Birthday Boy!

Hyrum (my not-so-little baby) turned FOUR today!

 Hyrum got a monster cake for his birthday.  I wish I had a picture of his face when I first showed it to him.  His mouth opened wide and his eyes were dancing.  He really liked the cake! (At least the way it looked, he didn't eat much of it.)

 He blew out his candle so fast I couldn't get a picture of it.

 He sure is a funny kid!  He keeps us laughing.

Rebekah enjoying her cake and ice cream

Hyrum playing with the candle

 Brigham enjoying the cake and ice cream (at least he ate some cake- the other didn't really eat much of it.)

 Opening presents. (If these pictures bore you just skip to the end, they would bore me if it weren't my own child.)

 Rebekah gave Hyrum a phone from her own toys.  It was very kind of her to make that sacrifice for Hyrum- she really liked that phone, but knew he liked it too, so gave it to him for his birthday.  So sweet!

 Brigham gave Hyrum a Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD- they already watched it today and love it!  I thought the older two may not like it since they already know their letter sounds, but they really seemed to enjoy it anyway.

 Nana and Papa gave him some books, stickers, a football (skyball), and a wind up car that shoots off from a launcher.  He really likes the car and Brigham is jealous of the car.  We tried telling Brigham to go find his birthday toys to play with, but he just wanted Hyrum's

 Daddy gave Hyrum a ...

...You guessed it ... a camp chair.  He was excited about that.

 I gave him a big stuffed frog (from a thrift store) and a mini cooper model car.  He loves both of them!

 This is Hyrum showing us how big he is now that he's FOUR!

Hyrum is starting to let his personality shine through again.  (It got lost for 4 months during the move.)

He's a funny guy with a lot interesting ideas.  He's so fun to be around when he's in a good mood because he keeps us laughing with his sense of humor.  He recently started preschool which he doesn't like, but his behavior has improved since starting so I know it's good for him.  He's gradually getting more independent and starting to play more.  We love him and are sure glad  he's a part of our family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HYRUM!

6 year-old Brigham

We can't believe our Brigham-boy is six years old now.  How the time flies.  

He was excited for his birthday!

We opened presents in the morning before Daddy went to work.  Rebekah gave Brigham a dinosaur shapes things that you can put them together to make tesalations.  He had fun discovering how the dinosaurs fit together.  Hyrum gave him a nerf basketball hoop that hooks on the back of the door with a ball.  That gives him something to do when he gets in trouble and gets sent to his room.

I gave Brigham some books and a model Jeep Cheroke.

Timothy gave Brigham camp chair-  you can tell how Brigham felt about that by the look on his face.

Nana and Papa (and family) gave Brigham some good books, cars, and a semi truck to put them in.

He's been playing with the truck and cars a lot, he also really likes the traffic signs that can with it.

Brigham requested a basketball birthday cake, which I quickly agreed to because I'd done it before and it was one of the easiest cakes I've made. 

Brigham is a joy to have in our family.  He has a great sense of humor and keeps us laughing.  He has recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome which is like a high-functioning autism.  This diagnosis has been liberating for our family because we feel like we can better understand some of his behaviors and now we can learn how to address his needs better.  As he's been growing, but some of his skills haven't it has been very frustrating for us for know what to do.  But, I think understanding him will help us immensely. 

Brigham is reading the Book of Mormon now (with only a little help on the big words).  He also has been learning a lot about science and has a curiosity about how things work. 

Happy Birthday, Brigham!  We sure love you!

Rebekah's Birthday

Our little girl is 5!!!!

We started out with German pancakes for breakfast at her request.

Here she is opening Brigham's present which is a Rainbow Fish puzzle

We even got it put together!

Next she opened Hyrum's gift

Which was some hello Kitty Pajamas he chose for her.

Trying them on!  Yep, she likes them- good pick Hyrum!

Opening Nana and Papa's (& family) present- we took a lot of pictures for you- cause we knew you (Rockwell family) would have liked to be here.

stickers!  She was so sweet and shared many of the stickers with her brothers.

A nice book about relaxing and going to sleep- she loves reading at bedtime.

Little People Birthday Party set

a coin purse with money already in it!

Playing with little people birthday set

This is Daddy and Hyrum watching Bekah open her gifts.

Brigham found the packing bubbles and had fun popping them.

Gift from Mommy- some more school clothes (not very fun, but she needed a few more things)

Daddy wrapped his gift in her sheet.

A camp chair!

With arm rests and a cup holder! 

magic tree house cake

Rebekah really wanted a Magic Tree House cake- we've read most of the books and she and Brigham just love them.  I wasn't sure about making a Magic Tree House, but it turned out okay.  I stuck two doll house people in to be Jack and Annie.  She loved the cake- and that's all that really matters.

close up of the cake

Eating cake and ice cream

We are glad that Rebekah is part of our family.  She is so helpful and sweet with others.  She just started Kindergarten and is doing well- she has already made several friends.  She like to draw and is starting to write with creative spelling- which is great for her age!  She has come a long way in the past year, and is really starting to mature.  It's fun to watch her progress and work through the things that challenge her. We sure love her!

Happy 5th Birthday, Rebekah!

It's the First Day of Kindergarten, and oh- oh-oh the fun's begun!

 Today was the first day of Kindergarten for two very special people.  They were a bit nervous and a bit excited at the same time.

 Here we are getting into the van to head over to the school...

Brigham looking pretty nervous about his first day.

Hyrum excited to take the others to school.

Rebekah a little more excited than nervous at this point.

Rebekah is now big enough to sit in a booster seat with a real seat belt, which she is proud of!  (40lbs at last!)

Outside the school looking more and more nervous as the time gets closer.

Hyrum is holding the Cherrios for Brigham- we signed  up to bring Cheerios for the "Zero Hero" treat.

Playing on the slide while we wait for the bell to ring

Hyrum thinks he's a kindergartener when he's on the playground, but doesn't want to go in the classroom- luckily he has two more years before it's his turn.

 

Rebekah got static hair right before going into school, oh well, it looks cool right?

 They both had a good day and had stories to tell when they got home.  They are in different Kindergarten classes, but are both in afternoon kindergarten so they get to see each other at recess and gym.  Hyrum and I were both sad to see them go into their classrooms without us.  Hyrum wanted to see Dad to tell him how sad he was, so we drove over to Daddy's work and talked to him for a few minutes.  Starting tomorrow they will be riding the bus which also makes them a little excited and a little nervous. (And Mama and little nervous too, but the teachers and bus drivers say they will keep track of them and make sure they go the right direction- hope all goes well with that.)