My first baby is 10!

I remember the day I first saw Brandon....it was December 21st, 1999. The social worker brought him to where I worked and set him on a chair in the reception area. He had a blue and grey/silver coat and had a blue blanket sorta wrapped around his little legs. I remember thinking he was such a cute little baby with round cheeks and dark round eyes. I was doing foster care and was only supposed to have him for a few weeks. I grabbed him up from that chair and talked to the Social worker for a few minutes before I had to leave to drop him off at home with my roommate so I could finish out my day at work. He would start at the daycare in my building the next day. When I got home that night he was getting attached to my roommate and I was a tiny bit jealous. I scooped him up and told him, "I am your mommy!!" Little did I know at that point that I would become his mother. It was a maddening rollar coaster of highs and lows on the way to becoming his "legal" mother, but it was all worth it and could not imagine my life without my bubba. (I rarely call him that anymore since he is getting so old and "grown-up", LOL) The adoption was final on April 12, 2002. That was the happiest day of my life when I could finally relax and not worry about him going anywhere else. We had a great ceremony (1st time in Hennepin County that an adoption was done outside of the courtroom) and feast with lots of family and friends present to witness our special day.

We really did have a rough journey and its still a journey of growth and love and I love him so much my heart aches at times. He is growing up to be a fine looking little man and has great qualities that he will share with the world. He is full of life and loves spending time being active with his brothers and sisters or his friends. He is a very social kid. He is athletic and loves baseball and his martial arts practice. He would also like to play hockey and football or basketball. He will play just about anything. He is comical and tries to crack jokes (sometimes gets himself into a bit of trouble with this) at just about anything or anyone for that matter. I sometimes wonder with amazement at the doctors and others that come in contact with him for short spurts of time and say, "Why is he so quiet?? Is he like this all the time?" That is just crazy talk, cause Brandon is very full of life (and noise!) and constantly looking for his new adventure and companion to go along.

He decided to have his birthday party at H2Oasis, an indoor water park in Anchorage. He had 3 friends come along and of course siblings and a couple cousins. Everyone had a blast! Here are a couple pictures of him and 2 of his friends - Bailey and Atillio.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!