My sweet baby has turned 13 and entered junior high. Luckily it went a lot smoother for him than it did for me. I was such a nervous wreck, partly because my junior high experience was less than stellar. But he is such an awesome kid, he will do great. He is liking it so far, especially since Jeremy and I made a deal with him on payment for grades. He will do anything for a buck. Here he is in the process of cleaning every one of my blinds for $50 (TOTALLY worth it):

He's become obsessed with some video game called Zelda, and for months he begged for this weird musical instrument that is played on the game that I'd never heard of. Props to me and Jeremy for finding it on the internet, although in the end Corben did have to help us decide which kind he wanted. The picture of him with his candles cracks me up. All of my kids are somewhat of a pyromaniac, and Corben scrunched up his candles so they would make one big flame. It worked pretty well!

Of all my children, Corben's infancy and toddler years are the ones I remember most. We went through a lot together, and I will always have extra-tender feelings for this guy. He is so sweet and obedient. I can always depend on him. Love you, Corben!