LIFE OF THE STEVENS' FAMILY

Dentist Appointment

2011-08-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year for all of Camden's checkup's before school starts. Last week he had a dentist appointment. Dentist polished his teeth and checked for cavities...no cavaties....YAY!! I did have some questions for the dentist after we had finished the checkup. Camden has lost 5 teeth (top two front, bottom two front and a side one) and only one has grown back in. He lost his bottom two front teeth last November and they have not come through yet. The dentist said some teeth can take up to a year to come in but most of the time it only takes a couple months. He decided to do xrays to see what was up. The xrays looked good and he could see the bottom front permanent teeth trying to come up. He said Camden's mouth is very small for all his teeth (I had the same problem when I was a kid, should of had braces) and the space is so small for his premanent teeth to come through right now. If they do come through they are probably going to be crooked or some pushed back or ahead. I don't care what they look like as long as the darn things come through! Dentist also said he will probably be a good candidate for braces when he gets older! So anyways if these teeth do not come through we will be heading to an orthodontist to check them out. Since the other baby teeth he has not lost are sort of blocking the permanent teeth trying to come in there is a possibility we will have to start pulling some of his baby teeth....yeah doesn't sound fun! Also sometimes they will try and cut the gums to see if the teeth will come up. I don't like the dentist myself and he is starting to hate the dentist after hearing that! Pulling teeth and cutting gums...who would actually like the dentist after that?!?

He also has 4 more of his molars (not sure what they are called but they are the ones kids get in between the ages of 6-7) coming through and they are pushing his teeth to make even less room. So yeah this is not a major thing because it can be fixed but wasn't expecting to hear what he told me. I actually did notice a couple days ago a little white coming through the bottom gums....hopefully they both will just come through and we won't have to deal with the orthodontist!

Summer......

2011-06-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

.....has been CRAZY BUSY at our house!!

I am having a hard time believing that the 4th of July weekend is approaching fast....ok so fast that it starts tomorrow! Crazy! Not sure when the past 2-3 months have gone! I always think that once the 4th is over the rest of the summer goes even faster...ugh!!

Anyways it's been so long since I have updated I am not even sure where to start.

Brad and I have been busy between work, running kids everywhere, weddings, weekend getaways, etc! Whew! I think we maybe have one or two weekends that are free until the end of August. I keep saying "Next summer won't be as busy!" Yeah pretty sure it actually gets worse every summer! Oh well I do like being busy but some days I just want to sit on the couch and do nothing!

Here is what has been going on with each of us.....

Brad-
*Just was accepted into DRE school. He will have training down in Des Moines for a Month and training in Phoenix, Arizona for a week or so. Once he passes this school he will be a Drug Recognition Expert for the State of Iowa. He is very excited about this upcoming adventure!
*Still on the city council and keeping plenty busy with meetings, etc.
*He is home a couple days a week so he is always running the kids to kids klub, swimming, ballgames, etc. He also helped coach Cam's tball team this year.
*Here in a few weeks he is going out to Chicago to stay with Brandi and Jeff for a few days. He will be doing a ride along with under cover cop during his stay. The cop is actually good friends with Jeff and Brandi. I'm not so excited about this. The guy he is doing the ride along with I have seen on t.v. doing undercover work. So I have seen the area where he will be doing his ride along and it freaks me out!! The Phillies are playing at Wrigley while he is out there so he will be going to a game with Brandi and Jeff. (Brad is a phillies fan) They have season tickets right behind home plate and it will be pretty much all cubs fans?! I am guessing he might not want to wear Phillies apparell...lol!!
*We bought a new motorcycle in May so he has been trying to ride when he can. He says he wants to do some more riding but the weather doesn't always coroperate!

Me-
*My life the past month has consisted of working and running home after work (or having to leave work early) to pick up the kids, get them ready and scurry out the door to get to Cam's games. This happened 2-3 nights/week. It got a little crazy at times but we made it through it with no problems :)
*(Backing up a couple months)My wonderful hubby and kids bought tickets back in May for my friend Anne and I to see Tim McGraw....it was tons of fun!!!
* The end of May Brad and I were able to go to Altoona for the baptism of our goddaughter Clairie. We had a good time with the Sigwarths and were very honored to be there for Clairie's special day!
*Ready for the weeks to SLOW down. We have alot of upcoming plans/getaways in July/August/September that I am ready for but then again that means school will be fast approaching and we won't have many summer days left!
*Enjoying being able to make it to a few of my brothers bb games. He actually has been playing a few games close to us so it's been nice to go watch. He is a darn good catcher and having a pretty good year!
*Enjoying spending time with the kids outside, and going on bike rides. The weather hasn't been the greatest this summer but we try to get outside as much as possible!

Camden-
*Graduated kindergarten the end of May. Wow it's really hard to believe he is going to be in 1st grade. We received his last report card and he did awesome!! His last dibels scores blew us away again.Very proud of him!
*Tball started the beginning of May and his last game was this past Tuesday. He told me the other night that "he is ready to sign up for next year!" The kid loves to play ball!!
*As Camden gets older I think he is going to start getting bored at daycare. As of right now he likes daycare and enjoys being there with all his friends. Our daycare has a kids klub every summer so I decided this summer to sign him up. He has it twice a week. One day of the week they stay in town and do something fun and the other day they take a field trip our of town. He LOVES it! A few of the field trips that I can remember have been: Nature Center, Mill Creek State Park, Cherokee Museum, Miniature golfing. It's a good way to keep the kids busy in the summer!
*Today he left for church camp. He really wanted to do the overnight camp but I wasn't so sure he was ready for that quite yet. We talked him into doing a day camp and next year we would allow him to do an overnight if he still wanted. He left this morning and we will go pick him up tonight. I am excited to hear about all his fun stuff he was able to do!
*Bible school next week....he always looks forward to this week!
*He is not ready for summer to be over but he is looking forward to the 1st grade.
*He is reading like crazy! Wow! He could read some words throughout the books but since the 2nds semester of Kindergarten he is really reading. He obviously needs help with some words but does well! It's nice because Maeci loves books so if I don't have time to read to her Camden will.
*This summer he is really enjoying riding his bike, playing with friends, and swimming!

