Raising Justin: Justin's Journey from Babyhood to Adulthood

Justin's Childhood

Today is now May 3rd 1990 and Justin is now 5 years old! We threw a party and Michelle introduced me to her 2-year old son named Gabriel. He was born on March 31st 1988 and is the youngest of the three kids of Michelle and Greg.

It is Christmas of 1990 and we have a present for all the children! But first, we have dinner and later we watched "Home Alone" and we eat our Christmas Dinner and the kids and parents have games before opening our presents.

Today is May 3rd 1991! Happy 6th birthday Justin! We threw a car-themed party for our son. We have lots of fun, his classmates have more fun than we are and we eat cake. Justin's one happy kid.

Today is now August 26th 1991 and it's Justin's first day at the first grade. It feels like yesterday when I gave birth to him and now he's at elementary school. I offer Michelle to have Ella come to the same school as Justin when she is in the first grade. We hope the best for our son.

Today's May 3rd 1992, Sunday. Today's Justin's 7th birthday! As of now, Justin made a lot of friends in school and is also learing how to ride a bike as well. John is teaching our little boy how to use the bike properly and somehow, he gets better day by day. Also, Justin's baby fat is now gone but he is rather skinny. For his birthday, I made him a chocolate cake which is his favorite and I gave him a dinosour toy to add to his toy collections. By the way, his room contains a race themed room, rocket-ship bed, alarm clock, toy box and a T.V.

Today's my birthday. It is now August 1st 1992 and i'm now already 37, Geez, I felt a bit older as my son is also getting older as well. My Husband and Son surprised me after I woke up. They baked cake and some cupcakes as well and a birthday cards from both of them, I'm so blessed!

Today is October 31st 1992 and the time has come for my least favorite holiday, Halloween. Justin loves trick or treating along with Ella, Justin dresses up as a dinosour and Ella is dressed up as a princess. Together, they collected tons of candies in the basket. I can say the fun between the two's faces. Even Ella's 4-year old younger brother Gabriel and 10-year old older sister Lizzeth have so much fun too.

May 3rd 1993 and It's Justin's 8th birthday! Justin wears his favorite red polo shirt, jeans and white shoes. We went to Justin's favorite restaurant after school: Portallini, where they serve pasta and breadsticks. When I look Justin, he looks a bit mature but still cute as a button, he may always run in the house, jump in the bed or play his cars but that's the life of a normal 8-year old boy. He's now at the second grade and now makes a group of friends. He's also very active in class and usually praised by teachers. That's all I have to say for now.

June 12th 1993, Ella now turns seven and Justin came over to her house to celebrate her birthday. She's a bit chubby but with her shiny black hair at the end of her top shoulders and her baby teeth starting to disappear, I can tell that she's now entering childhood. She also wears a pink dress and a crown as if she's Princess Peach. Justin also have a strawberry cake, too.

It's now Christmas of 1993 and things are getting snowy here! By the way, still the same old Christmas spirit like in the past. Justin got a another toy car while Ella now has a new doll house.

Today is now May 3rd 1994 and you know what day it is? Today is Justin's 9th birthday! He still looks cute but his baby teeth is now starting to disappear and his face is starting to oval up a bit. On his 9th birthday, We made a caramel cake for his nine years of being our son. I can i'm proud that he's a good student at school and he made a lot of friends. By the way, his friends come by and agree to do skate boarding with him. Justin has learned skateboarding when he was eight and now he keeps practicing it until he masters it.

It's now July 22nd 1994 and it's John's 40th birthday, or what I say the big 4-0. Ella also came here at my house and agree that her family will take him to the park where they'll have a lot of fun. By the way, Ella is now 8 years old and her baby fat is all gone, she now looks rather skinny. When Ella's family went to the park, We decided that John's 40th birthday will take place here. Here, we have cake, pizza, pasta and drinks. The kids were having fun at the playground and eat after they play. It reminds me of my childhood when my father also celebrated his birthday when I was around Justin's age. Time flies, I just remember my awesome childhood.

