my backyardigans

HB likes playing on this little slide! He's wild and stands up on it..then dives off into the grass! This week he said his 1st phrase or sentence, "Turn On!" - he said it to the water faucet for a bath (which he LOVES) and to the tv and dryer.

Dixie and Gauge love the backyard..they also like snooping around the front too..when we play with the bikes they try and sneak away! Here Dixie is meeting our neighbor dogs and Gauge is trying to be patient for Hayes to throw the ball for him

The girls are loving the outside time too. With the weather being so wonderful right now, we are enjoying our 'spring' before it gets too hot to be out for long. They love riding their bikes and swinging and throwing the ball in the pool for the dogs!

All 3 kids squeal with excitement when the dogs start jumping in the water for the ball! It's fun to watch.

He is talking lots more lately..He still is quiet but when he gets going he chatters nonstop! He has said Go, Bye, Georgia, ball, wa-er, Up, No..I know there's more, (oh yeah, "uh oh and mo" too)

That's all for now from the Valley!

Moving on and moving up

We are finally getting settled here in the Valley.

So far we haven't done much except unpack and try to get rid of as many boxes as we can. We are doing really well considering we have 3 helpers who turn out don't really help so much.

The kids have done good about obeying the rules about the pool. I'm still trying to figure out how to best keep them out of it (locks on different doors wise)..I know it will get more tricky once they can actual get in the water during warmer weather. The dogs finally got in because we threw the ball in for Gauge to fetch. I'm not sure they really cared about it, but the weather has been so nice here. In June when it's 105 degrees I'm sure they will love it! We will all love it!! The dogs have loved the grass though, which sounds ridiculous but we had virtually no grass in the last house so I guess they are revelling in it.

{living room looking into kitchen -you can see Hayes in his highchair!}
This week the movers unloaded on Tuesday and Granddad stopped by to see us. Wednesday we unpacked and realized we had an abundance of stuff! We also had lunch at Daniel's hospital after we signed all of our paperwork for the house..DONE!! Thursday we toured a preschool and made our 1st trip to HEB. We also got lucky and stumbled upon storytime at the library. It was fun and the kids liked it. Emmaline picked out a big Princess novel. She was so into it and didn't want to put it down. We have been trying to read a few chapters a night.

{If you look closely HB's curl is alive and kickin'..the humidity is making mine, Gs and Hayes curl/frizz a bit!} Friday we attended a Mommy and Me class where as E says "the kids got to cook and the parents just watched! That was so fun!" They loved it. It was structured/unstructured playtime. It is also where we will go to MOPS so it was nice to meet some of the moms there. I have already ran into one of the moms out and about since then! Granddad and Daniel both stopped by shortly after we got home and then the kids napped. Daniel was home by 5 for the weekend! It was a good week!

We spent our 1st night here Monday on couch cushions and blow up matresses. It was loud...the dogs claws on the wood floors and tile went click clack click clack. I was annoyed! I like carpet..I do..walking on it when I get out of bed is my preference..But I do like the way wood and tile look so it's kindof a love/hate relationship. The only carpet in the house is in the kids' bedrooms and it's grimy but I wish I has some in mine. Oh well.

{playroom} So far I love most things about the house. I'm realizing having less space with better storage shelves/options is more efficient than just lots of room. We don't want to put too much money into this house since we are renting so that is tricky.

I love all the windows and natural light here. It is a nice, quiet neighborhood and the kids have room to ride their bikes and scooters in the circle drive. I also love our covered patio that is gated so the kids can run wild and it keeps the dogs in or out!

Those are huge things to me. We got cable and DVR so I am surviving. I also love our tv in the kitchen.

