B-Man is 12

Brayden,

You are 12 years old! This is the last year you can order off of the kids' menu or buy discounted children's tickets to some movies, sporting events, museums, etc. You have grown and matured in many ways since you have started middle school, yet in other ways you are still very much a little boy. You are wise beyond your years in many ways (spiritually and intellectually), but your emotional intelligence is still similar to a toddler or young boy. On their best days, your kidneys are functioning at about 35-40%, but you would never know it based on your happy personality and zest for life. As I always do, below are my thoughts and comments about you as a 12-year old.

• You show no signs of puberty yet. You are several inches shorter than Matty, have no body hair (except the amazing amount of hair on your head) and are still skinny as ever.
• You chipped your two front teeth back in August. Thankfully, your pediatric dentist is a hero and an artist, so the composite used to fill in your teeth looks pretty good for now. 
• You grind your teeth SO HARD at night. It is hard to share a bed with you because it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
• Your dentist has not recommended that you see an orthodontist yet. You will absolutely need orthodontia, but you have not lost all of your teeth yet. However, you have probably lost six teeth in the past few months.
• You still love to cook and bake. Whenever dad and I are out and cannot be home to prepare food for dinner, we put you in charge over Taylor or Matty!
• You are very into nerf guns and orbeez guns right now. I cannot stand all of the nerf bullets that I find lying around the house.
• You still enjoy playing soccer (both outdoor and indoor) and have expressed interest in playing for a select team next year. You still say that skiing is your favorite sport.
• You are taking advanced math and science classes as well as advanced language arts. While you were very stressed out at the beginning of the school year, I think you have the hang of things now - using your laptop, submitting homework on Canvas (the school website) and being responsible for yourself (there are very few emails from teachers to parents in middle school, so you are kinda on your own).
• Your favorite TV show is "24." We have been watching this as a family, and you love it!
• Your best friend is still Owen Park. Other friends include Drew McNamara, Jack Kim, Tyson Nguyen, Eli de Jesus, Evan Atangan, Graham Lubbers, Jimmy Cao, Ramsey Riem, and Viraj Jeji. We had a birthday party for you on 11/26 at Top Golf. Dad and I picked you and your friends up from school and drove you all there, then afterwards, you all came back to our house for a few hours. It was a loud and rambunctious group, but I know you had a blast.
• Your favorite food is Asian food. You love sushi (Aji), dumplings (Din Tai Fung), teppanyaki (Miza), fried rice (Panda) and any Thai or teryaki restaurant. You also love Chipotle and Tapatio. Oh, and you still love banana bread - you have made more loaves of banana bread this past year than I have made in my entire life.
• You still play video games for hours and hours. You are SO LOUD while you are playing - we are constantly yelling at you to watch your voice/screams/laughs.
• We caved and gave you an iPhone back in October. Once you started middle school and were managing the soccer team, I needed to be able to get a hold of you. So far, you have been very responsible with the phone. Your friends are not into any mischief yet, so the phone has not been a problem.
• Your favorite board game is Ticket to Ride.
• Your apparel has shifted this year. You used to wear Adidas pants daily - the black, slick soccer pants with the strips down the sides. This school year, you have switched to all Nike. This may be due to the influence of your older brother since he has been wearing Nike sweats for a while now and you get his hand-me-downs. You are way more conscious of your looks and hair now!
• You have pulled me aside on a couple of occasions to ask some deeply spiritual questions. I am very impressed with your faith and following God nudges to pray for people.
• You are still fascinated by the weather. During the bomb cyclone last week, you explained the air pressure, forces and patterns in great detail.
• You still stifle a smile whenever attention is put on you.
• At 12 years old, I'm still not sure if you can tie your shoes. You do it, but not well. There are times when I offer to help you and you get furious with me for asking such a ridiculous question. Other times, you act like it's your shoe's fault for not tying correctly and you let me do it.
• You are playing the viola in the school orchestra this year. Even though you are only a few months into the school year, I am impressed with the songs I hear you practicing on the viola. I keep encouraging you to try band next year because I think you may enjoy playing in the high school band (I love watching them during the football games - they all seem to be having a great time together), but this may be your one and only year with a musical instrument.
• You still love to snuggle with me. When you come and tuck me in at night (yes, the time has come when I go to bed some nights before you), you give me the biggest hugs and tell me you love me over and over. Every time you call me on your new phone, you tell me you love me. I know my days are numbered, so I soak it up!
• You are not sure what you want to be when you grow up, but you know you love science. You are not sure if it will be meteorology, but science is your jam. I laugh when I go in your room to say goodnight sometimes, and you are lying in bed, reading a science book.
• We went shopping last week after church (HomeGoods and Trader Joe's). When we were walking through HomeGoods, you kept asking me if there was anything I wanted in there for Christmas. I pointed to a few things here and there, and then when it was time to go, you asked me to check out first. You said you had something to buy and would meet me at Trader Joe's after. Now that you have a phone, we set up AppleCash for you. You were so excited to be independent and buy something yourself. You had my gift wrapped before we even decorated for Christmas. I just love you!
• Update as of 1/2/25 12-year well check: you weigh 77.9 pounds (22nd percentile) and you are 4'11" (54th percentile).
• 
  

I know I will say this every year, but as the baby of the family, it is hard to watch you grow up. You are 12! Ohmigosh! Where has the time gone? It is an honor and a privilege to raise you, my son. I love you Bray Bray/Fufamaloo/Foof/B-man.

Love,

Mom

Birthday party at Top Golf
Ramsey, Evan, Graham, B, Owen, Eli, Tyson, Gavin, Jack, Jimmy

You asked for donuts instead of cake

Birthday morning - ready to open gifts

Brayden wanted a soccer jersey for his birthday - so we gave him a Real Madrid jersey 

B's birthday dinner at Miza - a Japanese steakhouse

The stifled smile - my favorite!

Family picture minus Tommy (the photographer)

Post-blog update: As I read through this post in order to add your 12-year-old stats, I realized that I did not comment at all about your CKD. How awesome is that? You are doing so great that it did not cross my mind to comment on this disease. You still have CKD, and on your best days, your kidneys function around 40%, but it hardly effects your life these days. Praise be to God. We only saw your nephrologist twice in 2024, and you only need bloodwork before appointments. Amazing!