He loves her...

It never ceases to amaze me how crazy Stetson is about his little sister. He is always wanting to lay by her, kiss her forehead and be right there front and center when we change her or anything. I hope he's always this good to her. :) Well life has been pretty uneventful lately--Michael is just working away at school and the bus barn. In case I haven't mentioned it, Michael didn't get into the medical school of his choice, which was the one in Seattle, but he had an interview for the military medical school and is feeling hopeful about that one. We won't find out for a while if he got in, but if he did, he'd have officer training in Texas I think towards the end of the summer then we'd move. If he doesn't get in, he's applied for a job in Powell as med tech. If neither of these options pan out, Michael says we'll just be hobos. :) Not really.
I started teaching step again a couple weeks ago, but I actually have an instructor in training co-teaching with me, so I just do warm-up and cool-down. Its pretty nice actually. I was really looking forward to doing a 5k at medicine bow in May and actually training for it this time but its on Sunday so that won't work. Anyone know of any coming up? Its been snowy and yucky for the past couple weeks so we've got a bad case of cabin fever, but we're looking foward to warm weather to come.
I've scheduled family pictures at Sears on April 11th so I've been brainstorming on outfit ideas. Anyone have any brilliant ideas??

Well thats about all thats happening right now. Here's some pics of some pretty cute kids (if you ask me).




I think she looks so good when she sleeps :)

Deja-vu

When Stetson was a baby, I would put him in this little blue bouncer we had and just stare at him and take pictures of him all day. I always promised myself I'd only print out a few of the hundreds I took, but of course how can a mom choose?? So I usually printed almost ALL of them out. Well today I put Kandace in that same bouncer and did the same thing and it brought back memories! I think there's some similarities but I'm thinkin Kandace looks more like me. Just my opinion though.

Kandace 1 1/2 months

Stetson is just 8 days shy of 2months in this picture


The weather here has been LOUSY and I'm patiently waiting for it to get better. This weekend its supposed to be nicer so hopefully we can go to the park or something. I wish I had a double stroller though so I didn't have to chase Stetson around.
Kandace is growing growing, she's smiling now and sleeping a lot better at night, which is nice. We're just really excited to watch her grow and look forward to being able to do more things with her this summer!!

blessing dress

I wanted to include a better picture of Kandace's blessing dress. Jan got it for us in Billings and it was BEAUTIFUL. We had so many nice comments about it. Thank you Jan (click on the pic to get a bigger image).

Spring Break

Well I feel very rejuvinated after a nice spring break--Kandace slept really well the whole week--one night even an 8 hour stretch. Some of our activities included going to the temple, blessing Kandace, having a big Asay/Simmons family dinner, visiting old friends, spending lots of time with family and eatings lots of delicious food. It was special to be able to bless Kandace close to home so that most of our family could be there. Teri and her sister Vicki took some family pics for the Asays --I'm excited to see how hers turned out--mine aren't the greatest. We're back in Laramie and enjoying the beautiful weather--we hope it lasts.
I gave the invocation in Sacrament mtg today and Michael said that after I said "amen" Stetson said, "good job, mommy!" What a ham.
a buncha Asays
a buncha Simmons'

We're #1
Michael's bro Christian and his beautiful familia
Zach and Trav getting some quality time with their GIRL cousin--kind of a cool thing. :)
Kandace getting to know here Uncle Daniel who recently returned from his mission.
Jacob is in a life skills class and they were having a child develpment unit and wanted the kids to bring in kids aged 2-3 if they knew any, and Stetson happened to be in town so he got to be "observed." It was so fun to watch all the kids play. Stetson had a BALL.
I love this picture--the day we left, Travis and Adam got to come to the farm for a couple hours to "work" and Trav was decked otu in his western wear. Too cute.

What we've been up to

So we're here in Lovell/Cowley for our spring break!! The word vacation takes on a whole new meaning when you have kids, because I pretty much feel like I'm in paradise being able to sleep in EVERY day. Michael has been able to help with Kandace during the night and in the morning so I can sleep more--its been heaven. AND of course we blessed Kandace on Sunday and had all our family there except my brother Clay and his family :( Hopefully we'll see them this summer.

We're loving getting to spend time with family and Stetson especially is eating up all the attention and treats that are readily available to him when he's around family. :-)

1 month old

So our little girl turned 1 month old yesterday. This is already going by too fast, its scary. Yesterday I was doing something with Stetson (putting him down for his nap I think) and he did something ridiculously cute (not an uncommon occurence) and I wanted to freeze time because I know it flies by and he won't be my little 2 year old forever. I hope he knows how much I love him. Anyway, Kandace had her 1 mnth weight check yesterday and she was about 8 lbs 9 oz so she's gaining weight which is great. Michael brought a cold home a few days ago, passed it to Stetson, Steston passed it to Kandace and now I'm getting it. I did have Stetson and Kandace both checked out at the clinic yesterday for their colds. Everything looks fine, they just have a little cold that needs to run its course. I am really thankful that our family has always been blessed with such good health. This is the only time Stetson's ever been sick besides runny noses accompanied with new teeth.