We haven't eaten out once since we have been here. I am dying for some Mexican food..dying! Daniel comes home at lunch and throughout the day. It's nice but sorta surprising. HA! He will call to say he's leaving work and walk in the door before I have a chance to make our bed or do any quick cleaning. He's fast! I guess that's what 1 mile means. We also have a HEB about a 1/4 mile from our house.
Things are slow and steady and quiet around here (here meaning RGV). I will mention something about how things are slow and laid back and whoever I am speaking to will say, "That's the Valley!" (in a real slow tone)

It feels like we are taking a vacation from our lives. We are still 'working' but it's at a more relaxed pace. I am loving it so far. It may get old at some point but I believe it is just what God knew we needed in our lives. Our babies are growing way too fast and I am hoping (if I can stay sane long enough) to enjoy this time with them and get to know them better.
I really wanted to go to the beach this weekend. We actually had plans though! Our neighbors (and semi-friends of Daniel's) invited us over for a BBQ. Daniel and Pepe (he's Italian) attended St. Thomas together and Daniel's dad taught Pepe. He graduated before Daniel was in highschool but their families are friends. Anyways, he lives like 5 houses down and around the corner and they are good friends with their neighbors. We met 3 couples and 7 kids. They made a hole turned into a gate through their backyard fences to each others houses! They had trampolines, swings, 4-wheelers, beer and country music! Is there anything else I need to tell you so you know we had fun?!? Thought not! We stayed until the girls were passing out snuggled up to their son Finn and HB was snoring in my lap. We counted how long it took us to drive home..we barely made it to 20. FUN!
We had a birthday party today at Mr. Gattis and a Chinese New Years Party next weekend. The girls had a blast at the party and got the biggest party favors I have ever seen. I met another mom who attends MOPS and the Mommy and Me class. Still looking for friends but hope to meet some more people this week!

So far, the Valley has been good to us!

Emmaline's (early) 5th Birthday Party

Because we were moving I decided E must have a party to celebrate her big 5 years..she had been talking about it for months, about who she was going to invite, what kind of cake she wanted, etc. so I knew I didn't her to miss out.
It was crazy timing as everything has been this year, but we threw together a party at Pump It Up just days before our move. We got cute cupcake invites and handed all 25 of them out to her school and personal friends.

Of course this party coincided with the National Championship game (which I will blog about soon), our move (more to blog about) and my mom's bday. Luckily, the place takes care of most everything so that is a plus. I just had to make it back in time! My flight landed at noon and the party was at 5:30..plenty of time to get party favors, snacks and cake together, right?!?

Well...let's just say I got confused and I somehow managed to miss my flight from New Orleans. Luckily, I got on stand by for the next one, lay overed in Houston and barely made it on the last flight to SA before I would have been too late for the party..that was a close one!
I got in at 2, we picked up the girls' from school and made a bee line for the party and grocery store. Emmaline loved getting to go in and pick out her paper goods and favors. Her favorite thing she picked was a Princess crown and her Birthday girl button!

She was all over the place mixing and matching themes. I wasn't really in the mood to put up a fight so we had a Rapunzel, Barbie, 'boy stuff' theme! The cake was cute (all Rapunzel from HEB) and had both chocolate and vanilla..most kids ate 2 pieces (again, I wasn't up for a fight)!

The party started and we had most everything we needed. There were 19 kids in all and they had a blast. They were so worn out by the end of it all wanting drinks so bad..I'm sure they each had multiple capri-suns too.

The Party helpers were great and loved playing with the kids. It was so much fun getting to see old and new friends.

Emmaline has a great time and felt so special. She didn't even know she got presents until we walked out the front and they had them all bagged and ready to go. She was thrilled with her things. Eventhough it was a LONG day for me, I am so happy we did it.

Thank you so much to everyone who came in the middle of the week to celebrate with us. She loved having each one of you there! It was worth it to see her smile while everyone sang her Happy Birthday! Now her real 5th birthday in March will just be icing on the cake! ;)

Our Anniversary

Today is mine and Daniel's 6th wedding anniversary!! I got to sleep in (semi) and wake up to hot chocolate and donuts..just what the trainers all over the world would recommend to people getting ready to be in bathing suits and wanting to be beach ready!

