Eight is GREAT!

Eight years ago I woke up on the sofa downstairs (since it was the only place I could get any sleep at that point) and went upstairs to tell Jared that I was having contractions and that our little baby boy would be coming that day! I told him to go ahead and go to work, because I was sure it would be several hours before we'd even need to go in. He just barely made it to work when I called and told him to come back and take me to the hospital! Apparently, Bryson was in a hurry to get here. I was so excited (and a little scared) to finally have a boy. I wasn't sure what to do with boys, since I didn't have brothers, and I had only had 2 baby girls so far, but I soon found out that boys aren't any more difficult. His sisters loved him so much, and wanted to hold him all the time. They had to wear surgical masks for the first little bit, because they had nasty colds, but they didn't care as long as they could get a good snuggle in every now and then. They were sweet and helpful. And Bryson was a sweet baby (once he decided that this big ol' world really wasn't all that bad!) We were so glad that he joined our family. He is a complete joy!!

He had a pretty bad case of Jaundice, and we had to bring him home with lights. The first little light box we had didn't seem to be working. For a few days, his bilirubin counts kept going up, so they had to bring a little bit stronger set of lights (like a little tanning bed in a suitcase) and they seemed to work better. Soon his counts were going down, but his little heels were so bruised from all the poking. I hated that he had to be on the lights all the time. I just wanted to hold him and snuggle him. I was grateful for feeding times when I would actually get to hold him!

He has always been such a sweet and funny little boy. He earned the title of Spiderman when we found him up in the windowsill, standing against the window (the window sill is probably only about 4 inches wide, and the window is a good 3 feet or more from the floor with a wooden cedar chest below it). He was only 1, and it scared me half to death!! You couldn't leave him alone for long, or he would climb onto something dangerous. He still loves to climb: trees, walls, you name it!

He is ALL BOY. He loves superheroes, sports, Bakugan, Avatar, legos, cars, and Star Wars. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he is really eight. He is looking forward to being baptized in a couple of weeks. I just wish he'd stop growing up so darn fast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SWEETEST, MOST THOUGHTFUL, MOST HANDSOME, FUNNIEST, SMARTEST EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SUPERHERO I KNOW.

We love you Bryson!!

We had a super fun "March Madness" birthday party on Saturday for him, and we're celebrating with family today, so there are plenty of PARTY pictures to come. Stay tuned!