This n' That

We've had lots of interesting things happening lately besides the house buying process. Dawson is about to start T-ball, so we jump started the season by practicing on our own. We've practiced baseball with Dawson since he was big enough to hold a bat. He's got some natural ability, and he is gaining more confidence. He loves being outside and spending time with J.D. and I. That's what we love the most is that he loves playing, but for him it's more about just being active with his family.

 He is turning into such a funny kid! I couldn't ask for a better kid. He is caring for all of us, always tries to do the right thing, listens, and has the best sense of humor. He is a kid and still tests his parents, but for the most part J.D. and I are constantly saying how he is such a good kid.
He is such a character!

 And then there are those times..... those times that are questionable. The times that I'm not quite sure where boys gets these ideas of how to wear a shirt, or what to add to their attire. Don't worry, once I saw and snapped a black mail picture, they changed their look. :-)

 Having Jori and Danny live close has been so nice. We had a date night where we swapped watching kids for 2 hours each so both of us could go out. After we had our 2 hours, we just stayed at Jori's so the kids could keep playing while Jori and Danny went out. Poor Monty....

 MK loves her babies, and LOVES Monty. She thought this was the coolest thing to have a real live baby to pretend with.

Monty played along, but I'm sure as he gets older he won't be so willing.

We have had a couple of good weather days where we have been able to go to the park. We are meeting lots of people and getting lots of fresh air. The town isn't looking so dead either! The green grass and blossoming trees are making this place look pretty. (The joke is that Glendive is a dive).

J.D. is doing great and continuing to learn a lot. He is the new Elders Quorum President and called Danny to be his 1st counselor. Needless to say, we are seeing less of J.D., but we know the blessings are needed. J.D. is part of a 'beautify Glendive Committee' which he is so excited about. They've already starting finding funds and started planning to make this community look and feel better. With the boom of the economy, the town couldn't keep up. So there's plenty to do. I hope to be able to be on PTA while Dawson goes to school. I'm excited to get more involved in the community as well.

So far so good with our adventures up here. We miss Utah a lot, and we miss our families even more.

Easter 2014

Easter was pretty different this year being away from family, but it was still fun and the Easter bunny did find us! We made it to Albertson's to see the Eater bunny before Easter. We got Monty's smile just in time. Happy Easter Monty and Dawson!

 Dawson woke up and ran straight to Monty's basket... he was a little confused at the little bath toys... 

 and then he saw his name spelled in jelly beans with an arrow!  He followed the jelly beans.

 This is what Monty found after Dawson figured out it wasn't his own. 

 Dawson followed those little jelly beans to a big surprise! 

 He got lots of candy, a kite 

 (which was totally awesome), 

 and a lego set that the Easter bunny left for the whole family. 

 We had to fly the kite! 

After church is when we had a BBQ with Jori and Danny. We all flew kites and then Jori and I hid the Easter eggs that the kids dyed the day before. We did a small Easter egg hunt in our front yard and then most of the eggs got smashed... 

During church it was so neat to be able to substitute for Dawson's class because we were able to really get excited about the lesson for Easter Sunday. It was nice to help the kids focus on the true meaning of Easter. It's so fun to watch Dawson grow and learn. He gets so excited about the stories from the past and figuring that those things really did happen. He related the resurrection to Andee which made the lesson more special for us. I'm so grateful for Dawson and his understanding.

Monty is 4 Months

Little Monty B is 4 months old and ALMOST rolling. I think he could roll if he wanted to, but he's just taking his sweet time.

 He just can't quite get over that arm. He has got a lot to roll over too...

He is kind of a cat napper..... possibly genetic seeing how his Grandpa Stevens (his name sake) can take a 10 minute nap and be well rested whenever he chooses. He takes a small nap in the morning and a long nap in the afternoon. Then there are days he will only stay awake for 1-2 hours and go back to sleep for an hour. Those are the cat nap days.

