Project 17 to 17: Day 2

As much as I enjoy showing off the current day version of our dear Wonder Boy, another aspect of this project that I truly enjoy is digging back through old photos and finding those I had forgotten about. Today I got a full dose of both of these!


I almost didn't share this particular photo of Wonder Boy today. Technically speaking, it's not a stellar photo. But the more I looked at it, the more I felt moved to run with it. This is the Boy with HIS boy, Mr. Mutt himself! Watching these two together cannot fail to bring a smile to my face. They play, they cuddle, some times they even fuss at one another, or at least, Wonder Boy will fuss at the Mutt. But regardless of the attitude, the love cannot be contained. And THAT is what I see here. Wonder Boy is Mr. Mutt's absolute favorite in the whole wide world. He pines for him when the Boy is away from home. He cannot hide his glee when the Boy comes in each afternoon. And there is no one with which Mr. Mutt is more contented and relaxed. A boy and his dog. There is a reason that you hear that phrase - there is nothing more natural than a boy and his dog, imho. That certainly is true with these two!

For our look back to 2002, we see the sweet baby version of Wonder Boy. And there that little cherub sits, surrounded by toys of all shapes and colors and WHAT is garnering all of his attention? The big plastic spoon that came with our rice cooker! Now, you might argue that it is obvious the little man is teething and thus objects that help to sooth the gums will always win out over something soft and squishy. BUT .... number one ... if you look close, you will see all manner of teething toys at his feet ... AND .... this spoon continued to be a favorite play thing long after those teeth burst forth! We dubbed this utensil "Spoony" so that it would sound more like a toy. And it always made us giggle just a little that he preferred it to the many diversions we tried to use to catch his attention. He carried dear old Spoony around for several years! It made a great drum stick. Sometimes he would wave it around like a baton of some sort. But mostly, he just carted it around with him. I guess he never knew exactly what need would arise that old Spoony could fill, but he kept it close .. just in case. Today poor old Spoony is back to its original function, dishing rice out of the steamer, but at least it is still part of the family. All of those other toys have long since found another home.

Project 17 to 17: Day 1

First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!

Actually, that was a couple of weeks ago, but ..... it IS the first day of my absolutely FAVORITE photo project of the year! Today we kick off the count down to Wonder Boy's seventeenth birthday! Whoop!

In 2001, when the Boy was but a few months old, we got to celebrate our first Christmas as a family of three. He was captivated by the twinkling lights on the tree. And come Christmas Day, he thoroughly enjoyed all of the wrapping paper as well. In time, he enjoyed the toys as well, but mostly, he was impressed by all the crumpled up paper.

The little bouncy chair, that we dubbed his "happy chair," was his favorite place to kick back and relax throughout the holiday season. And as such, it was one of MY favorite things as well! When he was strapped into this little chair, we could grab a bite to eat, maybe rinse up a few dishes, or if we were VERY lucky we could switch out keeping an eye on our little man and grab a shower!

It really was a magical Christmas. We didn't travel. We didn't host or attend a bunch of parties. Instead, we holed up a home - the 3 of us. Wonder Dad and I caught up on sleep, got into a routine, and soaked up every moment we could with our dear Wonder Boy. We knew in January he would be starting day care, so we wanted to enjoy having him mostly to ourselves for as long as we could.


Today, one of his favorite places to be sitting is in the driver's seat of his car. He's been driving on his own for over 9 months now. In some ways, it has gotten easier to watch him pull out of the driveway on his own. There are some benefits to having him deliver himself to school each morning, some of them eerily similar to the bouncy chair back in the day. I'm finding that the time I used to spend dropping him off at school, I can now spend at home running an extra load of laundry or dishes. I can put dinner in the crock pot or at least pull something out of the freezer for later on. So in that respect, it reminds me of the little bit of hands-free time we got when he was enjoying his "happy chair."

But unlike the beloved bouncy chair of old, there is no one to keep an eye on him when he straps himself into that driver's chair.

Despite the change in chairs, it warms my heart to see him pull into the driveway after school each day. We've worked into a routine where he goes down his day once he gets home - kind of like the report he used to deliver on the drive home each day. It's been an adjustment, more on my part than his, but we're getting there.

And that is where we are today! Sixteen more to go!

Sixteen!

Project 16 to 16: Day 16

I had always planned to take this photo for our last day of this project. It was planned to contrast with our last post from our P15-to-15 last year. As you can see, we have traded places in the car ride to and from school.

