Matt & Breanna Stevens

CH-CH-CH-Changes

2011-07-04T17:32:00.001-06:00

Well, the first year of law school is over and we're still alive!!!!

It actually wasn't as bad as we'd thought, it wasn't easy though. Matt kept his scholarship, hooray!! He's doing an internship with an Orange County judge this summer and tutoring LSAT (law school entrance exam) students. I'm still working from home setting up a lending company owned by a friend.

Kaelyn is talking up a STORM! She has an amazing memory and will sit and "read" books to us now. She has also started singing on her own (her favorite Twinkle Twinkle Little Star).

I have started running, crazy I know, right?! Today I ran the 4th of July 5K in my stake. I did it in 34 min. I'd like to do 30 min--or faster--next 5K, not sure when .

We are moving AGAIN......I think we've moved more times than any other couple marriage about 6 years. We'll be farther from Chapman :( but it is to a large 3 bedroom and we'll be right by John and January (in fact, they'll be our apartment managers). No, I'm not pregnant; we've had a different kind of addition to our family. My mom moved in with us. It's a hard transition for everyone, but I really think both my parents will be happier in the long-run and things are going just fine having my mom with us (the extra set of hands--when she's actually home--with a two year-old is pretty nice)

New Apartment, Christmas, Birthdays, Where Has the Time Gone?

2011-05-03T00:25:00.000-06:00

I was looking at other people's blogs today and realized I haven't blogged since December 9th 2010! Wow, where to start?

   We moved into an apartment one week before Christmas. It's in Orange, not the best part, but not a terrible part either. It's 2.3 miles from Chapman, so it's possible for Matt to walk home (though I usually don't make him walk) especially since he's been pretty darn good about running on the track at school and doing push-ups at home and we've both started doing "8 min abs" (he's much better about keeping on top of it than I am, but I'm taking baby-steps to a healthier life style).
   So, back to December....We had a great Christmas in our own place. This is the first time ever in our married lives we've woken up and had a Christmas morning in our own place. It was great! Kaelyn was really excited to get her stocking and presents.
   We spent Christmas Eve with the Stevens clan, which was busy and fun as always. In the gift exchange I was assigned Sierra and gave her a certificate for an afternoon of activities. Just a few weeks ago our schedules finally matched up so she could redeem it. The activities she chose were making marshmallows (and s'mores of course) and pedicures. We made chocolate chip-toffee and peppermint marshmallows. They were delicious, the mint ones were really good, but not my favorite on graham crackers.
   Back to December once again.... Matt really needed some new clothes thanks to the weight he's lost :) So, he mostly got clothes from Kaelyn and me. Kaelyn got a car mat that I made with familiar locations to drive her cars to. Matt got me a beautiful ring that is similar to the one I had when he proposed but sadly lost a few years ago.
   The new apartment is really nice inside and we are happy to have our own space, even though it means more loans (fortunately, I did a job--not as quickly as we would have liked, but I can still be with Kaelyn all the time, which was a requirement that made finding a job really difficult).
   The other big challenge of moving was a new ward. As you probably don't recall from the last post, Kaelyn was very fond of Sister Wert, her nursery leader. Moving threw off the whole nursery thing all. But....the last three Sundays she has stayed in nursery all on her own! What a big girl!
   January wasn't very eventful. February brought Kaelyn's 2nd birthday! It was Cars themed (it was her favorite movie at the time). She had a "small" family party. Although we only invited family we still had about 20 people! She was the happy recipient of many gifts.

   March was Alyx's 20th birthday so we threw her a party! That one really was small, just Mommy, Daddy, Thomas, Chelsie, Maya, Matt, Kaelyn and me. We had sushi, chicken, rice and red velvet cheese cake.
   April was Thomas' 18th birthday! He wanted Ikea meatballs, potatoes and lingdonberry jam. I made him a camping themed cake (Mommy, if you have a picture, please send it) with a s'mores filling, mountains, a lake, a tent and the van he and his friends usually take camping. April was also my birthday! Matt got me an annual pass to the Discovery Science Center (it's only about 2.5 miles from our apartment!) I've already taken Kaelyn four times. She loved the Sesame Street exhibit, and I'm sure she'll miss it now that it's gone, but there will be new things to see and learn next time we go. In April Matt also was a quarter-finalist in the Golden-Gavel competition. (It's like mock-trial, but is practice for appellate court) We are so proud of him!
   Now it's May. Kaelyn talks like crazy (no idea where she got that from) and is pretty dramatic. There are very few dull moments with her around. We adore our little (though rapidly growing) girl.
   Matt is almost done with this first year of law school! He'll be a third of the way through in a little over a week! Next up: internships...Matt has two this summer, one with a judge and one with the city of Orange. Neither is very far away but I'm sure they'll keep him busy. Luckily, Matt is really good about making sure to spend time with Kaelyn and she absolutely adores him. So, even though we're in for a long stretch of crazy schedules, I'm glad we're still making lots of good family memories.

