I love him

Happy 4th Anniversary Michael!

The best part of my Christmas so far

Was taking pics of these 2 cutie pies last Sunday. Jan bought Kandace the cutest Christmas dress, and Stetson has a matching blazer that Rachel handed down to us so I matched them up and I'm in love!! We had a wonderful Christmas Sunday with singing in the ward choir, great speakers, then singing in the stake Christmas concert, which was such a rich experience, I loved it. Today we are truly enjoying our Christmas Eve with Michael home from work, a cozy fire, delicious smells coming from the kitchen (not mine, Jan's lol) and family all around! PS Its truly a miracle that I got any good pics of these 2 in their outfits. Michael was at work and my camera was dying so I had 2 strikes against me already, but I got lucky!! Merry Christmas!

Stetson turns 3!

Yesterday my big boy turned 3. The night before his bday as I was laying by him in bed, I was thinking about how 3 years ago at that exact same time, I was sitting in Michael's gma Asay's living room timing my contractions using Michael's notepad on his cell phone. It was so exciting! When we got home that night I called the nurse, she told me to get all the rest I could, so I took a hot tub, (still timing my contractions and writing them down) and folded laundry while listening to mormon tabernacle choir sing Christmas songs on the BYU channel. Michael was snoozing, so I woke him up and we decicded to head to the hospital. We got there about 1 am, got checked in and they had me take laps around the hospital to get things moving, and did they ever. It was then that I broke down (partly because of pain probably) because I realized my life was about to change forever and I didn't know if I was ready for it! Well 3 years later I can say for sure I don't think anyone can be totally ready for the arrival of a sweet spirit but we're certainly glad this little Stetson made his way into our arms 3 years ago. We love you Stetson.

There's no use crying over spilled milk

My little angel boy, Stetson, spilled milk on our laptop last week. He'd come in the living room to drink it and I told him to go drink it in the kitchen and thats when he spilled the milk that cost us over $900. Its been sad dealing with this, but there's a bright side. I've been doing more cleaning/organizing and spending more quality time with the kids (a HUGE plus). We did take the laptop into TCT and a guy that works there who also happens to be in our ward, has been working on it but he's pretty sure nothing can be done. He suggested take it into best buy or sell parts on ebay, but we'll probably just buy a new one in a couple months.

In the meantime, we've truly been enjoying the holidays. I'm really trying to remember to focus on what really matters and keep things simple. We went to our wonderful ward party that had a carnival theme to it and Stetson treated himself to hotdogs, fries, cotton candy and lots of other goodies. He was in heaven and it was so fun to watch him enjoy himself so much. We took holiday treats around to family and friends last night and today and enjoyed seeing everyone.
I'm singing in the ward and stake choir again and I've LOVED it (especially the stake choir). This requires a lot of planning and sacrifice on both me and Michael's behalf, but its been worth it. I am so grateful for music, Christmas time and for the gift of the Savior, who brings meaning to every thing in our lives.

In other news, our taurus has a broken headgasket and its being fixed (I hope) right now. In the meantime, Michael and I are learning what its like to be a one car family. Not my favorite thing.

Kandace turned 10 months old. She is getting stronger every day and still lights up our lives with her beautiful smile.

Stetson turns 3 tomorrow!! More to come on that later!

A labor of love...

...or something like that. Michael and all his co-workers in the lab are sending care packages to the soldiers and Michael signed up for cookies so he's been making peanut butter cookies all night...about 12 dozen. Michael is such a good cook. The other night I didn't have anything planned for dinner so he said he'd make potato soup. I was a little skeptical because he didn't have a recipe and hadn't really made it before but it turned out soooo good. He made a rue (which he's made a lot because he makes biscuits and gravy a lot) and added all the veggies and kind of made it up as he went. This is so not my style-- I am such a recipe follower. I NEVER make stuff up because I have no confidence in myself I guess. But Michael's always adding a little bit here, a little bit there but it usually ends up really good.

