FOURTEEN

Well, I have been waiting for #14.  I thought it was only appropriate that my fourteenth blessing be my eldest child, Jaxon, as he just turned 14 - yep, 14.  I can hardly believe it myself.  It is such a bitter sweet time for me.  I still remember the day he was born - November 12 - 9lbs 3ozs, 20 inches long.  He came out screaming at us all and then promptly whizzed on the doctor.  :)  He loves that story.  He has been full of it ever since then.  

He is growing up so quickly, there have been many days that I have thought, "Oh, if I could just raise him to be a good, decent, happy human being who tries to do the right and helps other people I will be successful."  It has at times been a struggle, I can't tell you how many times he ran away from home - too many to count.  He really likes to tease and cause those around him stress most of the time, well, family anyway.  But, they tell me at school he is great and most people think he is relatively quiet - ha! he really isn't.  He definitely likes to push his limits.  However, he is maturing so much - turning into such a good young man.  He helps me so much whenever he knows I really need it - he is such a blessing to me.  Still, how has he grown so much so quickly?  It baffles me how swiftly the time goes and I wonder, "Have I done enough?  Will he make good choices and be a good example when I am not around?"  He is getting to the point where we really enjoy talking with each other.  He is very logical and if I can give him good reasons for things, then he understands and tries harder.  He is extremely intellectual and thinks about everything - how and why.  And, he can figure out how to fix just about anything.  When he was about 11, he took a computer apart and then reassembled it - making it so only he knew how it worked.  Whenever I can't figure something out, I give it to him and he fixes it for me.  

So, his birthday was on a Saturday and he didn't know quite what to do with himself.  We brought him breakfast in bed, of course.  A new recipe I tried - french toast made with croissants with a banana syrup - it was YUMMY! Plus, bacon, hot chocolate, and a Jamba juice drink.  He loved it.

Then, he just played downstairs on the Wii for a few hours while his dad went to work.  We let him choose if he wanted to invite friends over to watch movies or invite friends over to play basketball but he just wanted to hang out with the family.  He did have a basketball game at 10 - which he played really well in.  He has been playing post this year and is awesome.  Josh had a game at 2:00 so we went to that as well.  After we got home , he was dying to open presents so that came next.  

This is a card Jainie made special for him - you can see she is thrilled.

And, this is a special book that Josie, Jake and Jainie put together for him - with pictures and everything - Josie is a really good sister.

Yep, he loves the Yankees and wanted an official fitted hat.

Jared had a Priesthood Leadership Meeting at 4:30 so while he went to that the rest of us went bowling - Jaxon knocked down 9 pins 6 different times - he dealt with it really well and was still happy at the end.  He did get a spare and a strike later.  

A bunch of crazies.  :)

Then, Jared and I took him out to dinner - Wingers was his choice and he ordered steak, of course, no expense spared on your birthday, I guess.  It was nice to spend time one on one with him - like I have said, he really is getting to be quite a nice young man.  (And, I have to say, I am really glad he is a bit shy so he doesn't want to hang out with girls as much as most of his friends do. :)  That will come soon enough).

All in all, I think he had a nice day.  And, the next day, he was ordained to be a teacher in the priesthood.  It was so special and I am so glad he is making good choices.  Both sides of grandparents got to be there, which was wonderful. 

Afterward, we went over to Gpa and Gma Oldroyd's for dinner for his birthday.  Gpa and Gma Thalman took him out the next weekend for some birthday fun.  He is lucky to have such great grandparents and that we get to live by both of them.

He got tickets to the UofU vs. BYU basketball game - Josh is excited too because he tags along with whatever Jaxon does - they are pretty good friends.

Some other facts about Jaxon:  

1.  He LOVES to read - he reads everything, he hated reading until 5th grade when it   

     finally clicked and off he went.  He is definitely one of the best readers at his school.

2.  He LOVES sports - baseball is his favorite, he loves pitching and 2nd base.  He played

     a bit of 3rd last year as well and did a great job - stopped a couple balls with his shins

     - OUCH!  He also loves basketball - he is a wonderful rebounder.  

3.  He is growing rapidly.  He passed me up a few months ago.  He has grown about an

     inch since his birthday - no kidding - he is now about 5'11".  He wants to be the tallest

     Thalman - right now his dad is at 6'0".  He just might make it.

4.  He likes to act tough but is still just a kid at heart.  He still likes playing with his 

     siblings and loves legos.  He really doesn't like being by himself too much so a sibling 

     is usually with him.

5.  He was so excited when he started growing armpit hair - gross, I know.  It started last

     year - he won't let me take a picture of it.  :)  Yep, I like to embarrass him.

6.  His favorite foods are still venison and shrimp.  And, his favorite color is orange 

     because he learned that orange is the color of flirtation.  :)  Good thing he is too shy to

     flirt much.

7.  He LOVES sweets - he almost always has a hidden stash of candy somewhere - I find

     garbage wrappers everywhere, under couches, behind toys, in his sheets, pockets, etc.

8.  His hands are huge!  I think they are almost as big as his dad's.

9.  He is a sweetheart and really tries to help others even though sometimes it is really 

     hard apparently.

10.  He loves hunting and fishing and wishes he could go more.  Since he can't, he plays

      video games as much as I will let him.  And, he gets very irritable when I make him 

       turn them off, he would play all day and night if I let him.

Happy Birthday Jaxi - we love you more than you will ever know!