Old..and New Again

So there was this particular outfit of Matthew's that was my absolute favorite. My Mom gave it to me when he was born and it was an instant favorite. It was one of those outfits that was worn, washed right away and worn again. He probably wore it more than anything else and I was so sad when Matthew started to grow out of it. It was a 0-3 month outfit, so it didn't take too long before he was too big for it; and even then I tried to make it last as long as possible. You know those certain outfits that you associate with your child's baby-hood? I was so sad to put it away.
So.... when we went back for Kristie's wedding in February, my aunt Tami had a baby gift for Matthew. Imagine my surprise when I opened the present and found that same outfit! Only this one was the 6 month size!! I was so excited.
I guess Matthew is just destined to wear this outfit for another couple months or so before he grows out of it completely, it's already getting smaller. At least we'll enjoy it while we can. Who knows... maybe I'll be able to find the same outfit again in the 9 month size...

November 07
March 08

March 8th

Today is March 8th and we're done with our taxes, hooray! Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for our refund. Thanks Jeff for your hard work and thank you Turbo Tax!

Matthew Visits the Doctor

Yes we've been to the doctor's office a lot this week. Luckily it's been for the well child check-ups. Matthew got to see Dr Cohen on Thursday morning for his 4 month visit. This visit I only had Matthew and Caleb with me and we didn't have to wait very long.
Matthew weighed in at 15 lbs 11 oz (and that was just moments after completely filling another diaper...I won't complain, I'm glad it was before the weight in and not after...or during) and he was 25 1/2 inches tall. Pretty good sized little guy; about 80th percentiles.
He did great with his Dr's exam and was happy and smiling. It looks like he's right on track with development, and actually doing a few things early; he's already been making consonant sounds (na na, ma, da, etc-Jacob told me the other day that Matthew was asking for a banana because he was saying 'na na')
Then came the rough part, the 4 month old visit is rough because they get 5 immunizations. Luckily one is an oral one, but the other four are all shots- two in each leg. Poor little guy, he wasn't as brave as Jacob and I don't blame him. I always feel so bad when babies have to get shots, you're trying to hold their hands and arms and they just look at you and cry. It's almost like they're looking at you wondering why you're letting them be hurt. I was glad when it was over.
Afterwards we ran a couple errands & went to the library before we picked up Jacob from preschool, had lunch at home, and went to some friend's house to help her with some household things.
It's still crazy to think that Matthew is already 4 months old, he's sure growing up fast.

Jacob Visits The Doctor

This past week Jacob had his 4 year old checkup. I'm happy to say that it went really well. First of all, just having and entertaining three boys in the doctor's office can be a bit of a trick, but the boys all did pretty well.
It's kind of fun, Jacob has had Dr. Barbara Cohen since the time he was born. We had a different doctor for the time we were in Idaho, but Dr Cohen has pretty much been Jacob's doctor. We really enjoy her & can't say enough good about her. It's been fun that she's pretty much seen him grow up from the time he was a newborn; and now she sees Caleb & Matthew as well. Jeff's also come with me on enough occasions that she knows our entire family pretty well. I'm kind of glad my boys can have this experience because I never had the same doctor growing up. First of all, I wasn't at the doctor's office much as a child, and secondly we moved around a lot so I don't really have strong recollections of any particular doctor. It's been fun having Dr Cohen as our pediatrician; I love her personality and she does a great job.
Anyway, Jacob had his 4 year old visit and it went well. He had fun being measured and weighed. He weighed 43 1/2 pounds and was 43 inches tall. From the time he was a baby, Jacob has always been 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight, and it looks like he's keeping the trend. He did great with the eye exam, and enjoyed talking with the doctor about different things he likes to do.
The last part of the visit was the shots. We talked about it for a few days beforehand because I knew he was going to get shots and wanted him to be ready. I pretty much told him straight-out that he would get a couple shots and they would hurt a little bit, but not too much because he was such a tough boy. It worked great. I even overheard Jacob talking to Matthew the day before his Dr's visit; telling him how he was going to get shots but that it was okay because he was tough. I thought that was pretty cute. His preschool teacher also told me that he told everyone about his doctor's visit and shots too. Anyway, he got two shots and did a great job. He flinched a little, but didn't cry at all. Afterwards he was happy to pick out the bandaids and a couple stickers. We also went to the store where Jacob got to pick out some ice cream & ice cream cones as a special treat. I hope all our doctor's visits go this smoothly!

