A New Toy

For a while I've been wishing I had something for Matthew to sit in or play in. He has a swing that he loves, and a little chair that works pretty well, but I wanted something more for him to sit up or stand up in. I thought about a Bumbo chair, but he would pretty much be out of it anyway. I thought it would be fun to get some type of exersaucer, but I didn't necessarily want to go out and buy one that would only be used for a couple month.
So playing outside with some of our neighbors the other day, I was talking with a friend, Kristen Farnsworth, who was saying she wished she could find someone to take her exersaucer out of her house for a while. She didn't necessarily want to get rid of it, but she didn't want it around. PERFECT!! It was a win-win situation for both of us.
So Matthew has a new toy to play with. It's been great, he loves to play in it and it helps keep him occupied while I make dinner, fold laundry, etc. He loves all the little toys, and lately has decided it's fun to rock back and forth in it. He's a strong little guy and can get it 'rockin' pretty well! Jacob & Caleb were pretty fascinated with it for the first couple days as well. Thanks again Kristen!

$3.49

$3.49....that's what a gallon of gas costs at the CHEAP gas station around here. On my way back from the YMCA this morning at 6:45 I stopped to put some gas in the car so it would be ready for Jeff to take to work. I put $12 of gas in the car...less than 4 gallons. Good thing we're getting an extra tax rebate, it's going to go towards being able to drive! Hopefully I'll be able to look back at this entry someday to find with happiness that the price gouging didn't last forever after all. Until then...

Update...driving by the station tonight, the price was being changed to $3.53

2nd Update...just days later price is up to $3.59. Hopefully this upward trend will stop!

Matthew is 6 Months

6 Months old..Matthew is already half a year. I absolutely love this age! Matthew has been so much fun. His little personality is really blooming and every day I feel more and more attached to this sweet little guy. He's really been such an angel baby, and such a joy to have in our home. I love his sweet smile and his cute little laugh. I love how busy and active he is. He loves to bounce and move ALL the time! Even when you're holding him on your lap, he'll be bouncing up and down trying to move- it makes it a little difficult to hold onto him sometimes! When he's laying on the floor he does what we call the "dolphin" move. He'll bob his head and legs up and down and looks like a little dolphin trying to move around. It's pretty funny and the boys sure get a kick out of it. Here are a few other things about Matthew at 6 Months:

• Matthew is such a sweetie and loves to give kisses. He understands when you tell him to give a kiss and he’ll smile and lean forward with his mouth open. He loves to give the boys kisses before they go to bed, and always loves to give mommy & daddy big kisses. I love those big slobbery kisses, it melts my heart.
• He's been a lot more content playing on a blanket or hanging out by Jacob and Caleb. I don't know if it'll last forever, but I feel spoiled having such an easygoing and happy little guy.
• Loves to blow "raspberries" He's always blowing bubbles and doing raspberries, I haven't had a baby that loves to do it like this. I think it's so funny.
  
• He loves to grab anything & everything! He’s at the point when I have to be careful what I’ve got in my hands because he’ll try (& often succeeds) to grab it. He likes to grab hold of anything that catches his attention. He also likes to grab and pull on his blankets, his clothes, and especially his bibs. He already gets irritated at them and wants to pull them off.

• He loves to grab anything & everything! He’s at the point when I have to be careful what I’ve got in my hands because he’ll try (& often succeeds) to grab it. He likes to grab hold of anything that catches his attention. He also likes to grab and pull on his blankets, his clothes, and especially his bibs. He already gets irritated at them and wants to pull them off.

• When Matthew gets really excited or wants attention he’ll ‘pant’ almost like a little puppy. It’s so funny to watch.
• He's started to move around army crawl style...the funny part though is that he usually moves himself backwards.
  
• He loves his *big boy food* and loves almost everything I've given him. When he gets really hungry, you can't feed him fast enough! A true Stevens boys through and through. We can definitely tell he's getting enough to eat, I love his cute chubby little legs.
  
• He has the best baby laugh!
  
• 

We Love You!!

Spring Fever...

The weather is amazing right now, feels like summer. Am I the only one who's finding it incredibly difficult to stay focused on cooking, cleaning, laundry, and everything else I *should* be doing when all I want to do is play with my kids outside?

