Category Archives: Birthdays

Happy Birthday Bug

Dear Hyrum,

On your second birthday you woke up before the rest of us and laid down on the floor next to our bed, still gripping your little elephant on its matted trunk, as usual. I heard the quiet clicks of your binki clip as you walked, waking me just enough to see you fast asleep on the floor again. I scooped you up and tucked you into the covers between us. “Happy Birthday Bug,” I whispered as you tried your hardest to fall back asleep. “Happy birday,” you repeated, as you always do.

Grandma made us eggs for breakfast, fresh from the chickens you love to see in their yard. It was your cousin’s wedding day, and we had lots of errands to run and places to be. You were so patient sitting there in the backseat with your sister, falling asleep for a time, then playing with the little train you got for Christmas. At the temple I was busy taking family pictures while Daddy carried you around in your sweater and socks because we couldn’t find your shoes in the car. You just loved being out there and you loved being with him.

Then it was off to the restaurant to get food with family, and while we were eating you stood up in your high chair and pulled a candy bin from the shelf next to us. You just sat there with it for a while before we even noticed! You LOVE sweets, but you were a good sport when you had to put them back. You had plenty of them at the reception though. You sat under the table with your cousin playing with spoons and eating cookies. Then you were running around with your sister and your cousins, only stopping long enough for me to change you into your dragon pajamas at the end of the night.

Oh how I love you Hyrum. These days I can’t seem to soak up enough of you–your laughter, your quirks, your hugs. I love playing with you and watching you play. You are so sweet and so fun.

 

It is a few days after your birthday and our first day home from the trip.  Ava was so excited to celebrate your birthday today—to eat cake with you and give you your gift and make it special for you. She really loves you too.

Dad was also excited.  He drove you and Ava through a blizzard to the neighboring town to get you a special ice cream cake so we could sing to you and eat cake with you. (He may have been the most excited about that cake 😉 You love having him home, and he loves being home with you. Whenever you see him you run into his arms saying, “Daddy home! Daddy home.” Today he made a fort with you and Ava downstairs and helped you set up the train set that we got for your present. You really love trains, and it’s the cutest thing the way you say choo choo.

We love you dear Hyrum. We love you so much. We are blessed every day to have you with us!

Happy Birthday little bug!

Please Keep Singing

(decorate your own) Hello Kitty Cake

 You woke to the sound of your little brother humming and your daddy’s feet on the creaky floor. And while daddy got ready for work, you climbed up on my bed and into my lap as I sat there trying to wake up. With snowfall and darkness still outside our doors, we tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen where we shared homemade bread and bananas and laughed as your brother ate them faster than we could put them on his tray. Your little voice beamed in anticipation as I pulled the little tupperware from the top shelf of the fridge at your request. You had leftover macaroni and cheese for breakfast, and you couldn’t have been happier.

 As I stood at the sink washing last night’s dishes, I watched as you carefully poured rainbow sprinkles into your little brother’s hands. He placed his palm to his mouth, then squealed in delight. He looked at you with his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised and the two of you exchanged baby noises and giggles as you repeated the things he tried to say to you. I’m sure he would tell you how much he loves playing with you and eating sprinkles with you, if he could.

You are four today, sweet Ava. You’ve been counting down each day this week until you could decorate your hello kitty cake and officially be big and brave enough to do everything you couldn’t do last year. Because being four means you can swim and so many good things. And I agree with you, because every year with you means so many good things.

Today as I watched you dance and twirl in your bright blue nightgown, waiting so patiently for your cake to cool, I smiled and thought how lucky we are to have you. That happens a lot when I watch you be you. With your sweetness and your bright spirit, you inspire joy and fun in all of us.

And you inspire goodness. Today you went skipping around the family room singing “I am a child of God,” and if there’s one thing I hope you really come to know, it’s that. Please keep singing. Know how precious you are and how much we love you!

 Happy Birthday my dear Ava!

 #mamanotes

our thoughts, our joys, our everyday | thatwemighthavejoy.com Ava4th-63-2

Last year we let Ava pick out sprinkles and marshmallows and other little goodies to decorate her cake, and I honestly think that decorating her own cake was the highlight of her birthday.  We decided to do that this year too (using all the leftover sprinkles from last year ) and clearly she had so much fun with it.

I had all the thoughts of “that’s too many sprinkles over there,” and “just stop there, that looks good” and “ok that’s enough artificial coloring and sugar and…,” but then I stepped back and let her do her thing because that’s what she’ll remember when it’s all over–that she decorated her cake all by herself and did it just the way she wanted it.

When she finished she exclaimed, “Oh I love my cake so much!”

So I think we’ll continue with this tradition. It’s good for all of us. 😉

You Are My Sunshine from Tamara Schellenberg on Vimeo.

I made this video for her when she was two and a half and we always love watching it. Can you see the joy this girl brings!?

Hyrum’s First Birthday

My little one year old, do you know how loved you are? I want to share with you a small part of the way I feel about you, my sweet little boy.our thoughts, our joys, our everydayWhen we first learned that you would be joining our family, I jumped into your father’s arms rejoicing. Even the thought of your arrival was joyful above even the most happy of things. Maternity Pictures 38 weeks!And then you arrived, and when I saw your squishy little cheeks and your perfect little body I felt as if my heart would burst. I could not get enough of you. I held you as often as I could, kissing the crest of your nose so many times, as if I could convey to you in some way how much I loved you. thatwemighthavejoy.comBut I don’t know if I ever could convey that deepest of feeling. It just came when you came. I love you without limits, without knowing who you’ll become, your talents or your goodness. From your glorious beginning, you were first His before you were mine, and I wonder if this feeling is precisely what God gives us parents so that we can feel His love. HyrumNewborn-12-EditHe shares with us a tiny piece of what He knows of you and your eternal destiny and how perfectly he loves you, and He packages it up in this transcending peaceful wonderful feeling we call love. And oh if I could show you how much He loves you! But that is something you will come to feel for yourself, in time. And it will be a most wonderful thing. 
HyrumNewborn-532_ASo for now, I will kiss you and cuddle you and sing you lullabies of your heavenly home so that you may know that the love we have for you spans oceans and skies, binding heaven and earth with the divine alliance of your earthly and heavenly parents. So for now may you know that you are so dearly, everlastingly, loved.maryjo-4Happy one year my dear, sweet Hyrum!
#mamanotesCABfamreunion-161Hyrum turned one on December 30th. We were still in Utah at the time, so we invited both our parents for a little cake to celebrate (it was the first time we had any family nearby for any of the kids’ birthdays, so we were pretty excited about it.)  My favorite part was watching Hyrum’s face while we sang Happy Birthday to him. He looked like this…
First birthday 1st birthday(It was adorable.)