December to Remember

We've had a fun December.

Madelyn wore her Christmas outfit to church last Sunday. So fun seeing her all dressed up.We took a trip down to temple square. We made Caramels. Madelyn got to stand in the kitchen sink and eat all the caramel she wanted while I finished wrapping each piece.

Oh, and Madelyn thinks she needs to wear deodorant. Really she is tall enough now to open and reach into every drawer in our house. She couldn't see what she was reaching for, but when she pulled out the deodorant from the top drawer in the bathroom she knew exactly where it went. I guess she really is watching and learning from us.

28

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm now 28. I guess the reason I'm blogging about this is because I feel really good about being 28. I have accomplished some good things in my life. I may not have accomplished as much as I could have, but I'm happy with what I have done and where I'm going. I'm happy to be a mother to Madelyn and a wife to Spencer. I'm pretty content.

while I was laying in bed last night I thought about some of the life lessons that I have learned. I thought of a couple last night, but decided it would be appropriate to think of at least 28 since that is my age as of yesterday. Here it goes:

1. Being kind is an easy way to make your life go smoothly

2. Being honest with yourself and others is another way to make your life go smoothly

3. Getting angry only makes things worse

4. Keeping a journal is worth while

5. Being a good mom is something that one gets better at with time

6. We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves

7. Not all things worth doing are worth doing well

8. Life is more rewarding if you do learn to do some things well

9. Having good relationships with friends and family is better than being rich (not that I was ever rich)

10. There is always room to be better and there is always the possibility of it

11. We don't have to be perfect all in one day

12. Marrying the right person has made all the difference in my married life

13. I don't think I would be as content with my life if I wasn't married to Spencer

14. Ice cream is really really delicious

15. Taking time to relax is important and gratifying

16. Working hard is also rewarding and gratifying

17. Being perfect has more to do with being balanced than it does with fulfilling a check list

18. Its great to be able to look up to someone else and not feel like you have to be just like them

19. Truly listening to someone can be hard, but very rewarding

20. God and Jesus Christ really do live

21. There really is a Plan of Salvation

22. Not everyone believes items #21 and #20 and we should respect that

23. This life is going to go fast

24. My friends from high school will always be in my life and I'm grateful for that

25. Life is not always what you expect it to be

26. It is good to learn to be happy

27. I don't have all the talents that other people have and its OK to be OK with that

28. I have only learned 27 things in my life because I can't think of anymore

Christmas Kick-off

Christmas Kick-off happens at the Loveless home on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We used to go with my mom's side of the family down town to stay at the Marriott where we would watch the lights turn on at temple square. But now that all my mom's sisters have grand kids our family has grown too large to maintain that tradition. Too bad, it was a fun one. Instead we get together for an afternoon movie and dinner.

Last night, after seeing The Christmas Carol and eating at Chuck-a-Rama, we went to my mom's house where her grand kids hunted for their hidden Christmas PJ's. The kids loved it and the adults loved watching, and I loved seeing Madelyn and her little cousins in twiner PJ's. It reminds me of palling around with my cousins while growing up. A girls gotta have her cousins...

...little cousins and big cousins too. Maci is one of Madelyn's "big" cousins and she takes such good care of her. Maci can be adamant that she knows what Madelyn needs and that she be taken care of a certain way. I commented to her mom, Carrie, that Maci was just like her and she replied, "Maci is me on steroids". So true, So true.

And let us not forget these cute boy cousins in their Christmas PJ's too.

And let us also not forget all the cousins who couldn't make it to the Christmas kick-off do to the fact that they live in Ohio and Logan (Bryn lives in Logan and is having a baby any day. so she wasn't up for making the trip). Don't worry, grandma has PJ's for you too.

So, now that we have officially kicked-off Christmas, LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It was a great thanksgiving at the Stephenson house. I loved waking up to Spencer (usually he leaves for work before Madelyn and I even wake up) and my little Madelyn. We spent the morning making stuffing and pecan pies while watching the Macy's Day Parade. It was great just being with my little family.

lunch was served at Spencer's house. We had the traditional turkey and everything that goes with it. We were sad that Christina and her two little boys couldn't make it. They got so sick at the last minute and so Madelyn didn't have any little friends to play with. We hope they get better though.

