Sweet Sixteen

Will turned 16 yesterday.  And I must admit it has been rather emotional for me. He is my oldest child.  He is the one who made me a mother.  And it was not easy in the beginning.  Who am I kidding?-- it is not easy now either! But it was really hard then.

The first year of Will's life was really tough. We faced more than a lot of couples/families face in a lifetime. I won't go into it all because he would probably rather I didn't but it was not an easy adjustment to motherhood.  We spent a lot of time worrying about Will.  So, to see him grow up into this amazing and responsible young man is really rewarding. I am so proud of who he is as a person.

I love my relationship with Will.  He talks to me more than I think most teen boys do.  Yes, we bicker and he drives me nuts with certain things (driving and not planning ahead!).  But seriously, I think he is a really awesome kid.  He loves God.  He is a good friend. He works hard at school and his job.  He always asks us how our day was.  He is striving to be a "man for others " which is the focus of his Jesuit high school. And he is not spoiled. He rides public transportation to school or practice if I need him to and he does not ask for much.  He is always super appreciative of anything we give him.  I really could not ask for a better teenage son.

For his birthday, Will did not want a big fuss. He was not interested in a big party or dinner with lots of friends. He wanted to play a round of golf with his Dad and his best friend (they have been friends since they were 4-5 months old!).

Will and one of this best friends, David.
David is really tall. Like 6'4 tall.

After 18 holes of golf, the guys got cleaned up and we took Will and a few friends out to dinner.




A few quick family pics before dinner.  It was 99 degrees and super humid!
Gotta love Houston in the summertime.



My 3 peanuts.
{Kate is 7, Will, 16 and Harry, 12}
How did that happen?


We went to the original Carrabba's on Kirby
(which is not part of the franchised chain so the menu is a little different. They are still a locally owned family restaurant so the food is really really good).

David, Will and Thomas
These boys are so cute and nice and funny.  Will and Thomas play baseball and Will plays water polo.
They are all on the honor roll too.  Great boys!

Okay, enough of my bragging;)




We sat at the table next to the boys.  Our good friend Cathy came with us.
 She is Harry's godmother and Will's friend, David's Mom.




I think the boys had some good laughs.





Hard to see but the cake and candle is behind the water glass.
He really appreciated the waiters singing to him. HA!

We gave Will some Vineyard Vines and Polo clothes and Costas sunglasses for this birthday. I guess these sunglasses are good for being around water a lot and between water polo and lifeguarding, Will is around sun and water all the time! He is all prepped out.

I am going to do another post on Will's birthday and a little photo shoot we did last week.  I want to share a personal story or two for my memories.  There is so much catching up I have to do on this blog.  It was Kate's birthday a few weeks ago and I never even posted about it! I have been working a lot and that leaves little time for blogging.  But it looks like my schedule is really light this week so hopefully, I can get caught up on the blog.


Happy Birthday Will.  I love you!