Brandt is Two

I can hardly believe my baby is two years old.  And yet, it's gone by so fast!  I love this little guy.

He binds our family together because we all love him so much.  His brothers are always helping him, playing with him and making him laugh.  They may fight with each other but they all have tender hearts towards Brandt.  

Well, look at him.  Can you blame them.?

Brandt can always make me smile.  He'll run at me, arms stretched out yelling, "Maaaahm!"  And when I scoop him up he throws his arms around my neck and hugs me so tightly I wonder how he has such strength in those small arms.  Someday when he's too big to scoop up, maybe when he's a teenager grinning at me after his first shave, or when he's a father scooping up his own son, I want to be able to remember those hugs that were just for me.  Full of all the love in his heart.  And that's why I'm writing this.

Brandt, whenever you need a hug you can come to me because I'll always have a hug just for you too.

Caleb Turned Nine

Caleb has been growing.  It happens so gradually that I hardly notice until his pant legs no longer cover his ankles, I have to raise my hand higher to ruffle his hair.  He's nine now.  Wow.  I love this boy with all  my heart. Love his quirks, his intelligence, his sense of right.  I love his shy smile.  His helpfulness, his determination.  Even if he does develop a little attitude when it comes to having his picture taken.

Here he is eating crepes, his favorite breakfast.

Here he is blowing candles out on his actual birthday.

Here are some pictures from his birthday party.

These cake pops are now adorning my thighs.  They are so good!

Tug of war!

Here's Dallin eating a cookie on a string.  He's climbed on the column in order to reach it better.

Caleb's favorite game was Capture the Flag, which got a little intense when Mitch joined in.

Water balloons, then squirt guns.  One boy said, "Now this is what I call fun!"

After blowing out candles on the cake.

Those boys had a ton of energy, and they had a great time.  Happy birthday, Caleb!

Adam's Four

Adam turned four last month!  Can you believe it? Probably, but to me it's crazy.

Ten things I love about Adam:

The things he says.  Sometimes they're the darndest, most heart-melting things.  Yesterday it was, "Mom, why did the workers build Grandma and Grandpa's house far away?"

His innocence.

The way he sincerely declares, almost daily, his love for things.  Today he gathered a bucketful of lemons under our tree, proudly showed me and then peered into the bucket. "I love lemons," he said.

The way he poses for the camera (see above).

The way he searches my face for a smile and, as if prompting me, puts a cheese on his own face.

The way he wants me to pick him up and snuggle him.

The way he sprinkles his speech with the word "actually."

Watching him play with Brandt.

The way he loves to be tickled.  His giggle is contagious.

The way he forgives his older brothers, even if they're mean to him.

Happy Birthday, Dallin!

Dallin turned six last week.

Some things I love about Dallin:

His big, blue eyes

When he laughs, he really laughs.  It's uninhibited and joyous

His courage

His tenderness toward his baby brother

His exuberance

His unique perspective and say-it-like-it-is personalilty

Those hugs of his

His willingness to help

His creativity and interest in art

His sense of humor

I love you, Dallin.

My Baby Turned One

Brandt is one year old!  He walks, plays peek-a-boo like a champ, loves splashing in the pool and gives fantastic, sweet-sloppy kisses.

You should have seen how excited his brothers were for his birthday.  They worked hard to decorate for Brandt's birthday party - blowing balloons, painting posters and hanging streamers.  They sure love their little brother.

Brandt reveled in the attention he received on his special day, and I think he liked the decorations.

You can see he's walking pretty well now, though he takes a spill once in awhile.

This is was Brandt's little birthday cake.  I decided it would be a dog because of the way Brandt lights up every time we come across a pooch.  He kicks, flaps his wrists, grunts, and pants with his tongue out.  And if we're holding him he leeeeans out toward the dog in hopes that he can pet it.

Brandt was pretty unsure about what to do with his cake.  It took a long time for him to get his hands dirty.  In fact, he never ate more than a bite!  

Despite all this, he discovered how fun it was to play in and made up for his lack of interest in eating the cake by destroying it with gusto.

Happy birthday, Brandt!  We love you so much.

It's Great to Be Eight

This boy was born eight years ago.  Wow, I can hardly believe that much time has past since I held my first newborn baby, exhausted and as happy as I had ever been.  Look at how much he has grown.  I love Caleb so much.  He is such a great example to everyone.  He is thoughtful and has a warm heart.  He tries to do the right thing and wants to.  He's smart and very logical like his dad.  In fact, he keeps me in line a lot, which I appreciate.  He is very helpful.  Because of this, and the fact that he is the oldest, I ask him to help me a lot.  And he always does.  He's creative - he's always coming up with stories or what-if scenarios, food combinations (have you tried carrot sticks dipped in vanilla pudding?), and he's really good at art.  His brothers always want to be around him because he's fun to be with.  I love you, Caleb.