 This baby is quite filling...below is a 9 month outfit. He fills it out, but it's a little long. Don't get me wrong, he is pretty lengthy, but I am anxious to see if he is actually tall or not. We've had to pull out the 6-9 month clothes because everything else is too small. I have to keep in mind that different brands are different sizes, but either way he is a growing boy.

He likes to throw us gangsta signs every once in a while too...

 He absolutely LOVES Dawson. He cuddles all the time with him, he always smiles at the sound of his voice, and likes to 'wrestle' with him. Dawson is so nice to let Monty lay on his face and let Monty drool/smother him. The other day, Dawson just kept laughing and Monty had to get it on it. Monty started squealing and giggling so much he lost his breath a couple of times. It only made it worse because it got Dawson laughing harder. Then Monty started to try and mimic the laughs that Dawson would do. It was amazing and oh so funny!

 Monty is getting to know when sleepy time is because he requires to be swaddled. Dawson as an infant required this too. :-) Monty is getting pretty good with his hands and starting to play with his binky. He likes to naw on it, pull it out, throw it, and then he'll suck on it. BUT if he doesn't want it, he will let you know.

We recently started a schedule at night time that involves eating solids. He has the funniest faces when it comes to eating baby food. It's not what he wanted, but he's getting used to it. He even opens his mouth for bites now. We are hoping it sustains him a little longer through the night so we can actually get sleep. 

This last week Monty has wanted to wake up every 2 hours and it's killing me. My whole attitude was effected. So after a nice date night, and consistency with the night routine, I think Monty is going to start sleeping better. It hasn't helped that we are in the middle of buying a home, so I'm sure Monty is picking up on my anxiety. I guess when closing day comes and passes, then I will post about our first home, but for now I will wait until it's all official. 

What Did You Say?

Lately J.D. and I have noticed quite the change in Dawson's vocabulary. One of my friends has a 'did he just say' label for some of the cute things her kids say. I am going to start the same thing and put it all in a book full of saying from Dawson. I'm so excited!

Mom: "Dawson what are you doing?"
Dawson: "Oh I'm just pretending with these sticks. See I'm a China person and eating like China does."
Mom laughs
2 minutes later
Dawson: "Mom look! It's the eiffel Tower!" He put 4 sticks together. "It's a different kind of Eiffel Tower though huh mom?"
Mom kind of in awe: "How do you know about the Eiffel Tower?"
Dawson: "I just do."
Mom: "Okay, but where did you learn about it?"
Dawson: "Mom. It's the Eiffel Tower. Everyone knows about it. You know, the one in Paris...."
Mom shocked/confused: "What? ..... Paris?"
Dawson: "Mom, the Eiffel Tower is in Paris. Don't you know that?"
Dawson: "Mom that's so 'ILARIOUS'! You didn't know! That's ILARIOUS."

(He is trying to say Hilarious.)
Mom: "You mean HIL arious."
Dawson: "Ya, that's what I said. Ilarious."

Well I can say that it was pretty hilarious that he kept saying il-arious.


Dawson: "Mom, can you build me this?"
Mom: "Sure."
I build the lego structure. Dawson re enters the room
Dawson: "Mom, did you follow the instructions?"
Mom: "Yes."
Dawson: "No you didn't. I left the instructions right here and you missed a part. See mom."

All I could think was that he used the word 'instructions'


Yesterday I was in the tub and Dawson came in and said, "Mom I want to take a bath."
Mom: "Well I'm in the tub and first you need to go out so I can have mom time, and second you have to wait until I'm done."
Dawson: "Well every time I want to take a bath you just come in and are already in here. I don't want to wait. I want to take a bath."
Mom: "Dawson you have 2 choices, wait until I'm done or don't take one."
Dawson: "Mom, remember how we went to the library the other day?"
Mom: "Yeah."
Dawson: "Well, remember how I got a library card?"
Mom: "Yep."
Dawson: "So since I got a library card, that means I'm an adult. So I don't have to wait."
Mom chuckling and trying to figure out how to end this: "Dawson 'adult' means you are 18. Are you 18? Just because you got a library card doesn't mean you are an adult. Also, I'm asking you to be patient, not be an adult."
Dawson: "Mom, my birthday is 18. That means I'm an adult cuz  you said. So you need to take turns and share. So it's my turn."

