OfFiCiAlLy A TeEnAgEr!!!

(This picture was taken at the Labor Day Tournament in Spanish Fork- We were down by 2 and Zach was up with bases loaded-he hits a homerun to win the game! I just love the smile on his face!)

On October 2, 2011 this "once" little boy of mine turned 13! Yes, we officially have a teenager now! It is crazy to think that he used to be this little...

This was his first day of Preschool

I love this picture of him and Boston

Zach is 6 and Boston is 9 months old

Zach with Brinley (3 1/2 yrs. old)

I always stay up and blow up balloons to put in my kids rooms on their birthdays, but since this teenager of mine likes to stay up late, I went to bed before him and didn't get it done! Him and Morgan stayed up watching a movie, and I just couldn't stay awake... so it worked out perfectly, we did it in the morning and I even got Brinley and Boston's help! They thought it was great!

They were good little helpers, and it sure beat doing it all myself!

Yes, Zach was UNDER all those balloons!

He woke up when we started throwing them on his bed, but we made him stay there for a picture! :) They went to town with all the balloons! We had them everywhere! I finally made him pop them all this last weekend! I was sick of them all over the house!

I made his favorite breakfast, Puff Pancakes with Candy syrup, and for dinner he wanted Bar-b-que Beef and Texas Caviar! He could live off of this stuff! I make it almost every weekend during the summer, and I thought he would be sick of it, but he wanted MORE! He loves to help me make it too, which is always fun!

Zach's birthday is always over General Conference weekend, this year it was on a Sunday, so we spent the day hanging out, it was so nice! Halle really loved Zach this day, it was the best birthday present she could have given him! He LOVED it! They hung out together, reading books, playing my iPod, and she even fell asleep on him! So, So sweet! She hasn't done that since she was a tiny baby!

Halle kinda got into the cake that was cooling on the table when I was in the shower...

oops! She loved it though! I loved her little mischievous look here!

And my kids knew me better and even took pictures for me to see!

You can see exactly where her little chin was!

This was during the Sunday afternoon session!

So cute!

Zach looks so big!

I made Zach our traditional chocolate layered cake, but used a Snickers bar instead, since that is his fave!

I meant to put a pic with all of us, but this one came up and I didn't want to change it!

We went out Monday night to celebrate at Texas Roadhouse! He even got to ride the saddle!

This was Zach after eating his big steak dinner! He loved every bite of it, and this is how he felt after...He looks like he's going to explode!

Mmmmmmm!

My cute boys!

I can't believe he is 13 already! I feel like his birthday snuck up on us this year, things have been so busy! He picked out everything he wanted online this year, it is the first time we have let him pick out what he wanted instead of surprising him! Another sign that he's growing up!

The sad part was that none of his presents got here in time for his birthday! Bad planning on MY part! We even tried to pay for the 1-2 day shipping and they still wouldn't have made it on time! So, his presents didn't come until Tuesday, but it was still fun for him to get them delivered! So... he didn't open up any presents on his birthday, he was a good sport about it though! He got money from both his grandparents, and my sister gave him a card with money too, so he wasn't forgotten that's for sure!

Zach has grown up so much in this last year! For those of you who have seen him you would know that he went through a big growth spurt this year! He's almost taller than me and from September-April he grew about 4 in! We have it marked on our wall! At the time we didn't realize he was growing so much, but he was eating ALL of the time! And he would eat MORE than Morgan or I! I kinda miss him eating so much now, cuz now he just eats normal! He grew 2 shoe sizes and now wears an 11 1/2! He weighs 145 pds!

I feel like he is my newborn baby and I'm updating his growth status! Haha!

But it's crazy how big he is!!! I think he kinda likes it, he is definitely one of the biggest kids in his grade at the Middle School!

Zach is such a good kid! He always has been! He is always happy, and has a good attitude!

He is a leader, and kids look up to him! He is an example to everyone around him! He is the one on the team to pick everyone else up if they are down, you can't help but be happy when you are around him! What a great trait to have! He has a great sense of humor! Just this morning when I was taking him to school he was making me laugh in the car!

I get to take Zach to school every morning, he wasn't too excited about it at first, and wanted to ride the bus, but I love the time that we have together in the car, just us, after I drop Brinley and Boston off. I like knowing that he made it to school safe, and I like watching him walk into the school, and being with his friends. He doesn't complain, he just knows how to make the best of things, even if he doesn't like it!

I got to go to the school last Friday for an in-class choir concert to watch him! It was so much fun, and I love what he is learning! He used to take piano, he took for a couple yrs. and then I let him quit cuz he was too busy with football, I regret letting him, cuz I think he really has talent, and if he practiced would be really good. His teacher told me the same thing! Zach loves music! He can listen to a song and learn the words like that! He loves to sing, but doesn't think he is very good! But I do! He makes us laugh when he sings! He can be such a dork!

I am so thankful to have this kid in my life! He has brought so much joy into our lives, and I know there are many more memories to be made!

Sometimes I wish I could just FREEZE time! It seems to go by too quickly these days, and I just want to zap my kids so they can't grow up! o.k. not really, I have enjoyed watching Zach grow into a Young man! He is experiencing so many fun things in his life right now! He got to go to his first dance at the Middle School last month, and thought that was pretty awesome! I couldn't believe when I found out they had dances!!! They never had them when I went to Middle School!

Zach really wants us to finish a room for him in the basement, we'll have to see about that one!

He also has decided that he wants to have "hair" now! His whole life I have shaved his head! And this summer when we bleached it, I let him grow it out, and he doesn't want to cut it! I don't really care, he can wear it how he wants, he looks cute with it longer! And I think it gives him personality! Thanks for just being YOU Zach! Glad you had a Happy Birthday, and thanks for being patient with us as your parents! We only want what's best for you, and for you to be Happy! We love you!