Her mother's daughter/fun things about Stetson

Well I definitely decided Kandace is her mother's daughter when I fed her spaghetti yesterday. She loved it and ate quite a bit. She has been little miss cranky pants deluxe these last few days (new teeth?) but when I fed her some spaghetti her mood definitley lifted. Its crazy that this little miss is almost 10 months old. Wow. She is such a good baby and we love her!!

Stetson is so funny as always. For probably the last 2-3 months he asks us this: "Mommy/daddy you happy?" He usually just asks me when he just did something he thinks will make me mad or if he can tell I'm not happy. I'll say "no I'm not happy because you just..(insert negative behavior here) and then he'll ask me again if I'm happy and if I don't tell him I'm happy, he'll keep asking me until I answer "yes."

Stetson loves going to story time (the stamps are his favorite and using the glue at the craft table). Lately we've been getting a Dora book every time we go and it is his favorite thing to read until we take it back.

This boy loves to sing!! His favorite song to sing lately is the happy birthday song. He stacks things up (my rubermaid containers for instance) and pretends its a bday cake then sings. And he likes his mom and dad to join in too.

He's been sleeping great again (thank goodness). Occasionally he'll come in our room and ask to get in with us but we just walk him back to his room and he goes to sleep. His favorites lately are the movie ratitouille and oranges..he could eat those all day if I let him.

Stetson singing

Thanksgiving and a wedding

The Asays have been very this these last few days--Thanksgiving on Thursday then a wedding on Saturday--I loved it. We had Thanksgiving at Asay's at noon then headed over to the Simmons' for round #2. Everything was delicious and I am truly grateful for so many blessings.
The wedding was also great-I love going to cealings and being reminded of how special a marriage is and what we can do to make it better. Some great advice: Bruce R. McConkie said the most important thing we'll ever do in this life is marry the right person in the right place by the proper authority. One of the general authorities said the most important things a husband tell his wife are the following: I love you, that looks good on you, I'm sorry, we can't afford it. President Morrison also suggested making your spouse the most important thing, being their best friend.

me and my man

Stetson, aunt Fallon & Ben playing games

The official gravy stirrer

Some pictures

Here are my little love bugs a few mornings ago. Kandace is usually up before Stetson so after I feed her we go into Stetson's room sometimes and wake him up together. These 2 are a great pair--Stetson makes her laugh every day and she loves the entertainment. The next pic is Stetson in his pj's and irrigating boots--he was helping me rake leaves. I thikn we're almost there. We had a lot of leaves!!

icing

Maybe I should explain my true feelings for icing. I love icing. So much that I've never had a cake without it and I never plan to. I think icing is just as fundamental as the cake, because believe me, I've had icing by itself...lots of times (pilsbury funfetti is best). I think icing is better by itself than cake by itself.

However, referring to my spouse as "icing on the cake" was probably a lousy choice of words. Just to set the record straight, even though you already know it, Michael is much more to me than icing on the cake.

Twilight

The only beef I have with the twilight series is this--Bella and Edward don't think they can live without each other--she sees no purpose in her life without him and vise versa. I was actually depressed when reading the parts where she talked about life without him, because in her eyes, life had no meaning without him. I know I know, I'm sucking all the romance out of it, but here's my thing: in theory, I've always believed I should be a whole person despite others who may come in and out of my life.

I've been taught and believed whole heartedly that our significant others, whether they be our boyfriend, spouse, whatever, should only be the icing on the cake. I never believed in phrases like"soul mate, "I can't live without him" because stuff happens (we get dumped, lose our spouses) and when we have to tough it out on our own, I think we should behappy enough to live with ourselves.

thoughts??

Happy Anniversary!

I think anniversaries are truly something to celebrate, and Michael's mom and dad celebrated their 29th anniversary last Thursday. Stetson was so excited he decided to wear his bday suit(not really u just can't see his undies).

In other news, I finally bit the bullet and read Twilight, then I watched it, now I'm about halfway done with New Moon. Hopefully I'll finish it in time to see the movie. Do I like the books? Yes I do. They're fast, easy reads and its been fun to get into reading again--regretfully I haven't read for "fun" in forever.