Maeci-
*Awww this girl gives me a run for my money!! She is so stinkin' naughty somedays. She is also pretty loveable!! She can be a sweetheart with lots of hugs and kisses but if she is mad, watch out! Her attitude at this age is nothing like Cam at the age of 2. I have two completely opposite kids!
*She has no fear-She will do about anything!
*Mimicks everything Camden does!
*When she is mad watch out because she is going through another hitting stage. (It's not to bad but she is still doing it)
*Loves to drive her brother crazy! She always wants something he has and vice versa. It usually ends up in a fight...and Maec does NOT back down from her brother!
*She does love her brother and somedays they do get a long well. When he is not home she is always asking "Where's brother, Where's Tamden (Camden)?"
*Loves to draw with markers, read books, and ride her little bike!
*Literally OBSESSED with her babies. She sleeps with them and they go everywhere she goes. Usually she wants to take one or FOUR babies with where ever we go. I usually try to limit it to 1-2...lol! She rocks and feeds them. The latest is she has to burp them! She is so funny sometimes!
*Talking like crazy! Her new favorite saying is "uh oh spaghettios"
*Brad told her the other day 5 times that she needed to go clean her room. The last time he told her she folded her arms together looked at him with a grouchy look and said "Fine" and she trudged down the hallway to her room! Lol! She is a pistol!!
*She can count to 10! One day we were counting and I thought she could just count to 5 but she kept counting to 10! She also knows a few of her colors. Blue, Purple, Red and Green
*Has another obsession-ELMO! She insist that she watch Elmo Pets a million times a day. The first thing she says when she gets up in the morning is "Watch Elmo Mommy?"

Well this is getting way to long so I am going to end it! I know I went back and forth between stuff but I just wrote it as it came to me. Hope everyone has a good 4th of July weekend!

Summer......

2011-06-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

......has been absolutely BUSY!!!

2011-03-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

There is so much sickness going around here it's crazy! I walk in to daycare and see signs of what my child was exposed too, you see a status on FB having sick kids, and Camden always is telling me someone is sick out of his class! Wowzers! This has been a horrible winter for the colds in my house. Camden was always sick up until he was 1 or so. After his immune system was built up he maybe gets 2-3 colds A YEAR...which wasn't so bad! Well just this winter I think he is on cold #4! Maeci has had her fair share of colds this winter too! Last week Camden starting running a fever on Wednesday night so I called the school on Thursday to tell them he would not be in. The secretary told me just out of Camden's class the day before there were 6 kids out with Influenza A, B or strep....and it's really bad in the school. Oh great! He had a horrible cough, runny nose and a fever....off to the doctor we went! Doc said this has been a really, really bad winter and the last few weeks for the cold and flu! If it continues he can see more schools shutting down. Luckily Camden's test were all negative so he just gave us a med to help with the cold and off we went. Little did I know this fever would last for 5 days! He did not go back to school til noon yesterday. His fever is gone but his cough is still awful at night...but we just have to let it runs its course! Camden brought home a note yesterday after school that was talking about all the sickness going around and last Friday they had 9 kids out of his class sick! The doctor also told me that they have had a couple cases where the kids are testing positive even though they have had flu shots! (They might have had a more mild case of Influenza if they got the shot) Hmmm.....I thought I was safe getting my kids the flu shots?!? I am hoping whatever Camden had doesn't spread in our house to everyone else! Hopefully Spring is coming SOON and we can get rid of these germs and let some fresh air in the house!

Camden

2011-03-04T11:22:00.001-08:00

Parent-teacher conferences were a couple weeks ago and since we didn't have to meet with his teacher she called with some test scores of his! He took the 2nd part of the dibels testing a month ago. The first part was at the beginning of the year and his scores were great and well over the average score. The second part he did awesome! The averages are different from the first part to the second part. There are also some more parts and more advanced areas...like more reading and mathematics. We are so proud of him as once again he scored well over the average on all the parts of the tests. In a couple test he scored 25+ over the average. Way to go Camden!

Maeci

2011-03-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Last night I was reading Maeci an animal book and I was asking her what each animal says. After awhile of the animal sounds she was kept saying "mommy" as we were reading the book. Not sure what she wanted so I said "What does mommy say?" Maeci's response (as she is points her finger at me) "No, No"
Do you think that she hears that word from me a little to much?!? I think so.......

Officer's worst nightmare....

2011-02-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

Last Friday Brad called me at work with some horrible news. An officer that works for the Sheldon Police Department (Obrien County) 17 year old daughter was killed in an accident. It's a nightmare to lose your daughter but also a nightmare for a dad/officer to be on duty that day and be the first on the scene. Brad has always told me this is one of his worst fears about his job. It has happened to someone that Brad works with and we are very saddened of the tragic loss of this young girl. Please pray for Officer Woods and his family during this difficult time. Pray that God will give them strength as they lay their daughter to rest tomorrow.

2011-02-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

The weather is warming up and we are loving it in our house!! My kids were starting to go crazy being couped up inside all day when the temps were very cold!! I checked the weather and it's supose to be a high in the 50's a couple days this week...YAY!!! I am so sick of winter! The snow is melting fast with the warmer temps. My driveway was pure ice from all of our wonderful storms we have had....pretty sure I almost fell a handful of times! Yesterday with the nice temps Brad, Oz, Calee, and Camden chipped/shoveled off all the melting ice!
Anyways Spring is near and we are excited!

It seems lately that is non-stop going in our house! We have been SO busy!! Here's what been going on with the Stevens'-

Camden-
*A couple weeks ago he had a two weekend camp for basketball. He had so much fun and learned alot! We were able to watch him play during half time at the HS game.
*His normal week is sooo busy...wrestling on Tuesday and Thursday night and church on Wednesday night. By the time Friday comes he is ready for a couple days off...me too!! He does really well with his busy schedule :) He is already asking when soccer is going to start.....he is always on the go! I know he is only 5 but I can't imagine what it's like when he gets older. And we don't push him to do these things, it's his choice if he wants to do wrestling or not! Church he doesn't have much of a choice....he loves it so I have no problem getting him to go on Wednesday nights. Sometimes I feel for a 5 year old this is to much during the week but he doesn't have a problem with it!
*Doing great in school! It's conference time this week at school and Mrs. Menke sent a letter home and talked to Brad that she does not have to meet with us because he is doing great and she has no concerns...oh one concern...to listen a little better :)
*Camden has been asking on and off for me to have another baby...but it has to be a boy!! He does not really understand that we don't have a choice if it's a boy or girl. I think he is getting bored with his sister! I am a 100% sure there won't be anymore babies in our house...ok maybe not a 100% , maybe 80% sure! I get that baby itch every once in a while!
*He can't wait to be 6...I swear ever since the day after Christmas that's all he has talked about! It has slowed down a little bit but give it a couple weeks and he will be constantly asking about his birthday! I guess birthdays are a big thing to little kids. Not sure what we are doing for his birthday but this year I am going to try and make his birthday cake...yikes...hope he doesn't pick anything to hard for me to make!!

