Happy birthday Codi!

Every now and again I write something about my family. Since today is my nephew Codi's birthday, I thought it appropriate to talk about him.

Codi AKA Codeman has always been a skinny kid and it's hard to believe he's grown up to be a teenager. He was so skinny I used to call him "no butt." His response to me whenever I said that was, "I not no butt." Then he would turn around and flash me his little no butt tushy. Isn't innocence wonderful?

At age three, we introduced Codi to the computer. We bought him a Tonka Truck game and a colorful, blue-red-yellow kid computer mouse. He took to the PC like a fish to water. He even decided that he preferred the "big person" mouse. After that, we invested in a boatload of computer games. Thank goodness there are some terrific educational software companies out there. Now the kid wants to learn to program games. Cool!

I believe it was that same winter that Codi took his first skiing lessons. Being a kid from Florida, he thought snow was very cool and whenever he visited he wanted to ski. Of course, when he found out that we snowboarded he wanted to do that instead of skiing. Fickle kid.

Codi has always had the most amazing memory. He remembers absolutely everything anyone has ever given him and cares for the fuzzy, quacking duck I gave him for Easter as if it were worth a million dollars instead of the 5 dollars it cost. Now, he still holds every gift as though it were a most valued possession, but the price of those gifts has gone higher than 5 dollars. For his birthday this year, I sent him an Xbox game. Not only did I send him a game, but I had to send my other nephews the same game so they can play across the internet with each other. Isn't family wonderful, not to mention expensive.

He loves spending time with his grandparents and strives to be like his grandpa. He enjoys shopping with grandma and nagging her to make him stuff like a quilt for his bed. He's crazy about doing "guy" things with grandpa. Codi and my dad do the "guy" things such as going to the driving range and hitting some golf balls, mowing yards, building things at Home Depot. Occasionally, the two will go off and take a day trip where there are "no girls allowed." Hm. Hope Codi isn't teaching my dad any bad things on those outings.

Codi is a wicked smart kid, but the poor guy has my personality when it comes to learning something new. If he doesn't get it the first time or right out of the gate, he gets frustrated. Hopefully he figures out that frustration leads to learning and that persistence is a wonderful tool to success.

Codeman - I hope you have a wonderful day and that your birthday celebration is filled with family, friends, and fun. And don't forget to call your Aunt Denise.

Love ya!