Cambria gets a haircut!

Well, I suppose it's not technically a hair cut considering what I cut off wasn't even worthy of saving, but we'll call it that anyway. This child HATES clips, elastics or headbands. She'll pull her hair out the second I finish getting it all cute, and the front of her hair was always hanging over her eyes. So I decided to give her some cute bangs tonight before her bath.

Look at how gorgeous, long and curly her hair is getting!

A visit from Grandma

We had a really fun weekend. Derk's mom came down on Saturday to spend the weekend with us. We almost didn't think she'd make it down after all because there was a pretty nasty snow storm, but she came anyway. Funny story: The snow had covered a speed limit sign, so she ended up getting pulled over on the way down. That's not funny, you say? Well, here's the funny part. She'd bought some Henry Weinhard's root beer and had it in a bag on her seat. The police officer accused her of "boozing it up". I wish I could have seen his face when she told him it was just root beer! :)

She brought the kids some presents when she came, which they were very excited about. Then we went to Old Country Buffet for lunch on and had a fun time visiting. We went to the mall and walked around a bit (I tried to convince Derk to let me get a hair cut, but he really wants me to grow it out, so I didn't), and then we rented some movies. We treated Mom to pizza for dinner, and then Derk, Mom and I watched a movie after the kids went to bed. She stayed to go to church with us today and left shortly after lunch. Cambria was actually pretty nice this time and gave Grandma some good cuddles instead of only wanting me the whole time like she did last time we had family over.

It was too short of a visit, but we're so glad she came down to see us. It's kind of bittersweet for us since we're moving this summer. This time of year gets really busy for her with her job, so we don't get to see her very often at all. It's sad to think we won't get to spend much time with her before our move. Hopefully we won't end up too far away so we can still spend time with family as often as we can.

I just realized I forgot to take pictures of her with the kids while she was here. :( I did get pictures of the kids in the new clothes she bought for them, so that will have to do. Anyway, thanks for coming down, Mom. We sure had a lot of fun, and the kids definitely had a blast! We sure wish we could see you more often.

Row, row, row your boat!

Our poor kids put up with Derk and I filling out applications ALL day today, so we decided to take them out for a treat. We went to the mall to play and then ate at Mongolian BBQ. We stopped to grab a movie, and Asher decided to be super cute in the van while we were waiting for Derk and Kyrie to come back. Luckily I had my camera with me and caught it on video! He's all the entertainment I need, that's for sure! :)

A fun surprise for Kyrie

Derk had the morning and early afternoon off today, so he came with Asher, Bri and I to run our errands. As we were doing our shopping, we walked down an isle to get to another part of the store and walked past a section that had clearance items. I happened to look down and noticed the cutest quilt in this clearance section. Normally over $45 marked down to $15. Kyrie's quilt she has now was purchased when she was 2.5, so it's definitely showing signs of wear. I actually wasn't the one who decided to buy it, Derk was, which surprised me. It's usually me suggesting it and him grudgingly agreeing to my splurges. ;) I do have to admit that he did give me one serious eye roll and an "Absolutely NOT!" when I suggested I go back and buy another one in case the girls end up sharing a room when we (hopefully) buy a home this summer. :)

It was really fun sneaking her new bedding home and getting it all set up before she came home from school. She loved it, of course, but then she asked why we didn't buy her a new mattress to go along with her new bedding. I guess I didn't know that was protocol, silly me! :)

So here are the pictures, with the cutest little model you ever did see. The picture of Kyrie is a bit blurry, but that's because I couldn't get her to stop jumping up and down long enough to snap an in-focus picture. :)

Happy Easter!

My mom bought the girls adorable matching dresses for Easter this year. I'll admit I'm usually not into dressing them in matching outfits and have never done it before. But this was really fun, for Kyrie especially, and the dresses are so pretty. They looked so sweet all dressed up today in their matching dresses. And if they all look exhausted in the pictures, it's because we didn't get home until about 9 from Chuck E. Cheese and then have 9am church. :)

The only way I could get them all to sit still and be happy long enough to snap a picture was to bribe them with fruit snacks AND have Derk jumping up and down like a spazz behind me. Hey, whatever works, right?! :)

Our little family celebrated Easter with just the 5 of us this year. It was different as we're normally surrounded by family, but it was still a nice, quiet day. The kids got to open a really fun package from Nana, which they got such a kick out of. I should have had them open it AFTER church because they didn't want to put any of their cool new toys down to get ready for church! :)

Derk and I enjoyed spending hours cooking together. We meant to have a small, low-key dinner, but we ended up roasting a turkey and having ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, stuffing, and a cheesecake for dessert (all homemade, so it was lots of work but lots of fun!). I love the time Derk and I spend together in the kitchen, and it's days like this where we both can't wait to own a home with a bigger kitchen so we don't get in each other's way as much! :)

Happy Easter!!

