June 11: FIFTEEN

Schooooool's. Out. For. Summer!

Our favorite boy has finished his freshman year this month and turned 15. The gratitude we feel for the gift of this year is beyond measure and we are ready for a summer of memories with Little Buddy!

Ninth grade complete!

Unfortunately, because of the shift of Little Buddy's school year, he didn't get any rest. Instead we slid right into our various summer camps.  First up, VBS!

     

Ready for another year of VBS! This year, Little Buddy and I are helping in the snack kitchen!

     

Love that our VBS celebrates Little Buddy's birthday each year, even if this year was a little early!

     

     

Ready for birthday pie!

A great week of VBS!

We also had yet another great WILLPower Lemonade stand this right after VBS with nearly $8,000 raised for the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation!

     

A great turnout and a happy boy!

Then it was time for WOW Science Camp. Little Buddy was excited for his special needs class again and Little Sweetie was actually old enough to be a  Junior Volunteer this year (how??). They even sweetly celebrated our boy's birthday. 

     

Checking out all the animals!

     

     

Enjoying experiments and crafts!

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!

     

Chuy's birthday lunch!

It's incredible to believe that our Little Buddy is now 15. It's also hard to believe that he's now been diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome for over 10 years. Emotionally, this birthday was a tough one for me, especially with all the changes and hardships our guy has faced this past year. But this is the hand we have been dealt and this is the boy we have to love and love him we do, just as he is. We are so grateful for our time with him and grateful to celebrate him (even if midweek birthdays are tough!). 

     

Last night of 14!

     

Our handsome 15 year old!

     

Birthday pie!

Delicious!

     

     

     

Lots of fun opening presents!

When we aren't busy with camps or birthdays, we have been keeping ourselves busy with sports...

     

Little Sister's biggest supporter at swim meets!

     

Cheering on L at baseball!

...graduation parties...

Recreating pictures at K's graduation party!

...and keeping cool with swimming and boating!

Pool time!

      

First boat outing didn't go as planned due to weather, so we were regulated to boat picnic in the garage.

     

     

Our next boat day with friends went much better!

Weight

Holding strong right now at 128 pounds!  Still eating slowly, but maintaining weight.

Personality

So much happier and more engaged now that school is out, thank goodness! Still dealing with camp tiredness, but hopefully once we settle into the "break" part of summer, we'll get more happy interactions. 

     

     

Hello handsome!

Developmental Changes

Diving starting into camps immediately following the end of the school year was definitely not his (or our favorite) and he (and Little Sister) are worn out with their busy days night now. Hoping all the deep napping is just them catching up on rest right now and nothing more. 

     

     

So sleepy.

Fun Tidbits

Little Buddy's birthday means it's time for birthday pictures! Our amazing photographer did a great job yet again of capturing these precious memories. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

Happy birthday Little Buddy!

Another year of blessings with our big boy.  There are so many emotions around this and it has been overwhelming at times, but the reality is that no day is for certain, so getting to celebrate 15 means so much. 

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma