Christmas in September

Don't you just love when complete strangers go out of their way to make your day? I sure do!

I posted an ad on craigslist stating that I was looking for any crafting or sewing scraps that someone may be willing to give away. I just have a few projects that I would like to work on, but didn't have the supplies or really the budget. Well, this nice woman contacted me and ended up driving to my house and dropped off a big box of supplies at my house! Buttons, snaps, thread, fabric, fringe, filler... it was like getting Christmas in September! I was so touched by how sweet and thoughtful this lady was for bringing them to me (helpful, since I'm on bedrest!). I'll post pictures if I get a chance to make something out of these new Christmas presents!

Time crawls so slowly when it's flying by!

Well, 5 months of bedrest down... only {just under} 7 weeks to go! I am getting very anxious for this new little guy to make his debut into the world. But, in the meantime, Eli is LOVING school and Jax & Ty are keeping Gigi (Grandma Newton) very busy. Ty is literally all over everything. Here are a few things he has recently discovered:

1. He can pull out the drawer below the stove, stand on it, and use
the handle on the stove to climb as high as possible before someone catches
him.
2. Climbing on the couches gives him access to the living room window,
where he loves to pull out the wooden slats between the blinds and look
outside.
3. Climbing over the gate at the bottom of the stairs is as simple as
strategically placing his toes in the holes as quickly and efficiently before
being caught doing so.

What a busy boy! Jax is very busy too. As mentioned before, he has started preschool and is loving it. Every day he comes home with the cutest handouts, art projects, and stories from their "literary focus" time. We have started a binder to keep all of his preschool projects, and it is the first thing he pulls out ever Tuesday and Thursday when Eli gets home--Jax loves to show mommy and daddy what he has been learning. He is getting great at recognizing any letter and is quickly learning all of the sounds that each letter makes. Not bad for a 3-year-old.

Gauge (that is what we plan to name our new baby boy!) is moving, flipping, and kicking. Jax thinks it is hilarious when he can feel Gauge get the hiccups, and usually assumes that anytime he gets the hiccups Gauge has them as well. He always comes upstairs to lay on my belly and talk to Gauge... Jax is very excited for Gauge to get bigger and be able to come out to our house.

Jax is really funny and getting even more aware of everything that goes on around him--he doesn't miss a single thing! Last week he laughed when he saw a picture of a cow and said, "Hey mom, look! That cow has a pink wee-wee!" I tried to explain that it wasn't a wee-wee; instead, it is a nipple called an "udder" (I didn't think I needed to have a 3-year-old running around talking about a pink "teet") and that is where we get our milk. Well, that really threw Jax into a laughing fit! He knew that we get milk from cows, but apparently the thought of getting milk from the cow's pink "udder" wee-wee was just too funny. It's the mommy moments like this that I hope I remember forever and can re-tell at his wedding reception! :)

14 months, now time for toddler bed?

Apparently I am raising a monkey.

Jax has always been a good climber, but he is cautious and very deliberate in how and where heclimbs.

Ty, on the other hand, could care less about caution and is very deliberate about climbing however and whenever he can.

Case in point:

Here is how we found Ty this afternoon when we put him down for a nap. So now the dilemma is this: do we try to put him in a toddler bed? He is only 14 months old, so he's not going to be able to really understand the concept of staying in bed. But, I can't leave him in the crib with the risk of a direct dive bomb from the changing table! We can't detach the changing table without removing the sides of the crib--the "built in changing table" that was a selling point when we bought the crib is now starting to seem a bit like a nuisance :) This afternoon I did put him down in the pack 'n' play, and he didn't climb out of it... maybe we'll stick with the pack 'n' play for a while! YIKES!

30 weeks down, less than 10 left

This past Friday marked 30 weeks for me... the countdown has officially begun!

Okay, let's be honest for a minute: The countdown began the day I found out I was pregnant, seemed to speed up when it actually sank in that I was going to have three kids three-years-old and younger, and then slowed down dramatically when I was put on bedrest in May.

Since May I have had plenty of time to look at the calendar and count the days. But, at least at this point I can say that I have less than 10 weeks! We are so, SOO excited to meet our new little guy. Three little boys, I still can't believe it! Good thing I love blue!

First Days of School

Well, Eli started school yesterday and Jax started his first day of preschool today! Eli came home after a looooong day of orientation, and he seems excited for what this second year of dental school has in store. From what I understand, it will be less focussed on the science academics and more focussed on hands-on and pharmaceutical training. It is exciting to feel like we are making progress in meeting our goal to get out of the "living as students" phase!