Cute Randomness

2010-12-09T11:57:00.001-07:00

I realized I should keep track of all the really funny things Kaelyn has done lately, I'm sure I'll forget a few, but here's what I could think of right now:

She was asleep and I was going to leave her (Pat & Virla were home) while I picked Matt up from school, but when I went in to get my shoes she sat up & I told her to go back to sleep. She said "Daddy go." Seems like she knew where I was headed and was not about to be left behind.

When Kaelyn is sad/hurt Matt says, let's get the screwdriver and fix it, he takes his index finger and "fixes" her elbow, knee, etc. We've been talking about weening her...one day she wanted to nurse and Matt told her "it's broken, you can't nurse." She pulled out her screwdriver and "fixed" my boob. (Yeah, she's still nursing).

Recently when she's come across disabled signs she says "Grandma".

We were visiting Daddy at school and our friend, (and Matt's study-buddy) Nicole, let Kaelyn have an apple. When we got in the car Kaelyn said, "Nicole, apple." The next day I told her we were going to see Daddy and she asked, "Nicole, apple?"

Whenever she sees a nativity she says, "baby Jesus" (which sounds a lot like baby cheeses).

Kaelyn has been learning animal sounds, she knows: cow, duck, horse, sheep, cat, dog and Matt taught her the professor says, "blah, blah, blah."

When the nursery kids sang "Popcorn" on Sunday she covered her eyes (in the "look out the window" motion, but left them there the whole time).

The nursery leader Sister Wert got up to bear her testimony and Kaelyn said, :Wert! Wert!"

Halloween!

2010-11-01T13:50:00.002-06:00

We reused Kaelyn's parrot costume from lat year (it fit way better this time see?)....and Matt & I were zoo keepers!

It was tons of fun; especilally since we actually went trick-or-treating this year and Kaelyn totally got in to it. She can't say "trick-or-treat" but she did say "thank you" (sounds more like kak ooo, but we know what it means). I think the cutest part of the night (I wish I had a picture of it) was when she walked a step ahead of us and was dragging her bag on the ground, she carried it the whole time we were out (not very long, but in toddler time I'm sure it was super long). She just seemed like a such a kid, rather than a baby!

Condos & Crowns

2010-09-25T14:23:00.000-06:00

Our condo in Orem, UT is no longer our condo! It's closed and funded and we no longer have to worry about it :) Thank you Chad & Mandy for buying it; good luck Justin with your roommates.

In other news, we've discovered that 12 year-old crowns may pop off when introduced to taffy. Fortunately, my in-laws have gone to the same dentist for a very long time and are friends with him....So, a phone call to his home later, I have my crown firmly back in place! Happily, the original workmanship (thank you Drs. Bowles and Griner) was fabulous and very little was required to get things back to where they belong.

Cute-ified My Site

2010-09-23T14:18:00.000-06:00

I'm excited about the make-over I gave my custom digital creations site (http://printablepdfs.weebly.com/) It's still a work in progress; but I have been taking and filling orders for a few months now and it is really fun!

Not Sure What to Write

2010-09-15T18:08:00.000-06:00

It's been a while and I feel like I should blog, but I also am not sure what to write about. My friend Brandie had a really cute post on her blog about all the things she'd talk to you on the phone about (given the time). I posted a comment saying I'd like to do that....So, here it goes:

I've just finished reading a book called The Purity Myth; it has some really interesting points and good insights, I don't agree with the whole thing and I think some the writing is a bit whiny/immature, but it certainly provides some food for thought.

I love the blog (http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/) I stumbled across recently and want to do something similar (but on a much smaller scale) when I don't have a toddler running around. This lady takes yard-sale clothes (usually dresses) and alters them to much cuter-modern items.

I still love cooking, weekly menu planing not so much, and even day-to-day cooking can be boring at times. But, it's awesome when a new recipe turns out just right or I finally alter one to perfection that I've used before. Desserts are still my favorite, but ourbestbites.com has lots of great savory recipes too.

Kaelyn is at a fun stage of life (seems like she always is). Right now she is learning new words like crazy--although it's often tricky to distinguish which words she's trying to use. She is also super busy running around and playing, but still enjoys sitting with Mommy and Daddy to color a picture or read a book (sometimes). It's really cute to see how excited she gets when people come home; she's still working on pronouncing names, but she's getting pretty close.

I wish the sale of the condo would just finish up already, there have been so many fun road-blocks along the way....but I think there's light at the end of the tunnel! (Hopefully.)

I think Medi-cal (called Medicaid in the rest of the US) is painfully slow and poorly administrated, yet I'm grateful it exists since we can't afford medical insurance right now (but I really wish we'd get approved already, I mean we've got 0 income, how hard is it to determine that a family of three during school qualifies?)

I'm happy to be back in California, but actually miss a few things about Utah (mostly people--you know who you are :)

Well, I guess I'll leave it at that for now; I should really start on dinner for tonight. If you actually want to talk about any of my "What I'd talk to you about" topics, send me an email, or shoot me a call, or leave a comment, or use smoke signals, or okay, I guess I really should go. Hope things are going well for you and yours.