It's now May 3rd 1995, What day is it? It is now Justin's 10th birthday! Now, Justin is now double digits old. We threw a huge party and milestone for a decade old boy we have here. We have a huge party, There are pizzas, sodas and chicken wings and a cake for our birthday boy! His classmates and also Ella's family came over to celebrate Justin's 10 years of life.

Today's August 1st 1995, Only a few weeks before Justin goes back to school. Justin is now at 5th grade and Ella is now at 4th grade. It is also my big 4-0 too! For my birthday, We went to Disneyland! Upon seeing Michelle's family, We see the changes of the children. Lizzeth is now 13, Ella is now 9 and Gabe is now 7. I can see Lizzeth's face maturing, but a bit childish, Ella's hair is growing to the top of her back and her face is a bit oval. Gabriel has no more baby fat also. The kids were having fun, me too! Well, I have some donuts while the kids have some popsicles too. The kids were having such a blast! After that, we went home but that was fun for all of us.

The date today is February 23rd 1996 and it is now my friend Michelle's birthday. We have a party, just a minor one. We didn't let the kids join in because they're too young and there is alcohol in our drinks. But the kids were watching Nicktoons during that time.

Happy Birthday Justin!!! Today's May 3rd 1996 and another year has been added in his life, Our 11-year old son looks a bit skinny but is slowly starting to impact puberty and he's growing a bit tall but still has a child's voice and his hair a bit longer so we have to cut it at some point. Justin's friend, Adam invited him to go skateboarding with him although it was fun, I was worried that Justin might have an accident. So, they must be careful.

The date today is now June 12th 1996 and today's is Ella's 10th birthday. She looks slightly the same since the last two years but most of her baby teeth are now gone and adult teeth is now growing which is the same as Justin. Her face is getting a bit more angular too. Her family gather around with us and we have cake, pasta and drinks. Justin and I have fun and also John who is still at work at that time.

Today's May 3rd 1997 and Justin just turned 12. His face is getting a bit more angular but his body still remains the same for the last one or two years or so and his voice is a bit deeper too. He now stands at 4'8 and weighs around 80 to 85 pounds which is a bit small for his frame. He wears a grey shirt, jeans and red shoes, he looks a bit handsome and soon i'm excited to see him growing up. For his 12th birthday, We have some Chocolate Cake and some cupcakes with some Fetuccini Alfredo. For his gift, I gave him a skateboard although he now has three of them. In his room, The old toy box is now gone since he was ten and now replaced by his skateboard collection. He still has his T.V. and his rocket ship bed and his racing-themed wallpaper room.

Today is a sad day for us, It's June 28th 1997. It's been a few days since Justin graduated from Elementary School and is soon looking forward to Middle School. Michelle finally found a new job after her old job went out of buisness. They need to move to another town and they are packing their things up. Soon after Justin and his friend finished skateboarding when he just noticed Ella's family is moving to another town. Justin soon found out that Ella wanted to say that she will miss him and Justin remembers his promise to her that they'll met again. The two hugged before Michelle told Ella to come inside the car. Soon, the car drove away and Justin was left speechless. At home, Justin felt sad that he'll never play with Ella ever again. But to make him understand, I also have the same experience, too. When I was about 11 years of age, My family had to move to another state which seperates me from John who was my childhood friend at that time. I made him has favorite pasta with pasta, sauce and meatballs to get over with it. After a few days, Justin still felt overwhelmed after Ella's family moved to another state but I hugged him and I told him that maybe in a few years, they'll meet again.

Today is September 8th 1997, Justin is now attendinf his first day at middle school. Justin's friends Adam and Mike were once again classmates and would skateboard sometimes during the weekends. I was still concerned that Justin might get into serious injury and he seems to use his skateboard going to school or going to home. Sometimes, taking care of your only son who is 12 might be hard considering that he and his friends always do some dangerous stuff and that fact he's maturing to adulthood also.

Today is now December 25th 1997 and the first Christmas without Ella and her family. So we have a typical Christmas dinner and open our presents. Justin looks through the window and imagines that Ella comes over to their house to spend time together. I told him that he has to move on to his childhood and he has to grow up from kid's stuff. I understand to him that once we got older, some childhood memories fade away. I hugged him that at least he had a wonderful present.