There was a lot of food and I'm still full. Spencer just went to get me a tums. I think I ate too much.

In the below picture Madelyn is clapping for Grandpa Stephenson who was making funny faces at her.

Everyday Life

Spence got this footage of Madelyn "brushing her teeth" the other night. I got a kick out of it. She does such a good job at moving that toothbrush all around. What a big girl we have.

And Here It Is.....

....Halloween 2009.

It all started Friday night at the trunk-or-treat put on in Grandpa and Grandma Stephenson's neighborhood.

Madelyn caught on pretty quickly to what was going on. She didn't realize that if she went to every trunk she would get a piece of candy, but as she cruised up and down between the open trunks she would see candy being given to another kid and so she would go to get some too. We didn't go to all the trunks, and some we visited more than once. She led the way and Spence and I just watched and laughed as she timidly took a piece of candy out of each bucket.

Tonight was not as eventful. Madelyn had come down with a cold and after being at Grandma Loveless' halloween party for an hour or so she had had it and was ready for bed. So home we went.

Too bad we had to leave the party early. Grandma Loveless always throws fun parties.

I got one picture of a couple of the kids and grandma. We have Jackson, Maci, Halley and Cambri. I thought that Cambri was the cutest when she explained to me that she was a "ghost princess".

Here we are on Halloween night. Madelyn has been in bed since 6:00. Spence and I have enjoyed giving candy to the neighborhood kids, and think they are so cute.

All in all it was a great Halloween. It was fun to see Madelyn trick-or-treat for the first time and we look forward to many more years of trick-or-treating.

"Kiddi Cove"

These girls are great. We started getting together a few weeks ago and have become really good friends.

Let me introduce you. Rebecca is in the white T-shirt. She has a little girl, Elaina, who is a couple months younger than Madelyn. Brittney is in the brown, and she has a little boy, Luke, who is six months. Both ladies are first time moms so we have very similar schedules which makes it easy for us to do things together.

Today we went to Boondocks Fun Center. My nephew Jayden would have been so jealous. He absolutely thinks that Boondocks is the coolest place. I was actually surprised at how much there was to do and how nice everything was. It was especially relaxing because it was all free for us. Rebecca's husband is a manager there and was able to use some of his "Boondocks Bucks" to treat us to an afternoon of good food and lots of fun for the kiddos.



We ate lunch. We ordered all the food that we wanted. I ate on of the best grilled chicken sandwitches I have ever had.

We played in the "Kiddi Cove" for a good chunk of the time. Up and down, through the plastic tunnels , bouncing on the tramp, walking on the tight rope, in the monkey pit, and down the slide. Over and over again. I followed Madelyn's little diapered bum all around until she needed help climbing up this or that. She was lovin it.

We played a few archade games. We played Deal or No Deal. I tried to take Madelyn on a roller coaster ride where the chairs move along with the image on the screen, but she didn't like it. It scared her.

And finally we finished with yummy Blue Bunny ice cream. I got home right in time to put Madelyn to bed. She slept well.

Our Last Days of Summer

Its time to start our goodbyes to summer. When Madelyn and I went running the other morning she wore her winter hat and gloves. Goodbye summer.

Good thing we spent an afternoon at the fair, and had one of our last ice cream cones for the summer.

...and said hello and goodbye to the animals.

(see the cow bums in the back. Those are said animals.)

And an afternoon at my cousin BJ's homecoming. (My aunt has made their backyard beautiful. I hope ours looks this beautiful one day.)

The last two days have been chilly. I am looking forward to the cooler weather. I am really looking forward to making applesauce next month... and for Halloween...and Thanksgiving...I am really looking forward to Fall.

Putting Down Roots

I just read one of my younger friends blogs. She is in college. Her freshman roommates are going their separate ways which leaves her with some adjusting to do.