Wow, it's been a Long Time!

2010-08-17T13:49:00.000-06:00

We're now in Anaheim, back from our last trip before law school. Kaelyn seems to be adjusting well, she sure loves having so many people who love to pay attention to her around.
Matt starts school tomorrow and I've been called as the Laurel's Advisor. Looks like we'll be busy, but hopefully I'll be better about keeping up on the blog! Kaelyn's scrapbook is up to date at least :)

California, Here We Come (back)!

2010-06-27T17:33:00.001-06:00

Today I taught the last lesson I will teach in Lake View 1st Ward. It was bitter sweet; I was more emotional than I bargained for & I will really miss this ward. We are excited to be starting a new chapter, but change is never easy. We will miss the friends and family we have here. Kaelyn will miss the "neigh neigh"s (horses & cows), the Johnson family & her other friends, aunts, uncles and cousins. Though we are happy to be able to make new friends and reconnect with old ones. I now understand how parting truly is "sweet-sorrow".

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T15:08:00.000-06:00

We took the opportunity to use our free Disney tickets (from give-a-day-get-a-day) on Thursday and prepped our new room Friday & Saturday (thanks to those who helped and to Pat & Virla for letting us move in in a few weeks). It was a great weekend but very tiring.

Spring has Sprung

2010-04-22T15:54:00.001-06:00

The weather is finally nicer more often than not! Matt has been soaking up the sun on his bike and we bought a trailer so Kaelyn can join him (we're still deciding if I will get a bike too or if I will just enjoy alone time when Matt takes the baby).

Kaelyn and Daddy giving it a test run (she'll get a helmet before they go for a real ride :)

I was moving some pictures around and found some from a month or so ago & just had to post them. Kaelyn has started wanting to copy EVERYTHING we do, super cute & fun! (It can be a pain too, but for the most part I love it). Here she's helping me make scones.

More about our copy-cat...the past few days I've had a little cold & Kaelyn has been cutting teeth, not a fun combination. I've had toilet paper around for nose blowing purposes and we've caught Kaelyn ripping off small pieces & "blowing her nose" (she holds it up to her upper lip and blows with her mouth)....it's pretty cute. Since she's been teething, we've given her Tylenol to help with the pain. I'm not sure if she associates it with relief, likes the taste, or just thinks liquid from a dropper is fun, but last night we gave her some and she kept asking for more which we did not give to her. We did, however, get out another dropper and a glass of water which she was very happy to have. Can you say placebo-affect? What a silly girl.

Happy Birthday To Me :)

2010-04-13T16:23:00.000-06:00

So, I LOVE getting free stuff and birthdays are an awesome time to get freebies, so I thought I'd post links to some of my favorite freebies I got this year!

http://www.deltaco.com/ravingfansignup.html
http://www.redrobin.com/eclub/
http://www.rubios.com/beachclub/
http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/birthday/birthday_club.aspx
http://fuddruckers.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe&inputsource=w
http://www.orangejulius.com/sec_quenchclub.html
http://noodle.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe&InputSource=W
http://www.sonicdrivein.com/home.jsp#/members

Easter Pictures

2010-04-09T15:06:00.000-06:00

Our Little Bunny

Easter Dress

Edible grass, how cool is that?

Chalk!

Look at our cool silk-dyed-eggs!

Feeding the Ducks

Kaelyn Update

2010-04-07T13:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it's official; we have a toddler. Kaelyn is walking everywhere. She almost never crawls anymore! Although we've had snow recently (we are so done with snow now that it's fallen on & off for 6 months), today is beautiful and there have been a few nice days recently. We've found that Kaelyn LOVES the outdoors. We've been to the park, the playground (here in our complex), colored with sidewalk-chalk, and gone on walks. She gets a huge kick out of slides, swings and dogs. We also enjoy feeding the ducks, but Kaelyn doesn't like it when they get too close.

Grandma Miriam came up for a few days this Easter and got to enjoy a few hours of nice weather with Kaelyn. All the pictures are on her camera, so we'll post some when we get them.

Pictures!

2010-03-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

As promised here are Kaelyn's First Birthday Pictures

She refused to stand on her own, so here she is standing while holding on to a chair.

This one just says, "I'm gonna get you!" to me anyway.

Grandma came up so we had to get a 3 generations shot.

Our little family

My favorite from the photo shoot :)

Kaelyn is One!

2010-02-23T14:21:00.002-07:00

Kaelyn is getting to be more and more of a handful and also more and more fun. She crawls super fast & can stand on her own for brief periods now. She loves playing with the animal magnets on the fridge & all her toys.

On the 13th we had a Lego-themed birthday party for her (I was so excited that they made "girly-colored" legos that I couldn't resist!)

We had a Lego cake (brownies and super yummy frosting a'la bestbites) made by Mommy & Grandma

We made Lego invitations &amp: party favors too; fortune cookies that had the message "Thanks for Coming" written in legos.