Preschooler Politics

Jeff and Jacob were talking about Cain and Abel the other day. Apparently it must have made somewhat of an impression for Jacob to remember. Later on that day when Caleb was being naughty Jacob said to Jeff, “Dad tell him about McCain.” (Hmm, wonder if he meant Cain or John…)

Finished Project

I've been wanting to do a project with some vinyl lettering in our home. I found this quote and thought it would be a fun one to put above the doorway in our kitchen. For me it's a good reminder to enjoy the little moments, as crazy as they may be; because they won't last forever!

Matthew's First Taste of Food

Today Matthew had his first taste of baby food. I wouldn’t say it was an instant hit, but he ended up doing alright. First of all I think he was a little too hungry to do the baby food. I tried for a little while, but he was pretty upset. I decided to nurse him, and then tried again a little later and he did significantly better. I think he’s still trying to figure out how his little tongue works, and he’s trying to get used to the new texture and taste.

First of all, I don’t think it’s all completely Matthew. There have been a few guilty culprits in the process. A couple days ago, Jeff admitted that he’d given Matthew a small taste of ice cream. Apparently Matthew thought it tasted pretty good. Secondly, the exact day I introduced solids, Caleb decided to do the same type of thing. I really can’t blame him too much can I? After all, he was just trying to be a sweet brother and share with Matthew. I had Matthew in his little chair in the kitchen, bib on and everything while I was making up some baby cereal for him. Next thing I know I look over and Caleb is feeding him an oreo! (This picture was taken after most of the oreo had been washed off. As you can see he looks pretty happy.)

I still don’t know exactly how much he ate. I think Caleb was breaking off tiny pieces and giving them to him. His face had quite a bit of cookie residue on it and the cookie was almost gone. I’m hoping Caleb ate most of it first and just gave him some of the last bites. At least he was breaking them up into baby sized pieces right? Matthew didn’t seem to mind much, in fact I think he was enjoying it. So of course, when I try to give him the baby food he didn’t seem that interested. Why on earth would he be interested in bland baby cereal when he’s already had a taste of the good stuff? Baby cereal or ice cream & oreos? Hmm, tough choice. So that’s the story behind Matthew’s first experience with food. He’s done better each time, so I don’t think it will be too long before he’s eating food like a pro! It’s fun to see the milestones in his life. I love having a baby again.

Fun Treats

At Jacob’s preschool, the kids take turns bringing snacks. Usually you bring a snack starting with the letter of the week. This week was Jacob’s turn, but there wasn’t a specified letter. On Thursday I thought it would be fun to bring a snack that I remembered my mom making when I was young. Also a snack that has a Spring “theme” to it, as I’m feeling like I’m ready to be done with winter! It’s pretty much like rice krispy treats, except that you add a bit of peanut butter and use Chinese noodles instead of rice krispies. The fun part is that after you drop them onto the pan, you form them into little nests and complete them by putting candy eggs in them. The whopper version robin eggs work the best. I remember thinking they were so fun and yummy, and it was fun to find that Jacob and Caleb felt the same way. They were so excited to help me make them, and loved having a little nest all of their own. I think that these must be some of the cutest little treats, and loved seeing them all lined up on the pan. Jacob was sure excited to take them to preschool today.

Matthew was in his chair during the cooking process and started to get a little sad after a while. I think he wanted to be up with all the action too. This is where the boys come in handy. They can be so sweet to Matthew and love to make him happy. Caleb gave him his precious sippy cup followed by some num chucks. Maybe it was the plastic weapons that cheered Matthew up (hopefully not), but I think it was probably the loving attention from his brothers. Jeff had another on-call day and some late lectures, but we sure enjoyed the fun afternoon and evening together. (You can also see from the pictures that Jacob and Caleb had a fun time coloring with markers today, on their coloring books AND themselves...)