The Boy got his learner's permit back in January and starting in earnest this summer, has worked very hard to be ready for his driver's test. Due to the upheaval in our schedules, it will be another couple of weeks before we take him to the DMV for his test, but he's ready.

On the other hand, *I* am not ready! Yes, I have every confidence in his driving, but I do not trust everyone else on the road and it's like a knife in my heart just THINKING of him pulling out of the driveway without his dad or I at his side.

However, I have a couple of more weeks and I'm going to push the thought from my mind and enjoy the status quo while it lasts.


In our look back, we see one of my all time FAVORITE photos of Wonder Boy! He's always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but I think white water rafting may just deliver the biggest rush he's had to date!

Even though he was tossed from the boat, got stuck underneath it, and nearly gave me a heart attack waiting for him to reappear, he L-O-V-E-D it! He loved it so much that he begged us for another day on the river after this excursion, in a more difficult class of rapids even.

I am thankful we got to share this wild ride with the Boy (though I would have preferred he stayed in the boat the whole time). I know the day is coming when he'll be off on his own for this kind of adventure.

And it is on this note, that I close out this project for the year.

As happens every year, as I look back, I simply marvel at how far our Boy has come, how much he has grown, and fast he has changed. He is my all time favorite nearly-16 year old in the WHOLE HISTORY of 16 year olds!

And I hope he knows how much he is loved and cherished!

Project 16 to 16: Day 15

Our dear Papi (my dad), passed away today.

So please forgive the lack of a photo for today or even a look back to 2015, which is what we were due to post.

Our hearts are just too heavy.

Instead, here is a snap from 2009 of Wonder Boy with Papi. We love him and miss him and ... well ... words fail.

Project 16 to 16: Day 14

Here on Day 14, I wanted to show the Boy's stack-o-screens. And of course, this doesn't count his computer at home or the ones used at school. But at any given moment of the day, it's a pretty fair bet you'll find the boy on one of these screens. I'm actually a pretty big fan of the digital revolution (thus far). For the boy, this little stack of screens means that information is always at hand and he uses it fairly wisely. It seems he's always researching something or another.

Of course, he's not ALWAYS learning. He also loves watching videos of just "random stuff" (as he puts it) - things that make him laugh. And I'm glad he has access to THAT material as well.


In looking back to 2014, we see the Boy with perhaps his favorite family on the planet outside of our own. These kiddos are as close as family for him (and for the rest of us).

There is so much I love about this snap. It was taken on the day we first got to meet their new baby brother, born 2 months prior. We had a great meal and then made a quick stop at Buc'ees before we had to part and head back to our separate corners of the great state of Texas. It was a good day and looking back on it always brings a smile to my face.

But what I love most about this snap is seeing the silly side of our Boy - IN PUBLIC!

Everyone needs someone (or someONES) with whom they are so comfortable that it's OK to be silly, even when out and about in public. And I'm just glad the Boy chose this particular group to let his silly side shine!

Project 16 to 16: Day 13

For day 13, I wanted to hit the lighter side of things when examining our Wonder Boy. And honestly, this is something that tickles my funny bone on a daily basis.

BATH TIME!

Yes, I'm serious. Bath time. Or, more specifically, shower time.

Not a day goes by that the Boy doesn't put up a fuss when we tell him it's time to get clean. We get the stereotypical exasperated sigh, usually accompanied by an eye roll, and the ever constant question "Do I have to...". Every. Single. Time. *sigh*

But once he's in the shower, he steps into another world! We don't really know what is going on in there - some kind of one man play is the best we can guestimate - and it's probably best that we DON'T know what is happening. Even when we warn him to "be quick about it," his showers rarely run less than 20 - 30 minutes as he sings and chats and who knows what else the time away. And while I am so pleased he is squeaky clean, it's something that makes me shake my head and giggle just a little every day.


In our look back to 2013, we see they Boy and his dad on the hiking trail - one of our favorite places to be! This particular snap was taken on Good Friday that year when we visited the Huntsville State Park.

If you were to ask Wonder Boy straight up, he would tell you that he doesn't enjoy hiking. But his actions on the trail usually speak louder than those words.I find there is something really wonderful about unplugging and spending time outside. And while he may not want to leave his screens behind, he always seem to relax and have fun once we are out and about. I hope that, as he matures, he will understand that these trips are the kinds of memories that feed our souls.

And who knows, maybe one day, he'll drag a reluctant teen of his own on the trail as well.