We also had a puppet show! (Thanks to Cindy, the Bishop's wife.) It was so fun and everyone enjoyed it. Kaelyn wasn't scared of any of the puppets she even clapped and danced with them.

We're so glad to have our little girl. It's amazing and strange to see how someone so helpless just a year ago now has a distinct personality and opinions. Happy Birthday Kaelyn!

Kaelyn vs The Shower

2010-01-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

This was just too funny not to post....
Many of you probably know that I was a VERY needy baby. So needy/clingy that while we were down in California for Christmas, when Kaelyn got really squirmy in my mom's arms I had to tell her that Kaelyn wanted down, because it didn't even occur to Grandma that a baby would prefer the floor to being held!

Well...Kaelyn may enjoy the floor but not if she has to be alone. I was taking a quick shower and Kaelyn was playing on the floor, she started fussing so I was talking to her letting her know that she really was okay and that I'd be done really soon. Suddenly, the crying got a little louder and I felt a tiny hand on my leg. She had pulled herself up on the side of the tub and reached through the curtain. This caused two things: she was able to reach me and water was able to reach her. She was soaked and not happy about any of it.

I pulled back the other side of the curtain and got her to come to that side (where water wouldn't be pouring out of the shower) and dried her face with a towel. This didn't satisfy her. I had to pick her up (I am in the shower, dripping wet, and still need to finish showering) and hold her while I soaped up and conditioned my hair.

She was wet, but happy. I now know to what lengths parents (or at this parent) will go to keep their children happy. To my mother: sorry if you ever had to shower one-handed; if so, pay-back has been had.

Review of 2009/Dec. Trip Report

2010-01-08T11:34:00.003-07:00

January--we spent the month getting ready for Kaelyn (taking childbirth classes, assembling the crib, etc.)

February--Kaleyn surprised us all by coming early & on Valentines! Grandma (Miriam) & Jennifer were a great help with this transition.

March--I think this is the month Jen actually came (Feb-April are kind of a blur) I think this is also the month Matt really started putting in lots of hours studying for the LSAT, I think this is also when I started Kaelyn's scrapbook.

April--I turned 23; Kaelyn had her first round of immunizations & was uncharacteristically cranky all day

May--Mother's Day! I got a Kitchen Aid (and have been putting it to good use) We went to Vegas because Stephanie had surgery, our (well, Kaelyn's) job was to be cute & cheer up Steph & Becca. Kaelyn & I also went to California (since we were half way there already).

June--We started going to play group at the pool, Matt had his first Father's Day as a father. I attempted to do a work from home thing, it wasn't worth it in the end.

July--Kaelyn's first trip to England! We had a blast, you can see our UK scrapbook here.

August--Grandma (Miriam) came to visit. We celebrated our 4th anniversary. I decided to start an online baby boutique.

September--Matt turned 26, took the LSAT (and did very well), I got Beaded Baby Boutique up and running.

October--Kind of a sad month...I had my wisdom teeth pulled (luckily I only had 2), and we had to find Charlie a new home (he was too protective of Kaelyn & me). But Kaelyn & I did get to go to California! Plus we were all super cute in our pirate-themed Halloween costumes :)

November--We decided for the first time in 4 years to go down to California for Thanksgiving it's a long drive for a few days, but it was great! Kaelyn even did pretty well in the car.

December--California again! Kaleyn and I flew down on the 16th; Matt started driving on the 16th, stopped in Vegas and saw the Cir de Soleil Love show, which he said is amazing, he then drove on to Arizona to attend ASU's Law Day on the 17th, he arrived in California that evening.

We (Grandma, Matt, Kaelyn & I) went to Disneyland the 18th, thank you Grandma for getting us signed in by a friend. The 19th we threw a surprise 25th wedding anniversary for my parents (who's anniversary is actually in January)-thank you everyone who came & many thanks to my in-laws who help out a lot.

We celebrated Christmas/Christmas Eve with our families & the 26th many of us (14 adults, 1 child, 3 infants) went the Aquarium of the Pacific (it was packed, but still fun).

We heard from a few law schools and Chapman University Law School offered Matt a full scholarship! (We're still waiting to hear back from ASU before we decide which one to attend for sure, but Chapman is certainly in the running.)

New Year's Eve was spent going to bed early so we could get up and go to Arizona on the 1st. We saw married student housing (which is very nice) and visited with Kendal & his family. We drove on to Vegas and stayed with Becca & Stephanie for the night and the next day we walked around City Center & went out for sushi. We arrived home safe & sound Sat night/ Sun morning.

We had a great year & expect wonderful things (although I'm sure there will be trials too, as always) in 2010. I'll be sure to post: once we know which school we're going to, when the condo sells, when Kaelyn does things too cute not to post about.

