this kid...

He never listens to me; every year I tell him to stop growing, but he doesn't listen to me. So, here we are, another year older and hopefully wiser.

Where does the time go? And how did he get so big?

He didn't seem very enthusiastic about going out to celebrate tonight, but he did go, so that's something. I think his friends were doing something tonight, but he decided to to keep our family tradition of birthday celebrating going.

It was really casual and low-key: dinner at Chick-Fil-a and then ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. He was glued to his phone most of the time, most likely texting his friends to tell them how lame we are, but oh well. He also didn't have any ice cream, claiming it was too cold for it, so we got our treats to go and headed home.

Quick and quiet, that was our evening.

I've been learning not to take it personally when Ryan doesn't seem thrilled to spend time with us; he is, after all, a teenager and his friends are what's most important at the moment. But, I can't help but feel sad a little, too. I mean, he'll be a high school senior next year and plans to serve a mission soon after graduating. We don't have too much time left to spend with him and it's hard to compete for his attention with his friends.

Such is life, I guess.

Happy Birthday, Ryan! Love you to the sky and back!

Anyway, here's the requisite list of reasons why I love this kid:

17 Reasons Why I Love Ryan

  1. He likes to tease and joke around with me

  2. Lame jokes still make him laugh.

  3. He seeks me out to talk with me.

  4. He still likes to pray with me before he leaves for school in the morning.

  5. He treats his female friends with respect and courtesy.

  6. He's very intelligent.

  7. He works hard in school.

  8. He loves his siblings even though they drive him crazy most of the time.

  9. He loves our dogs.

10. He enjoys family time when he's not out and about with his friends

11. He's responsible.

12. He's very respectful and kind to others.

13. He tells me he loves me before he leaves the house.

14. His smile makes me smile.

15. He'll text me during school even when he's not supposed to.

16. He genuinely cares about his friends.

17. He's very creative when it comes to entertaining himself and/or others.