Happy birthday, Garrett!

Garrett is having another birthday! Here are some pictures from his grade school years. We lived in Utah for most of them but went to Germany for his 6th grade year. Garrett went to BYU Preschool and learned how to read really well. So when it came time to enter kindergarten, we decided to see if he could test out of kindergarten since it seemed like he was ready for first grade. He passed the testing and the principal told us that since the incoming kindergarten class was quite large, she would be happy to put him in first grade. He was small for his age and he was a little guy on that first day of first grade:Garrett has a lot of enthusiasm for life and was pretty gregarious as a child. Here he is on Christmas morning:

He has always been a little bit of a night owl. This is how he went to sleep one night:

He loved holding his new baby sister Susanna:

Garrett's 6th birthday party, making masks:

Garrett's 6th birthday party. He loved getting together with friends:

Garrett was a Ninja for Halloween:

Garrett, age 6:

Garrett and Lincoln were good friends as they grew up:

Mesa Verde:

The volcano he made for his "Great Brain" project in first grade:

Turning 7 years old:

Garrett played soccer for most of elementary school:

Here is what I wrote about Garrett when he was baptized:

Garrett has always been very friendly and outgoing even as a small baby, but he also enjoys playing by himself and reading a lot. He loves to tell or hear good jokes and has a great sense of humor. He doesn't like many desserts, but he really loves chicken. He will take chicken over dessert every time.

Garrett, age 8:

Age 9, in Washington on the Puget Sound:

Garrett was a kind big brother and enjoyed playing games with his younger siblings:

Garrett holding new baby sister, Mindy:

Christmas, Garrett, age 10. He loved to build everything: K'nex, Bionicles, Legos, etc.

Turning 11 in Germany:

Paris:

Eiffel Tower:

Building a very tall and wet snowman (Garrett's behind it)

Father's Day, Garrett, age 11:

Back in Utah, shortly before starting junior high:

What a great kid! We hope you had a good birthday, Garrett! We're glad you're part of our family.

Comments

Visiting Susquehanna: The Priesthood Restoration Site

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to go a couple of hours out of our way to visit the recently opened Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna River. This is where we believe that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist which gave them the authority to baptize. This site also has the restored Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home where Joseph and Emma lived for a year as well as the home where Joseph and Emma lived on their own. We spent a couple of hours there and I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes but we had a long way to go that night. It's a beautiful setting, very much in rural Pennsylvania. However, on the day we were there, cars at a racetrack nearby were detracting from the peace and quiet. I'm guessing that's not as big of a problem on weekdays. The Hale Family was quite well-off for their day so their home was probably nicely decorated with wallpaper and carpet. ...

Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

This is a juvenile fiction book about a young girl named Melody with severe cerebral palsy. Her body doesn't allow her to feed herself, speak, or do much at all. She's very intelligent with a photographic memory but she can't really communicate. Finally, in 5th grade, she gets a "Medi-Talker" which is a computer that speaks what she types in. Finally she has a voice. This book explores what it is like to be severely physically disabled but not mentally disabled. It seems like one of the most frustrating of all scenarios. She is completely aware of all the cruelty (subtle and otherwise) that her classmates inflict on her because they don't really want to include her in their activities. One of the saddest moments in the book comes when she realizes that every one of her special ed classmates is kind, where the "normal" ones are not. Who really has the worse disability? The book was a quick read and fairly enjoyable. Wha...

Do Dots Family System

The original post was written in January of 2015. I wrote an update at the bottom of this post in March 2021. A few months ago, a friend of mine told me about something she was doing in her family to help her family function better. Her teenage autistic son had been struggling a lot so they had been working with behavior therapists to help him and this "Do Dots Family System" had been recommended. As she described it, I was greatly intrigued since it sounded like something I wanted to implement at my own house. I looked into it and decided to purchase it right after Thanksgiving. Here is my review of how it has worked for us over the last six weeks or so. The basic idea of the chart is that children need to take care of their responsibilities before they get any privileges. It strongly reinforces the concept of "Work Before Play" . The chart helps children see in a very visual way that, until they have completed their responsibilities, they are on Le...

Search This Blog