Maeci-
* She is my.......naughty, little, cute, devil, blue eyed, stinker, baby girl! Awww this girl gives me a run for my money! She is so naughty at times...her newest thing is spitting at you...yes spitting...nothing comes out of her mouth but just the action of spitting! Yep probably learned that at daycare! She is going through a stage of hitting and throwing some major fits....wow! Oh well it's a stage and it will pass! I am just glad I didn't have 2 kids that had the terrible two's!
*Ok on to the good stuff..... She can be the sweetest little girl, likes to give lots of hugs and kisses! If someone gets hurt she is always there rubbing their head and saying " it k" (it's ok)
*Talking alot!
*Obsessed with babies!! She is always feeding and rocking her babies. When she is rocking her babies she always sings to them, more like hums some tune...it's so cute!!
*Potty time....about a week ago we introduced the potty to her. We are not pushing her but letting her get comfortable with knowing what it is, etc. If you push a kid it will be harder to get them trained! It's not an everyday thing we do right now but wanting her to get used to it. The other day she was standing in the front of the toilet trying to go potty like a boy...oh my..thinking she has watched Camden a time or two! She will say "potty, potty" and even though we are not really potty training we take her and sit her on the toilet!
*Toddler bed...yikes...yes we are going to be switching her over sometime soon! Camden was in a toddler bed at 20 months so we will be trying to see how Maec does! I told Brad I will be leaving the crib up just in case she doesn't do well in the bed! Not sure exactly when we will be doing it but sometime soon!

A couple weekends ago we celebrated Christmas with Brad's family in Des Moines at a hotel/waterpark. It was a great time and it was nice to see everyone!

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas at my house with my mom/family. The kids were excited to see everyone and we had a good time! The weekends go way to fast though!

Well that's about all for now.......Enjoy the warmer weather this week!! :)

2011-02-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

The Lombardi trophy is coming home!!

CHAMPS!!!!

Wow, what a game last night!! We have a very happy house right now! I was SOOOOO nervous in the 2nd half when the Steelers were making a run and came within 3 points....pretty sure I couldn't quit shaking! I guess I would rather have a close/exciting game then a blowout game. Ok maybe a blowout(Packers being on top:) ) wouldn't have been so bad for my nerves...lol!!

I am already excited for next season! I think my husband is hoping he gets his season tickets this year...oh wait I should say my season ticket since it's in MY name!! We are on the list for one season ticket and also for 2 season tickets. His name is on for the 2 tickets and we might not get those til we are 60 yrs old.(the list is very long) As for the one season ticket we should either get that this year or next.(Although it may be longer now that they have won the super bowl...who would want to give up their tickets after just winning the super bowl!?! I sure wouldn't!) We actually got offered it this past season but turned it down because they were only offering the package for half the games and we wanted the full season! We will have to wait and see! GO PACK GO!!!!

2011-01-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

So I am just a little annoyed and going to vent just a little.......
This morning I was on my way to work and I could see flashing cop lights about a mile up the road. As I got closer I realized a deputy had someone pulled over on the opposite side of the road. Of course I slowed down as I was getting closer because I could see 2-3 cars coming toward me. I didn't think I would have to come to almost a complete stop since I was on the opposite side of the cars and the deputy, etc. The truck (coming toward me) that was the first in line did NOT SLOW down a bit and maybe moved over 5 inches as he passed the deputy. I ended up coming to an almost complete stop thinking I would just stop so the truck could come into my lane a little to pass the deputy/stopped vehicle! Oh no he did not and probably didn't even take off his cruise control. Being a cops wife that stuff freaks me out....that deputy could easily get hit by someone that is careless and not slowing down. I know this is probably on the bottom of my list of stuff that freaks me out being a cops wife....cuz I know there is alot worse things that these deputies/officers deal with! I have seen on cop shows before where an officer gets hit because of careless drivers! Maybe I freaked out a little much on the whole thing this morning but that deputy was my husband! Even if it wasn't my husband I still would of been annoyed with the whole thing.
Also, once last thing and then I will be done.
People PULL OVER for an Ambulance with flashing lights! It doesn't matter what side of the road you are on....slow down and get over! Had an experience with that a couple weeks ago. Not going to get into the story but you get my point!
Ok I am done....sorry if that annoyed you but I had to vent!
Have a good day!

Winter

2011-01-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

I am soooooo sick of winter! Today I drove to work on icy roads and it sucked! I am thinking maybe I should of waited a couple hours before I came in. I don't mind having a drive to work but when the weather is crappy I don't care for it. Camden had 2 days last week off of school due to the foot of snow we received.....I guess I had two days off too! Last night there was sleet and the wind was blowing...once again 2 hour late start for the school kids today. I think they will have school but who knows! Oh how I want some warm weather right now. If I wouldn't of just started this job I would be flying somewhere warm right now for a vacation!! I am thinking SPRING right now!!!

This is a conversation Camden and I had yesterday driving to Sheldon...(it fits in with the warm weather/crappy winter)

Camden(as many birds were flying right at my windshield)- Mom, ya know some birds fly south to have warm weather since it's so cold here.
Me-Yep Cam you are right. Maybe we should fly south to have warm weather?
Camden-Well then why don't we?....I like the snow for awhile but I am ready for summer.
Me-Me too....It would be nice to go somewhere warm right now!
Camden-(thinking about it) But mom we can't fly south we don't have wings.....(he is laughing)
Me-Very true Camden....A plane has wings and we can go that way! lol

He is so funny somedays! He is getting sick of the snow and cold too. He loves the snow for a couple months and usually about this time he is wanting it to be summer!

Little Miss Maeci

2010-12-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

My precious little daughter is going to give me gray hair sooner that I would like! She is going through the terrible two's early...or I guess I think that's what it is! I also think she is going through a seperation from mommy stage. Gosh I am sooooo glad I never really had this with Camden!! It's funny too because she really only acts like this when I am home or around. She does wonderful when Brad is home with her and is very good at daycare! The minute I get home from work/pick her up from daycare she is attached to my leg and crabby!! I walk in the door at home and she gives me an awful look and hits the closest thing to her. I was talking to my friend about this and her son did this when she picked him up from daycare. She told me it means it's a sign that she missed me. When I switched jobs and went back to work full time she actually adjusted very well. So now I am not really understanding why she is doing this. I know it's just a stage but it drives me crazy! I thought maybe she wasn't feeling good or she was in pain. She doesn't have a cold, her ears were just checked last week (which they look great and the tubes are actually still in..which I thought they were coming out) so I would say she is just being a little stinker! The ENT did say that her tonsils are huge and she will def need those out eventually. She doesn't wake at night but she is sure a restless sleeper. That is probably being caused from her mouth breathing which can be caused by large tonsils. He said if we have to put tubes in again he would take the tonsils out. Normally he don't do it til they are 3 or older but he said she is a big girl and she would do just fine! I am hoping we can hold off at least til she is over 2 years old. When Camden had his tonsils and adenoids out at 3 it helped ALOT!! I swear it's always something with my kids. I think they pick up every bug that goes around the daycare or at school!! Oh well it will get better and I know I am not the only one that has sick kiddos all the time! I look back to when I was a younger and would get sick. They didn't do half the procedures they do now with kids.
Maeci is also going through a stage of hitting. She gets mad she hits. She doesn't hit at daycare but at home she does. She even has tried to bite her brother twice! Oh gosh I really hope she doesn't start doing that all the time. I remember working in daycares and dealing with kids that would bite. Some kids just go through the biting stage but I am really hoping it doesn't get worse! I just have to keep telling myself this will all pass and it's just a stage they go through!!

