Sweet Liam's Sweet 16!

Of all the reasons to sweep the cobwebs off my blog and do a new post, perhaps this is the very best one.  Our son Liam is turning 16 today. We've had a tradition of posting about our kids' birthdays since the dawn of blogging. It's impossible to create anything that compares to the lovely post that Julie did for Liam just yesterday, but I'll try. I want to show you this fine young man of whom I am so proud, and I'd like to make him cringe just a bit at some of the photos I'll share.

How lucky are we to live in the golden age of photography—especially for capturing candid, grab-shots of our friends and loved ones. Some people decry the omnipresence of the "selfies" that overwhelm social media, but I look at it as a documentation of my journey upon this mortal coil. And when it's time to dive into that photo history, untold riches are waiting to be uncovered.

Here are some of the riches I found while wandering back in time with an eye on Liam.

A favorite all-time photo. Baby Liam resting on his dad's chest. We were both zonked.

When he was small, Liam loved trains. We used to race to see them when we heard their horns.

Three William Henry Thompsons. Junior, III, and IV. I'm so happy my dad and Liam knew each other.

Perhaps my second all-time favorite photo. With little Phoebe and Liam.

Liam has always been an artist. Any medium will do.

Now his art is getting much more focused and he posts it on Instagram (@broskizzle).

He loves posing with giant stuffed birds. This is the Pirate Parrot.

This one is at a Red Robin somewhere in the USA. Liam is thrilled. Phoebe is freaked out.

And speaking of Phoebe, she and Liam are best friends 4-ever!

She helped him through his fedora phase.

She helped him through his singing recitals.

She's lead him on long walks of discovery.

They have such a wonderfully close bond.

They almost never want to scratch each others' eyes out.

And we were all sad when Phoebe went off to college.

But none sadder than Liam, who had to go to school without his North Star to guide him.

At Fort Frye High School, Liam runs on the cross-country team. He's the tallest on the team.

If there's a goofy photo to be taken, it's a lock that Liam will be in it.

Ducking behind a Frankenstein face this Halloween.

Creative use of water balloons.

PhotoBooth fun.

 

Jarhead.

Us as tarsiers.

Liam's other best friend is Chet Baker. They are brothers.

Both are getting older so quickly.

We've celebrated Liam's birthday in Texas a few times, at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. The last time we did, he found us a pauraque.

He pointed to it right away and said "There's one right there, Dad!" It took us a while to see what he was seeing.

Liam and I have a secret club called The Hotdog Brothers. Whenever the girls are away, we hold our meetings.

We talk about important things. Like girls.

We always have a bonfire and roast things on it—usually hotdogs.

And we rejoice in our caveman-like skills and freedom.

These days Liam prefers more interesting foods,  like sushi.

And filet and lobster. This is Liam's Granny who treated us to Liam's birthday dinner.

Today is Liam's birthday! We've got lots of fun planned, but his best gift will be in a few weeks, when he gets to see Phoebe again.

No one makes her laugh like Liam.

So thank you to the sweet son who always makes me smile. Who makes our lives immeasurably richer.

They say we look a lot alike. This is me at 18.

This is Liam at 16.

Liam got to read his mom's post this morning—his actual 16th birthday morning—just about the time he was born, way back in 1999.

So happiest of birthdays, son. I am so proud of the man you are becoming.

Love, Dad.