My oldest is 12 today!
Happy birthday buddy!
Can’t believe he’s almost a teenager!
He’s such a nice “young” man and caring and a great big brother to his two sisters.
Like last week, Island batik is sponsoring a giveaway.
This time it’s a boyish bundle!
1yd of each.
US only.
Comment below about one “tip” about raising teenage boys –if you have/had any or maybe had a brother growing up, or a funny story.
Make sure your blogger profile is on, so I can reply back 
And it’s also time to pick a winner of the girly bundle from last week’s post.
I had 93 comments
and random.org picked # 48
which is Debbie!
I was very happy to read SO many comments about their favorite birthday involved the birth of a child
an email has been sent!
Did I show you pics on Sonja’s cake??
recognize the dress?
I made these dresses in April for the girls so got the idea to make the cake match.
We ended up bringing the cake to bible study Saturday and sang happy birthday and ate the cake there
Now it’s time to think of a minecraft cake to make! hmmm
Happy Birthday Bjorn.Wishing you a great and amazing day!!
very best wishes to your son x The times just GOES once they become a teenager x my son was 35 this year!!.. now how did that happen? lol x I would say .. just remember to love him x AND boys have hormones just the same as girls .. and just as up and down at times xx treasure the intervals between black .. sleeping .. and verbal diorrhoea!! lol x
Happy Birthday!My favorite story about my brother, who is 7 years younger than me, is when he and some friends (I think they were 12-13) found a pot grow in the creek by our house. They came home all excited about finding plants in water jugs. My dad went down there with them, brought the plants back and threw them down the garbage disposal. My brother and his friends were standing over the disposal breathing in as deep as they could trying to get high. Lol
Get ready for the great 'Growing & Eating Fest' that is the joy of the teenage boy. When my baby brother started shooting up like a tree, he was impossible to fill up, and if he wasn't eating, he was sleeping, Mummy used to say he was "growing out of his strength" same thing happened with my nephew. Get ready with the needle and thread for the school trousers Bea, you'll be constantly adjusting the hems, downwards. Let's just hope he doesn't give up his little boy cuddles too soon, It's a bittersweet day when they're too big for sitting on your knee anymore.
Congrats to the winner and what a cute cake for Sonja! Minecraft…..my grandson loves it!
Happy Birthday Bjorn. I had two boys (and two grandsons)and they were/are different as night and day. Sounds like he has a good start heading into the teens. Yes, as someone else mentioned, it is that 'hormonal' stage that probably is the biggest tackle.
Happy 12th Birthday Bjorn! Keep the lines of communication open, this way he knows he can talk to you about anything. 24Tangent@gmail.com
My son is 14 and just started high school this year. I think what I am learning is that they are so very awkward at this age. They fall in love easy and get their hearts broken just as fast! Boys may not be as vocal as girls but I think in there own ways they are just as sensitive.
Congrats to the handsome birthday boy! My tip — which I so wish I had done more often! – is to make time to engage with him without his siblings, in a way that makes him feel special, and while you are out, listen to every word he says! I used to try and take them each individually out for lunch. (I had 3)
Great cake! Growing up, my brother wanted ab entire frozen pizza for himself – no sharing! So he would take it directly from the oven and lock himself in the bathroom to enjoy the whole thing alone…
Happy Birthday. Let him be a tween, soon he will be a young man.Katn@bellsouth.net
Enjoy these days..they go by so fast. I would say that my boys tended to keep to themselves, so i would make myself busy in the kitchen when they came home from school…they would want a snack, and I couldn't extract information from them, but somehow just sitting there snacking, all sorts of things would come bubbling up to talk about. I got my best inside information that way. It still works today, even though they are in college and I don't see them as often as I would like.BTW, the cake is delightful…nice job!
Oh my goodness another birthday in your house! What fun! I miss those days of birthday parties! Congrats to a handsome young man!
Happy Birthday to Bjorn. I came from a family of girls and I have two girls. Now I have one granddaughter and soon to be six grandsons. My daughters need all the tips they can get on boys.
Teenage boys need all the help and support they can get – just try to keep them thinking you're their best friend while setting reasonable boundaries for them to follow. Quite a trick but many manage to do it.thanks and good luck!
My little brother was a moody teenager. I learned I couldn't act like a second mom. But I could be his friend. I was the intellectual friend, talking, sharing jokes, while our oldest sister was his play friend. It was great to depend on each other as siblings.reillyr2(at)hotmail(dot)com
Happy Birthday! Fun month for you. As for teen boys, be fair and firm. Tell him your expectations and be consistent. My son made a big mistake and failed out of 7th grade Catholic school, because he chose not to do his homework (although he had been telling me it was done). He had to attend summer school, and learned there were consequences, including missing a Disney trip with my ex. After that, he was easy. When I asked, he said he realized it was easier to do what I asked first, rather than have me nag. It made us both happy. Good luck! Great cake! Thanks.