Stake Valentine Dance

Even though we were gone the week of Valentine's Day, we got lucky that our Stake had their annual Valentine's dance the following week. The best part? Babysitting was provided by some Young Women who were doing it as a way to make some money for girls camp. So we were able to go to the dance (we didn't get there until 7:45 because Jeff was on-call again and had to see a few patients first) and for $5 they watched our boys until 9:00. Jacob and Caleb and even Matthew had a great time playing with other kids and fun toys. Jeff and I meanwhile, had a fabulous time enjoying the company of other adults from our ward and stake while dancing the night away. It's been a while since we've been able to go, so we really enjoyed it, although I felt a bit rusty.
They also had a chocolate fondue table set up. I don't know what it is though, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate fountains. Maybe it's because it gets messy, or because it's too hard to eat and socialize at the same time. Plus, I'm a firm believer in the separation of chocolate and fruit. I love good fresh fruit, and I love chocolate, but I don't like to mix them. So I enjoyed lots of fresh pineapple and strawberries and passed on the chocolate. Probably a good choice anyways.
Anyway, we had a fun night together. The babysitting only went until 9:00, so when it was over we brought our boys in for a few minutes of dancing with mom & dad; they enjoyed that. Then we headed home. It was a fun night.

Preschool Valentine Party

One thing that made me sad to go to Boise the week we did was the fact that Jacob's preschool was having their Valentine's party the Thursday we were gone. I don't know what it is, maybe it's all the cute homemade valentines, maybe it's the little treats or just all the cute red & pink hearts, but I love Valentine's Day and especially cute little Valentine parties. We still picked out treats and did valentine's for all his friends, but I was a little sad that Jacob had to miss his first real Valentine's party. It was fun though, today when I picked him up from preschool, he brought home his cute little handmade Valentine box filled with valentines from all his friends. It was so cute, I especially loved his self portrait. Anyways, today when we got home we all sat down together and looked at all the fun valentines and treats. Jacob and Caleb had a blast. It was so fun and reminded me of when we would come home from school with our Valentines. Jacob was sure sweet and even shared his treats with Caleb (okay, and Mom too). Even though we missed the party we still had fun with Valentine's Day!

Post Vacation...

It seems funny to me. I can go forever without a vacation and be fine. But for some reason, once we get back from a vacation, it isn't more than a week later that I'm really *needing* another one.

More Wedding Photos

A few more from the big event... we're still waiting on shots from the temple from the photographer.

Our Trip to Boise...(Beware Long Entry!)

We left for Boise on Tuesday, February 19^th for Kristie & Tom’s wedding. Although the time went much too quickly, it was a great trip. This is a pretty long entry, but once again, it's for history.

Tuesday was a little crazy, Jeff had to work the whole day so it was up to me to finish packing, getting ready, and loading the car. It’s always a bit interesting with kids, especially a baby that needs to be fed every few hours. Jacob had preschool that morning so after dropping him off I went to run our last few errands. The night before we really got lucky, Jeff went to go look at a portable DVD player at Best Buy. They didn’t have the one we wanted so he bought a different more expensive one. However, when he stopped by Target to pick up something else he found the one he was originally looking for. And the best part was that it was marked down on clearance to $65! With it being that cheap, we figured we could spend a little more money on an extra battery. So that’s what I was doing Tuesday morning along with returning the other DVD player. I also stopped at Target to pick out a few snacks for our trip. After picking up Jacob from preschool, we hurried home and I finished getting things put together. It’s amazing how long everything takes. I finished getting the last luggage in the car, trash taken out, and the house cleaned up just in time. From there I loaded the kids in the car and we were off to get Jeff from work. We drove to an airport parking place and were just getting ready to get on the bus. It still makes me laugh, Caleb did NOT want to get on the bus. He kept telling me no, and even started running the other direction. I had to run and catch him. He told me, “No ride on the bus. Ride the airplane to Grandma’s!” I finally convinced him that we were only riding the bus to get to the airplane. Checking in at the airport was as fun as always. Of course we had one bag that was over 50 lbs, and it doesn’t matter if you’re only checking 4 when you’re allowed to check 8 or even that the other three bags were about 25 pounds each. So we had to open it up and pull out random things and find a way to stuff them into the other bags. Luckily the airport wasn’t too busy at that point. But the best part is the security check-in! Not only do they make you take off coats, shoes, jewelry, take baby out of car seat, etc. But they also require you to take off your kids’ shoes etc. as well. I felt bad for the people behind us. At this point I was extremely grateful I decided not to fly by myself! We were glad when we finally got to the airplane and got settled in. Then it took a while to actually take off. We spent an hour in the plane while they did a de-icing process. But the flight actually went pretty well! It was pretty bumpy at one point, but Jacob and Caleb didn’t mind. While everyone else is sitting still holding onto their chairs, Jacob and Caleb are coloring and laughing because it’s bumpy. They thought it was great. We actually didn’t use the DVD player much on the flights. In fact, we only used it for about the last 30 minutes of our trip. The boys enjoyed getting drinks, coloring, playing with their cars, and especially reading stories. Thanks Great Grandma & Grandpa Tanner for the awesome little backpacks and books you sent for Christmas, those were perfect for the trip! They carried all their own little toys and books themselves. The boys especially love the “Favorite Fairly Tales & Fables” book. We read that for about 45 minutes on the trip. We had a brief layover in Minneapolis, and then it was on to Boise. I was just amazed that Jacob and Caleb didn’t sleep more. By the time we arrived in Boise it was almost 2am Philadelphia time; and they had only slept for about 30 minutes total. We were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Stevens, they picked us up and we headed home. Everyone was so excited to see each other that we ended up staying up way too late, but we had a fun time. Grandma especially loved seeing Jacob and Caleb and rocking Matthew.

