Brigham's Birthday

Brigham's birthday was at the end of last month.  I can't believe he's 6.  He still seems so little to me.  Maybe because he's the youngest, and probably because he still doesn't talk a whole lot.  But he sure is cute.

I was taking some pictures before he opened his presents and he just loved it when my flash would pop up.  So I got several cute pictures of him that way.

It was hard to stop since he was enjoying it so much, but we had presents to open.

 It was a little hard to figure out what to get him.  We already have everything even remotely related to the solar system.  I decided that what he would like would be something that goes up in the air really high.  So we got him a stomp rocket.  But we would have to wait until tomorrow to try it out.

I had all his presents picked out when I remembered that I had wanted to get him a mini trampoline.  He loves to jump and I'm just not strong enough to help him jump without something to help.  He loved this, and jumped for quite a while.  Also, if you notice my iPad on the piano bench, we were able to Skype with my parents so they could watch him open his presents.  It was so fun to have them there.

 Then it was time to blow out the candles.

 He was doing great at first but then his last candle was giving him trouble and he would lean over it to try and blow it out, but he was directly over it and it was too hot.

 So Dad helped him out a little.

He was so excited when he blew them all out!

 It was way past bedtime by now, but we had to try out the fun instruments that he got from Grandma Bonnie.

It was a good birthday.

The next day we were finally able to try out his stomp rocket.  It was definitely worth the wait.

 It was easy enough that even Brigham could launch it pretty high.

 I was right, he loved it.

 It really went surprisingly high.

Jaaromy caught this picture of Brigham mid-jump with his phone.  I love it!

Happy Birthday, Brigham!  I'm so excited to see what you will do this next year.

Nathaniel's 12th Birthday

When I found out I was having a boy, I admit, I was disappointed.  All my siblings had girls, I honestly didn't know what to do with a boy.  I had six brothers, I was done with boy stuff.  Although, I must say, my three boys have been just right for me and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

For some reason, the thing that really made me excited to have a boy was that one day, that boy would grow up and have the priesthood.  The part about going with Jaaromy to Priesthood session of conference and allowing me a girl's night out might have had something to do with it too.

So, Nathaniel has turned 12 and I have been looking forward to this day his whole life.  There are a lot of changes associated with turning 12 and I'm so excited to see him learn and grow.

Over all, he's handling his new responsibilities well and seems to be excited to face these new challenges.

As I've mentioned, one new responsibility is getting the priesthood.  His interview with the bishop went well and he was ordained to the office of Deacon two weeks ago.  We invited the Grandpas to participate.  Unfortunately, since my dad couldn't be there, I asked my brothers if one of them could come in his place.  I was pleasantly surprised when three of them came.

I love all these men, and I'm so grateful that Nathaniel has so many positive examples around him.

Last week was his first opportunity to pass the sacrament and he did a great job.  Jaaromy might have been more nervous than Nathaniel was.  We could tell he was nervous but he did everything he was supposed to and Luke, another semi-new deacon helped him out.  We're so proud of him.

In fact, I'm really proud of how much Nathaniel has grown.  Most of you know what a worrier he is and the way he has stepped up and done things that we know are hard for him has been amazing.

Happy Birthday, Nathaniel!  I'm so excited for your new and exciting adventures.