Summer at the Park

I don't do heat. If I get to hot, I turn red, I get a headache and sometimes break out into a rash. But I have been doing daycare and Steven is walking, so I had to bite the bullet, so to speak, and get out there this summer. We had such a great time, too. However, we found Steven inherited his mother's red/purple skin when he gets too hot. I just did my best to keep him hydrated. Here are some pictures of our park adventures this summer.

One of our first trips: Steven still didn't know what to do. He enjoyed going down the slide, but didn't want to climb up to it himself.

He started to get much braver and going himself, climbing up the stairs, going down the slide and walking over to do it all over again.

Where did my tiny baby go?

What a difference a year makes!!

Bath Buddies

Steven and Wally really are the best friends. They do absolutely everything together. When Steven takes a bath, Wally sits on the floor right next to the tub. This last time, when Wally took a bath, Steven insisted on helping Daddy. He did a great job moving the water around. So proud of my boy. Wally is so amazingly patient with it all too!

Matthew's 32nd Birthday

Matt sure is getting old! We went to Red Robin for his birthday. We really just had fun family time (that is my excuse that we can't remember exactly what we did!) On Sunday, we had Matt's family over for dinner and cake and icecream. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he said he wanted something with filling in the middle, but not frosting. It was n orange flavored cake and was super yummy. It was great just to be with family and celebrate the life of my husband.

Matthew is such a great dad! I am ever so grateful for him and his love for our son. Nothing gives me greater joy than to see the two of them interacting together. Steven loves his dad and Matthew loves him too. I love when they walk hand in hand, or wrestle the way only a dad and his son can. The two of them make my life worth living everyday!

Grandpa with Steven and Emmett

Matthew works very hard for our family. He wants me to be able to stay home and take care of Steven. He wants to be successful and do what he can for our temporal and spiritual needs.

I love the way Matthew smiles like a little guy. I love the way he holds me. I love the way he holds my hand. I am so grateful for such a wonderful man in my life. I love you babe!! Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Steven!

It is really hard for me to imagine that a year ago I was in the hospital giving birth to the most amazing little guy ever! He has greatly enriched my life and made me feel complete in a way I have never felt before. Steven is so happy and everyone who meets him says he is "a nice guy." His smile melts my heart! I love you Steven Robert!!

For breakfast, I made him banana pancakes and served them on the "You are special" plate. I bought it years ago for the purpose of having birthday breakfasts/dinners on it. He only ate a few bites because he really wanted yogurt, breakfast of champions!

His Nana came to pick him up for lunch with her and Grandpa. They went to Burger King and had fries. Then, they went to the Toy Store and Steven picked out his own ride on toy. He LOVES it! At first, he could only go backwards, but he eventually got the hang of it. It is a Lightning McQueen car and has all sorts of buttons you can push on it. When he pushes the music button he starts dancing on the seat. What a cutie pie!

We went to Red Robin for dinner. He drank out of a straw for the first time! He loves mandarin oranges pizza. He tried a bit of everyone's dinner and had a great time.

We came home and opened presents. Of course, he pulled in the loot! He did a great job opening gifts himself, but he was done by about present two.

To be completely honest, he was too tired and too grumpy to do cake that night, so we put it off until the next night. My mom said he wouldn't know the difference, but I always will. I was excited to make his first cake, but I am by no means the artist. I made a #1 and used blue frosting. He dug right in. He is a pro!

He was so happy to eat his cake! Seriously, look at that face!

Sharing cake with his Grandma-Great and Grandma who came from Idaho for the special 1st birthday!

The After:

I love you Bug!

Attempt at Family Pictures

A very shy 6 year old, a grumpy 4 year old, a 2 year old and 4 kids under 1...this sounds like an equation for some trouble. Add one camera, 7 parents trying to get their kids to look at the camera and smile, a very patient Nana and Grandpa and here is what you get....some VERY INTERESTING grandchildren pictures!

In the middle of taking these pictures someone said, "This will be easier in 2 years!" I thought to myself, "Are you crazy? We will have 4 TWO YEAR OLDS and who knows how many other children will be born in the following 2 years." Ya just have to laugh!

Daddy holding Steven and cousin Josie. Steven LOVES babies, but when his parents hold another baby, he has some pretty extreme jeleousy issues. He did have a good time lovin' on his cousin though.

Aunt Molly...she is so beautiful!

Steven and Nana

Cousins at the Zoo

I think this about sums it up...Cousins at the zoo!
Really, we had so much fun with all of our cousins visiting! (June 14,2011) The zoo was a hoot with 7 kids. Someone always wanted to go somewhere. Here is a sampling of our fun in the sun at the zoo:

Steven was looking super cute in his hat and sunglasses. He was ready for some fun!

Steven loved telling his dad about the tigers. It was very interesting to me that Steven was so enthralled by these large beasts. He babbled and babbled to his dad all about them. He pointed and growled. Matt patiently listened and told him what he knew about the tigers as well. It made this mommy's heart so happy to watch!

Aunt Carolyn's favorite animals are the giraffes. They are pretty fun to watch and there were a couple of smaller giraffes as well. They were so cute!

Steven is smaller...much smaller, than a polar bear, in case you were wondering. :)

The Polar Bears were kind of fun, too. Even though it was extremelly hot, they weren't playing in the water, but we got a great view of one sitting on the rock, almost as if he was posing for us.

Steven and Hannah measuring up to the Polar Bear. I think both of them might be a nice little snack if found floundering in the waves. I think the Mamas will keep a good watch on our little seals.

Sleeping cousins: Steven and Henry both fell asleep about the same time. They looked so cute just sleeping in the strollers!

Taylor and Steven are only about 4 months apart. She is so squishy! I love her!

Carolyn...what more can I say?

Josie and Amber...Josie girl is only about 6 weeks old. She was a trooper at the zoo!

Taking a break from the heat while some of us watched the seal show.

Hannah enjoying a drink on Uncle Matt's lap

3 Cousins in the wagon. Looking at these pictures makes my heart happy. I love when Steven gets to play with his cousins! He loves them so much!

Riding the Carousel:
It took Steven only a minute to warm up to the Cheetah (and of course, he was running VERY fast) and the round and round motion. He absolutely LOVED it and didn't want to get off at the end!

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture of all of the cousins on the carousel because of where everyone was sitting, but here is what I did get:

Aunt Molly and Nana

Cousin Henry and Uncle David

Cousin Emmett and Aunt Carolyn. Emmett is riding on his mommy's chest for the ride.

Family picture time at the zoo!

The Pachaderms are my favorite!! Here are just a couple of shots of them!

I have to appologize...my dear, sweet husband took the camera and this is only one shot of one animal bottom I ended up with. He makes me laugh, what can I say. :)

We had a wonderful time at the zoo with our cousins! We are so grateful they were all here visiting! We love you!