P.S.  I made my first fondant for Caleb's cake, which, while not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I'm very pleased about (the possibilities are endless)!  And I got the idea for the freezer-paper transfer for Caleb's shirt here (along with some other great ideas for Caleb's Lego birthday party coming up next week).

Adam's Birthday

Adam is 3!

10 things I love about Adam:

1- His laugh. He laughs when he's happy, when he anticipates something good, and when he's excited.

2- His charm. He is very talkative and likes to share his thoughts with everyone. He charms strangers, friends and family alike.

3- His love for his brothers.

4- His rhythm. You know those a cappella singers who do percussion with their voices? Adam does that. And he has a particular rhythm that is his favorite. He'll sometimes sing a phrase with percussion. For example, "The tag ts goes in the back ts ts ts..."

5- His cheerful attitude. He once advised a scolding mom at the park to "Be happy, okay?" Okay forget the mom at the park. He tells me that too.

6- His imagination. On a recent errand in the van Adam held his arm up as if he were grasping the ceiling strap, which he could not reach. "Mom, I'm holding on, he told me. He did so through multiple stoplights and all the way home, even though he was "tired of holding on."

7- His curiosity about the world.

8- His sense of wonder. Tonight Mama and Papa of the Bernstein bears were at Chik-fil-A. Adam's eyes were alight and he wanted to go say hello. Caleb hardly blinked, and Dallin asked, "How do they breathe in those costumes?"

9- His love for his mom and dad. He threw his little arms around me yesterday and told me I was "the best Mom."

10- His sweet hugs and kisses.

Dallin is Five!

Ten things I love about Dallin:

His giggle. I'll bet if you added it all up, this kid probably giggles for a solid hour every day.

His hugs. Dallin loves physical touch. He loves hugs and kisses, and he's very good at giving them.

The junior ranger in him. Last summer he and Caleb got junior ranger badges at several national parks for picking up trash. On our walks he'll often pick up every stray candy wrapper or used band-aid he sees along the way, and deposit them in the trash.

His eyes. Just look at them.

His dreams. He told me he wants to be a scientist when he grows up so he can make cool things.

His exuberance. Yesterday in church you could hear his voice above the rest of the kids in Primary as they sang their song. And as the last note died out, Dallin's voice remained strong, if a little off-key. Just him. And he was okay with that.

His individuality. There's no one with Dallin's particular zest for life.

The way he makes us laugh. The funniest things come out of Dallin's mouth.

The way he loves us. He smothers Brandt with kisses. He lets Adam play with his new toy. He spends most of his free time playing with Caleb. He hugs and kisses his Dad and me and tells us he loves us and that he plans to give us the first of the "cool things" he builds when he grows up.

He is helpful. And that means a lot.

I love you, Dallin.

My Birthday

I had a great birthday. Mitch arranged for a friend of mine to watch Dallin and Adam so he could take me out to lunch. I love spending time with my husband. After dinner we played games and ate the cake that Mitch baked for me himself!


They sang to me and the kids presented me with gifts. It was just lovely.

Adam's Birthday

Yesterday marked two years since Adam was born. After his birth, I wrote in my journal that our brand new baby had "melted our hearts." That still fits. We can't help but smile when Adam is around.

I love how cheerful he is in the morning. When he wakes up he'll call, "Mom! Mom!" from his crib. I'll open the door. "Oh!" he'll gasp, "Good morning, Mom!" It's like the rays of morning sun coming in the window.



Adam's personality is warm and enthusiastic. His reactions to even simple things bring smiles. Today I tossed an empty box into the recycle garbage can. Adam was watching and when I sunk it, he said with a big smile, "Good job, Mom!"



I love the feeling of his little arms around my neck in a big hug. He loves giving his Daddy what we call "knock-over" hugs. That's when Adam puts his back to the front door and then races the length of our house into Dad's waiting arms and "knocks" him flat on his back. All our boys love doing this.

Adam is social and outgoing. It's fun to watch him spark smiles at the grocery store, park, or wherever we may pass someone by and he'll say, "Hi!" like he's been waiting all day to see them.

Adam loves his brothers, and looks up to them very much. It's endearing to watch Adam, in his excitement over something, say, "I go tell guys!" before running to share.


Adam loves music. He'll often tell me to "push triangle," which refers to the Play button on our CD player, so he can hear some music. Every night he insists that we sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and at least one verse of Follow the Prophet before he will say goodnight.

Adam loves to belly laugh. Whether it's from being tickled, chased, or something silly, Adam loves laughing. When he starts, you can't help but smile, or join in yourself. In fact, when he was younger and couldn't speak as well, he laughed anytime he wanted to communicate in the affirmative.

I love his little kisses, and I love to hear him tell me, "I wuv you, Mom."

This is what Caleb said when I asked him why he loves Adam: "He wants to play a lot. He helps clean up. He asks, 'Are you okay?' and says, 'Sorry.' He has good manners."

Here's what Dallin said when I asked him why he loves Adam: "Because I love him."