Daniel and Kasi's wedding is quicky approaching, as are the Holidays--I'm excited, I love the holidays (and weddings).

Pocahontas snd John Wayne

Haloween at the Asay's was lived to the fullest this year--and we're still not done. It started with a great trunk or treat that our ward did. Tracy Bassett is the ward activities chairperson and she does AWESOME. Everything she plans is always so fun. Stetson was our pirate (thanks so much Rachel, we LOVED it) and Kandace was our penguin--same costume Stetson wore for his first Halloween. Michael and I were dynamic duo of cowboy and Indian. I was just thrilled I got him to dress up at all. What a great sport. Gotta love him. Last night Shannon and I threw together a last minute Halloween party in Byron--scategories and catch phrase never get old. :) Tonight we're going to the gma's & gpa's with the kiddos to trick or treat. Happy Halloween!

my morning so far

We woke up to yucky, snowy, windy weather today so I thought to brighten our day we'd carve pumpkins, so I bundled the kids up and headed for gma Asay's where the pumpkins were and headed back home for some pumking carving fun. This picture shows the extent of Stetson's participation in the pumpkin carving party. He wasn't so interested. He did roll up his sleeves and put his hand in but never actually touched the gunk. After I was done carving it I put a candle in it and turned the lights out and he started singing happy birthday to it. Just a heads up for first time moms: don't even try to carve pumpkins with your kids 'til they're ...4 or 5? I'm not sure but every Halloween with Stetson so far has been me carving the pumpkins.

Yesterday might have been the happiest day of Stetson's life because after story time I told him he could have a "spider muffin" that his cousins Zach & Ben made if he ate his potatoe soup.

We've been under the weather here but are hoping for a full recovery by tomorrow for the ward trunk or treat!

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Happy Halloween from the Asay's

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Being a first time mom

A couple days after Stetson was born, I took him to the clinic in Lovell for his first “check-up.” Since this was my first baby, I didn’t know what to expect.

The first thing they told me to do was take ALL his clothes off so they could weigh him. Some of my thoughts were, “seriously, lady?? I just got him all dressed, do you know what a pain that is??” Plus I remember being really nervous because I was totally new at this and not only was it awkward and stressful to dress/undress him, I’d have a complete stranger (who could do a better job than me) breathing down my neck the whole time. So I take his clothes off, they weight him; doc comes in and said he probably has jaundice and so we head for the lab to have some blood work done. I’m sure I didn’t fully realize what was happening (even though I should have because the doc was very sympathetically patting my back as we left) until we got in the lab and the lab aide put his gloves on and started talking about drawing Stetson’s blood. My thoughts this time were sheer fear because I didn’t think I could watch this happen to my precious firstborn son, and because I couldn’t imagine them drawing blood out of something so little. Immediately after I realized what was about to happen, I lied and said I had to go to the bathroom thinking I could hide out there and miss the whole thing. So I did—I went out into the hall, asked the nearest person where the restroom was and stayed in there a minute or two. Then I went back to the lab and sat outside the room and cried while I listened to Stetson scream as they drew his blood. Michael had to be the strong one and hold him through all of it—he was sweating afterwards. At the next blood draw I had a little more bravery worked up because I held him that time (instead of hiding in the bathroom).
There is nothing in the world like being a first time mom—at least for me. It was the biggest roller coaster ride of my life, and as I read all these sweet posts about my friends having their new babies, I can’t help but go back to when Stetson and Kandace came into this world and the feelings that accompanied me that day.

The good thing about raking leaves...

...is you can jump in them afterwards!

Stetson is such a joy to have in our home. His vocab is expanding every day and its SO fun to hear what he has to say...and interesting (and scary) to observe that he remembers almost everything I say and repeats almost everything I say. I better watch it!