For Michael's bday yesterday we went to a nice restaurant here in Laramie, Altitude and it was pretty good. Michael had a blackened sirloin steak, I had a chicken pasta thing and Stetson had a personal cheese pizza and he LOVED it. He was definitely the entertainment for the evening. He loves to ask us to identify things like letters, numbers, animals (I wonder where he got that?) and then he'll ask us what sound they make, followed by "good job, mommy!" Or daddy or whoever. We're pretty crazy about him. Michael requested the cheesecake his mom makes so I got the recipe and voila. It was really easy and pretty delish. s
so maybe Michael was a little excited about the cheesecake...

every time we celebrate a birthday Stetson thinks its his--so funny, so Michael let him blow out the candle at Altitude and home.

The big 2-6

Happy Birthday Michael!! We love you and hope you have a great birthday.
26 things about Michael you probably didn't know

1. He loves M*A*S*H –I’m pretty sure its his favorite show ever
2. When he’s home, he changes as many diapers as I do
3. He’s sensitive
4. He only snores when he sleeps on his back
5. He’s reeeeeally ticklish
6. He rubs my feet and I LOVE it
7. He has a couple gray hairs (YIIKES!)
8. He loves babies and will hold anyone’s
9. He went to his senior prom with his cousin
10. He likes to watch American Idol as much as I do
11. I love the pancakes he makes—they’re way better than mine
12. He makes AWESOME scrambled eggs
13. He likes to add a million seasonings to everything he makes
14. He’s a people pleaser
15. He picked the name Stetson
16. He always wants me to pick where we go out to eat
17. He HATES to shave
18. He’s afraid of sharks
19. He always wants to sit in the back whenever we go to church, bball games, whatever
20. My nephews like him better than me and usually when they see me the first thing they say is, “where’s Michael?”
21. He’s a homebody and would rather be home with us than out
22. He doesn’t like leaving our kiddos with babysitters
23. He loves to bake homemade bread
24. He’s a peacemaker
25. He lets me steal the covers all night (I don't do it on purpose, I promise)
26. He’s one of the most patient people I know
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL I LOVE YOU!!

8 things

8 Favorite TV shows
1. Little People, Big World (I know, how lame am I?)
2. Jon & Kate Plus 8
3. American Idol
4. So You Think u Can Dance
5. ...that about sums it up

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Took a shower
2. made my bed
3. talked to my dad on the phone
4. Did dishes
5. fixed lunch for Stetson
6. cleaned
7. Gave Stetson a bath
8. Gave Kandcae a bath


8 Things I look forward to:
1. 8 hrs of sleep
2. going home for spring break
3. summer
4. doing step again
5. being tan
6. seeing Kandace smile
7. Michael's bday next Tues.
8. for Michael not to have to get up at 5 am every day

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Olive Garden
2. Togos
3. Texas Roadhouse
4. Cowtown
5. noodle express in billings at mall
6. Wingers
7. China Town
8.

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. 3 bedroom apt.
2. my own washer and dryer
3. for michael to get into med school
4. for merry maids to come to my house :)
5. an uninterruptd night's sleep
6. shopping spree at ross
7.

i tag everyone

More firsts

Last night Kandace went to her first BYU vs. Wyo game and later that night had her first bath, which started out pleasant, but after a few minutes she decided she didn’t like it after all. Michael and I were talking last night about how much calmer we are this time around. Whenever Stetson cried, it was like this panic alarm went off inside of me and I thought the world was ending. Obviously I don’t like it when Kandace cries but I don’t worry so much. I was reading in one of my books that crying not only is an indication of hunger, too hot, too cold, tired, irritability, but it can also indicate the simplest thing like boredom. After all its their only way of communicating so they’re going to do it a lot.

A lot of people have asked how Stetson is handling having a new sister—honestly I could not have asked for a better reaction. He truly loves his “baby” and gets excited every time he sees her. His first response when I bring her downstairs after a nap or feeding is “Oh baby!” He loves to hold her and asks to all the time. I don’t think he’d ever turn down an offer. I used to worry a lot about leaving her alone with him in the same room for even a second, but I’m less worried now because he’s been really gentle with her for the most part. He constantly points to her nose, eyes and mouth while naming each part and he kisses her ALL the time and I’ve never even asked him to. Michael might have once but I haven’t, so its precious to me that he does it voluntarily. In addition, Stetson has been an ANGEL since she’s been born, honestly. I don’t know if Heavenly Father is just giving me a little grace period while I adjust to having a newborn, but he really is. I’ve had moments with Stetson when my patience has been tested more than any other time in my life, and I know that through those experiences, my patience has grown and things that would send me over the edge usually are just normal happenings now. I really think Stetson has acted some ways for no other reason than to teach me patience, and I’m grateful for that, because I needed that lesson and feel myself getting better. Anyway, this is all mostly for journaling purposes.
goin to the big game
Matthew & Stetson
Kandace's first bath

A day of firsts

We went to state wrestling in Casper on Saturday to watch Jared and had a great time. It was Kandace's first "trip" and yesterday was her first time wearing a dress and tights, her first trip to church, and her first time meeting her great-grandpa Monk. The whole outfit was a little ridiculous since she was practically drowning in it, but she still looked pretty. :) It was nice to go to church again and see our friends and do my calling. Gmpa Monk brought a book for Stetson with lots of pictures, numbers and letters so he was pretty excited about that, and he brought a blanket for Kandace. Thanks gmpa Monk & Donna.

We're enjoying BEAUTIFUL weather today. Hopefully the whole week is like this. We need some sun!