This week is a tough week for me. Why? Because today I am sharing my first baby’s high school senior photos and then on Wednesday? He turns 18. He becomes a legal adult. A man.

I swear he was 7 pounds 9 ounces just yesterday. I’m not okay.

I am so proud of this young man. Daniel is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’ll be gushing more about him on Wednesday when I share about his 18th birthday.

Today though, I want to talk about Daniel and his plans for the future. We have had a rough time with school over the last 12 years and this year has been the culmination of a lot of hard work, growth, change, challenges and fights. To put it in perspective, Danny has:

• Gone to 14 different schools, including schools in Washington, Japan, North Dakota, Colorado, California, Georgia and now in Wisconsin
• Has had to start and restart with making friends his entire life
• Was diagnosed with ADHD at 3 years old
• Was diagnosed with developmental delay at 5 years old
• Has been on and off medications for ADHD/ADD, anxiety and depression since he was 8 years old
• Was diagnosed with learning disabilities in both math and reading at 15 years old
• Has been on IFSPs, 504 Plans and IEPs for 12 years
• Has been in occupational and speech therapy

Y’all: he has NOT had an easy school career. And yet, here he is as a senior, ready to graduate, and he’s thriving.

My First Baby is a Senior and I am NOT Okay

He’s worked so hard to get to where he’s at, and I just know that he’s going to go to incredible places once he’s finished with high school. Right now, he’s not planning to go to a traditional college, but instead he plans to go to a technical/trade school to become a mechanic or a welder or something like that. And you know what? I think that’s incredible and I know he’s going to become successful no matter what he ends up doing in his career and life because I’ve seen how much he’s overcome as a child and teenager. This kid is amazing and I’m so damn proud to be his mom.

We finally stopped procrastinating and did Danny’s senior photos, and we went all over to take them. We went to downtown Elkhorn, White River County Park, even an old cemetery and the oldest bridge in Burlington. I got him a “Carry On My Wayward Son” t-shirt to showcase his love for the TV show Supernatural, and he rocked the leather jacket he got for his birthday last year.

I can’t believe this is it, it’s finally here: Daniel’s senior photos. Here are some of my favorites!

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