The one thing I remember growing up with my brother is he was constantly eating….and never was overweight. Sure wish I was that lucky 🙂
Happy Birthday Bjorn!I raised two sons and a grandson. The best advice I can give you is just let him know you are there for him. Girls seem to be more talkative and will talk about what is going on, but my boy's would keep things to themselves. I would always tell them that I loved them and, if they wanted to talk about anything, I was there for them. Thank you so much for the giveaway.
The hardest thing I had problems with my son was he hated doing homework he went to a private school so grades came home weekly so if he didn't keep his grades above a c average he would get grounded for one week until next set of grades came out from driving his car he didn't like riding his bike to school so he would make sure that his grades stayed above a c
Best tip for a teenage boy: keep him away from teenage girls – they are crazy!
Happy BD to your son! Raising a teenage son was easier than the daughter, LOL He was the quiet, happy to stay home and play on his computer kid. So I am not much help, but I sure do like those fabrics!!
Happy birthday Bjorn!! Hope you have a wonderful celebration! My son made being a parent, easy. The only problem that we had was that he didn't want to do his homework. He was in the gifted program and had the attitude that he already knew the material so why should he waste time at home reviewing it? Never did come up with a good enough answer to that question. LOL LOL Lots of Love, patience, laughter, and being silly will go a long way in raising any child no matter what age. I wish you the best!!Dawn array-dawn at cox dot net
Happy Birthday Bjorn! When my son was growing up we always made sure to have plenty of food and to invite his friends to join us for meals. The conversation at those meals was always entertaining, and helped us to know more of what was going on with our son and his friends. It's good to have the house where the kids want to hang out.
My parents always allowed us to have our friends over to our house. Now I realize that they likes having us there so they could be part of what we were doing. We never really got into too much trouble. We lived on a farm. We always had a "junk" car to drive in the fields. I know that I drove it as long as I could reach the pedals. BUT, if something happened to it (ran out of gas, flat tire, dead battery) my auto mechanic teacher (Dad) always left us fix it. It was AWESOME!
Happy Birthday Bjorn! The only advice I can give is that they seem to hit the always hungry stage at about that age so have plenty of fast fix food and snacks.
Raised 3 sons, had 3 brothers and was raised with mostly male cousins. I don't think you are ever through raising them. Mine are 40, 38 and 28–they are still a work in progress! The best advice I ever received was not to take credit for what they do. If you take credit for the good you also have to take credit for the bad and that can be a heavy load. It's really about the choices they make. All you can do is raise them with your values and love and hope for the best. Enjoy that man-child!
I love that family picture, Bea. It's beautiful! Oh, and thanks again for winning the girly fabrics!
My son is 32 this year! Giving him things to be responsible for when he was a teenager seemed to be the best way to help him "grow up" and he is a wonderful young man and dad.
Happy BD Bjorn!Once my husband made our then 7yoa son eat some green beans as he just didn't like veggies at all. He got sick haha..that was an excuse to leave 'em and leave the dinner table. Well he's 32 now and my wonderful D-I-L has him eating more greens than beans.Thanks for the opportunity to win and for sharing, always
Our youngest (and only son) turns 12 Sept 10th!! I'll be going through this with you!! ;0) good luck! I will say (having already gone through teenage with our 19 year old daughter) sometimes the best advice is to remember you have to be their parent through these years..not their best friend!!
I only had to raise girls but my one tip would be get them into 4-h animals early and they won't be into girls until they are out of high school. At least it worked for my girls. They had horses and steers.
Happy Birthday Bjorn! Ah well, boys…My best advice is to allow him to have his friends over and have plenty to keep them busy. (Oh yeah, lots of drinks and snacks available too!) We did this with my children (22 and 21 years old) and my parents with us. This way you know where they are and what they are up to. And you get to know their friends.
Happy Birthday Bjorn! I've got two boys, 20 and 17. My advice–keep them busy with after school activities, especially sports. What they learn from being on a team is invaluable. Helps them focus by having to juggle school and sports. Embrace these years cause before you know it, they'll be off to college!
Happy birthday to your son! Get to know his friends, allow them to come over for movies or pizza occasionally. It helps you and them as they navigate through those teens. Love the cake!
buy them some deodorant and soap on a rope and hope and pray they use it! LOL
I raised 2 daughters and have 2 older granddaughters. I also have a very active 3 year old grandson who has no fear. I'm learning just how different boys can be. There are several mine craft cake ideas on you tube. I like the Yoyomax version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zwvplLBtMUHappy Birthday to Bjorn!
I wish I had saved a photo of the minecraft cake that my great grand son had. My grand daughter has it on her computer. I made him a minecraft quilt out of 2.5in squares.
Oh I just don't want to think of the time when my oldest turns into a teenager. I'm sure he had a great day and of course the cake turned out adorable!
Happy Birthday to your son I hope he had a great day! My best advice is make time for your children so they know that you are always there to support and help them. I am pretty sure you are already doing this with all of your children but when it comes to communication girls and boys are so different from each other.
Happy Birthday! I had a brother who was 11 years younger than me. I had all girls, but I now have a bundle of little boys around since I have four grandsons, so no words of wisdom.
happy birthday wishes! My advice-listen well, and make opportunities for casual chats, which can lead to important conversations. Long car rides are especially helpful in this way- a captive audience!