He is doing AWESOME in the potty training dpt. knock in wood. He loves going to story time, playing with his uncles, watching Madagascar, eating "Lo-los" (cereal), taking his bath, drawing happy/sad faces on his magnedoodle, reading his Dora books (potty training reward) flushing the toilet and jumping on our furniture. We love you Stetson!

shout out

I took these father daughter pictures yesterday afternoon when Michael got home from work. He works full time at the hospital then goes straight to work for his dad after that...he's a hard worker. The black spot on his cheek is grease. These pics very appropriately capture Kandace & Michael's relationship...he loves her and she loves him. She loves to grab at his stubbly (is that a word?) beard and put her face on his. Michael is a dream dad--he gets up with them in the night, cleans the poop out of the potty chair, feeds baby, sings songs, gives bubble baths, the list goes on.

Kandace

Last night while I was at step, Kandace swallowed something. We're not sure what it was, but Michael said she swallowed it before he could get it out, and right after she swallowed it she cried hard. We were worried about what it was but thankfully Michael said he was able to lay her down and she went to sleep fine... until about 10:45 after we were both in bed. She started fussing so I immediately went in there because this is the first time she's done this. I nursed her for a little while then laid her back down. She immediately started crying again so to make a long story short, Michael and I took turns rocking/walking Kandace last night 'til what seemed really late but it was probably like midnight?? I know, nothing compared to what a lot of moms deal with on a regualar basis, but it was way out of the ordinary for us. Thankfully she's back to her normal self and hopefully back in schedule!! We'll see what the "surprise object" was next time she poops. :)

**************************************************

A while back I went to check on Kandace when she was sleleping, and as I watched her sleep I was so overcome. I can't even articulate how it feels, but all you moms know how incredible it is to watch your babies peacefully sleep. This baby is such a blessing. Heavenly Father has truly blessed us incredibily with 2, healthy beautiful babies and I am thankful.

Zach & Ben come to the farm

We got to play with Zach & Ben last weekend! They got to ride with Michael in the big truck when he was hauling silage to and from the silage pit, pick apples from the apple tree, help Jacob pick tomatoes from the garden, beat me in Sorry and ask lots of questions!! (its good preparation for when Stetson gets to that age). I think everyone had a good time. :)
I love how Stetson is just like totally oblivious to the camera in this picture

Ben (keepin it cool) & Zach

enjoying the scenery

I think that in the journey of life, too often we get too absorbed in the destination and forget to take a break and enjoy the "scenery" if you will. I've been looking back at old posts and realized for one, that Stetson has made huge strides with potty training, (even though he's not 100% there) and I'm grateful for it! Secondly, I will be the first to admit that being a stay at home mom hasn't always been easy for me, but this last week I have been truly grateful that Michael supports us enough that I can stay home. I watch other moms who work full-time, come home and try to squeeze everything in and it looks so hard!!! I'm grateful for this pace of life I have. Today and yesterday I was so lucky to be able to do some canning/freezing with Michael's 93 year old Grandma, Mildred. She is awesome. She never slows down, she's sharp as a pin and still offers so much to her family. I really enjoyed being out and spending time with her and learning new things--things I couldn't do if I was working outside the home. And just because, I want to share this awesome quote I found on my friend Jamie's blog (thanks Jamie).

Life isn't always easy. At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa--up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way. We all face rocky ridges, with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon. Sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision. Sharp edges of despair and discouragement just out of the terrian to slow our passage...

Occassionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we jave just traversed. Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing "All is well! All is well!"

Crazy coupon lady

(Don't worry dad, one of the V8 splash is for you)

Well I definitely haven't earned the "crazy coupon lady" title, but I am getting better and wanted to document this because I think it will be fun to look back and see how things change over time--prices, brand labels, etc. The retail value of all this is $118.47 and I paid $64.27. I am definitely still an amatuer coupon shopper, but I'm getting better! Thanks Rachel for teaching me the ropes. Remember that shopping game show where they have to get all these specific items, and there's like bonus prizes on the back of some, and they're racing against other people to get the most stuff?? Maybe it was called Shop 'til you drop? I feel like I'm on that show. Its sort of fun, but the most fun is when you're checking out, your items have been scanned and the checker lady scans all your coupons and your total amount just keeps getting lower and lower and lower with every beep....love it!

