Night Time

Last night we attempted a sleep over in the front room. J.D. is going to be gone for at least a week on a job that's 4 hours away. When the job is over 2 hours away, they pay for a hotel room for the crew because it's cheaper than paying travel time and gas. He is going to Plentiwood, which is where my nephew James was about 2 weeks ago serving his mission. 

Back to the sleep over. We made a bed, and before we could make popcorn both boys fell asleep. Monty slept so good next to Dawson. Dawson said he slept so good with Monty by him too. 

This gets me thinking that I'm going to put the boys in the same bedroom in our new house (hopefully we get). If it means they both sleep better, it only means that I'm going to sleep better. :-) I could use some sleep these days. The dark circles under my eyes are only getting darker. 

We've also started a new night time routine. We get on PJ's, brush teeth, read a book, read scriptures or an ancestor story, family prayer, hugs and kisses, and off to bed. It has been such a success. It helps us wind down, and we all sleep better. We are trying to get on a schedule for Dawson and starting school in August. Hopefully by then, we've adjusted well to a morning and night routine. 

Playtime

I had to snap this picture, it was too cute to pass up. First, Monty is holding himself up with his hands! He is growing up way too fast. He is rolling so much and spins around. 

He obviously adores Dawson, and Dawson adores him back. Dawson got this new hot wheels track from Grammy Shelley for being such a good boy all week! Monty thinks it's pretty cool too! 

Monty would try to follow it with his eyes, but it was pretty fast! Dawson would put his head through the loop and Monty would start giggling so hard. It was so fun to see them playing together. It will be fun to see Monty grow up more and really be able to play with Dawson. 

Grammy and Mother's Day

My mom flew into Rapid City Mother's Day weekend and we went to get her to bring her home for 1 week! While in Belle Fourche, we watched Mikinzie and Brezie dance at their recital. Sorry for the bad pics, I didn't take them... lol

My mom and her little Brezie Bear. 

Brezie did such a good job and loved her flowers!

I spent most of the time in the back because Monty absolutely hates the dark... so he was happy until the curtains opened and the lights went out. He immediately freaked out. I'm glad I got to the dances the girls were in though. 

Earlier that day my mom took us girls to get pedicures.... I fell asleep to the foot rub. It was heavenly! We drove home Saturday night so we could take my mom to church the next day. Our ward did a Mother's Day Brunch and the men took care of primary and the youth while we ate in peace. :-) We had such a great day! My brother in law got us all flowers-beautiful! J.D. and Dawson gave me flowers, a card, and the movies 'Red' and 'Red 2.' I LOVE these movies! They are so funny! It was perfect! Dawson also made me a bracelet earlier that week. I was making bracelets for a friend's daughter and Dawson said he wanted to make me one for Mother's Day. It was beautiful! I wore it all day and Dawson kept commenting on it. :-) lol! 

I made a malibu chicken dinner for all of us and I relaxed the rest of the day. I'm so grateful to be a mom. I love thinking about all the sacrifices my mom made and that I make, and it feels my heart with so much joy. I wouldn't change it for the world. Motherhood has changed my life and helped me see what my mother did for me and my siblings. I used to read about pure peace and joy in the scriptures, and I can truly say that I fully understand what that is. J.D. is such an amazing person and lets me know everyday how much he loves our family and how grateful he is for what I do. Dawson smothers me with loves and kisses all day. He constantly tells me the I'm the 'besets mom ever.' Monty's smiles just make me smile instantly. I used to think I wasn't a good mom, but I had a thought about Andee one day. It made me realize I must be a good mom if Heavenly Father sent me a celestial child that was too perfect for this world, and sent me 2 boys to help me get through every day with a smile. 

I'm so grateful for my mom and all she has done and continues to do for me. She loves us no matter what our mistakes. She is so easy to talk to and is always there for me. She spent many  nights holding me because of how sick I would get as a little girl. She made sure I looked cute for school, and made financial sacrifices so I could be involved in everything! She was there for all my performances, fed me, washed my clothes, and so much more. Thank you mom!

I'm grateful for my 2nd mom, my mother in law. I have learned SO many things by just watching her be the most amazing home maker and mother. She never fails to teach me something every day whether she knows I'm watching or not. I have learned to cook better and be a better home make for our family by her example and letting me practice in her home. She has helped J.D. and I through so much with the trials and experiences we've faced. Thank you mom! 

Happy Mother's Day to my sisters and sister in laws. I am SO blessed for each of them! I love that I have such a good friendship with all of them and know I can call them if I ever need anything. Thank you! 

Happy Mother's Day to my friends and their moms. Some of them have been there since I was born and I can remember learning from them as well. Their examples have helped me become me. Thank you!

T Ball Season for Dawson

T Ball has official started! Dawson is on the Astros team and loves being a part of something. 

Dawson and Carson are on the same team! It's unreal to see how these two play together. The coach puts them in the in field. Dawson is usually at the pitchers mound, and the coach puts Carson on the base that the kids run to. (Each inning they have the kids run to 1st, then the second inning they run to 2nd, and the third inning they run to 3rd. They do this to help teach the game to the kids). So Dawson is usually stopping every ball and he throws it right to Carson. You can tell the these two practice together because they really communicate and know what each other is going to do. The coach comments on their team work almost every game. 

Our little man on the pitchers mound. He is hilarious! In between plays and batters he will dance, give us thumbs up, do running in slow motion, and all sorts of hilarious things. We can't stop laughing because he is such a character!

This was their first practice. We love their coach! We've seen so much improvement and he knows exactly what to say to teach the kids to do better. 

I love baseball and I'm so glad Dawson loves it too. All the boys look so cute and are having so much fun! 

Andee M'lee's Headstone Finally!

A long time in waiting, but it's finally set. We tried to get a headstone for Andee about 2 months after she passed away. J.D. was so determined to get it done, but our experience was horrible. The company was so rude and didn't treat J.D. like he mattered, and disregarded all of our ideas. The consultant had me in tears by the end because she wouldn't listen to us. So we cancelled the order and waited for awhile to figure it out again. 

After moving to Orem, we went to Walker monument and it was so much better. They had so much patience with us in going back and forth with ideas and changes just to make sure we got what we wanted. We also took our time because we wanted to make sure we really were going to name Monty, Monty. Finally we had the design figured out. The two main things that we know about Andee, well her name and it's importance. Second, for some reason the gerber daisies always reminded us of her. 

The back has her brother's names, and leaves room for more siblings in case we have more. It also has the size of her exact footprints from the hospital. 

I texted J.D.'s mom the morning I got the email about her headstone being set, and she went up as soon as she could to take pictures and send them to us. J.D.'s mom, Destry, and Grandma Marjorie were the first ones to see the headstone. They put yellow daisies in the vase which couldn't have been more perfect because it's the flower that reminds us of Andee. 

We really have such amazing family and these 3 are extremely special. The front right is J.D.'s Aunt JoAnn (Bryant's sister), then to the left is J.D.'s sister JoAnn, and in the back is Andee (Dawson and Monty's sister). We noticed how three generations of Stevens' lost a sister. I'm so grateful that we could bury Andee in Holden with generations of family, and also we got to bury her next to her Aunt and, great Aunt. :-) I love it. 

We can't wait to see her headstone in person. I hope we can move back to Holden in a couple of years. I know Andee is with us wherever we go, but when we lived in Holden, Dawson and I would walk to the cemetery almost every day. We would sing to Andee, and Dawson would tell her all about his days. I miss it so much. I want Monty to have those same experiences. We were able to visit Grandma Marjorie and really get to know her. It's amazing how we've come to know what's really important and find what we really what by the experiences we've had.