Wednesday we all enjoyed sleeping in! When we got up, Grandma Stevens made a fabulous breakfast with pancakes, bacon, juice, yogurt, etc. Jacob and Caleb were in heaven, after all, what could be better than good food and Grandma? They also loved helping Grandpa to feed the horses. After breakfast I got the boys bathed and ready while Jeff went to go pick up our rental car; and were happy to see that they gave us a brand new Toyota Camry it was great for the week. When Jeff got back we headed over for Eliza’s birthday party. It was fun to see all the cousins and spend some time with family. Eight months is too long to go without seeing your family. We got the four babies together for the first time, and Jacob and Caleb had a great time playing with their cousins. Scott & Mandy’s house was all decorated with cute red & pink hearts and decorations. The kids had a blast together. Afterwards we headed up to my parent’s house. Once again it was fun to see family again and especially to let the family meet Matthew for the first time. Aunt Kathy was also there, Mom had just picked her up from the airport that day. She’s so sweet, she flew all the way from Arizona to help with the food for the wedding. Wednesday night we just enjoyed visiting and getting things ready for the wedding. Matthew was as sweet as ever, smiling at everyone and getting lots of attention. Jacob and Caleb had a blast playing with Uncle Cole and Aunt Lacey. They’ve gotten into a funny thing lately. Their latest fascination is with Ninja Turtles, so whenever they would start playing rough with Uncle Cole, they would start chanting, “Ninja Turtles” over and over. It was pretty funny.

Thursday morning we got things together and left around noon to drive down for Kristie’s wedding. Although we were tired, it was fun to drive together. I think road trips are the best times for good, long conversations with Jeff. The boys slept for a good amount of the trip, and this is also the part where our DVD player came in handy. It wasn’t the most romantic Valentine’s Day ever, but it was nice to have some time to spend together. When we got to Provo we dropped the boys off at Kristie’s apartment with Lacey and Cole while we went to the temple. We were a little disappointed that we ended up missing Kristie’s endowment session by just a couple minutes because of some bad traffic. So instead we did sealings with Greg. It was fun to be together we haven’t seen Greg for a long time. Afterwards, we ended up meeting Kristie, Tom, Kendra, Mom and Dad in the celestial room; that was the best part. Kristie looked so happy and it was great to be with family. It was fun to see Kristie’s new hair too. She’s had short hair for a long time and really wanted long hair for her wedding so she got extensions. I wasn’t sure what they were going to look like, but they looked great! After the temple we picked up the boys and met up with Greg and his girlfriend Camera at a Thai restaurant. Good thing they were open late because we didn’t even get there until about 9:45. We thought about sending the boys with my parents, but Camera wanted to meet them as well. It was a fun evening with great food and great company. It was so fun to be with Greg, and great to meet Camera, she’s a sweet girl. By the end of the evening, Caleb had put his head down on the table and fell asleep, I felt so bad, but they were sure good boys. From there we headed up to Salt Lake where we were staying with Grandma Hiller. We visited with Aunt Kathy, Aunt Terri, and Tiffany for a while before we finally went to sleep.

