Braden Is A Ten-Ager

I have to give credit to my Dad for the title of this blog. He sent a text message to Braden letting him know that he is now a “Ten-Ager.” I want to thank all of you that remembered him this year and sent e-cards, emails, text messages and especially the phone call. Thanks Nana for not letting the cost of an international phone call and the time difference stand in your way.

From left to right with Braden in the middle – Aleef, Ameen, and Suhaan. Take a peek at the rest of the pictures from the day.

Overall Braden had a great day. It started out a little rough as the entire family was not ready to get up at 6:00 AM when Braden woke and was ready to open presents. I told him that since he was born at 7:00 PM in the evening in the United States, that he wouldn’t be 10 until 5 AM on May 8th and that I would compromise with him if he would give us a just a few more hours of sleep. He was gracious. Braden got a ring, cologne, a t-shirt and a surfboard for his birthday. Oh, I and I shouldn’t omit that he got to eat on the “special plate” for all three meals. We bought the surfboard used from a friend that has agreed to teach him how to surf. We took the board out in front of our house and practiced paddling around on it. I (Dad) even took a turn on it. I think I will try this surfing thing with him.

Our friends Arey and Nasra brought a gift for him in the afternoon and then came to the party later that evening. Arey is the one putting cake in Braden’s face in one of the pictures. Braden invited 3 friends and 2 police officers to his party. Angie brought hot-dog buns from Dubai and we had a cookout on the terrace. The terrace was decorated with balloons and crepe paper and the place was bouncing with Braden’s favorite music.

When Braden’s friends came to the party, they hid the gift in the staircase and only showed Braden the scrap wrapping paper. When Braden answered the door they told him that a wayward young boy (actually this is my description – they actually used the name of the boy) had taken the gift from them on their way to the house and all they were left with was the paper. While it was a joke, I was really proud of how Braden handled it. He didn’t seem to care as long as his friends were there to enjoy the party. However when the police showed up to the party and Braden began telling them that this “wayward child had pilfered his loot” the boys had to confess and give him his gift. It was really a lot of fun to see everyone joking with one another and especially smiling. I think Braden smiled the most, but that made the rest of us smile.