Yes, his birthday is the 18th.... not exactly what I was saying. This is the point where I just stop trying to explain.


Later this evening Dawson was looking at J.D.'s hair while J.D. wait on the floor.
Dawson: "Dad, I can see a spot on your head where there isn't any hair." and laughs
J.D. looked and me, I looked at him and we both started laughing. His hair is thinning, and he isn't going bald yet.

Monty B is Growing Up!

On March 26th we went to the pediatrician in Miles City for Monty's 2 month appointment even though he is 3 months. The move kind of threw us off.

Monty did so well at his appointment! He is in the 50th percentile for weight coming in at 15.3 pounds, the 50th percentile for height at 25 inches long, and 26th percentile for head circumference. I guess we thought he was on the chunky side, but he's absolutely perfect.

 He is a healthy boy and the doctor couldn't keep from smiling at him. He would just smile and talk right back at her. He got a couple vaccinations and is due for more in May. 

Monty is now 4 months old on the 8th of this month. He loves to smile and it's so contagious. He is extremely strong. He still sings with you when you sing to him sleeping or not. We face timed with my mom 2 days ago and she sang him about 4 songs. Monty sang right along with her! When she would stop, he'd stop. When she would get singing again, he would start up again. It is truly amazing and something I have never ever seen or heard of. I hum or sing softly while he is sleeping and he will start humming with my tune. He obviously isn't singing the tune, but he makes a humming noise. 

He really loves Dawson and always smiles when Dawson plays with him. We found out Monty likes Dawson's hair! Dawson went to give him a hug and Monty started twirling Dawson's hair while in the zone watching the TV. Dawson could not stop giggling! Monty does this anytime Dawson lets him play with his hair. 

Monty loves to blow bubbles and is drooling so much. The poor kid teethes every other week I swear. Plus, this last week we all caught a horrible cold/flu; body aches and all. Monty caught it and has been miserable. We finally are getting over it, but I suspect 2 weeks until we are finished with it. Apparently the whole town, probably the whole country, has had or is getting this thing. 

Monty still has natural curl to his hair, he loves baths/showers, and is becoming a snuggler! I love it! He falls asleep on my chest, he will snuggle into my chest when holding him and rest his head on my shoulder too. Dawson loves to snuggle too. I often find all 3 of us on the chair under a blanket watching a movie or reading a book. It's something we can't get enough of. 

Library Cards

Since the weather is warming up a little, we decided to go for a walk across the bridge to the library. Carson and Dawson both got their first library cards with their own names on them.

The boys were ecstatic! I'm not sure if letting Dawson have a library card was good or bad... 

When we were getting the library cards, I explained that this was going to be Dawson's library card and he had to share by letting me get books on it too. Dawson's response, "WHAT?! You mean I'm an adult and it's my card?" I didn't really say no because I was chuckling inside. The entire time in the library he kept coming to me and saying, "Mom, hurry. If you want me to get you a book on my card you have to hurry because I'm ready. I'm an adult because I got a library card, so I don't have to wait and you need to hurry."

I was left in AWE and speechless. Did my 5 year old just say that? Yes he did. We are working on the 'adult' thing. 

Pirate Photo Shoot to a Santa Shoot

Dawson was getting pretty creative one evening after J.D. got home from work. I was able to go relax and read my book while J.D. watched the boys. Dawson decided to do a pirate photo shoot! 

He set up this background and told J.D. to lay down.

 Dawson took J.D.'s photo with the iPad and then he needed his pic taken too!

 I was so impressed with his set up! He did an incredible job!

Then it was Monty's turn. Dawson found this hat that the hospital gave us when Monty was born.

 He is SO cute! I love how much Dawson involves Monty. Dawson did these pictures all on his own as well as putting on the hat. 

Monty absolutely loves Dawson and loves the attention he gets from him.