Graduating.....

2010-12-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

Yep my baby girl is graduating to the big room at daycare next week. This weekend she turns 18 months old and I can't believe it! Before I know it she will be graduating from preschool, high school, etc. Time goes way to fast! She transitions in the big room a few days a week now and she is so little with all the bigger kids! Daycare said she will do fine because she can hold her own when it comes to bigger kids. There are right because she usually doesn't back down when it comes to getting a toy taken away, getting hit, etc!
So here is what my monkey has been up too....

*She is a momma's girl lately. The past couple days she has started a stage again of mommy has to hold her all the time and I can't walk out of her sight! Frustrating for me at times but oh well it will pass! I think her ears have been been bothering her the last few days so that could be the reason behind her being so attached to me. We have an appointment on Monday with the ENT and I have a feeling a new set of tubes is what he is going to say. Her last set are in the processing of coming out!

*Adjusting really well to me going back to work full-time. When Brad is on dayshift and she is at daycare all day can make her a little overtired but not to bad.

*Starting to adjust better to the time change. Before the time change she slept from 7:30-7:00/7:30. Since the time change she started off sleeping from 7:30-5:00/5:30. With her getting up so early her whole daytime schedule was messed up. She used to take one nap in the afternoon but with her getting up so early she wants a nap by 10:00 and maybe another one late in the afternoon. Now that she is adjusting she is sleeping from 7:30-6:00/7:00. Most mornings when she gets up and we don't have to be anywhere she will lay on the couch and go back to sleep for another hour or so.

*Starting to say alot of words. Here are just a few....Mommy, Dada, Hi, Bye, Night, Melmo(Elmo), Papa, Tanku(thank you),baby, bottle(for her baby),wa-er(water),ball. Everytime she drops something she will say, uh oh. The other night she got a hold of the tv remote and took off running with it. Brad went to get it from her and she kept running and saying uh-uhhh! It was pretty funny! Seems like everyday she is learning new things to say. She doesn't say words all day long and if you want her to say something to show someone else she will NOT do it! Although she did say "papa" so my dad could hear it. Most of the time it's still alot of babbling that comes out of her mouth that I have no idea what she is saying. She tries to carry on a conversation with you and pretty much all it is a bunch of "baby talk" But it's funny because it's like she is trying really hard to tell you something. Soon she will be talking like crazy!

*She can point to all her body parts.

*She can tell you how old she is.

*Loves to sing songs!

*Books!! Wow the kid could read books all day long! I love it! I just put in my order for Usborne books and got her a lot of books for xmas!

*Has a mind of her own! If she doesn't like something she will let you know. Her new thing is giving you a dirty look. Such a little stinker.

*Tough little girl when it comes to her brother picking on her. She doesn't really back down to often and fights back!

*Hitting....if she's mad she hits! Grrr!

*OBSESSED with Elmo! She loves Sesame Street! Next to Elmo she loves Cookie Monster.

*About a month or so ago she got her last eye(I call it eye tooth but I think it's canine) tooth in. She now only has her 2 year molars left to get.

*Loves going to WWW(wild worship wednesday) on Wednesday nights with me. She loves being with all the kids and her favorite part is the singing and dancing at the end of the night.

Well that's about all with Maec. There is something new with her everyday. She is so much fun to be around and I love the age she is at! It's just so hard when they grow up so fast. Just got to thinking that soon Camden will be 6! Oh my!!

I don't get some people.......

2010-11-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

I am sure most of you have heard about the Algona convenient store shooting last night. A guy robbed the store, shot and killed the clerk. He then headed to Humboldt where he shot and killed another clerk at a convenient store. What was going through this person's head? Why didn't he just take the money, food, beer, or whatever he wanted? Instead he took a women's life. I am very frustrated and scared with all of this happening so close to home. Everyone says it doesn't happen in small towns. Well yes it sure does! I recently found out the victim was from Bancroft and kids go to NSK. I know of this family and one was in my brothers class. My heart and prayers go out to this family during this difficult time.

Everyone just say a prayer for these families that were involved in this tragedy!

Parent-teacher conferences

2010-11-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well our first parent-teacher conferences for Camden went great! Mrs.Menke said he is doing well in school and loves to learn. He really is into the sounding out and learning to read more words. They do this phonics thing (not sure the exact word) with there hand movements while trying to learn letters/words. Camden is doing it all day long at home and is thrilled when he sees/hears a new word and he can sound it out. When he goes to bed at night we hear him reading his book and sounding out words! I just love seeing him do this! Makes me feel good that he is enjoying learning these things!
Mrs.Menke also told us about these 2 assements they do for reading(I believe it's for Title 1 reading) and one other thing I think is dibels?? They do different assesments in each grade depending on the age and what grade they are in. The average for his age/grade on each assesment is to score equal to or greater than 8. On Camden's first one he scored 25 points over the average (which is 8)...the best out of both kindergarten classes. The second one he score 12 points over the average. He will be assesed again in January and next May at a different level. In January assesment the average number he should get should go up to I think equal to or higher than 25. He has already passed that in his first assesment! That was great news to hear!!
Of course he has a few things to work on...like not talking so much! She said every student in her class needs to work on that! Overall he is doing great and we are very proud of him! His report card was good so he gets a reward of going to the book fair tonight to get some books:)

Football

2010-10-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

The NSK Eagles took a loss last night in the state playoffs to Remsen Union. Congrats to Brett and the Eagles on a great season! It was sad seeing my brother finish up another high school sports season. I am not sure what I am going to do once Brett is done with sports. It will feel really weird next year not going to high school sporting events to watch him play. I am sure I will stay busy with Camden's sports schedule. :)
I still have a hard time this year with Oz graduating. It is so wierd that the "Beadle" boys are not out there playing together! Now that Oz is gone and I go back to games to watch Brett, people still call them the Beadle boys. During homecoming week someone came up to me and said that it's different not having the Beadle boys out there and they miss seeing them play together! I do too! The time goes way to fast and it's hard to believe this is Brett's senior year! I am very proud of him and all of his accomplishments this year!
................Bring on the baseball season!!!!

2010-10-20T18:46:00.001-07:00

Camden- "Mom does your perfume smell like dog?"

Me- "What?!? No, why?"

Camden "Well the bottle has a dog on it so it must smell like dog!"

HAHA!!! He was in the bathroom while I was getting ready and happened to see my perfume bottle sitting on the counter. It is from the Victoria's Secret pink collection. He still didn't understand why there was a "dog" on the bottle! LOL!