Asher's big reward!

In order to give Asher some extra added motivation to potty train, we told him we'd take him to Chuck E. Cheese when he was finally potty trained. He's been successfully trained for a few weeks now, but we've all been sick for so long that this was our first chance to finally go. As usual, we all had a great time! Aunt Jenna, Uncle Kevan, cousin Zariah, Aunt Jessica, Aunt Katie, Uncle John, and cousin Jonni all met us there, and we had a fun-filled few hours playing and having tons of fun.

So excited to be at Chuck E. Cheese!


Cambria going down the slide.

Kyrie on the helicopter ride.

Wee!


Derk and Asher shooting some aliens. :)


Cambria playing on the Chuck E. Cheese phone.

Our baby boy is "officially" a big boy now. While it's extremely wonderful to only have 1 diaper to change now instead of 2, it's still bittersweet because it means my little Asher really is growing up. He had such a fun day, and we sure wish Chuck E. Cheese wasn't a 3 hour round-trip so we could make it over there more often!

Another one to add to the file...

...of disastrous messes, that is. Our kids recently decided to be very nice to us and actually let us sleep in past 6:30. Today we didn't get woken up until after 7:30. We came downstairs, and this is what we saw. Our sweet little Kyrie had been trying to let us sleep in and her plans to get her own breakfast went horribly awry when Asher and Cambria came downstairs (I'd gotten Cambria out of bed and put her in bed with me, and apparently she climbed out and gone downstairs to see what the other 2 were up to). The best part about all of this is that this is AFTER Kyrie had gotten the vacuum out to try and clean it up. Can you imagine what it must have looked like before we came downstairs?!

16 months, but it seems like only yesterday...

Today Cambria turns 16 months old. It really is quite amazing that she's been in our lives for 16 months already when it truly seems like only yesterday that we welcomed her into our family. I updated her baby book a few nights ago and came across some pictures of her delivery, and I just cannot believe how much she's grown and changed in just over a year.

Happy 16th month, little Cambria!

A 2 day old sleeping beauty.


And here she is today, a walking, talking, trouble-making, precious child that I cannot imagine my life without.

My little Cambria talking

I'm just getting my voice back after getting a nasty sore throat and losing it completely yesterday, so you'll have to excuse how scratchy and quiet I am. I always forget how sweet they sound when they're little, and it sure makes me grateful for modern technology! Enjoy her cute little voice - we sure do! :)

Asher turns 3!!

Before I get to posting all the pictures, I have to do the Mommy thing and just reminisce about the day my sweet boy was born.

At my 37 week check up, we scheduled a repeat c-section for exactly a week from that day. The next week was spent busily getting all the last minute things ready around the house and spending lots of extra quality time with Kyrie. On Monday night, March 7th, we dropped Kyrie off with Derk's brother, Drew, and his wife, Rebecca, for her first sleepover. We had to be to the hospital by 6am, so they had offered to keep Kyrie for us. Derk and I tried to go to bed early, but we were both pretty excited and didn't sleep much that night. We woke up around 5:30, got showered, and headed to the hospital.

When we first got there, I had to get changed into the always-fashionable hospital gown. Then the nurse came in and tried to put in my IV. Tried being the operative word. She tried at least 4 times and never got it in. By that time, my entire hand was completely swollen with a huge lump on the top from all the fluid, and Derk threw a huge tissy fit and demanded she get someone in there who knew what they were doing! Another nurse came in, told the other girl she should be able to insert an IV by now, apologized to me, and got it in on the first try.

The c-section was scheduled for 7am. Of course we didn't get right in at 7am, but it wasn't too long until it was finally time.

The surgery begins.

Derk watching and waiting.

He's here!

Asher Neil Stephens was born at 7:46am, weighed 6 pounds 8.5 ounces and was 19 inches long.

He cried a little bit when he was born but calmed down very quickly when he got into his Daddy's arms. I remember Derk bringing him over to show me while I was still on the operating table, and I just kept rubbing his soft little cheek. He was so beautiful, and we were so thrilled that he was healthy. Asher means "my happiness", and he truly is.

