Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Dylan's Birth Picture From The Hospital - My Little Dyl Bug!

Dylan on his 8th Birthday wearing his New Cub Scout Shirt.

Dylan on February 2nd, 2008 when he FINALLY received The Aaronic Priesthood. What a GREAT DAY!! He was TOO excited and so were we. He is standing with some of the most important Men in his life - although a few were missing Dylan has some wonderful Roll Models.


My little boy is 14!! I can't believe my oldest child is getting so dang BIG!! He passed me in height almost 2 years ago, and I am sure in no time he will pass his Dad as well. This boy has sure been a Joy to raise. He came into this world 14 years ago TODAY and he was LOVED WAY before that day. Devin and I married at a young age and so when Dylan was born 2 weeks before our 1st Anniversary we were over the moon with excitement. Dylan is the #5 in order of Grandchildren on Devin's side and was the 1st Grandchild on my side. He was saturated with LOVE and attention from BOTH sides.

As Dylan got older Devin and I realized that we had a pretty gifted kid on our hands, because he has always been absolutely above average even from a very early age. I read a lot to Dylan when he was little and after reading every book we owned over and over he began to recite the books verbatim right back to me. When he was 3 he memorized The Cat and The Hat and by 4 he memorized How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Not just a few lines BUT THE ENTIRE BOOK!! I am not one who likes to show off my kids, but my Mom had no problem asking Dylan to recite and act out these books whenever possible. He never said NO, because Dylan loves to entertain - period. He is one of the most dramatic kids ever. He is actually taking a Drama class this Semester, and of course he is getting an A (duh). He learned to read and write when he was 3 and NEVER stopped asking questions - EVER!! To this day he asks both Devin and I question after question about everything you could imagine. Now I am to the point where I say, "Dylan, just go look it up on the internet.", because I have no idea what the answers to most of the questions he asks.

I have said before that music is a HUGE part of our family. There is always some kind of music related theme going on in our house. Dylan began singing since he began to talk and has never stopped. His favorite thing is MUSIC!! He is constantly singing or listening to someone else sing - that is just what he loves to do. When Dylan was 12 my Dad let Dylan borrow his guitar that he had played when I was a kid. My Dad stopped playing a long time ago, so Dylan ended up "inheriting" this guitar pretty much from that day on. Well after learning a few chords he just was ready to learn more. He would spend hours and hours teaching himself everything he could find as far as chords and tabs are concerned. Pretty soon he was memorizing song after song and now he knows so many songs that I have lost count. When he hears a song he likes he is on the internet teaching himself how to play that song.

Dylan's favorite band is Green Day and he is OBSESSED with anything having to do with Green Day. He will go on websites looking for more and more about Green Day. Well a year ago or so he learned that Green Day had put together an "undercover" band which they called The Foxboro Hot Tubs. Dylan was so excited about Green Day doing this secret album incognito and then he learned they would be doing a small secret tour using their secret identity band name. One Sunday morning he was reading the newspaper and came across an ad in the Entertainment section which mentioned that FOXBORO HOT TUBS would be performing at some remote club in Phoenix. Dylan was freaking out and even though it was a Sunday (I may have some explaining to do later) Devin and I let my Dad take Dylan to this little performance. Dylan had such a good time at the "concert". It was in this little club and luckily Dylan and my Dad were able to get in before the capacity was full. My Dad stood in the very back and of course Dylan ran straight to the front. Dylan said the place was packed but he didn't care, because he was getting to watch his favorite band ever. He even got to grab the lead singers hand at one point. He will remember that day FOREVER!!

Okay, now I must write a bit about that other side of Dylan that I admire. My son has such a strong testimony of the Gospel. He has always loved reading the scriptures and books about anything Gospel related. He has always had this amazing comprehension of the scriptures and all of his Primary teachers and leaders have expressed to me how impressed they were of his knowledge and also the wonderful spirit he brings to his classes. I cannot take credit for much of his scriptural knowledge, because that is pretty much all him. Devin and I have expressed our testimonies to the kids often and we do everything we can to guide our children spiritually, but for Dylan I never have had to remind him to pray or read or any of that. He loves The Lord and has many spiritual goals that he cannot wait to accomplish in the near and distant future. I am so proud of who he is becoming and who he can become.

Devin and I both feel super blessed to be Dylan's parents. I am not sure why Dylan chose us to be his Mommy and Daddy, but I'm not complaining one bit. Here is a little poem from very familiar book that we have read A LOT and it pretty much says it all...

We'll Love You Forever
We'll Like You For Always
Forever and Always
Our Baby You'll Be!!

Happy Birthday Dyl Pickle!!
Love Always and Forever,
Mom and Dad