Charlie turns 14!!

Charlie turned 14 on Sunday, March 6.  It was a special day, because he got ordained to the office of teacher on his actual birthday.  So Chuck's parents were here to spend the weekend with us and celebrate Charlie's birthday.

I wish I would've taken some pics of Charlie dressed in his Sunday clothes, all handsome and spiffed up.  He just got some new pants and a new white shirt since he keeps growing so fast!  But I didn't, so you'll have to take my word for it that he looked really handsome.  (:  Bishop Stephens called him up in sacrament meeting and said what a good kid Charlie is (and how tall he is) when he had the ward sustain Charlie in his new office.  Bishop also gave me and Chuck a chance to tell Charlie how much we love him and are proud of him when we were gathered for the ordination.  Chuck ordained him, and it was a really special and memorable experience.  Charlie is such a good kid.  I am really proud of him.  It is easy for me to focus on the everyday teenage aggravating things, and overlook the big picture of how great he is.  I need to kick myself all the time, and remind myself to be more positive and loving and quit griping about the stuff that really doesn't matter in the long run!!  ANYWAY, here are some pix of Charlie opening his birthday gifts.

This kid is pretty easy to please.  Some money, some candy, a little bit of Air Jordan gear, and he was happy as could be.  We let him get his main birthday gift a little early: Beats headphones.  He used his $100 Christmas money, and we advanced him the rest to get the really expensive (but in his words, EPIC) headphones.  So some of his birthday money was spent reimbursing us for the headphones.  I'm trying to convince him to save the rest for the next big purchase he wants to make, but Charlie has never really been much of a saver.  We'll see...

Here's the proud Dad and Granny.  It seems impossible that Charlie is 14 already.  We looked at his baby book on his birthday, and it seemed like yesterday to me that I was hugely pregnant with him, so super uncomfortable and back aching.  I remember so clearly that hospital room, and the moment of his birth, and finding out his weight (10 lbs 6.5oz!), and marveling at what a miracle he was.  The love you feel at the birth of your first child is so unexpected and overwhelming!   To Charlie, his birth was ages ago, but to me, it just happened.  I can't believe 14 years have flown by. He's stayed big for his age all along, and now he's 6 feet 2 1/2 inches tall!!  My baby!  ANWAY...on Monday night we took him out to dinner at Native New Yorker (his choice) and then Bahama Buck's.  He also got a carvel cake to enjoy.  Charlie is a great kid, and I feel so very blessed to be his mom.