2010-10-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

In church yesterday morning I was looking through the bulletin and saw we were going to sing 2 verses of "Amazing Grace". Yes I love this song but I usually never can hold it together when singing it. It makes me think of all the special people I have lost in my life. Just last week was 6 years since my Gma Esta passed away. She was one special Gma to me and I miss her so much! The days of playing there after school, the mini pizza's, the dixie cups, twiddling her thumbs, and her love for her grandkids were just a few of the things I miss about her! Everytime I would walk in the door she would say "Well hi brooke!" I miss those words! I miss her!
Also I have been thinking alot lately about my Gma Beadle who passed away this past January. I miss her terribly! It still hasn't fully sunk in that she has gone to heaven and is not with us anymore. Everytime I would go visit she would always greet me "well hello Brookie!" I miss hearing that everytime I walk in her house now. She was so special to me and I felt very close to her. I miss her love for her family, great cooking, and family get-togethers with her. Oh yes I definately miss that look she would give whoever was giving her a hard time while she was cookingor in the kitchen....it was the look of "you smart ass!" I can picture that look right now and I love it! :) I could go on and on about her and the things I love! I just heard the only day from the boys that farming season reminds them alot of Gma. They said they miss the little red car pulling up with dinner! Of course Gma would always bring the best meals to the field too!
These two hold a special place in my heart and all of the other loved ones I have lost!
So back to church yesterday......
We start singing "Amazing Grace" and I got about 5 seconds into it and starting crying! Pretty sure the lady next to me thought I was crazy!

The season for colds is here..............

2010-10-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

I swear the minute fall/winter begins the sickness begins around here! About 6 weeks or so ago Camden woke up with high fever and a cough that sounded like a seal. I figured it was croup so I took him in and sure enough it was croup. Meds helped and he was better.(doc said alot of kids had been in to be seen for croup) About a week after that Maeci had a hoarse voice and had a cough but not as bad as Cam did. I gave it a couple days and it got worse so off to the doctor she went. They said she had a cold and possibly the start of croup. Put her on meds and couple days later she was better. I ended up getting a hoarse voice and cough just at night but didn't think I needed to go to the doctor. I never get sick so I figured I would just get over it. It didn't get worse but after about a week and a half I was sick of coughing at night so I went to doctor and they ended up putting me on medicine. The same day I went to the doctor Camden was home sick with Brad with yet another fever. I thought I would give it some time and see if he would get over it...sometimes it's just allergies with him! I don't always like to take them to the doctor right away because sometimes it can be just viral/allergies and they have to let it run its course. I usually can tell if it's just the snotty nose or if it's something more than that. While I was at the doc I told him about Camden running a fever and not feeling well. He said strep was now going around like wildfire.(which I knew about 5 people that week that had strep and it's been posted on the school website saying numerous cases of strep) He told me to see how Cam was over night and he would call in a on hold antibiotic if we needed it for him(this was a Friday) I got home after my appointment, looked in Camden's throat, found a very red throat and a few white patches. His symptoms were a sore throat and fever....strep! So back on another med! So he got much better once he started his medcine and seems to be ok now. Yesterday I was at work and Brad stopped in while he was working and said he felt like hell and had a horrible sore throat. This morning he woke up, could hardley talk and had a fever. Since our doctor pretty much knows it's going around our family he didn't make him come in and ended up give him a antibiotic for strep. He figured it was strep since Camden had just had it. He was in bed at 6:30 tonight! The doctor said the first strain we caught was just the cold/croup crap and now the strep. So hopefully Maeci and I don't get strep. Maeci is just dealing with cutting her last 3 eye teeth and one of her 2 year molars...she's a little grouchy!! At least she still sleeps great at night even though she is teething! I feel like all we have done around here is go to the doctor and take medicine! Thank god for great insurance! Hmmm wonder what my pharmacy bill is going to be with all this medicine we have been on!
It's so crazy for Camden to get sick twice in a couple months. Now that he is getting older and his immune system is built up he maybe has 1-2 colds a year. Maeci was always sick during her first year of life but that seems to be getting better. So hopefully we get better and get rid of these germs around here for awhile! Oh yeah I forgot to mention that kids are out of school now for the flu......oh the joys!!!

Camden

2010-10-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Every night we go through Camden's folder, go over his papers and talk about what he learned that day. After getting his homework and reading done we get everything back in his folder/bag for the next day. Every night before he goes to bed we tell him where and who will be dropping/picking him up from school the next day. We have to write a note to Mrs.Menke telling her that Cam will be riding the daycare bus after school. Brad was dropping off Cam this morning at school but he would have to go to daycare this afternoon. I was gone this morning before everyone got up and it totally slipped my mind to write the note for Camden today.(usually I do that at night) I called Brad to see how the morning went and he told me that Camden asked him if mom remembered to write the note for him to ride the daycare bus after school. Oops I totally forgot all about it. It's crazy though that he remembered a little thing like that and Brad and him were not even talking about it.... those little things to me are big things to him! It's not like he would be left alone at school because daycare knows the monthly schedule. I am sure Camden will let me know that I forgot this moring to write the note! Thank goodness Brad was home to take care of it! Oh well it happens! It's just crazy that he remembered that!

Updates

2010-10-11T18:05:00.001-07:00

Well it's the start of the 3rd week of my new job and things are going great! We are still trying to get a routine down but for the most part it's going well. I will admit it's a huge change and I am exhausted by the time I get home after work. I am sure that will get easier as the weeks go on. The kids have adjusted well to it and don't seem to have any major problems. The only thing I notice with Maec when I pick her up from daycare is she is really tired! Probably because she don't like to take long naps at daycare. She will get used to that too and really it's not that bad! Thank goodness she is only there 2 or 3 days a week! Daycare said she is so good and such a happy little girl at.(That makes me feel good) Camden does fine and he actually loves going to daycare after school when Brad is working. He gets pretty tired too. At night both kids are in bed and sleeping by 7:30-7:45. Some mornings when I leave for work at 7:25 I don't see them because they are still sleeping. It's hard for me when I am used to being home most of the day with the kids. Overall it will just take some time for me to get adjusted to. Brad is pretty much Mr.mom when he is home on his days off during the week. He always has helped with housework and doing things with the kids, but now he does alot more. I am so thankful for him!:)

Here are a few other updates on the kiddos....

Maeci-
*16 months old
*She is my little devil!!! Oh boy she is naughty somedays!
*Likes to pick on her brother and get into all of his stuff just to make him mad. She will grab something of his and take off running!
*Starting to say more words. The things she does impresses me somedays.
*Loves to play/watch football. We will start yelling "go pack go" She starts clapping her hands, runs to get the football, runs to the tv and points at it. It's so cute.
*Loves to rock-a-bye her babies
*LOVES books especially if they have elmo in them. Yep she is definately an Elmo fan.
*Likes to dance
*A little chunk....I think she is going to be built like me.
*Starting to be a picky eater. She used to eat anything you put in front of her but that sure has changed!

