manipulating skills as most oldest children do, but his compassion, generosity and thoughtfulness outweigh everything else.  For example, he requested a big bouncy ball for a birthday present so his siblings could play with it.  He is always sharing with them and looking out for them, and thankfully they have modeled that behavior.  There is a lot of pressure on the oldest child to be a good example.  I have always seen Brady as someone who has the desire to do what's right and please his parents and Heavenly Father.  He is a straight arrow in that regard.  He has grown in all aspects this year including spiritually.  I imagine he will be serving a mission 10 years from now and continuing to be a good example to his brother and sisters.