My potty wise book suggests that if your child isn't pooping on the potty yet that you take them to the toy store, let them pick out a toy, let them hold it, then put it back on the shelf and explain that once they go poop on the potty 3 days in a row, they can go back to the store and get the toy. Well Stetson didn't go with me, but at Wal-mart today I bought him a pack of fun Dora books that play music and all that jazz, and I showed it to him when I got home and he wants it SOOOOO bad, so I told him after he goes poop on the potty 3 days in a row he can have it. I showed him on the calendar what 3 days looks like (still not sure if he gets that part) and he immediately went and sat on the potty. He didn't go, but he has a great incentive to. I'm just so anxious to be done with this. He is 100% pee trained (during the day at least) and I just thought the poop part would follow immediately after he figured out the pee but not so much.

Thanks for the pics, dad

I know you were hoping for more poems, but here's some aweseome pics instead. My dad took most of these with his business camera. I LOVE them and it makes me want to save up for a nice one some day. The pic of my dad rocking Kandace is precious. He loves rocking babies to sleep so much he called me the next day just to thank me for letting him rock her because he loved it! We had a porch swing at her old house in Santa Rosa and he said he spent countless hours rocking all of us to sleep out there. Its important to stop and smell the roses sometimes. :-)

I LOVE these boys so much!

its your lucky day

because i'm going to give you a little sneak peak on my poetry skills...don't laugh...its called:


Once upon a time a little boy pooped his pants…

Not once, not twice but thrice, my friends
So she wiped and wiped, ‘til all the wipes were gone
And went along singing a happy song
‘til only minutes later, another surprise came along…
So to the tub she went, keeping her cool all the while…
She was no stranger to poop, just ask her friend Lyle (I don’t know a Lyle, it’s the only word that fit)
When suddenly, what floated up??
Code brown again? Could it be true?I read all the books, I tried every trick,
Is it ever ever going to finally click?
Haven’t I paid my dues, done my time??
Will I be done with this while still in my prime??

a little late

Kandace turned 7 mos on the 10th, and I haven't posted about it yet. She truly is our little angel. Some fun things about Kandace at 7 mos:

*She is really getting around!! Not crawling, just twisting and turning enough to get in the direction she wants to go in.

*She sleeps from 8:30 pm 'til around 7 am. She hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night since she was 2 mos.

*She's down to 2 naps now--one in the morning from 9 'til about 11 and one in the afternoon from about 1 'til 3ish.

*She LOVES her brother and is easily entertained by him.

*She's sort of shy. When a stranger smiles/talks to her, she ducks her head and leans into mom until she feels more comfortable.

*She's our little angel and we love her!

In other new... I had Stetson all dressed up cute so I could do some pics of him but of course my camera died. :( There is much to post about Stetson too--that will be in our next post. He's got the whole "peeing" thing down, the poop is another story. I think we're going to work on some huge reward system as soon as we can get to a store with TOYS!

homemade apple juice and labor day picnic

On Saturday we made homemade apple juice!! This is actually the 2nd time we did it, but this time I got to watch more closely what was going on since last time I was in with the babies. Stan & Jan have an apple juice maker that Stan's parents bought in the '70s when they had a really good year for apples. Its awesome!! Its really fascinating to watch how it all works and of coures its delicious. Today (Labor day) we went to sheep mtn and had a little bbq with the Asay's. There's some cool rock formations up there and I've always been curious what was "lurking" behind the fields. :) Stetson is progressing with the potty training!! His success began when he peed outside on the grass, and that's still his place of choice when he pees. He's starting to tell us before he has to go, which is also very exciting. He's struggling with the poop thing but we're further along than I expected. I hope it continues to go well. Michael has been a big help with the whole thing and takes him out whenever Stetson needs to go.