Happy Birthday, Brighton!

It has been a busy week of birthdays and party planning, and I'm finally getting around to posting.

Yesterday was Brighton's 5th birthday. He woke up early, excited to open his gifts.

I took Chelsea to the store earlier in the week to pick out a gift for her brother. It was so cute to watch her picking and choosing from the many options to find the perfect gift. She was so excited to give it to him, too. You can see here that he was pretty happy with his present from his sister.

For his birthday breakfast, he requested cinnamon rolls, which he calls "Princess Leia's Delicious Do-s". How's that for a mouthful?

It was my first attempt at made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls, but I have to admit they were pretty good.

I can't help but reminisce about the day Brighton was born. He was born the day after my birthday, and I couldn't have gotten a better birthday present than this sweet little boy. I went into labor early Saturday morning during Conference weekend, and he was born in between sessions. I didn't even have to take a break from watching either session! Some of our favorite things about Brighton are:

-He is very helpful. He loves to be my little helper, and will do most anything I ask him to do. When Chelsea was born, he wasn't even two years old, but he was so happy to fetch me diapers and wipes, burp cloths and binkies whenever I needed them. He's still like that, and I rarely have to ask him twice to get me something or do something for me.

-He is such a good big brother. He is very protective of his little sisters and hates to see them hurt or sad. When other kids are mean to them, or when I get mad at them, he always says, "Hey, be nice to my sister!".

-He is really thoughtful and sensitive. He worries about other people and is easily moved by touching moments. When he was not even a year old, there was a Baby Einstein DVD about animals that he loved to watch. There was one scene of a mama giraffe and a baby giraffe who get separated, and that scene would always make him cry! He still cries when watching some movies (like Monster's Inc or Totoro), and then tells me "Don't worry mom, these are happy tears."

We sure love our Brighty.