Holidays

2010-01-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

I still need to blog a bunch about Thanksgiving & Christmas, but I finally caught up on Kaelyn's scrapbook :)

Send Thanks to Our Troops

2009-12-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Halloween

2009-11-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

This year we dressed up as a pirate, a piratess (okay, okay, a wench), & a parrot.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

For an FHE last month we carved pumpkins with Miriam, Steve & Brennen. Here's how ours turned out:

Pumpkinland

2009-11-10T10:33:00.003-07:00

For a date-night in October we went to a small pumpkin patch at the local nursery. It was really fun & we got some cute pictures:

Super Behind

2009-10-28T20:13:00.001-06:00

Since I have lots of pictures and things to post, I'm just going to do a few short posts to get caught up.
Sadly, we had to find Charlie a new family as he was getting too protective of Kaelyn and me. We gave him & all his things to his new family for free. We just wanted him to be happy and have a much needed backyard. Matt called about a week later to check on him, he seems to be doing fine. We miss our doggy, but hope he's happy.

On a happier note, Matt took the LSAT and got a 164! (That's good, not quite as high as he was hoping for but nothing to thumb your nose at.)

Coming soon....pumpkinland, pumpkin carving & Halloween costumes!

Loss of Wisdom

2009-10-05T13:25:00.000-06:00

Life is busy as always, but right now I'm just takin' it easy. Friday I had 2 wisdom teeth removed (luckily, I only had 2 to begin with). It wasn't as bad I had anticipated & Matt took great care of me & Kaelyn & Charlie too. Matt took the LSAT and we're so happy that's over! We'll get his score probably in about a week and a half. Kaelyn is as cute as ever & seems like she really wants to be mobile, but hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing yet (still several face-plants away from that I suppose).

6 months

2009-08-28T11:12:00.000-06:00

Now that Kaelyn is closer to 7 than 6 months I've finished her 6 month scrapbook page. She is such a happy baby :) and we're so happy to have her.
Things are crazy as always but we're all doing well. There's less than a month until the LSAT (hooray!); we've almost finished redecorating the great room (pictures coming soon); and I've got the beginnings of my new website/business up and running!

Oops, I'm not keeping on top of this blogging thing very well....

2009-08-23T16:43:00.002-06:00

I really will need to start posting more with all the fun things Kaelyn is doing now! Can't believe she's 6 months old already.

She rolled over completely on her own and infront of more than just Matt while my mom was here a little over a week ago. She rolled from tummy to back; now she rolls both front to back and back to front.

She's really enjoying soild foods now & I've started making baby food and freezing it. She likes: carrots, avocado, bananas, peaches, little tastes of bread and accepts rice cearal but would rather have fruits or veggies. Sadly, this is the end of the era of those nice breast-milk-only-diapers :( Yesterday Matt was changing a diaper and I heard him from the other end of the condo exclaim, "Oh My Gosh!" I went to check on him and the baby to discover everything was just fine, Matt was just in shock at the volume & smell-factor of 6-month-solids-eatting-baby-diapers.

She also enjoys playing with toys, Mommy, Daddy, Charlie and anything else she can get her hands on and preferably into her mouth. She babbles a lot and is currious about everything.

In the midst of all this execitement we are also redecorating trying to get our condo ready to sell next summer (we want it to look as big and nice as possible). We've sold most of our great-room furniature via craigslist and have bought new (or in some cases new to us) funiture, I've sewn drapes and curtains, throw pillows and a TV stand cover (thank you Mommy for helping with Kaelyn so I could do so much).

Well, we'll keep you posted on the amazing things our girl does and the things we're doing too, I'll post photos soon.

Back in the US of A

2009-07-24T16:18:00.002-06:00

So I'm almost done with scrap-booking our trip you can see it here. I also did Kaelyn's 5 month page; which is good since she's already 5 and a half months! My how time flys! All in all things are going well: I quit my online job (keeping on top of their new guidelines and such was taking too long --and they don't pay you for that part!), Matt is still getting ready for the LSAT, Kaelyn is growing like crazy and starting to sample soild food--so much fun! We did find the cammera cord, but we erased the video of her eatting rice cereal! Oh, well, we'll get footage of some closer to real food (mashed up veggies of some kind) when she turns 6 months.

Oops it's been much longer than I'd intended

2009-07-17T12:21:00.004-06:00

Kaelyn is now a world traveler and is 5 months old. I've started scrapbooking the trip and will let you know when it's done. Here are some pictrues to tide you over.

We saw beautiful castles and landscapes

Kaelyn loves the good stuff

We saw Great-Grandad and Grandma

We let Kaelyn drive the Benz

4 months!

2009-06-22T12:06:00.003-06:00

Well, if I ever find the cammera cable I'll post the video of Kaelyn's first taste of rice cereal, but here's some 4 month photos...

New Job

2009-06-12T10:56:00.003-06:00

Kaelyn is still as adorable as ever, she recently found that she can grab her foot...so cute, but we'll have to keep Charlie from licking her feet now!

I found a job that I can do when ever is convent for us (during Kaelyn's naps mostly). Unfortunately, it's as an independent-contractor (so I'll have to set aside money for taxes) but it's convenient over all. I passed the qualification exams and Leapforce and I now have a contract for me to rank websites in relation to a search query term.

Matt is studying as hard as ever for the LSAT (he's getting good scores on the practice tests). He also has a big contract in the works at work; we'll post when it comes in.