I am waiting for Jax to come home from Preschool right now. He is being taught by a woman in our neighborhood who studied Elementary Education at BYU and has works as the Primary President in our ward. Jax was thrilled to start preschool with Miss Emily today, and I can't wait for him to come home so I can hear all about it! I think they were studying the Letter A today, and each child brought 3-4 show-n-tell items to get to know eachother. He is in a class with 5 other kids, all of them are either 3 or 4 years old (I think). I hope he's loving it!

A happy, happy birthday!

Jax's birthday was August 21st. I can't believe that Jax is already 3 years old! That means he is starting preschool on Tuesday. That means that he will be in Primary in January. That means that he is getting such a mind of his own, learning how to write his letters, and knows how to spell his name. That means that he has memorized the speed dial on my cell phone and often ends up calling Cici and Big Daddy before I even know where my phone is.

Three means he wears big boy underwear day and night, and uses phrases like "Probably I could do that in a minute, mom" and "Just a minute, I'm just busy right now." Three means that he picks up on every tidbit of every conversation that goes on around him, and has no trouble repeating it at some convenient (or inconvenient!) future point in time.

Three means he is growing up too quickly, and that our little colicky baby is just a memory. I can't believe he is getting so big!

Jax is the best big brother. He amazes me with how well he is able to share and how aware he is of Ty's needs. If we give Jax some cake, he'll say "Ty wants some cake too!" He even shares his new birthday toys with Ty without hesitation--that is amazing for a three-year-old! (That's amazing for most adults, come to think of it!). He seems to be growing by the minute, and we love him so much. This morning he woke me up by singing, "Good morning mary sunshine, and how are you today? You brighten up the flowers, and chase the clouds away!"

Who wouldn't want to be me when I get to wake up to that happy tune in the morning? WE LOVE YOU JAX! I hope you had the best third birthday!

ps. I'll post pictures soon of cake, party, and fun times :)

the time has flown by

I can't believe we are leaving this week to go back to Arizona!

I thought our time in Atlanta was maybe going to last forever :( We have had the best time seeing friends and family at-will during our stay, and it has made me sooo homesick despite the fact that we haven't even left yet! While I am loving our time in Arizona {truly!}, being home this summer has given me a bit of an "itch" to get back to the South. There is something about the culture, the architecture, and the way of life that is so unique to the South. Every time I come home I realize that there are parts of this that I am missing...they have become lost over time due to my time out West (no offense to you westerners--there's just something about "home" that I can't find anywhere else). I love seeing frat boys in their polo shirts, khaki shorts, and chums. I love how the girls get dressed & accessorized, even if they are just going to Kroger. The magnolia trees, the HUGE pines, kudzu, and mist coming off of the 'Hooch...the thunderstorms and crazy lightening, while "Rainy Night in Georgia" plays over and over in my head and the most genuine smile smears across my face. That is the South, that is home. And I already can't wait until we make it back.

Thanks, Pickens!

My wonderful husband surprised me by sending flowers this week. They are so gorgeous and they smell yummm! Just thought I'd take a minute to show them off :) Thanks, Pickens!

Well, we're in Atlanta!

After an interesting chain of events, we made a last minute decision to come to Atlanta for the summer. I have been really sick with this pregnancy (notice the lack of blogging!), so my parents offered to have us stay with them for the summer and let them take care of the kids while I'm on bedrest. Eli is still in Arizona studying for the Board Exam--he is taking it at the end of this month and then can come play with us in GA!

The kids have had a great time spending time with Cici, Big Daddy, E, and Lou, and hardly notice that I'm not up and around. Today Big Daddy took Jax on a train ride (MARTA) to a bookstore to look for "Jack and the Beanstalk." Here's a picture of Jax waiting for the train:

I can't wait for Jax to get back from his train ride and tell me all about it! :)

Ultrasound today...

...baby boy #3!

Happy Birthday, TY!

Ty turns ONE this next week on the 16th... I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by! We were lucky enough to have my mom in town, as well as Eli's cousins (Heather & Craig) so we threw a fun little party for Ty yesterday. We had such a great time! My mom was busy in the kitchen keeping pipin' hot crepes ready for everyone to eat. Kids and parents alike had fun stocking their crepes full of chocolate syrup, butter, regular syrup, sprinkles, strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, nutella....you name it! We scarfed them all right down. It was great.