BAD MOM...HAPPY BABY

Stake Womens Conference

Today was our annual Stake Women's Conference. It's a fabulous event that I look to every year. Unfortunately Jeff was on-call this weekend, and also has his huge Shelf exam-a test that gives you a score not based on percentage of correctly answered question, but based on how you do against all other ophthalmology residents. So for example, if everyone got 100% and you missed 1 question..you wouldn't get 99, you'd pretty much get a 1. The test is next week, so he's been busy studying for it.
I knew it would be a little busy this morning-I made it out the door at 5:50am and got in a decently long run. I got back at 7 in time to get kids fed and get ready and Jeff was sweet enough to let me go to the Women's Conference. I didn't get to stay for the whole conference, I left at 11 to get back so Jeff could do some studying; but I was grateful for what I had. The speakers were great, the theme was "Comforters" and it centered around the Holy Ghost as a Comforter, and also tied in the service project that the Stake has been working on- comforters for the children's hospital. All the quilts and blankets on display were amazing. Now I've got a serious itching to take up quilting!

Girl's "Goobye" Night

Thursday night after the missionaries left and the kids were in bed, I headed out for a Girls Night Out/Goodbye for Jill Cox. About 15 of us met up at Applebee’s to enjoy one more evening together before Jill leaves next Friday. (There were many more who wanted to come but weren’t able to make it) This time of year is great, the weather starts to turn warmer the city comes alive and I think everyone is generally happier. But it’s also a sad time because you know you’re going to have to say goodbye to wonderful friends who are leaving. I think we have about 15 families moving within the next few months because they’re completing medical, dental, or law school, PA and business programs, have new jobs, etc. These school years have interesting cycles. It’s exciting at the beginning of the new year when new families move in and you get to make many more friends, but it sure is sad at the end of the year to say goodbye to the ones who are leaving. They’re not just people you know or live by; these are the people you spend most of your time with, they’re your adopted family and your kids’ best friends. They’re the ones you’ve worked with, served with, played with, spent your weekends with, laughed and cried with. They’re our family away from family. And after being here for 5 years with at least 2 more to go, I feel like I’ve already had more than my share of saying goodbyes! But I can't help but feel so grateful for having had the opportunity to know such awesome people. At least we all have our great blogs to keep in touch with. That definitely makes it a little easier. I know for me it’s better to focus on all the fun memories and good times we’ve had. Hopefully we’ll meet up with everyone again someday. Tonight was a bittersweet reminder of how blessed we are to have so many wonderful friends, and yet how sad it is to say goodbye to them all. We’re sure going to miss the Cox family!

Jill

Jill, Banna, Megan, Sarah, Teri, Jordan, Angie, Robyn

Robyn, Stefanie, Me, Ali-hiding, Alyssa, Reina, Kristen, MaryAnn, Jill

Alyssa, Reina, Kristen, MaryAnn

Robyn, Stefanie, Me, Ali


Teri, Jordan, Angie

Robyn, Ban, Megan, Sarah
A Photo of the dental students/families leaving this year
Harris, Reeders, Marshs, Cardons, Newells
Millers, Wilkins

Moms & Muffins Night

Last night Jacob's preschool had their "Moms & Muffins" night. Jacob had been talking about it for a long time and was so excited. It was sure fun to have a night with Jacob. We met at preschool at 7:15 with a few other kids from his class. (Because there are 12 kids, they divided everyone into two groups) The first thing the kids got to do was to paint a little flower pot. After that we all sat down together and the kids proudly showed us things they've been learning about. They sang songs for the months of the year, days of the week, and the letter of the week. They showed us things about the weather and different seasons. I loved watching Jacob- he was so proud to show me everything he's done. After the group time we divided up to do different stations. 1-Jacob filled his flower pot with dirt and planted some seeds in it. 2-We observed the caterpillars in their little home and Jacob drew pictures of them in his butterfly journal. They will eventually become monarch butterflies, and the kids are all pretty excited to watch the process. 3-We played fun file folder games together.
When we were done playing the games the kids put everything away and we all picked out a drink and a yummy muffin. Jacob got a huge chocolate muffin and I had a blueberry. Then we sat together and read books. It was sure a fun evening. To finish it off, Jacob and I picked up a couple groceries on our way home. I was so glad to have this special one-on-one time with Jacob. It's so fun to see everything he's doing and be a part of it. He is sure growing up fast, I love having fun moments like this to remember time spent with my special boy.

Happy Birthday Jeff

Happy 31st Birthday to the most wonderful husband and daddy in the world! We enjoyed the day playing and just being together.