We'll be posting Kaelyn's 4 month pictures soon! (We'll take them on Sunday. Oh, and if I remember to get some she'll have rice cereal that day too:)

It's Been a While

2009-06-03T12:33:00.004-06:00

So much has happened lately, here are the highlights:
- We went to Vegas to help Becca & Stephanie when Steph had surgery (she's doing okay)
- We went to California since we were so close anyway...This was Kaelyn's first trip!
- We flew home (Kaelyn did really well, thank goodness!)
- We're getting ready to go to England on July 3rd
- Matt is still studying for the LSAT and plans to take it in September
- We've updated Kaelyn's scrapbook!
- Kaelyn & Mommy have been going to playgroup at the pool on Wednesdays and Kaelyn is doing really well in the pool :)
- Kaelyn likes to blow bubbles, babble (as you can see in the previous post), sit up (with help) and even stand (with help).

Here are some recent pictures!

not much time to post, wanted to get this up

2009-05-28T11:15:00.003-06:00

Why Not?

2009-04-23T16:47:00.002-06:00

I saw this on Brenda Willis' blog and thought it sounded like fun! Here's how this works:The first 3 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make.

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done this year.

4. You have no clue what it's going to be.

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post of picture of what you win when you get it! Who's in?

2 Months

2009-04-16T10:03:00.009-06:00

We didn't do pictures on the day Kaelyn was 2 months because she was very sad after her immunizations and was still sad most of the next day; but that could have just been because it was tax day. She was much better today so I gave her a bath and grabbed the camera.

This one is actually from the 12th, Kaelyn & Daddy studying for the LSAT

Dancin' Baby
Don't have a caption for this one, it's just cute

Hooray! We're all done....

So I'll take a nap.

23

2009-04-14T12:53:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was a great birthday; I already had my Kitchen Aid, but with my birthday money from my parents and Grandad and Grandma I purchased a sewing machine! Matt also brought me flowers and we went to PF Changs and Coldstone (yummy!) Plus Kaelyn let me get a shower and has started doing really cute things! Kaelyn has started blowing bubbles, cooing and laughing! We're hoping to get some pictures/videos of these fun things soon, when we do we'll post them.

Kindle2

2009-04-09T16:12:00.003-06:00

Matt really wants a Kindle 2 but they're way expensive, here's a chance to win one (for yourself or if you don't want it, give it to Matt , the winner is picked April 16th) http://www.helpusnameus.com/

Scrapbook

2009-04-07T11:39:00.002-06:00

Finally feels like Spring, changed the background and got some scrapbooking done; here's the link to Kaelyn's scrapbook (I'll post the link again any time I've updated it)

Kaelyn

To Change the Background or Not?....

2009-04-01T12:37:00.002-06:00

I was thinking it was time to change the background on the blog now that it's spring, but it was snowing outside this morning....so, I think I'll wait.

As far as an up date on us....

I'm mastering one-handed-typing-while-nursing & really enjoying my early birthday present from Matt--he found a great deal on Craig's list :)---and I got a Kitchen Aid Mixer! (He's enjoying me using it).

Matt has started studying for the LSAT; he went to his first LSAT class last night and actually really enjoyed it.

Kaelyn continues to excel at nursing, messing her diaper and burping. However, on a more exciting note, she's started lots of social smiling, likes to hit the rattle toy on her bouncy-seat and has been sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches at night!

1 Month Photo Shoot

2009-03-18T14:09:00.006-06:00

This one was too funny to leave out

A little blurry but so cute

Daddy Builds the Crib

2009-03-18T13:59:00.011-06:00

We did get this done before Kaelyn was born, but hadn't posted it yet:
we got the pieces out of the box

Matt felt trapped by the project

Charlie wanted to help too

will this really hold?

All done

Mommy added the finishing touches.

So Much for Our Last Date

2009-02-28T14:17:00.009-07:00

I haven't really had time to do much since Valentines when our beautiful little Kaelyn decided she couldn't wait any longer to see her mommy and daddy; my water broke right as we were leaving for our "last date before kids".....oh well, she was a better present than dinner anyway.... Here's some pictures of our little Valentine.

Baby Shower

2009-02-11T15:14:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures from our shower that was on Saturday.
Thanks go out to Elizabeth for hosting and providing yummy food and to
Melissa for planing activities and to everyone who came.
(there are a few other pictures on facebook if you really want to see them)

Interesting...

2009-01-23T14:46:00.002-07:00

Saw this feature on Jaime's blog and tried it out....impressive no?