Nevertheless we will enjoy ourselves and our kiddos one last weekend in SA. Have a few things we must do and a few things we will do for fun!
Last night Daniel got home from being in our new hometown for a few days and the first thing he said to me was "6 years ago tonight we were celebrating at a sushi restaurant with all of our closest friends and family!" Memories!!
All I have to say is Thank you to Daniel for a fun-filled, exciting and never know what I'm gonna get 6 years of marriage! Through the highs and lows it has always been full of love! I am so proud of us and our 3 beautiful babies! I love you! And I'm really excited to move into our new home!!

Last night Nannine, Daniel's aunt Emmaline, came to visit while she was in town. They are building in Kerville so she was in messing with that. She brought the girls lipgloss, writing pads, heart candies, and put feathers in their hair! They loved it as you can imagine! She had matchbox cars for HB and he was hilarious everytime she would bring out another for him to open he would squeal and snag it out of her hand! She bought us dinner and watched the girls build castles. It was a short but sweet visit! Thanks for visiting us!! Can't wait to see your new home in Kerville, Nannine!

Stevens Family Pictures

My mom decided we needed some pictures of our family this year for a Christmas cards. My aunt was coming in town so we knew it could happen!

We decided on a black/white scheme and we were so over professional photographers coming to the house (or even an actual person coming to the house to take our picture). I got the lucky job of balancing the camera on some boxes and pressing the timer button and running to my spot! FUN TIMES!
SO here are the Stevens at their very best in 2011.

RG3 and RGV

I'm not a Baylor Bear but I do love College Football, so when Leslie invited us to the Baylor Peprally I was excited! I love things like that and it gives me something to do with the kids. Besides RG3 is a celebrity now, right?!!

Daniel was home and able to stay with Hayes which was a big help! Me and the girls parked downtown and walked through Hemisfair park to the Tower of the Americas. We even saw the Catlin family and my friend Meredith and her family.

We got free swag to share with Natalie and Toodge since they were coming to the game and the kids loved the cheerleaders and music.

We ended up on top of the waterfall area...you couldn't hear much but it was still fun to see RG3. He even turned around and waved and smiled right at us!

Now for the RGV - that stands for the Rio Grande Valley...if you didn't know and we are moving there so soon...like this is what our house looks like..

yikes..how am I going to make it the next 5 days..we will see! But we are super excited about our new house that we are renting!

Hayes Bryant is 16 months!!

So today HB is 16 months and keeping me on my toes. He was climbing ladders up the playscape today and coming head first down the tunnel slide. It was wild and tiring!

He has 5 teeth and likes to pull his sisters' hair. He also hits and throws a tantrum if you tell him NO. While I was out of town, Daniel slapped his wrist for turning off the tv (one of his favorite things to do) and he put himself in time out!

D sent me a picture of him sitting there...is that not the most hilarious thing ever!?! loved it

He understands so much. He can follow directions really well, as long as he wants to follow them!
He comes to me and asks for me to kiss his boo-boos. He tattles on his sisters by pointing and yelling a bunch of jibber jabber. He is trying so hard to talk but we aren't understanding much. One of the sweetest things I do understand is when he says MaMa over and over again. He waits for me to look at him then he shyly smiles. It is so sweet!!

He LOVES baths and showers and stands up just to get in trouble and asked to sit down. He thinks it's hilarious!
Hayes' latest thing is saying Unn uhh but he means YES, so he is a bit confused but trying!
We love you little man!
Most of the pics were taken by my phone and are random...

He sat in a booster for the 1st time..it was a wild time, but he did ok..He felt like a big boy for sure!

Family Christmas - Part 3

We left Christmas day for Houston to see Daniel's mom, brother and Thomas. There was lots of turkey, stuffing and yummy sides to eat.

We opened presents and the girls got some really cute things. E got a Rapunzel gown and G got a Dora gown. HB got some fun trucks and blocks.

It was a short visit but lots of fun. We dropped Gauge off so he would not tear up our yard too. It was also fun to play Mexican train dominoes for a long while..even if Daniel did win!

We finally went back home after being gone for what seemed like forever! Christmas was special and wonderful and I'm glad we were able to see our families. I know the kids had a wonderful celebration and I love hearing them so excited about baby Jesus being born on Christmas day!