Brody's 14th Birthday

Happy Birthday to the coolest 14 year old I know! He is my go to source for all things gen z, loves chat GPT, poses for cool pictures on our travels, encourages and looks out for his younger siblings, loves doing cool big guy things with his older brother, aces his algebra test on his birthday (did we even do the quadratic formula because I don't remember any of this stuff from 30 years ago?), still loves the beach and any water source, loves traveling, and always does his best. Yes, he can have a teenage attitude, but he keeps us all entertained. We love you, Bro-dude! 

Fun travel companion. 

Chat GPT creator. 

Still a beach lover. 

Still a fantastic big bro.

High School, here he comes!

Proud mama of two teenage boys!

Brody can hang with the adults pretty well now. 

Will sing karaoke with us. 

Adventure seeker. 

Appreciates the special gifts of memories. 

Always tries his best. 

Loves hot cocoa and even coffee now. 

Still silly. 

Proud honor roll achiever. 

He had an epic year as he even became a world traveler! 

Brody's 11th Birthday at Hogwart's

The 11th birthday has become synonymous with Harry Potter these days as the popular books and movies have made this birthday a milestone.  Harry gets his Hogwart's acceptance letter the summer of his 11th birthday to begin his training at the magical school.  Kids who read the books or watch the movies grow up wanting to have Harry's magical adventures at Hogwart's so this birthday gives them a chance to experience a little of the magic.  Brody accompanied his older brother, Evan, on the trip to London's Diagon Alley and Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 2016, but he was too young to partake in many of the adventures at that time.  While we hope to relive this experience one day, we took our own little trip by enchanted flying car, enjoyed some frozen butterbeer, and were sorted into our appropriate houses by the Sorting Hat.  Brody's letter from Hogwart's arrived by owl, and he also received a special cake from our pal, Hagrid.  It was a very "magical" birthday! 

Brody's sweet cake from Hagrid and his official Hogwart's letter which was delivered by a sweet little owl.

We had some yummy Sorting Hat cupcakes to magically be sorted into our House. 

Our enchanted car flew us to Hogwart's, and Brody enjoyed a frozen butterbeer and was already hoping to get into Gryffindor. 

Mattox just wanted a magic wand while Maggie wanted an owl of her very own. 

The birthday boy made his wish for a real trip to Hogwart's! 

A special Sorting Hat experience.  Which house did he get?  

This kid has been a long time fan of Harry Potter and read all the books by 4th grade.  

Mattox doesn't care which house he gets into as long as he has a wand. 

Grayson just wants a cupcake although his favorite color is blue so he wanted the "blue house." 

Miss Maggie just loved posing for pictures, eating her cupcake, and making a mess. 

Mommy and Daddy are applying for teaching positions at the school. 

The official House selections:  Daddy and Maggie were our Slytherins (yikes), Mommy and Mattox were our Hufflepuffs because we are the nicest, Grayson got his wish for the blue house Ravenclaw, and Evan and Brody got their wishes for Gryffidor because they are the bravest. 

Our Brave Gryffindor

Brody enjoyed opening his cards from family and getting some money.  Isn't that what all kids these days want? 

Brody's 8th Easter Birthday

In 2019, Brody's birthday at the end of April fell just a week after Easter.  Because we had just celebrated Easter and it was fresh on his mind, he requested a bunny cake for his birthday cake.  Done!  Mommy made him a yummy chocolate on chocolate bunny cake complete with a masculine blue bow tie.  Eddie said my bow tie looked like a 1980s tuxedo but whatever.  Brody also got to choose what we did for his birthday while his big brother was away for Spring Break.  He chose putt-putt.  The day of his birthday fell on a Monday which is kids' night at our local Mellow Mushroom so we invited some friends to join us for make your own pizza night.  I think Brody had lots of fun celebrating his birthday over the course of several days.  Brody has always loved birthdays and just enjoys celebrating with decorations, balloons, and cake.  He doesn't usually care about presents very much although he does love a brightly wrapped package as much as anyone.  Brody has been such a wonderful gift to all of us since he was born as our biggest baby and was named the "best baby in the world" by his big brother Evan.  I remind Evan of that all the time these days when he acts like he doesn't like Brody.  Haha! 

Bunny cake for the 8 year old. 

Such a handsome 8 year old. 

Singing the birthday song and blowing out his candle.  

Everyone enjoyed the cake, but Mattox loved it the most and licked his plate clean.  Haha! 

Brody loved eating lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe on the way to play putt-putt on Hilton Head Island. 

We are limited in our putt-putt choice here, but this one has been a favorite.  The boys got put in the stocks. 

Then, they put Mom and Dad in them.  

Grayson refused to go in the stocks and preferred to play putt-putt instead. 

Mommy taught Grayson to play, and Brody showed us his expert skills. 

Mommy and Grayson

Mattox was pretty adept too. 

Pictures of the birthday boy with his pirate pal. 

Daddy helped Grayson.  

Mommy takes over driving the pirate ship. 

Grayson helped me steer. 

Just some of the fun pirate decor around the course.  Some poor man was hung in the tree and another had to walk the plank.  Pirate deaths are harsh.  

Putting professionals. 

Uh oh, Brody got in trouble again and landed in the stocks.  

I love those boys!  Parenting them really is a dream come true.  

I played this time while Daddy watched baby Maggie. 

Celebrating a good game. 

I even got a hole-in-one.  

Mattox was very serious about his putting. 

Grayson was a little upset when his ball disappeared on the final hole.  Ooops! 

Brody hanging with his two girlfriends, Ava and Amelia, and making his own pizza. 

The girls had not experienced this treat before.  Eddie helped them because the mothers were talking.  

Taking a group picture with the minion was a must.  

It was a fun birthday.  8 is great!