How it all Played Out

So somehow I managed to come out victorious in our March Madness competition. It was pretty close between Jeff and I. We chose many of the same teams with a few exceptions. Sorry all you cougar fans, I didn't expect BYU to make it past the first round.
I think I got lucky guessing on a few of the upsets as well (I only had Duke & Georgetown going 2 rounds, etc) The Bruins didn't hold up quite the way I wanted- in all honesty they were lucky to make it as far as they did! Luckily I still had Kansas in the finals...Jeff had UNC and Texas.
In our family/in-laws bracket I actually came in tied for 2nd out of our group of about 15 people. I was in first place for most of the tournament until the championship game-Kimber's mother-in-law guessed Kansas and won the challenge.
All together though, I'm pretty satisfied with how it all turned out. Not too shabby for someone who doesn't follow college basketball. And yea...I'm pretty excited for my prize.

Attempted Photo Shoot

I recently discovered that a friend of mine is also interested in learning more about photography. Stefanie Cross and I had a fun time visiting with each other the other night at the baby shower and realized we both have an interest in photography. Neither of us have really done anything with it other than taking basic pictures, but we enjoy it and would like to do more. We thought it would be fun to do a little 'photo shoot' with my kids. Originally we were supposed to meet up at her house, but I forgot that Jeff was on-call and needed the car for the day. So we were going to meet at my house, but then she realized someone was coming over to her house. Anyway, long story short. I had already given the boys a bath, ironed my white sheet, and figured I might as well try to do it myself. I have come to the realization that taking pictures of your kids (as both the parent & the photographer) is nearly impossible- especially when you try to do a group shot with all of them. You can usually get a good shot with one, but all three is a different story. Either one or two is looking away, someone has a funny face, someone is crying, etc. It was pretty comical, but I came out with a few that I think turned out okay. Definitely not perfect, but considering what I had to work with I was happy. At least they're showing their true personalities right? See previous post for a few 'outtakes.' Stefanie and I will meet up and try to do it again sometime.

Outtakes

A few of the attempted photo shoot "out-takes." Sometimes these are more fun to look at than the other pictures!

Belated Easter

So the Easter Bunny finally made his appearance... only a couple weeks late, not bad. It was fun because the boys weren't thinking about it at all, so when they woke up to find their buckets filled with fun things and eggs around the house they were pretty excited. They were pretty quick to collect the loot around the house. We didn't do a lot of candy this year, some jelly beans and some robin eggs, plus a cadbury egg in everyone's bucket. That's fine with me, Jeff doesn't like candy a whole lot so pretty much it's either eaten by me or the kids and frankly neither of the options is real great!
Jeff got a box of his favorite cereal and some beef jerky. I got some cute ribbon headbands-compliments of the Target dollar section. The boys got matching shirts, some fun little dinosaurs to play with, bubble bath, stickers, a puzzle and a couple games- Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders. We've already had lots of fun with those! It's been so fun because Jacob & Caleb are now at the age where they can start to play by themselves- that's one thing we love to do during 'mommy play time' at our house. Those games have also become frequent Family Home Evening activities.
It was fun to have something exciting this morning. Even Matthew was pretty fascinated with his basket, he laid on the floor for quite a while just playing with it. We enjoyed the morning, had a yummy breakfast, then got to watch Conference together. It doesn't get much better than this!
A couple days later we got a fun surprise in the mail. Grandma & Grandpa sent us a big Easter package full of all sorts of fun little toys and of course...enough 'bribe' candy and treats to last us the rest of the year, all packaged up in the cutest little snake Easter basket. The boys were thrilled! Thanks Mom & Dad.

New Shoes

The past couple weeks it's become apparent that both Jacob and Caleb needed new Sunday shoes. With Jacob especially, the "jump and it will go on" approach was getting old! So, once again I began the search for new Sunday shoes. My favorite place to look....ebay! I got lucky this time, there was a seller with matching pairs of shoes in both the boys' size and they were brand new. Jacob and Caleb were pretty excited when they came in the mail. The best part of all? Both shoes with shipping came to a grand total of $13.50. Can't beat that!