Camden-
*5 1/2 years old
*Loves school..Brad took him to the movies a couple weeks ago and they ran into one of his teachers in his room. She told Brad that Camden is very well behaved and does well in school....good to hear!!!
*Doing great on all of his papers he has been bringing home.
*Can be mouthy at times...especially at night when he is tired!
*Picks on his sister.Somedays he loves to do things with her and somedays he doesn't want her near him!
*Loves being outside
*Enjoys church...couple weeks ago www (wild worship wednesday) started. He loves going and enjoys telling me the bible story when he gets home. I am helping teach so most nights I already know the bible story.

Well that's about it for us.
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather! Happy Fall to everyone!!!!:)

Life Change.....

2010-09-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yep my life is about to change in just over a week! I have accepted a position with the O'brien County Conservation as a full time secretary. I am excited, nervous, and scared! This is going to be a GREAT job for me and I am ready for this challenge but it's going to change not only my life but the rest of my family too. When I first got pregnant Brad and I had decided I would only work part time so I could be home with the kids. I am thankful for Brad's job that I have been able to be home alot the past 6 years. I worked in daycare for about 3 years and only worked an average of 28 hours a week. The past 3 years that I have been at the hospital I really cut down on hours (which was awesome once I had Maeci) and only worked about 12 hours a week. Once Camden was in school and Maeci was a little older I said I always wanted to go back to work full time. I do love my job at the hospital because of the work I do, the hours, my co-workers,and it's very flexible! There isn't any chance of me being able to have more hours, or a full time position. My job there has been assisting in surgies, computer work, ordering for hospital/clinics, invoicing, etc. There is an opening for a surgery assistant now at the hospital. It would include maybe a few more hours a week and 24 hour on call time 3-4 days a week/weekends. I thought about it but with Brad's schedule it would not work out for us. He works different shifts and it would be hard being on call when he is working. With Brad working his shift of overnights and two small kids not sure what I would do with them if I got called in for emergency surgery in the middle of the night. I am really going to miss working at the hospital and miss seeing my co-workers everyday! It has been a great learning experience and Baum Harmon Mercy hospital has been great to work for!
So this new job just happened to come open and I thought I may as well apply for it. I love doing clerical work as that has always been an interest to me. When they called me to offer me the job I was very excited but had some anxiety of how my kids would handle the change. I will be working Monday-Friday 8-4:30. It will be different for me because I am used to being home by noon and doing what I want all afternoon! Maeci will have the biggest change because she is used to being home with mommy in the afternoons. Now she will either be at daycare or home with Brad. Camden won't have that big of adjustments because he will be in school most of the day. He will have to go to the after school daycare program through our daycare but he loves it so I don't see much of a problem with that! Brad has a 2 week rotation on his schedule so one week he will be off and home with her 3 days, and the next week he will be home with her 2 days. Some days that Brad has to work she will only be there half days. The biggest will be when he is on his dayshifts she will have to be there the whole day! She loves daycare so I am sure she will get used to it! Brad said her being a mommy's girl is about to change into a daddy's girl! Whatever!!!:)
I am going to have to figure out a whole new morning rountine which will be interesting until we get used to it! Oh yeah and I will have to get out of bed a little earlier! LOL!!! Oh well I am sure I can handle that!! So once again I am very excited but scared at the same time. I think the biggest adjustment for me is having to be away from my kiddos most of the day:( I am sure it will all be fine once we get used to it, but it's a little scary making this life change!

A mouthy 5 year old

2010-08-23T07:06:00.001-07:00

Yes from the title of this post I am sure you can tell that I now have a very mouthy 5 year old. I have never really went through the terrible two's with Camden but I would have to say these mouthy five's are the worst I have ever seen! Don't get me wrong he has been naughty and a little mouthy during the last couple years, but the last couple months have been the worst!!! He is acting out so bad I am not quite sure what to do with him! He talks back, mimicks everything you say(especially when we are discipling him) and screams at you! He never acts like this when mom and dad are not around though. Daycare has said he is one of the best kids there and usually listens to them if he has to be told not to do something. Really the only time he acts out is if mom and dad are with him at home or wherever we may be! I am sure this is just a phase and it will get a little better.(it's not going to get completely better because numerous people tell me if only gets worse..joy!)
A couple nights ago we were at our friends house for supper and he was not listening at all! I was so frustrated! Our friends said they had all been through it and some are still going through it! I guess I am not the only one that has a mouthy kid! I look back working at daycare's and being around other people's kids and I pretty sure I have seen kids that are alot worse than Camden is right now! So we are continuing our discipline to see what works and doesn't work.
Maeci is starting early with her attitude...way to early!!! I think she is picking up bits and pieces from watching Camden. Her newest thing is starting to hit! I know she see's that at daycare too. The other day I went to pick her up and a little boy went up to her, hit her, and took her toy she had. So what did she do? Hit him back! Oh the joys! Hoping this gets better and we can figure something out!
On a better note....
Camden starts Kindergarten tomorrow! I am sad because he seems so little to be going to school! He is so excited and has been asking non-stop for the past 2 weeks when he is going to school. I am hoping his attitude we are having at home does not start at school! Like I said before he never had any problem with daycare or preschool so I hope he doesn't start acting naughty in kindergarten. (I will be checking with his teacher to see how he is doing after a couple weeks).
Anyways in the next couple days I will post some first day of school pictures!

Summer

2010-07-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Wow summer is flying by and it's going to be over before we know it! This summer has been crazy busy for us. I was just looking at the calender and we do not have a free weekend until the end of August! Oh my! So here's what's been going on with the kiddos......
Camden~
*Loves being outside during the summer riding his bike, swimming, playing with friends, etc.
*Played t-ball in June and loved it! He was so tiny compared to the other kids but he did great!
*Last week he enjoyed going to bible school, making crafts, singing songs, learning bible stories, and playing games.
*Next week he has swimming lessons. He hopefully will start learning more how to swim in the next couple years with lessons. He loves the water and can do the basic kicking your legs and moving your arms. He has been getting better with going under water as last year he didn't do it to much because I think something scared him!
*Very excited to start school in August. He asks daily when school is going to start. It's going to be a change for him but he will do great and I know he will love it! He is growing up way to fast and he is going to have one sad mommy the day I take him to his first day of school!

