Ret {a belated birthday post}

My boy, Ret, deserved a little attention on the blog today.  We celebrated his 10th birthday back in December.  Double digits…it's a big deal.  I noticed he was extra cute yesterday for church.  I love blue on him, it really makes his eyes pop.  (his dad and I have brown eyes, the blue eyes still have us puzzled)  Before he changed into his basketball pants and tshirt, I asked him to walk outside with me for a few shots and to my surprise, he didn't huff-n-puff and hang his head, he was up for it!  Let's do this.

When I think of Ret, several things come to mind. I'll share.

• Great sense of humor.  When Ret gets going, he's so corny, so goofy, SO funny.  You can't resist laughing.
• Athletic.  He dribbles the ball, he can throw a spiral, but really loves his game of baseball.  His position is catcher. 
• Smart.  Although, he doesn't LOVE school, his academics do not suffer.  Report cards came out Friday and he had all A's.  Ret has been known to have a B on his report card - I don't sweat it.
• Heart of gold.  Ret is my most-sensitive child.  He will tear up if you raise your voice at him.  He gives in to his older sister more than she deserves.  And if I am crying, he's crying.
• Nail biter & Knuckle popper.  I hate to admit it, but he has a bad habit of biting his nails.  It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm constantly reminding him to get his fingers out of his mouth.  Gross.  Ret also has a nervous habit of popping his knuckles.  He does it ALL THE TIME. (see below - I didn't ask him to pop his knuckles, he does it involuntarily)

• The gene pool runs deep.  Ret has moles.  Sorry son, you get that from my side of the family.  Thing is, I rarely pay attention to his and I refuse to edit them away.  I love the way God has placed them on his lips and around his mouth. 
• Sleep addict.  He can sleep until 12 noon if I let him.  Always been that way - I don't get it.
• Curious.  or as I like to call it, NOSEY.  I keep telling him if he continues the bad habit of staring at people, he's gonna start hearing "whatcha staring at?" a. lot.  And I really think he thrives on telling me what someone else is doing i.e. "she's on her phone and you told her to put her phone away", "she's eating candy and you're cooking dinner"

I could go on and on about his habits and personality.  I'm sure some of you parents can relate ;-)  I love that little man more than I can possibly explain.  So humbled by God's gift of him to me.

 His $12 after-Christmas purchase made a great prop!  Gonna use this idea again.

 PS  - 11 minutes was all I needed (and all he wanted to be in front of the camera)  I'll take it.  I love the images and looking forward to the opportunity again when it gets warmer and he has a little more color in his cute little face.  
All the images from this spontaneous mini-session are posted on my website.  You can click HERE to see them.