Black Beauty

On Wednesday night I went to another baby shower for a couple good friends in the ward. Natalie Tolley and Kristen Robertson are both expecting their first child in about a month. (Both are having girls) It was a fun evening with LOTS of people and I think everyone had a great time. Thanks to Stefanie (and especially your husband!) for hosting all those women!
Anyway, while I went to the shower, Jeff held down the fort at home. First of all, I'm really grateful for Jeff because even though he's super busy with work, church, studying, etc. He's always willing to help out so I can do things as well. He was happy to stay home with the boys while I went out. I left a yummy dinner on the table; so they ate, cleaned up, and afterwards Jeff let the boys watch a movie as a reward for cleaning up all their toys. He chose the classic movie, "Black Beauty." I'm not sure it's one I would have chosen for them to watch, but apparently they really enjoyed it. With the exception of the part when Ginger dies, Jeff told me that Jacob came to him in tears because he was so sad when she died. So sweet, he can be such a tender-hearted little boy. Anyway, other than that one part both boys absolutely loved the movie.
As to be expected, their latest 'favorite' thing to do is to play horses. They received a nice assortment of horses at Christmastime, and it just so happens that there is one that looks like Black Beauty and two that look like Ginger. Quite often now, when I watch or listen to them playing I'll hear conversation that go like this, "C'mon Black Beauty, you can do it." or "C'mon Ginger, lets go get some food." etc. It's pretty funny to watch them. They've got some pretty vivid imaginations and are always thinking up fun new adventures for Black Beauty and Ginger. But I must admit, one of my favorite thing about the horses is Caleb. He talks pretty well, but his version of Black Beauty sounds more like, "Black Booty." Stay tuned for more adventures of "Black Booty and Ginger." Sounds like the name of some alcoholic drink. Jeff and I have had some good laughs over that one. Pictures to come...

Conference Weekend

This weekend was conference weekend. I really have to say that it’s one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. I love being able to just be at home with my family listening to inspired talks and uplifting music. I love it that Jeff is home with me, and that we have nothing else better to do than sit and listen together. Alright, it isn’t quite that perfect. Those with children can relate. We’re usually trying to listen in between kids playing, preparing food, cleaning up, feeding a baby, etc. We do our best to have Jacob and Caleb watch as well. We’re not perfect, but even with all the distractions, we love it! Especially because after the wonderful talks and inspired counsel, we feel so much more able to do the things we need to do with joy and hope. I know that my desire to be a good mother, and my determination to do what is right and raise my children in righteousness is greatly renewed. I feel as though my love for them has increased, as well as my love for my husband, family, and especially our Savior and Heavenly Father. I make goals to improve on specific things I would like to work on, and just generally feel revitalized to move on through life.

This was a particularly special conference, President Thomas S. Monson was sustained as our new prophet. Watching him was such a testimony of the truth that he has been chosen by the Lord to be the new prophet and president of the church. Jeff made the comment when coming home from the priesthood session that it literally seemed to him as if the ‘mantel’ of the Lord had rested upon him as the new Prophet. It was interesting because the next morning, Elder Jeffery R. Holland before giving his talk, made almost the exact same comment as Jeff had the night before. I think it was a very apparent happening that many witnessed throughout the conference. What a wonderful man President Monson is. Jacob and Caleb know who he is, and I’m grateful they will know him as ‘their’ prophet. Some of my favorite talks were given by Russell M. Nelson on parenting and loving your family & children. By Gerald N. Lund, David A. Bednar on prayer and faith, and especially by M. Russell Ballard directed specifically to mothers. Those are always my favorite because they inspire me to refocus my energy on what is most important, make time for my children, teach them, love them, and find joy in this infinitely important role as a mother and daughter of God. I am so grateful for our Savior; and for the wonderful prophets and apostles he has placed here upon the earth to guide us and direct us.

Saturday afternoon between the sessions, Jeff and I took the boys out to the park to play some tennis. It was such a beautiful day and so fun to spend time together as a family. Jacob and Caleb had fun kicking the soccer ball around the court, trying to score in the goal, and chasing tennis balls. Matthew was pretty content to hang out in his car seat enjoying the nice weather until the end, and then Jeff held him for a while. And Jeff and I had fun hitting around and just enjoying the afternoon. Saturday night when Jeff went to the Priesthood session, I had a friend over, Amy Ritter, for some scrapbooking. We didn’t get as much done, the kids were a little crazy, but we sure had a fun time visiting together.