It was pretty warm outside so we set up a fun kiddie pool for all the kids to swim. They ran around, splashed, jumped on our trampoline, had water balloon fights, and colored with chalk. We all enjoyed our snow cones and, of course, the cake!

I had a great time making this cake for Ty. I saw a picture of a similar cake online and--though, admittedly unsure about the end result--jumped in with both feet making everything from scratch. (Okay, so the chocolate cake came from a box and the googlie eyes were premade). I made the fondant icing and sculpted all of the pieces of the cake until they resembled the turtle parts I needed. Ty seemed to love it and Jax thought it was really cool. I was really happy with the way it turned out!

It was a wonderful and special day!

Today is the day!

Write it down in the baby books: TY IS OFFICIALLY WALKING!

He has been working on it for over 3 weeks now, and today we officially declare it "clicked." He is walking all over our living room and even the kitchen! He can start, stop, turn corners, make a u-turn, and even stand back up with no assistance once he has fallen down. Jax is just as excited as we are! I think he is seeing new potential in Ty as a playmate now that Ty can walk.

And as I wrote this post, Ty took a face plant. Luckily, it was on the carpet :)

The word is getting out...

...so I thought I might take a minute to confirm the rumors. We are expecting our third child! We are very excited and looking forward to having a new little one around November 11th. I am currently 13 1/2 weeks along.

Jax keeps coming up to me and saying he has a baby in his stomach. His baby's name is G.I. Joe.

Another attempt at catching up

Blogs are probably not as fun to read when there are no pictures associated with the post, but my computer keeps crashing (a Geek Squad representative said my mother board might be going bad) and therefore I have no pictures on my computer. There are some great ones that have been posted recently on facebook--both Eli and I are tagged, so you will have to meander over there for a visual of what we have been doing lately. Sorry!

My little sister Lexi came into town over Easter and we had the best time together! I have been homesick ever since she left. In true sister form, we spent our nights waxing and plucking eyebrows, doing mud masks, and laughing until everything hurt. One night (around 12:45am) I got the brilliant idea to dye her hair. Sounds scary, but it turned out fabulous--dark mahogany locks now flow around her face :) It is really cute, and it added some red to her hair. I think she liked it.

We also went to the zoo where we pet stingrays, crabs, and starfish. We fed some goats, giraffes, and white-tail deers. Eli got pounced by a panther (although the panther was in the cage and Eli was right outside), and I'm pretty sure that the panther wanted to eat Jax. He followed Jax everywhere we went; it made me a little nervous. We saw flamingoes, lions and monkeys, and the boys and I had a great time having Aunt Lou along for the ride.

We also went camping and fed the ducks at a local park. We couldn't have possibly fit more fun into a short trip and I am already looking forward to whenever Lex comes back out!

Ty is 10 months old now. He has 4 teeth on top and 3 teeth on bottom. He loves pizza (ha ha ha), olives, green beans, and potatoes. He will eat almost anything you put in front of him. He demolished bananas, strawberries, and oranges and will screeeeeaaam! until he is given more. He is a fabulous sleeper. He takes one nap a day now (usually around noon) and will go to sleep around 7pm. He sleeps in until about 7am, so I definitely can't complain.

Jax has finally started sleeping through the night--a welcomed treat considering he is 2 1/2 years old! He is getting very busy and is constantly running around. His favorite thing to do is to play football; he and Eli will get in a ready stance and say "down--set--hut!" Jax immediately starts running routes and looking for Eli to pass him the ball. He is also getting better at tackling, always going for taking out their legs as quickly as possible. He recognizes about 15-20 of the letters of the alphabet and is starting to learn what sounds each letter makes (he probably knows about 8 sounds already). He is good at counting up until 13, after which he jumps to 20 then 30 and then back to 13. He loves to read... his favorite book right now is "The Poky Little Puppy" or one of his new Mercer Mayer books. He is very good at doing his chores. Every morning, Jax gets up and feeds the dogs. He lets the dogs out to go potty throughout the day, and is also in charge of putting them in their kennels when we leave the house (and letting them back out of their kennels when we get home). He is very busy.

Eli's shoulder recovery seems to be coming along. Can you believe he is about 4 weeks away from finishing his first year of dental school??! We cannot believe it. He is still loving it and looking forward to the next few years that he will spend in clinicals and lab, doing more hands-on treatments. He has his first round of boards coming on July 2nd, so I think for all of us it will be a long summer :)

Not much to tell from my life. Just trying to stay afloat from being a mom. Just finished up teaching a 3 cheerleading classes at local recreation center. It was fun, but it will be better when I am not juggling it with little ones.

