Eight Years Old

Today is our oldest child's birthday. Clay was born eight years ago today.

I don't have a scanner yet (but I'm hoping to get one soon), so I can't post any baby pictures of him. They're all in a baby book, taken with an actual camera into which I loaded real film.

We bought our first digital camera when he was two, so that's how old he is in the picture below.



The video below was taken at his fourth birthday party. Clay was trying to help his blindfolded Uncle Brandon to find the donkey to pin his tail on. I think he was more comic relief than actual help.



This next picture was taken when Clay was six and we were on vacation in Helen, Georgia (which is also where Bruce and I honeymooned. I love that place!). We took the kids fishing one day, but since we have no skills ourselves in the fishing arena, we went to a Trout Farm where you paid per pound. I figured we'd let each kid catch a one or two pounder. But when Clay pulled out one this size...



... we knew we were going to be shelling out some big bucks that day. Because you can't let one kid catch a fish and not let the siblings catch fish as well. I'm pretty sure the pond was stocked with fish no smaller than five pounds. I think we paid close to $100 for three very large rainbow trout, which we also had gutted and vacuum packed.

On a side note, because this just begs to be included here, I have no idea how to cook fish unless I purchase it frozen in a box, already breaded. I looked for recipes online, and then we had my in-laws over for supper. Because there was A LOT of fish. We needed to share. However, my labor yielded less than tasty results.

The next day, I put several pounds of leftover fish down the garbage disposal. Well, that was the idea anyway. Within minutes I had clogged that disposal in a bad way. I did everything I knew to do to unclog it. Finally, I called Bruce and he came home from work to fix it... by unhooking the pipes in the garage to get all the fish gunk out of there. And then he had to hose out the whole place.

Whenever the kids ask to go fishing now, Bruce and I can't help but think of "The Trout".

Today, as I look at Clay's baby pictures next to who he is now, I can't even remember how the time shifted from one scene to the next. That's why I combed through the pictures, from year to year, to see if I could track where it happened. Where my baby turned into this boy child.

There are some bits of his face that still look like that precious baby we brought home from the hospital, but very little remains unchanged.

His eyes are still blue. That might be the sole similarity.

His blonde baby hair is now more of a dirty blonde, almost light-brown color. And there is no trace of all the newborn baby pudge than surrounded his 8 pound, 15 ounce frame at birth. He's a tall and lean boy now.

But I know what's still the same. What will never change. It's that sweet love that enfolded me the second they put into my arms that squalling infant.

Here Clay is now. In all his eight-year-old glory.



Happy Birthday, Big Boy!