Friday morning it was so fun to see Grandma Hiller again. It’s been a couple years, she hadn’t even met Matthew or Caleb so it was a fun reunion and a sweet experience for her to meet the two boys. She fixed us a yummy breakfast and we enjoyed being together for a while, then it was time to get ready. Of course things always take longer than you expect so we were in a bit of a rush to get to the temple on time. Jeff dropped me and the boys off at the corner while he went to get a parking spot. I imagine we were quite the sight. Me in my bridesmaid outfit & high heels, holding Jacob’s hand who is holding Caleb’s hand, and Matthew in his carseat in my other arm; all the while trying to hurry and cross the street and get to the temple. We didn’t get too far before I realized the high heels were making it too slow, so we stop for a minute and off go the high heels. So now we’re walking quickly with me holding my shoes too. Fun memories. Of course we all made it with plenty of time. I appreciated all the cousins & siblings who helped watch the boys while we went to the wedding. It was so neat to be there with Jeff and all the family. Kristie and Tom looked so happy and it was such a special wedding. Afterwards we did all the pictures, and then headed up to the church for the wedding luncheon. Once again it was fun to see lots of extended family that we haven’t seen for quite a while. The food was great, and the wedding video was sure cute; although I was a bit bothered by the fact that I only showed up once in the video while other friends and family showed up many times. I guess we know who Kristie loves the most! (just kidding) Once again, after cleaning up, it was time to head back to Boise. It sure seemed like an awful lot of driving for a few short hours, oh well, it just meant more time for Jeff and I to have time to talk with just the two of us. I’m sure grateful for him. The time around Valentine’s Day is a great time to reflect just how much I love Jeff; life wouldn’t be the same without him! We got to Boise around 9:30 that night. We had debated going out on a date with Jeff’s parents and siblings, but when we got home we just ended up putting the kids in bed and relaxing at home. Good decision.

Saturday morning we met up with the Stevens crew at the YMCA for some racquetball and swimming. The racquetball was a blast, but it’s been a while since we’ve played. I didn’t have my greatest games ever, but it was sure fun; especially since there was daycare for all the kids to play at while we played. We did keep the four babies and Lora with us, and they were pretty good! Only bummer was that after continually reminding everyone to wear eye gear, Jeff ended up nailing CJ(who wasn’t wearing any) in the eye with the ball. He was seeing a black line for a while, but ended up being fine. I don’t think anyone needed any reminders after that one. After a couple hours of racquetball, we were all ready for swimming. Another funny thing, I ran into one of my old seminary teacher. It was fun to see and visit with him, but always a little awkward running into seminary teachers when you’re both decked out in swimsuits. Jacob and Caleb had a blast in the pool, they haven’t had a lot of time to go swimming so they were in heaven. They were bummed we couldn’t stay longer, but eventually we had to leave. We headed back to my parent’s house where we got ready for the reception. It was also the first time I actually got to spend some time with Kristie. Funny story, one of my little cousins was there at the house and they had spent the night at the local hotel. I had turned to her and asked her if she had a good time at the hotel last night. Well, Kristie is in the kitchen as well, along with her mother-in-law, my mom and another aunt. They all were looking different directions so they didn’t see who I had directed the question to, but everyone turned around surprised when they heard it. I realized what everyone must have thought, and we all had a good laugh. Rita, Kristie’s mother-in-law remarked she was thinking that we must be a pretty close family! Anyway, we got a good laugh out of it. The reception that night was sure nice. All the aunts did a great job with the food, and the decorations, cake, and set-up were just beautiful. It was fun to see lots of old friends and family. Jacob and Caleb had fun playing with kids and enjoying the food. The meatballs especially were a hit with Caleb, I don’t know how many times I saw him with a meatball (on a toothpick). He thought it was great, they were at just the right height for him to get them and he would lick them like a sucker before eating them. Kristie told me that Caleb kept bringing her meatballs throughout the evening as well. He was so funny. At least the food served was fairly healthy, there was a huge vegetable tower, different breads, meatballs, mini chicken sandwiches, tarts and a few other things. Once again, the boys loved it. Mom Stevens was so sweet that evening too. She came to help, and ended up being the one who took care of Matthew and helped watch the boys while I stood in the line etc. She was a lifesaver. And Matthew loved it! The evening was a lot of fun. Even during the clean-up we were able to visit with Tom’s family and watch Caleb help Grandpa Stevens put tables away; he was a crack up! After the reception we spent the night at the Stevens; we figured with all the company at my parent’s house and church at 9am, it would be better to be at the Stevens. We got the boys to bed, and enjoyed visiting with Mom and Dad Stevens for a little while before we all went to sleep.

