Sunday, May 12, 2013

I Am Now the Parent of a Teenager

Today my sweet boy Elliot turned 13. At 1:22 am to be exact PST. He was brought into the world after over 22 hours of labor and 3.5 hours of pushing. 21 inches long and 8 pounds 4 ounces of the cutest baby boy ever. I am now the parent of a teenager. 13 years. 13 years. 13. Years. Gulp. Big Breath. 13. I just cannot believe it is already here, I cannot believe he is almost done with seventh grade, is now just barely beginning to get pimples, and is just eating, constantly eating. I think another growth spurt is coming on. 13. 13 Years Old. Sigh.

I wish I had all of my layouts photographed (that is something I just started doing in August of 2012, even though I started scrapbooking 17 years ago. My first few months of photographing layouts are not very good, I was learning and using only a camera phone. I am in the process of re-shooting about 60 layouts that I have already photographed now that i have a descent camera and photoshop, as well as slowly photographing many other layouts that have never been photographed. At this rate, it might take me a year to get it all done, but it will be someday. Probably more like 2-3 years with the amount of albums I have. It is nice to have a digital copy of all of it, just in case anyways. ;-)

Today I thought I would share some of my favorite layouts of my son at various ages, ( at least of the one's photographed) so let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we? I am also writing a letter to Elliot that I am sharing with you.

 The Early Years:








 Preschool:


Grade School:



Middle School:









My Dear Sweet Elliot,

I Love You. Thank you for being my son. You are the greatest kid in the world. To me you are perfect just as you are. Because of you, I have become a better person, an advocate for others, and I greatly admire your ability to live life without concerning yourself with what other's think . You are so smart, quirky, hysterically quick-witted,  and you are a momma's boy (in the very best sense.) You have an empathetic and kind heart and truly want to always believe the best in people. You always strive to do the right thing and have no problem admitting your wrong and saying you're sorry. You are a great friend and brother. Everyone that meets you becomes a better person just by knowing you. You are amazing. You inspire me each and everyday. You are fabulously different in the most amazing ways. You make me laugh harder, smile bigger, and learn not to take things so seriously sometimes. You have also reminded me the importance of deep breaths and slowing down before you react. Your love of books and knowledge astound me, you have a such a great memory for all kinds of details that most people forget. You have some of the best one-liners in the history of the world. I love how involved you get in the things that interest you. I love that you research things you want to know more about. You never stop asking questions. You always want to know more, understand more, be more. You are nothing short of my everything. I am so incredibly, monumentally, indescribably proud of you. There is not a day that goes by that I do not thank God for you.

Elliot, you rock!

Mom



Thanks for stopping by today. I will be back tomorrow with a Project Life share, plus lots of other goodies all week long.

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

26 comments:

  1. Congratulations on becoming the mother of a teenager. Some beautiful layouts, Toni. Good luck with going back and taking photos of all the earlier ones. It sounds like a massive job.

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    1. Thank you Claire. It will be a massive job, but I will just take it one album, a few layouts at a time.

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  2. Great layouts! Really emphasize how time flies! Good luck with the teenage years!

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  3. Wow you are so talented. Your pages are beautiful!! Sweet letter :)

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    1. What a lovely compliment, thank you Emily.

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  4. Wow, so many gorgeous layouts! Happy Birthday to Elliott!

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  5. Love your message to your Son! So heart felt!!

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  6. Awesome pages. Happy Birthday to your boy. Beautiful letter!

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  7. I love your pages! Your style is so modern and fun! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I just love this. My son will be 6 this summer and it seems like time has flown by. All of your layouts and your letter are just wonderful!

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    1. Thank you Erica. You should write your son a letter this summer. 6 is such a fun age.

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  9. What a wonderful tribute to your son! He sounds awesome. :)

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  10. All around great work. Thanks for sharing your letter.

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  11. Such great layouts!!! Love your style!

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  12. Love seeing all the layouts over time! Great work!

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