Baby Shower

2009-01-22T15:05:00.002-07:00

Just thought I'd post the cute shower announcement---especailly for those outside of UT who didn't get one since I certainly don't expect anyone to come all the way out here just for a shower ;)

Getting Ready for Kaelyn

2009-01-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

The due date is ever creeping nearer, my belly is getting huge, aches and pains are setting in, we've started building our baby-registry and we started child-birth classes! It was really nice to feel like so far the classes have been more of a refresher course rather than brand-new info (thanks to spending much of my first 5 years in a Midwifery and having a mother and grand-mother who taught child-birth classes). It's pretty funny to watch Matt's face during class though....I think my favorite comments so far are---"No wonder you're grumpy, look at where the baby is putting all your internal organs!" and when the instructor asked if anyone had questions Matt whispered "Ask her where babies come from"

The Holidays Were Busy

2009-01-04T17:24:00.011-07:00

Wow, I hadn't realized it had been so long since a post! Things are still going well for us. Matt had a fairly large deal come in a few days ago so that's letting us breath a little easier--they're starting to really push the guys at i365 now that sales have dropped so much (thank you American Economy) and profits are down....So the good news is Matt still has a job and the much needed health--especially maternity--benefits :)

We spent Christmas in California with both sides of the family and had a nice time there. We did, however, have some adventures there too....Our cell phones were supposed to work and didn't--10+ calls to Cricket customer service later and we've switched to Verizon--no more unlimited minuets *sigh* but we still have unlimited text and calling other Verizon customers is free, so if you have Verizon give us a call anytime :) Oh and if you need our new numbers send us an email and we'll get it to you (not crazy about posting them where anyone in the world could see).

More adventures occurred when Matt arrived with Charlie...Asher (Whittam dog) and Charlie (our dog) like each other--we think, but both seem to have trouble knowing when to say when. There were no injuries but some pretty rough play was broken up a few times.

Asher also showed off his puppy side (much to our dismay) and ate (well, chewed up) the only copy of Kaelyn's ultrasound (I know, I know, you'd think a girl who works for a web-hosting company and a guy who sells data-back-up and recovery would have thought to make at least one other copy!) Anyway...thanks to Mommy and Daddy footing the bill, we went and got a 3-D ultrasound (and have uploaded a copy to the desktop and plan on burning at least one or two copies to DVD). Here are some pictures of the 3-D stuff.....

you can see her right hand by her cheek in this oneboth eyes (closed), nose and mouth are visible--she kind of looks like she's smiling
here's a profile shot (the stuff in front of her face is umbilical cord) and yes, it looks like the back of her head is missing, it's just how the 3-D rendering produced the shot
the image on the left is a regular frontal shot, the left is a 3-D profile you can see her arm in both shots

Holidays are Here

2008-12-01T12:42:00.004-07:00

It's been awhile since I've written and I figured I should....

Miriam and Steven's baby, Brennen, was blessed yesterday so we got to see and spend time with lots of family this weekend--which was really fun--we'll have to get some pictures from Thanksgiving etc to post.

I've started on a blanket for our baby (Matt pointed out that I've made blankets for lots of babies in the 3 years we've been married, but this is the first one that we'll be keeping). The pregnancy is still going pretty well--Kaelyn moves around a lot--sometimes in places I wish she wouldn't, like my ribs; but I'm very thankful for the sometimes seemingly excessive movement since I'm still super paranoid about things going well and it lets me know she's there and still strong, so far so good.

Belly Shots

2008-11-10T12:22:00.003-07:00

Here's more pictures of my growing tummy (I'm wearing the new dress my little sister bought me --thanks Alyx!)

The Web of Life

2008-10-31T17:47:00.006-06:00

Or as Matt likes to say, what happens when you're having Spider-Man's baby...

So I wore this one for work and ended up stuffing the spider a little bit, with my maternity shirts you can tell I'm showing but with the black spider it was a little harder to tell, I'll post more pictures in different clothes soon. Oh and for the party we're going to tonight Matt and I are going as hitchhikers (from Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy) that's right the most comfortable costume ever--pjs, a bathrobe and a towel.

She's a Girl

2008-10-25T20:20:00.003-06:00

Well, now we can say it for sure.........we're having a girl. At my last appointment the midwife said that everything looks just like it should and that the ultrasounds from last week were textbook (in the good way, not the so rare you only see them in textbooks or on House way). I also had another ultrasound and this time the baby was a little less tightly scrunched so we're sure she's not just a shy boy. We're still working on names.
I guess I'm really starting to show now...We went to Park City for a very nice dinner to celebrate and spend my "working well under pressure" bonus I received at work (it's been a crazy few weeks for the whole company and a few of us were generously rewarded for our hard work). While there we window shopped for a while, but couldn't pass up a beautiful pair of Minnetonka-brand shoes for Matt (they're very similar to their moccasins--and super comfy--but look like nice shoes) that we got at a very good price. While checking out we experienced the first time a stranger (the cashier) dared to ask, "Is that a little baby belly I see?"

Girl???

2008-10-17T18:45:00.003-06:00

The baby wasn't very cooperative, but we've been given and 80% chance it's a girl....I know strange for the Stevens family hu? Here's some pictures of our baby--I tried to get some of the video footage uploaded but I'm still not sure how to rip just some of the DVD (the whole thing is like 13 min).

Girl???

