Firsts

As a brand new parent of a 16 year old, I will admit that I am a bit heartbroken at times over not having been able to experience many of his "firsts" in life.  I will never know what his first food was, his first word, or when he first learned to walk.  I never got to be the first queen of his heart, like I have been to David for the last twelve years. (Now that there's a girl in the picture, I find that aspect to be a bigger personal struggle than I expected.)

However, since life is all so new to him here in this culture, I am trying to capture as many "firsts" with him as I can.  Here are a few that have happened recently.

 

 

First ice storm, which also included his first school closing, aka "snow day" and even his first time to see church get canceled. He is absolutely fascinated with the ice, never having seen anything like it.

First time meeting one of his sets of grandparents.  This also meant his first "Kloppmann Christmas" because we always celebrate Christmas with my parents the day after Thanksgiving while they are here.

 

First Thanksgiving.  My brother and his wife built a table this year that was big enough for the entire family to all sit together for the Thanksgiving meal, kids included.  

Unfortunately, he did not get to experience his first youth retreat, his first time to run in the Dallas Marathon, or participate in his first Tournament of Champions for soccer--all due to icy weather conditions, strangely a very rare occasion for Texas.  Sadly the retreat could not be rescheduled, nor the marathon.  Thankfully the tournament is yet to come, though now we have to wait another two months for it to get here.