Maeci~
*This girl is on the go non-stop and never sits still!
*Cutting 4 molars right now so she has been on the crabby side.
*Learning so much at this age. It's amazing how kids at this age catch on to stuff so fast. If I tell her to pick up toys she runs to pick up a toy and put it in the toy box. Yes it's usually just one toy she picks up but at least she knows. When we are ready to leave the house and go somewhere and I tell her lets go bye-bye. She will go get her shoes, bring them to me, and sit down for me to put them on her. Usually she tries herself to put them on but can't figure that out yet! If I ask her to get a diaper she will go get me one or sometimes she brings me 5..lol!!
*Words she is saying- Mom/mama, dada, hi, dat (that). You ask her what a fish says and she does it with her mouth..it's so cute:)
*She can point to her eyes, mouth,and nose when we ask her where they are.
*LOVES the motorcycle. When Brad starts it in the garage she runs and starts pounding on the door and yelling "dada"
*She still is a chunky monkey and loves her food.
*Loves to throw food on the floor from her highchair when she is done eating..drives me crazy!
*She has an attitude...wow! Camden never was like this at this Maeci's age. She will let you know when she is mad. Throws herself on the floor yelling and then usually will try and hit you.
*She loves to play outside and to go swimming. Somedays I have to drag her in throwing a fit because she doesn't want to come in!

Brad and I are keeping busy with work, running the kids here and there, going to the boys bb games,etc! We are on the go constantly! Well gotta go...Maeci is officially done eating breakfast because she is throwing it on the floor...grrrr!!!

Weekend

2010-06-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed back to Swea to celebrate Maeci's birthday. We had a great weekend with our family! Friday late morning we got to my dad's and spent the afternoon there playing outside. Camden got a chance to get his BB gun out and learn a few pointers from Papa. My dad being a hunter just loved watching Cam shoot his gun:) Maeci just played around and enjoyed watching Brad mow my dad's yard. I think it was a bad idea that Brad mowed because now he wants a mower like they had...lol! I am thinking that huge thing would mow our small yard in about 10 minutes or less...don't think it's necessary for our yard! Late afternoon we left dad's and went out to eat with Buzz, Tab, and Cass. After supper we headed back to Buzz and Tab's and relaxed while the kids played.
Saturday we woke up to pouring down rain. I was bummed because Maeci's party was at the park. By the time the party that afternoon the rain had stopped and it was pretty wet but the party still turned out great and the kids had fun playing! After cupcakes, ice cream, and opening presents we went back to Buzz and Tab's to relax. We were all pretty lazy and decided we didn't want to cook so we went out to eat uptown that night. Brad's parents ended up being there along with Stac and Mike so we sat around uptown and visited with them and then Buzz brought up the idea of a bonfire! Oh boy the kids were so excited. I put Maeci down to bed once we got home and we all sat outside and enjoyed the fire for awhile. The kids did some sparklers and roasted marshmellows. Buzz also had some left over fire works from last year that he lit off and entertained the kids for awhile!
Sunday we packed everything up and made a stop at Brad's parents and then headed home. It was nice to get home but we had a great weekend back home too!

Maeci

2010-06-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

Wow my baby girl turned 1 this past Saturday! Time goes way to fast! Her birthday started off with daddy making two of her favorites for breakfast, pancakes and sausage! After breakfast we packed up and headed to Spencer to watch my brothers play baseball. After a great day of watching baseball and seeing some family we headed back home and had cupcakes and opened the rest of her presents! Her big party is this coming Saturday back in Swea at the park! I am so excited for it!
I had her in to the doc yesterday for her one year checkup and things seem to be going good! He was suprised to see how active she is and how well she gets around!(yes she has been walking all over the place) She seems to be really fussy the last 2 weeks and we think it may be her molars coming in as they look pretty swollen but who knows. She has been having some tummy problems the past 2 weeks since she has been on whole milk along with lots of gas. We are going to continue the next 2-3 weeks on whole milk and see if it gets any better. If it doesn't we may be switching back to a lactose free whole milk( her formula was lactose free) and see how that goes. Doc thought if she was lactose intorlerant she would be spitting up and having constant diarrhea( which she doesn't have) I am thinking it's just going to take awhile to get used to the new milk and she has a sensitive tummy to begin with. I am ready for her to stop being so darn fussy though!! Thank goodness the constant fever, runny nose, stuffy nose, etc has slowed down for her though. I know she is going to get it here and there but the past 2-3 months she has not had it as often as she did when she was little!
At her checkup she weighed in at 25lbs and was 32" She is just a little chunk (she eats anything you put in front of her) but doc said she started off big and there was absolutley nothing to worry about. I looked at Camden's stats when he was 12 months and he weighed 23 1/2 lbs and I think was the same in height as Maeci. He would of weighed the same as Maec does if he wouldn't of lost 2lbs at 11 months due to a 6 day flu that made him dehydrated! It's interesting to compare the stats with them as they grow each year!
Well that's about all for Maeci...we are headed to get her one year shots today...not fun! She never has had a problem after with being fussy(although already today she is kindof a bear) after shots so hopefully that continues!

2010-05-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Camden is such a goofball somedays! The other day Brad was laying in the chair after getting up early from a midnight shift and he was tired(as Camden calls it "crabby") So out of the blue Camden starts singing his own version- "What day is today? It's daddy crabby day!" OMG I died laughing!! Brad couldn't help it either but laugh. :)

2010-05-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest in the Stevens household.......
Chicago-
We took a long weekend (5 days) and headed to Chicago to attend my sister's college graduation. We had a great time with Brandi, Jeff, and Stac. We did alot of sight seeing and shopping! The kids did wonderful except when they were overtired they got a little crabby! It was also nice to be there to celebrate my sister's graduation. Sounds like now there is more schooling in her future! Overall it was a great vacation and we can't wait to go again! Next time Brad and I are thinking of going for a long weekend without kids and flying out. Instead of 8 hours to get there driving it would be only 1 1/2 flying.

Oz graduation-
Last weekend was Oz's graduation from high school. I left to go home on the Thursday before to start decorating and get everything ready. It was alot of work but I am glad everything turned out great! It took a couple of long months to get everything ready and organized. Now he will be attending BV in Storm Lake and will also be playing football and baseball. So excited that I will be just under an hour away from there so hopefully we will be able to go to some of his games!

Camden-
He has officially graduated from preschool and now he is ready for Kindergarten! Makes me sad that he is growing up way to fast and will be starting school in the fall. Now that school is over he is a busy little boy with baseball practice for the month of May and then games start in June. When I was in T-ball we never traveled to play anywhere we just played against each other. (once we got a little older we traveled but not this young) Camden's team actually travels to play games! He is also excited that the weather seems to be getting nicer so most of the time when we are home he is outside playing!

Maeci-
Holy cow she is almost 1. I can't believe it!! Seems like just yesterday we were driving to Sioux City to have her. Where does the time go? She is a busy little girl and into everything. She has a mind of her own! She has developed a little attitude already which is interesting somedays. If she don't get her way she gets ticked off! She is doing great though and is still my little chunky monkey!!:) Oh yeah and she is going through this stage that I HATE....separation from mommy! She is a mommy's girl and somedays I can't walk two steps from her or she will start crying! Hope this passes soon. Right now we are transistioning from formula to milk and so far so good. She has had such terrible tummy problems and still has some reflux so I am hoping once we get her fully on milk she will be able to tolerate it. Then come June will be a test when we take her off her reflux medicine. I am hoping she will outgrow this and she will be able to handle being off the med.
Well that's about it for us, hope everyone has a great week!