2008-10-17T18:35:00.006-06:00

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2008-10-13T17:55:00.002-06:00

Well the first week of October we had out first big fall rainstorm, so of course being Utah, the weather has changed drastically in a matter of days and likely will again in a few days. We had our first snow this weekend and there was ice on the car this morning. Matt keeps reminding me at least I'm not pregnant during the hot summer months, instead I get to enjoy the Fall when it's warm/freezing/nice/very cold/warm...well you get the idea. We have the ultrasound this week and will let you know if we're having a boy or a girl (assuming the baby lets us see).

So Far So Good

2008-10-03T12:56:00.000-06:00

The company Matt works for has changed their name to i365 and is making some changes. These seem to be for the better...his base pay was raised (so were his quotas-- a little scary, but I'm sure he'll do just fine). They're also going to be able to sell things from other companies that they partner with/are owned by Seagate (as i356 is) --which has the potential of bigger sales.

The pregnancy is going okay, still on Zofran, but very grateful it exists. The baby seems to be doing fine judging from the visits with the midwife (of course I'm still super paranoid, but it seems like everything is going perfectly). We have an ultrasound on the 17th and if the baby cooperates, we'll know if it's a boy or a girl--and then I can start shopping :)

2008-09-11T19:16:00.000-06:00

I guess I should update this more regularly.... to get everything up to date I'll just highlight the biggest things:

We're having a baby! Due the first week of March--we'll know if it's a boy or a girl soon...
Matt likes his new job at E-vault, but doesn't like the commute when there's traffic (it can take 30 min or an hour and 30 min.)
I'm still at Bluehost in fraud prevention (I'll be leaving at the end of Feb.)

Finally Moved In!

2008-07-29T12:08:00.000-06:00

It seems like it took forever, but we finally are in our new condo and paying a mortgage instead of rent! Thanks to Mommy for coming and helping with lots of unpacking! We love it and will be posting new pictures of it (with our stuff instead of the old pictures on the seller's blog). Although we're not terribly fond of HOA's, the one we're in is pretty good, we have a pool, playground, workout room, the grounds and buildings are maintained regularly--in fact even though our buildings are a few years old than the condo-complex right next to us, ours looks significantly newer because the HOA is on top of keeping things up. Charlie has gotten a little territorial of the condo, but with the advice of the lady on "It's Me or the Dog" we're working on some behavior modification to stop him from barking when people come to the door and waiting a few feet from the door while we open it so he doesn't charge at visitors to try and smell them. Anyway, I should get back from my lunch, I'll post more later.

closing

2008-07-17T16:21:00.000-06:00

So, of course the closing date moved again, but this time we have a scheduled time, so that's good (it shouldn't move again). We close on Monday the 21. It seems like there's tons going, on but nothing new...

FHA loan

2008-07-15T12:20:00.000-06:00

So, FHA loans are a pain in the rear, but we finally have everything in and should (we hope and pray) close on Friday the 18th. My mom is coming up on Monday to help us unpack--especially since Matt started a new job today and will be working a full 40 hours/week, which he hasn't done in a while since College Works has such a unique schedule....We'll also be buying the "bubble" the mini van that started with Nani and Grandpa. That way I don't have to hitch-hike to work.....OK, so I don't have to take the bus. Anyway, I should probably get back from my lunch brake now, but I'm sure I'll have more to write later.

Condo Pictures

2008-06-22T21:03:00.000-06:00

here's the condo we're in the process of buying: http://chamberycondoinorem.blogspot.com/

Just an update

2008-06-22T15:34:00.000-06:00

Well, life is absolutely insane right now, but we're still being very blessed. The apartment in Provo turned out to be a health-hazard, with mold growing in the bathroom walls. We told the landlord that it was grounds to be let out of our lease, eventually he complied and gave us our deposit and month's rent back. Fortunately it was discovered quickly, so we only slept there 2 nights. We are now crashing at Grandpa Cruser's (Matt's grandpa) old house in American Fork--it hasn't sold yet and probably won't for a while.
After the whole apartment catastrophe we realized that with as much as we were going to be paying in rent there we might as well stop renting and pay a mortgage. We are in the middle of buying a condo in Orem. It's 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and beautiful; now we're just hoping that all the loan stuff goes through.
Matthew is starting a new job on July 15; he'll still be helping out his College-Works interns for the rest of the summer, but they're pretty self-sufficient already. His new job is with e-vault a data-storage-backup company. I've started working full-time for BlueHost at least temporarily.
Over all although things are crazy, we're happy and things are falling into place nicely.

We're moving....

2008-05-30T09:45:00.000-06:00

Anyone who doesn't have our new address yet can email me to get it.

Charlie's Bath

2008-05-15T10:19:00.000-06:00

We learned that Charlie REALLY doesn't like taking baths, of course it could be that he doesn't like cold water (since he's kind of big, I had to wash him outside with the hose) so maybe we'll try washing him in our huge shower with warm water next time.

Hello World

2008-05-10T19:59:00.001-06:00

Well, here's our new blog. We just adopted a dog, his name is Charlie. He's a black lab/pointer and very calm. He sits still to be brushed and likes to follow us around.