Happy 13th Birthday Josh!

It is wild to think that 13 years ago, I gave birth to this incredible guy!

I can’t believe that we officially welcome teen #4 into the house! The more I gain experience with teens, the more I realize what a joy it is to have them in the home…and what a stress! I am so excited to start another year with Josh.

I am so glad that I had the privilege of going to Madrid with Josh in October with his soccer team. Spending that one on one time with him at this stage in life was truly priceless. I got to know him in a different way, and got to share with him his passion of soccer, and got to learn more about him through how he plays and the friends that he plays with.

Josh is such an awesome guy, let me share with you 13 reasons why:

1.He is not afraid to be HIM. He is who he is, and doesn’t try to be someone he isn’t.

2. He has an awesome smile and he loves to laugh. He can be silly, light hearted and ridiculous. And get completely carried way and take it too far….

3. He is a passionate person. Passionate about everything he does. He is an “on” or “off” kind of guy. He’e either there or not. He’s awake or dead asleep.

4. He is an awesome soccer player and great team player. He’s not afraid to go after the ball, get feedback from his coach, and celebrates success with his team. He’s pretty skilled at a bunch of sports and brings the same enthusiasm and passion.

5. He’s a hard worker. He heads home right from school and gets down to homework. He gets upset with a bad mark. He puts his all into things. He works at his soccer skills non stop. He can be anything he wants to be as he has the drive.

6. He likes to be punctual. In fact, always wants to be a bit early. He tell me his coach tells him “if you aren’t early then you are late.” He reminds me 20 times before going to bed if he needs to get up early for something (e.g. basketball practice)

7. He is hilarious! He gets us laughing! We have so many “funny Josh” moments and stories – and he lets us share them over and over again (for the most part!)

8. He has this amazingly sensitive, soft, warm, spiritual side. He cares deeply and you catch glimmers of it and I love it when I see it! I see his testimony growing, I see how he makes connections with things with his heart and spirit.

9. He loves his Doggie and it is so cute to watch them together.

10. He loves his specific food (ok, sugar). He loves desserts and candy, but he can equally love weird things like this tomato feta dip I make, or calamari, or cheese stuffed mushrooms… he just enjoys the food enjoys with such gusto. And yet, he does quirky things too, like eats most cereal dry….

11. He’s a good brother. He irritates, annoys, gets in their face and fights back like any good brother should do. But, he also cares about how they do in soccer, can share (at times), listens to them, laughs with them and will even let Zandra give him a hug!

12. He knows he is still my baby and lets me still be his mama (at times!) I love our movie spots together on the floor and he puts his head on my leg and we stay warm in our big cozy blankets. Not sure how much longer this will last, but I’m taking every second of it! I love that he lets me gush on about how much I love him, hug him or tickle him and he tolerates it! I love that I can send him a long, mushy text and get back a tiny one word response. He humours me by letting me take a million pictures. He lets me be the crazy Mama Barbaloot!

13. He is super “determined” (also can be stubborn). What an amazing quality (when channeled the right way). It will help him get through those tough life times and help him become the guy that I know he is capable of being.

I love this kid and can’t wait to see the adventure of his life unfold. He is off to great places and I’m so proud to be his Mom and be right there beside him for a while longer in this next phase of life!