I was reminded of my time in college. It was so much fun in so many ways. There were a lot of freedoms that I had then that I don't have now, but there was an instability in that phase of my life that I didn't recognize until I was out of it. I moved frequently in college. I had many new roommates. The best semesters were when I was living with friends, but that only lasted a semester or two. I went on a mission and came home and felt like there was NO ONE around. I remember feeling lonely. I lived in an old house with three other girls that I didn't know. My friends were married, serving their own missions, living in Salt Lake (I was in Provo) or just busy with other things. Like I said, I really enjoyed college for the most part, but I didn't know what I was missing.

As you know, we recently bought our first home. We could live in this house for a long time, and it seems that consciously and subconsciously I recognize this. I have made more friends and been more involved with the ward than I ever was in our most recent ward (that does have a little to do with the fact that I have more time on my hands because I'm not working). I think about how many kids we will have and which rooms they will share.I think about my kids going to elementary, middle and high school out here. I think about celebrating holidays in our home and about ways that I can make them more meaningful. I think about local politics and what I can do to contribute. It is a good feeling to feel like I am in a place to stay. I will always have my husband as my roommate, and I really look forward to this. I think that eternal marriage is a fantastic part of the Plan of Salvation. Its exciting to think about.

In short, I am putting roots down, and it is a good feeling. I am really loving this phase of my life.

Feelin Kinda Crafty...

I haven't always felt crafty, but recently something has sparked my creative juices. I think it has to do with our empty walls and feeling like I need to decorate. It also has to do with Madelyn growing up and me wanting her to have things to do and play with.

So, this past week I did a few little things that I thought were fun.

I made some letter blocks that spell Madelyn's name. They are on top of the book shelf in her bedroom.

And the second items are some good 'ol sock puppets. I'm not sure why I thought to make these, but they turned out cute. I made four with supplies from Wal-Mart.

Madelyn laughs when she plays with them. She puts them on (they go all the way to her shoulder) and then shakes her arm around and laughs.

I'm sure that one day we will have some great puppet shows.

First Time Zoo Goer

It was Madelyn's first time at the Zoo.

The animals were great...

...but the excitement of the day was found at the water feature near the entrance of the Zoo.

She was pretty excited about this ball with water flowing over it.

Madelyn put as much of her body into the water as she could,

which resulted in an outfit change.

We went with the Loveless cousins (the ones in town). I love spending time with these little kiddos.

Love the cotton candy face. Classic.

Do you remember this lion? It was definitely my favorite part of coming to the Zoo when I was little.

So cool, you get to drink out of the lions mouth.

We rode the merry-go-round...

...the train, and played at the playground.

We were sad that Daddy couldn't come. Hopefully next time.

It was a full day and we can't wait to go back.

They Got Here Last Week...

...and we are so excited!!

Cort is finishing some schooling on the Navy base in San Diego, so Shannon and her three kids are going to be staying with my mom for a couple of months.

I am so excited to have them here...

...and Madelyn is too.

We love you guys!

Called To Serve

Russ is called to serve in the Lansing Michigan mission and he enters the MTC today!

We are really excited for you Russ and we are going to miss you like crazy.

We wish you the best and we'll be praying for you.

Heres To Our Forefathers

Last night I finished 1776, a book written by David McCullough (one of our favorite authors). Was it good? Incredibly good! The book covers the revolutionary war as it happened in 1776.


When I read the last pages of the book, I had chills and I was grateful and was filled with a desire to be way better than I am.

The conditions that the American army lived through in that first year were extreme. If someone had detailed those same conditions to me I would have thought that a person couldn't physically survive, let alone have the energy to fight. Alot of them didn't survive.

When people say, "It was nothing short of the grace of God" that allowed the Americans to survive the massive English army that first year, I believe it. And I think it was also the American's belief that their cause was just that gave them the strength to win. The odds seriously were stacked against the American army from the beginning and so the fact that they won the war makes it that much more inspiring.