Caleb and the Terrible Two's

Caleb is the middle child. Consequently, he doesn’t get the attention for all the new things like preschool, primary and growing up; but he is also no longer the baby getting the attention for the milestones and all things ‘baby’. He’s just stuck between the two. We love this little middle child… so this entry is dedicated to Caleb! The past couple days I’ve been fully reminded that we’re right in the midst of the terrible twos. Caleb is such a fun boy with such a great, outgoing personality. Everything he does, he does with flair and attitude! He constantly makes me laugh and I love him to pieces…but at times he can frustrate me to no end!

Take yesterday for example. I was walking out of the store with Matthew in his car seat in one arm, and four bags of groceries in the other. It had been raining all morning and we were just trying to hurry out to the car. Caleb had been really good at sticking with me the whole time, until we saw it…the huge puddle right near the walkway. As soon as I saw the puddle I knew that was it. Caleb is a magnet to water. Sure enough he ran right over and proceeded to stomp in it repeatedly. With both of my arms full I tried telling him to come back to no avail. I don’t know why I even tried calling him, there’s no way he would come out without physical force. So I hurried over and tried to move him out with my knee; that worked for about 5 seconds. I was able to move him, but he just ran around me and went straight back to the puddle. And we repeated the entire process again. Finally I managed to grab his hood with a spare finger and pulled him away. Somehow he managed to break loose and ran back to the puddle again. It was like a bad dream, I couldn’t move very fast, my arms felt like they were going to fall off, it was still raining, and I could not get Caleb out of the puddle. I just started to laugh because it was so ridiculous! Finally I got a hold of him and managed to hold on. I had a pretty good audience at this point; most were chuckling at the situation. One man looked at Caleb and said, “We have a mind of our own don’t we?” In my mind I was thinking, “You have no idea!” Caleb at this point had completely soaked his pants. Luckily Matthew was hanging out pretty chill in his car seat. We had to make one more stop at Target before picking up Jacob, so we had a discussion in the car about water. As we were headed into the store, Caleb starts pulling against my hand, points, and says, “I want to jump in that puddle.” This one Definitely has a mind of his own!

This morning when leaving the YMCA we had a similar situation, just no puddles. Caleb didn’t want to leave the gym and made it well known to everyone within earshot. I had to grab his hand and was struggling to keep a hold of him. Sometimes when he gets really upset he’ll act like he’s trying to bite… I’m sure I made some winner impressions while leaving the gym with the three kids. It ended with me carrying Caleb in one arm across the parking lot with Matthew in his car seat in the other, and Jacob asking why Caleb didn’t want to leave. It was then I asked myself why I had a pass to the gym when I could get a better workout just running errands with a 2 year old in tow! J

Sometimes I think Caleb finds satisfaction from being just plain stubborn. Example: For breakfast this morning I asked him what kind of oatmeal he wanted. (Jeff got a box of flavored oatmeal that was on sale this week) Caleb told me he wanted the maple; so I opened the packet and put it in a bowl. Of course as soon as I do that, Caleb cries, “No I want the Apple!” So I told him fine, I’d get him some apple. When I pulled it out of the box he cried again, “No I want the Maple!” It went on for a few minutes and I finally gave him the maple, cooked and ready to eat. Of course, at this point, he wanted the apple again. He loves to do this throughout the day with lots of things; toys, books, food, etc. I don’t think it’s so much that he’s indecisive, but that he just likes to be obstinate.

It’s interesting, the name Caleb means “Bold” and it definitely fits Caleb’s personality. He can be the most stubborn, hard-headed, completely wild little guy. (I still have vivid memories of chasing him down the street as fast as I could go at 9 months pregnant-as he’s laughing thinking he’s so funny). He loves to run away, and quite often doesn't come when I'm calling-usually when my arms are full and I can't get him. And I've caught him on more than a few occasions trying to get something off the TOP of the fridge. But Caleb also has a very sweet and loving side to him. He’s very sensitive to people, and always asks ‘what happened?’ if someone is sad. He loves to be sweet to Matthew, sharing his precious ‘drinkie’, bringing him toys, and talking & laughing with him. Caleb loves to be cuddled, especially when reading books, and nothing makes me smile like waking up to see his big smile right at my bed. Caleb really is a joy, a joy that comes with a lot of energy; and I love his little impish smile. I’m sure it’s hard to be the child in the middle, and maybe that’s why he feels he has to make himself known, or maybe it’s just the terrible two phase. As difficult as he can be at times, we love him to pieces, and our family wouldn’t be the same without him. And as crazy and wild and busy as these three little boys are, I am so grateful and wouldn’t have it any other way.