We are missing our families, but loving our lives!

Catching up

It seems like every couple of months I realize that I haven't written anything and have to do a mass "here's a compilation of everything that has been going on" post to try to catch up on all the goings-on. So...

Here's a compilation of everything that has been going on in an effort to catch you up!

Ty: This little stinker is busier than ever! He does his best to keep up with his older brother, and every day I am impressed by how well he actually does keep up. He is climbing stairs now, although I am not quite sure whether or not he knows how to go down the stairs. I have been teaching him everyday, but Ty doesn't think he has any good reason to go down the stairs--only up them. He has 2 teeth on bottom, 2 little nubbin teeth on top, and 2 more top teeth that he is desperately trying to cut through the gums. He eats a ton of solid foods and is obsessed with crawling all over the dogs. He thinks Jax is the funniest person he has ever met, and he is becoming quite the momma's boy. He is still as happy-go-lucky as ever, and just turned 9 months this week. We are sooo enjoying having him in our home!! He is saying more sounds and pretty much babbles non-stop all day long. The only consistent sound I think he does intentionally at this point is that he says "mmmmmmm" when he wants more food. Food pretty much drives Ty's entire day and is the foundation of every decision he makes.

Jax: I never knew a 2 1/2 year old could have such a great idea of what being a big brother means! I can't even begin to describe how cute it is when he is helping Ty. Jax loves that Ty can climb the stairs, because that means he and Ty can go in Jax's room with the dogs and shut the door to run around like silly little boys. Jax will stand at the top of the stairs and jump up and down while saying, "goood job, Ty! come on! you can dwooo it Ty! come to Jax room!" {to die for!}. Jax is also really helpful around the house--a concept I am really trying to cultivate and keep as he grows up! He loves to help wash fingerprints off the wall, wash sinks, change over the laundry, throw away diapers, let the dogs out of their kennels, put the dogs outside, and feed the dogs.... the list could go on. He is a total Daddy's boy and loves it when Eli takes him to Boy Scouts every Tuesday (Eli is a Webelos leader and is great enough to take Jax to their meetings). Jax is very interested in letters, numbers, and reading. His current favorite book is "The Poky Little Puppy" and he knows the sounds of the following letters: A, B, C, D, F, H, S, T. We're working on the rest. Granna (Eli's mom) bought us the "Your Baby Can Read" program and he is really enjoying the activities that come along with that program.

Eli: Reconstructive shoulder surgery was not the funnest way to spend his Spring Break, but at least (hopefully) the worst is over. He had the same surgery in 2004 but it quickly failed and his constant love of playing sports has totally demolished the ligaments in his right shoulder. He is being a good sport for someone who is restricted to a sling 24/7, can't take percocet because he still has to go to dental school, and can't play any active sports for at least 6 months. Despite the shoulder nonsense, Eli is loving school and is performing quite well (based off of the grade reports I've seen). He loves the hands-on aspect of the labs they are doing, and seems to be able to still do them despite his bulky shoulder sling. He does a really great job of balancing the stress of his dental program with spending family time. And I am realizing more and more how much he helps around here now that he can't help with both arms!

Me: There's not too much to tell, it is much easier to go on about the boys. I have just kept busy doing mom and wife stuff. I am in love with my CraftRobo and have really enjoyed the vinyl projects I have done so far. I am trying to work out more often, and have been going to a local gym. I'm not seeing any results yet, but I hope they come soon! Other than that, I don't have much to tell!!

We definitely took advantage of the beautiful weather we have had this winter. We went camping 2 weekends in a row (thank you, children, for being so good and actually sleeping this time!!!! It made all the difference!) and LOVED it. Nothing beats a warm fire, camping near a lake, and watching the boys get filthy while having a blast. I swear it is like living a stress-free life everytime we go camping. We don't do it nearly enough.

I'll have to post pictures soon. Till then...............

Lots of Laughs!

Jax and I were enjoying youtube videos when we stumbled upon this video. That red head has some serious moves! {as a side note for you, KALLEE: The entire time we were watching, Jax kept saying "jared is dancing!" and pointing at the red head. Guess Jared has some moves I haven't seen... particularly the "slap move"! Must be those Sunday mornings dancing on the coffee table! :) LOL}

It's a Snotty world out there...

and it's even snottier in here. We have been fighting colds at the Stephens house this week. I can just see the pleading in Ty's eyes... "please don't wipe my nose again!"