Sunday morning was pretty busy. We had church at 9am so we hurried and got everyone ready and went to church with my parents. It’s nice having our families live so close to each other, but it sure does make for an interesting juggling act sometimes! We’re just grateful that both families are friends, and so loving and aware of the situation. So we had church with my family. Sacrament meeting was pretty nice, Jacob and Caleb sat with my family and Jeff and I just had Matthew. It’s amazing how quiet and peaceful sacrament meeting can be with only one child! Jacob was especially excited because Grandma Tanner was his primary teacher. After church we said goodbye to Tom’s parents & brothers. Then we headed up to my parents’ house for a lunch with Tom’s Uncle and Aunt. We were fortunate enough to get to hear their conversion stories. They were both really neat, they’re such neat people. After a little more time at my parents, we headed back over to the Stevens for a dinner with the family. It was fun to have everyone together again. I think some of my favorite memories are just being together at the house with family, playing games and having fun. It’s so fun to see all the grandkids (18 to be exact, and all under the age of 12) play so well together. It gets a little crazy, but it’s so much fun.

The Four Babies
(David-Aug, Mary-Aug, Matthew-Oct 19, Gideon-Nov 2)

Monday morning we headed up to the YMCA for round 2 of racquetball. Once again we had a great time playing together, and it was good knowing we had at least gotten in somewhat of a workout. I’m afraid our week back at home wasn’t the greatest for eating healthy and working out. Oh well, we sure had fun.

Anyway, the racquetball was a lot of fun and luckily there were no casualties this time! We planned on playing tennis afterwards, so we were outside getting lunch ready and trying to play. Jeff and I played one game against Nettie & Mark (Okay, I’ll brag….we won) but we quickly realized it was way too cold and windy to be out, especially for the babies who weren’t happy. Matthew was especially not excited to be outside. Sweet Aunt Mandy held him while we finished our game. Then we gave hugs and said goodbyes. Hopefully it wont be another 8 months before we see everyone again. My mom had called a little earlier to let me know that they were going bowling with the Griffeths & Colemans, we had debated whether or not to go, but we ended up going back to Stevens to get our things all rounded up; probably a good decision especially since Mom & Dad Stevens were having company over that evening. So we got things together and then went up to my parents house for lunch with the family.

It was nice to actually have an afternoon and evening with nothing to do but sit and relax. For a vacation, this trip had very little down time! It seems like we were always doing something or going somewhere, but it was sure fun. I’m glad we crammed lots of things in and wouldn’t change anything. But it was nice to have one day where we didn’t do as much. We just enjoyed visiting and I even took a nap for an hour! Not purposefully, but I fell asleep when I was feeding Matthew. That night I made dinner and we had Family Home Evening and visited some more. Later on after getting kids in bed we played games, and to top off the evening I highlighted Lacey’s hair. We finished just in time for me to feed Matthew at 2am.

Tuesday morning it was hard to believe that our trip was over. I got up at 7:30 to finish packing things up. We enjoyed the morning and Jacob & Caleb got to play outside with Carly and Grandpa for a while. Finally it was time to leave. We dropped off the rental car and met Mom & Dad Stevens who took us to the airport. There were lots of hugs and a few tears. We can’t help but feel grateful for having the most wonderful families. Then we got on the plane and had a ‘less-than-perfect’ flight home. Lets just say the boys weren’t quite as cooperative as their trip out. We ended up getting home around 12:30am and were ready to be home! Even though we were tired, it was such a fun trip.