He had such a great day. Kyrie was so excited about his birthday that she woke him up around 6:15 this morning. He came out of his room and just kept saying, "It's my birthday!" He had such a hard time waiting for 1:30 to roll around so his party would finally start. Derk's mom came down around 9:30, so he had tons of fun playing with Grandma and forgot all about being antsy. He even relaxed a bit and laid down to watch a movie to kill the last hour before his party started. Too excited to nap, but at least he was preoccupied enough to let me get the decorating done without any help. :) He started asking questions about the day he was born, so I got out his scrapbook and showed him all the pictures. He really liked that.......until more people arrived, and then he was so done with that silly scrapbook. :)

His party turned out great. A lot of the family had other things come up and weren't able to come (we missed you John and Katie and Abby and James!), but it turned out really nice anyway. Both Grandmas were able to come, Jenna and Kevan and Zariah came (Derk's sister and her family), and our friends Michael and Heather came. Asher had a blast playing with everyone and being the center of attention! He got such fun presents and was so sweet about telling everyone thanks for the gifts. Every time we'd hand him a present, he'd say, "What IS it? What's IN dere?!?" So I'd have to remind him to open it and see! :)

I think Kyrie's gift to him was the best gift of all. She earns "Charter Bucks" at school, and the kids get to trade in their bucks for prizes out of the treasure chest. She came home on Friday and said she used her Charter Bucks to get a little toy car for Asher out of the treasure chest instead of something for herself. She wrapped it all by herself and could not wait for him to open it. It was the sweetest thing, and it's moments like those that just melt your heart as a mother. Another great moment for me was when he opened the present I made for him. He's been begging for an apron for months now (the one he's been using, which I made for Kyrie when she was Bri's age, got too small, so we passed it down to Cambria). So I went to the fabric store and found fabric with firetrucks, airplanes, and trucks all over it and made him an apron. It's so fun giving them something you know they're going to really love!

Once we'd opened presents, it was time to eat dinner. I just did a nacho bar with all the yummy fixings. For Bri's birthday, I made homemade soup and rolls, and it was SO much work. I really enjoyed how relaxing and easy Asher's party was, and I think I'll just do easy things from now on! Then it was time for cake. We sang him happy birthday, and he sang along with us ("Happy birthday to ME!"). He blew out his candles, cheered for himself, and then went back to playing with his toys. I asked him if he'd like some cake, and he said, "Oh, yeah!" like he'd completely forgotten about that part! :)

After the party was over, we went to the U of I vs. Utah State basketball game at the Kibbie Dome (which isn't actually a dome, right, Rebecca? :) ) with Jenna and Kevan (Idaho lost, of course.....by a lot). Asher refused to leave the house without his new sword, so it came along with us, and he had fun dueling Joe Vandal a few times. :) Grandma wanted to stay and watch Cambria at home, and it was fun to spend time with just Kyrie and Asher at the game. He got to eat way more junk food than I ever care to think about again, and then it was time to come home and thoroughly sanitize every inch of his body before we put him to bed. Derk and I went in and laid with him for a while and told him all about the day he was born.

I promised Rebecca that I'd take tons of pictures, so brace yourself for picture overload (I do keep my promises, after all!)! :)

This is the left half of the party table. I used his toy bulldozer to hold some mixed nuts and raisins, and I used his smaller dump truck as the cake.

The cake. Asher sure got a kick out of being able to "eat dirt". :)

This was the right side of the table where I used his large dump truck to hold the chips.

Opening his movies from Derk and I. The movies are about firetrucks and rescue vehicles, construction vehicles and airplanes.

Opening his truck book that we got him to replace the one that's hanging on for dear life from being read SO many times.

Jenna, Kevan and Zariah gave him these really neat cards that tell all about each construction vehicle and what it does. They also got him a pop-up book.

Abigail, James and Logan gave him a flat car with lots of little cars inside. He absolutely LOVED it and didn't want to put it down, even to open other presents.

Grandma and Grandpa gave him a Lightening McQueen chair. They also gave him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that has a bulldozer on the front.

Enjoying his foam sword from Nana. Nana also got him some cool new trucks and a megaphone (like he needs any help being any more loud? :) ).

Admiring his new truck from Abby and James while sitting in his new chair from Grandma and Grandpa.

Modeling his new apron.

Blowing out the candles!

Saying, "Yay, I'm three! Hooray!" after blowing out the candles.

Having a sword fight with Uncle Kevan.

Derk got him this shirt while he was in Boise this week taking the NCE exam. It says, "I listen to Led Zeppelin with my Daddy". I think the shirt was more for Daddy than for Asher. :)

Happy 3rd birthday, Asher! We love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our family!