This book was just about the first year of the war, but the revolution lasted over 7 years and cost over 25,000 American lives (that was news to me).

It was absolutely humbling to read this book, and makes me wonder if have cultivated the same conviction for freedom and if I am doing what I can to keep us free. I am grateful for the sacrifice of those that came before us.

So, If you want to feel patriotic, read this book. It is a good one.

This Little Girl...

...doesn't want her mama to help her eat her food. She turns her head away until you let her do it herself.

She rides around the living room on her bike.


She climbs onto the couch by herself...

...and is sure that being on the couch is way better than being on the boring old floor.

She holds her dolls and hugs them like they are her own baby.

She hangs out at the pool with mom.

Today I asked her where her belly button was and she lifted up her shirt.

She is learning more words, mimics Spencer and I more and more, and Jabbers away all day long.

I swear that she turned into a toddler overnight. It all happened so fast. I look at her and see a little girl who is aware of what is going on around her and has an opinion about what she wants.

I can interact with her more and more each day. She is my little pal and it is so fun to see her grow.

So Good To Be Home

Last night we pulled into our driveway after our Stephenson family trip to Island Park. Coming home felt good to say the least. After almost four days of a fussy, sleep deprived little child I was glad to be home not only to my bed, but to Madelyn's bed where I knew she would sleep soundly (and yes, last night she slept soundly).


The below pictures pretty much sum up Madelyn on this trip. She would be so happy and fun one minute, but watch out because really she was just barely holding in together and could lose it at any second. I don't blame her. She has spent most of her one year of life in the comfort of her own bed, and she has never had to suffer through such long car rides that took her to a new place where she was supposed to sleep.

We were trying to entertain her during dinner so I found her little sun hat in her diaper bag and put it on her. She loved the attention that it brought.
What? You don't want your picture taken?
Even though our little angel had such a hard time, there were a lot of fun things about being in Island Park.

Mostly, it was just great to be there with Spencer and our family. It was great spending four full days with Spencer (even if a good chunk was spent helping Madelyn to be happy during the day and in the middle of the night).



Madelyn got to know her grandparents, cousins and Aunts and Uncles a little better. She played with Nathan and Jackson (her only two cousins on the Stephenson side), and was entertained by Uncle Ryan on the car ride home. She loved it.


We were excited to hang out with Mary's soon to be fiance Beau Shaw. We had met him a couple of times, but it was fun for us to get to spend the weekend with him. We are excited for the October 6th wedding.

Mary receiving a kiss from the love of her life

We stayed in a beautiful cabin thanks to the 'rents (thanks you guys!!!). The scenery was beautiful. Island park is beautiful. We went to Yellowstone and got to see a few things I hadn't seen before.Like I said, It was just so great to be with our family. It was a good time and now I am glad to be home.

FIRSTS

In the past month Madelyn has had a lot of firsts.

She has done things like say her first word which was "Hi", and her first phrase which was "Hi Daddy".

She has taken her first steps...
...had her first bubble bath (needless to say, she isn't a fan. This is the best smile she could give me)...

...taken her first bike ride...

...and today is Madelyn's first Birthday.

Yesterday we had our family over for cake and icecream.

(The below footage is the unedited version of the birthday song. I couldn't get the edited version to upload, wrong file type or something. The below version allows you to see Carrie stare at the camera as if she is thinking "I'm on camera. Do I look ok?"

Turns out that Madelyn doesn't like birthday cake. She put a handful in her mouth, promply spit it out, and then asked her daddy to get her down so she could go play with her cousins.

Madelyn got lots of fun new clothes and toys from her grandparents and aunts and uncles (THANKS GUYS!). Of course her favorite present was the paper that the present came wrapped in.

She is one year old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I can't believe that I have already been a mother for one year.

It seems like every day when Spencer gets home from work I am telling him about something new that Madelyn did that day. Like trying to brush her hair, put her shoes on or holding her shirt up to herself as if she is trying to get it on.

Happy first birthday Madelyn. We love you little girl.