"Little Boy" Teenager

I finally took birthday pictures of Jacob and Andrew. They are super late for Jacob, but I don't think it is inappropriate for me to take birthday pictures of them together. They are brother-friends, they claim to share a brain, and they've got each other's back. The rest of us here in this family still refer to them as "the little boys." It was a term that came about when all my kids were little, when Michael and Olivia had interests and capabilities that differed from the little boys. Maybe the little boys needed to nap, but Michael and Olivia could stay up and play, or the little boys couldn't go in the deep end of the pool while the other two could. The term stuck. They are not little anymore, but we think the habit of calling them "little boys" might just stay for a long while still.

And now Andrew is officially a teenager. It's hard to believe, yes, but I am not sad and I am certainly not concerned. Teenage years are good years; they are funny and awkward and exciting years. I anticipate some pretty wonderful times with this guy.

Pictures at this age are also, well, funny and awkward. My boys are funny. They are quick and they don't want to pose. If they do pose, though, they are feeling uncomfortable and dorky. I try not to ask too much of them (because otherwise I'll never get them to agree to pictures again!), so I keep expectations minimal and simply endeavor to capture something of who they are at this moment in life. 

Brother-friends~

They were embracing their awkwardness, laughing about the reality of their mutual feelings regarding posed pictures.

Honesty makes life funnier, yes?

Being at ease in expressing who we are made to be is immensely more valuable than the poser-life, and I am endeavoring to promote individuality and to embrace life as it is. For these pictures, I just let the boys be...

Andrew is more serious about getting things "right" while Jacob is hardly ever serious.

They delight in their friendship; they have learned to appreciate and value how different they are from each other.

This was a more candid pose (below). He was heading down the rocks when I called him to look at me. He looked over and smiled, knowing my camera and zoom were pointed at him.

Jacob is a big-picture thinker, an adventure-seeking go-getter. He moves from one activity to the next, and, well, he just MOVES. He is physical all the time, affectionate, communicative (OK, more like a non-stop talker!), and incredibly kind-hearted.

Andrew is detail and goal oriented, strategic, and mentally disciplined. He is perceptive to the needs and feelings of others. He accomplishes physical feats because of his mental discipline.

While Andrew balanced stones, Jacob jumped from boulder to boulder over and over again. He jumped to see how high and how far, he jumped while throwing sticks and while attempting to do tricks. He jumped until Andrew couldn't resist joining him.

Jacob jumps before thinking...

Andrew thinks before jumping...

But they both jump for the love of living fully in their own way.

With the theme of just letting them be, I just let them run...

Again, Andrew trying to do what he was supposed to be doing, which was to take b-day pics.

Again, Jacob forgetting and pulling out some card tricks instead. (Andrew is incredibly patient!)

A favorite image (below), but I'm kicking myself for having the aperture too wide and allowing Jacob's face to be out of focus.

We had just a few minutes for these pictures, by the way, and we were late getting home and changed for football practice. At this point I had called them back in because we needed to head home in a hurry. This last set of running pictures speaks volumes to me about their personalities and their relationship to one another. Because we just celebrated Andrew, I'd like to highlight him here...

When I called for them to run back together, Jacob bolted towards me while Andrew looked back to make sure Jacob was coming. He is, in one way or another, always looking out for his brother.

He kept his pace slow to make sure they were together...

Andrew's situational awareness is unusual, but here it displays his thoughtfulness and care towards his younger brother.

Both running shoulder-to-shoulder, Andrew's concern was not to outpace him or to win, but rather to be together. Andrew doesn't seek to outshine Jacob, but is concerned about his welfare, happiness, and success. He may not even be conscious of this yet, but Andrew keeps a watchful eye out for Jacob. His disposition is to sacrificially love his brother and to position Jacob to shine at a cost to himself. It may be years yet before Jacob realizes the treasure he has in his brother. For now, though (and probably for always), Jacob wouldn't save his own skin at the expense of Andrew. In their own way, they cover each other's back.

I imagine them as men someday, and I picture a loyal friendship of rare proportions.

>>:<<

Andrew's 13th was already last week. On the day of his birthday, we did the bare essentials of our schooling and took off for the beach. We spontaneously met up with Jon at In-n-Out for lunch, then ran around town looking for places with murals (an odd thing we like to do together). We had a simple celebration around the table at night, because celebrating on the actual day is always nice if it can happen.

The candlelight that reflected in my lens is kinda cool. Thirteen glowing spheres make a halo around his head. I'm not superstitious in the least, but I can't help remember that on the 13th of December, 2008, Andrew would be in an accident that would result in an actual halo over his head. This is another cool remembrance of God's graciousness to us for these thirteen years of LIFE!

On Friday night we had the "little boys'" gang of friends for a party. They played sports till it was too dark, played Twister and Quelf, ate, sang (and sang some more), ate cake, and swam in the cold pool and splashed in the hot jacuzzi. It was crazy loud at times. Crazy loud. But our neighbors were kind.

Sadly I didn't take a single picture with my big camera. I posted some video on FB stories for extended family far away to sort of take part in the evening, but that was it. I'm disappointed about that. The camera phone is just so handy, ya know? I'm deciding right now to repost those videos on my timeline. (Several years ago I tried to post videos here unsuccessfully, and I don't have it in me to try again tonight. It's probably not hard for the average person, but many average-type things are super hard for me.)

Happy birthday, bud. You are loved.

xox

~Katherine