Truly, I closed my eyes just for a second. He was this….

And then I gave in to a long, slow, sleep-addled blink, and when I opened my eyes, there he was…

A teenager?!

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(Did I listen to the good Doctor? Nooooo…)

He officially hit the teens this weekend. Reeling from the shock, we still tried to do up the day in style.

(Poor guy. He always draws the short straw when it comes to birthdays. It’s so soon after the holidays/flipping the calendar page that somehow it manages to catch me unawares every single year. But he’s a good sport. And a pretty laid-back kid. Who likes to spend time with his family. [Which lottery did I win again?])

We had our usual cake for breakfast (see above for ice-cream-brownie-oreo-masterpiece a la moi). He relaxed his Saturday morning away on his computer and then we headed out to a retro arcade for nachos, Paperboy, and some Dance Dance Revolution throwdowns.

Boy’s got some good taste in pinball machines…

And the change machine seemed awfully apropos…

After that, a walk through The Pearl (downtown Portland) where his sweet sister bought him a birthday treat.

And then for dinner, a longstanding wish granted. Seafood at Red Lobster!

If you’re *finally* going to Red Lobster, then you’d better get The Ultimate Feast. And shock the waiter by ordering water and broccoli to go with it.

Truly, I couldn’t ask for a better kid. He is soft-hearted and kind. He’s smart (too much so a lot of the time), easy-going, and responsible. I’ve watched with delight (and, admittedly, a bit of surprise) how he’s matured so much over the past year – taking changes in stride, manning up to hard things, and learning to set aside selfishness for the greater good. So glad this one’s mine!

(Still not sure, though, how my baby is 13 when I’m fairly certain I’m only in my twenties. Must be one of those timey wimey things…)