Jax plays with Ty

This is the second time in a week that I have come upstairs to find Jax in Ty's bed. Generally, it happens when I have decided that Ty needs to "cry it out" for a nap time (I guess that is so that I don't cry it out?)... Jax does NOT like listening to his little brother cry. I snapped a quick video on my phone today, so the quality isn't great but it is still a great little memory for me!

I love that my boys enjoy one another's company. I love that they want to spend time together and that Jax wants to take care of Ty!!

Call me Ashley Stewart...

...okay, so that is a slight exaggeration. BUT, I have been trying to learn new homemaking skills and I am really having a great time along the way! This last week I tackled my first canning project--choosing to can salsa, of all things. I used a local food co-op (Bountiful Baskets, for those of you in AZ or UT and are familiar with it) to purchase a 20-lb case of tomatoes. I bought and sterilized my cans, I picked out my seasonings, and I was very careful not to alter the pH of the salsa mixture too much (did you know that the salsa can spoil and blow up in the can!? Crazy). So far, there have been no explosions and we are enjoying fresh, homemade salsa almost every night of the week. I would guess that all 10 pints will be gone within the next 3 weeks if Eli keeps going at it the way he does :) I'm just so glad that he likes it! I had a fun time and I am keeping my eyes peeled for my next canning experiment.

After the canning, I felt like I was on a roll. We had some extra apples and bananas, so I threw them into the deydrator. We have all been enjoying banana and apple chips all week--Jax loves them, which I am thrilled about. I had some extra zucchini from the co-op delivery too, so I've been making zucchini bread today. I am realizing that I love having this fresh food on hand! Homemade is ten times better than store bought. I have to admit that I don't know if I will be able to keep up the momentum, but I am having a fabulous time along the way.

Ty is on the Move---Big time!

Well, Ty is definitely on the go! I think he gets his motivation from seeing Jax run around the house so much. He is trying to keep up, as best as he can, with his big brother! His crawling is really progressing. This isn't the best video, but it shows that he is definitely moving. He hasn't gotten up to the hands-and-knees crawling yet, but he will prop himself up and rock back and forth before army crawling all over the house. His latest achievements include pulling the top half of his body up on our bottom stair, and finding all of the wall outlets on the main floor! I'm scambling trying to remember how to baby proof everything.

While crawling may seem like a slight disaster for me (with having to stay one step ahead), I think it is safe to argue that Jax certainly sees it as a MAJOR disaster. Jax is very particular about his matchbox cars: He lines them up in whatever order he feels like they should go in, and is unflinchingly rigid when it comes to making sure his train-like car formation stays straight. Imagine the horror, then, to have a mobile 7-month-old who LOVES matchbox cars! We are teaching Jax to choose one car that Ty can play with, and I have been so happy to see how quickly he is catching on. He'll usually choose whichever car he cares less about that day and give it to Ty, while slowly moving the rest of the cars away in an orderly fashion. He is learning to share and really being a great big brother. This morning he followed Ty around taking away his toys, which we were not happy about. But, at least each time he took Ty's toys he said (in the sweetest voice), "Thank you, TY!" Then he would put the toy up on the table, couch, or nearest chair so that Ty couldn't reach it anymore. HA!

Eli hard at work

A mutual MWU dental student posted this picture of Eli on facebook!

Home again, Home again...

This holiday season has just flown by! We had a lot of time with family, and wouldn't trade a minute of it. Instead of giving a detailed run-down of our where-abouts, I thought I would list some of the major highlights:

*I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner, starting and finishing it all by myself! (Thanks to Joel, Michael, David, and Eli for cleaning up afterward!)
*Ty officially graduated out of 3-6 month clothes and is in 6-9 month clothes... and it happened too fast!
*Eli put up shelves and totally organized our garage
*I flew from Phoenix to Atlanta with Jax and Ty all by myself! Thank goodness Eli was with us on the way back
*Had our first Christmas with my new sister-in-law, Chelsea
*Got to see my family, and my sister came back from a 3-month stint in Ecuador
*Eli found the Christmas pickle AGAIN, which means he has only been beaten once in the five years that he has been with the family
*Ty had his first Christmas
*As usual, we were spoiled silly with generous gifts
*I SAW NEW MOON!

It would be impossible to talk about how much we loved being home and spending time with family. It is sort of nice to be home, only because now the boys will get back into a regular sleeping schedule (did they ever have one in the first place?). To all the family and friends we didn't have a chance to visit with over the holidays, know that we love you and cherish you!