Busy, Busy

2010-05-04T06:24:00.001-07:00

I feel like I have been running around non-stop lately! We are getting ready to leave on our vacation tomorrow and we are very excited!! Packing is not so much fun for me! I am the type that usually over packs on clothes but you just never know! So today after work I have to finish all the packing and load up to leave after Cam gets out of school tomorrow. We can't wait to see Aunt Brandi and Jeff. Camden can't wait to play GI Joes with Jeff! :) We have alot of fun things planned and I really hope the weather cooperates. As of right now it looks like it's going to be chilly, and a couple days of rain! Hope that changes! Sunday Brandi graduates from college so it will be nice to be there with her to celebrate!
We will be coming back on Monday and then we will be home for two days, then I am off to Swea on Thursday to get ready for Oz's graduation party! The kids are staying with Brad because Cam has ball practice and he doesn't want to miss that. So they will be coming home on Friday morning. I can't believe my "little" brother is graduating already! Seems like just yesterday he was a little shit! I am very proud of him and all of his accomplishments and hope he has a happy graduation!!!

Camden

2010-04-09T19:09:00.001-07:00

Me-Camden what is purple on your shirt?
Camden-I got purple paint on it at preschool. Sorry mom! Oh no it's my brand new motorcycle shirt.
Me- It's no big deal Cam, it will come out when I wash it!
Camden-Do we have some Chlorox clean-up to wash it?
Me-Where did you learn that you use that?
Camden-They said to use that on t.v to get stains out.

Oh my I think my kid watches to much tv!!!!

2010-04-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been forever it seems that I have posted on here! Anyways here's a few things that have been going on with the Stevens'
Maeci-
*10 months old and a little stinker
*Has an attitude already especially when it comes to her brother bothering her.
*In to everything! She will drag out whatever she can get her hands on.
*Walks along the couch, it won't be long and she will be walking..YIKES!!!
*Hate's the grass! Took her outside a few days ago and she screamed bloody murder!!
*Love's to eat! Eating alot more table food now.
*Doesn't like to take naps
*As soon as she hears music she starts "dancing"..it's so cute!
*Loves to do patty-cake
*Waves bye-bye

Camden-
*Turned 5 the end of March
*Like's to bother Maeci
*Excited that it's Spring and he can be outside on the nice days.
*Kindergarten round-up a few weeks ago and had a blast. He has his assesment and he is above where he needs to be. We have a t-k(transitional kindergarten)program here if the kids are not quite ready for kindergarten yet. The teacher that assesed him said he is definetly ready for kindergarten and we got the official letter last week! It's going to be wierd having him gone all day come August.
*Excited to go to Chicago to see Auntie Brandi and Jeffy(that's what he calls him) for Brandi's college graduation the beginning of May! We will be there for 5 days so he is excited about all the fun stuff we will be doing!
*Starting soccer tomorrow and it will go every Saturday for the next 6 weeks.
*Starting T-ball in May and then games in June.

Me-
*Busy, busy trying to get together all the stuff for Oz's graduation. Trying to finish his scrapbooks before graduation but it's not looking good. All I have done is his Freshman year...HA! I put it off and now with only 4 weeks to go I am pretty sure I will not get them done with everything else I am trying to figure out! This graduation stresses me out just a little! I am more of a detailed person when planning and Oz just wants it plain and simple. It's his graduation so we will be doing plain and simple, but it will be a nice party!
*I got roped in to being a soccer coach for the next 6 Saturdays. I will be there anyways watching Cam so I might as well help out!
*Loving that it's Spring so I can get outside with the kids more often. Excited to go for more walks everyday!!

Brad-
*Staying busy with work.
*Busy with city-council
*Doing great with his p90x routine. He is not doing it to try and lose weight but to tone up more and I can definetly see a difference since he started it 7 weeks ago. I thought I would be able to do it more often than I do but with the kiddos it's hard to find time everyday!
*On a kick right now wanting a Harley. He did this last year around this time so he is looking like crazy to find one.

Well that's about it with us........

Maeci

2010-03-03T06:21:00.000-08:00

My little Maecer is having surgery on Friday. I am FREAKING out!! She is going to have tubes in her ears and also have an adenoidectomy done(removal of adenoids). I am not freaking out about the tubes because I have been through them with Camden when he was 9 months old but it's the removing of adenoids.(Camden didn't have his tonsils and adenoids removed until he was just over 3 yrs old) Typically ENT doctors do not like to do adenoids this young unless they are causing chronic problems in children. Well I took her to the ENT doc yesterday and he just looked at her and said she is not breathing right and she is breathing heavy/ mouth breather. He is 99 % sure all this crap going on with her is being caused from her adenoids. He is going in to do the tubes and then while doing that he will evaluate the adenoids and if they look fine he will leave them in and not remove them. If they are not the cause of the problem he will be able to look around a little in her mouth/throat to see if there is something else going on. I really hope this is the problem and it's nothing else. Hopefully she will actually be able to have the surgery on Friday. She is battling a cough and sometimes docs will not release them to have surgery until they get over the cold. We go for an H &P tomorrow to the doc so we will see what she says. I am hoping we can do it on Friday because our ENT doc will be leaving next Friday and will be gone for a couple weeks and I just want to get this over with!!

YAY!!

2010-02-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

ON TO STATE!! Congrats to the NSK girls basketball team on a great win tonight! We wish we could of been there to see it! Sounded like a pretty great game. From all the text messages I was receiving and the scores throughout the game it sounded like at one point we were down by 16 points! It just proves to never give up and fight hard 'til the end!!! The final score ended up being 62-56! We are very excited for Paul,Klocke, Dr.Tigges and the girls and can't wait to watch them at state next week! GO NSK!!

It has been awhile....

2010-02-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy I have not had time to post much on here. I am not sure how we were so busy because when we had plenty of snowstorms in January that made us stay home! I think too I was getting kind of bored with blogging too. Anyways here is what has been up with the Stevens'..........

Maeci-
Last week my baby girl turned 8 months old. I do not know where the past 8 months went.
She is crawling all over the place and getting into everything! It's only going to get worse when she starts walking. She is always full of smiles and loves to babble! She cut her first 2 teeth about 6 weeks ago and now I see the top 2 and possibly 2 more on the bottom coming through. That would explain her runny nose, rosey cheeks, and being a little cranky.
The beginning of January we had her follow up appointment with the GI specialist. We had her off her prevacid for about a month and she started refluxing again. The doc decided to put her back on it and things have been going pretty well again. If she has not grown out of this by 12-13 months then they will scope her in August. We already have the appointment set up for the scope but I am hoping she grows out of it and we can cancel!
We have had her into our family doc a few times because her nose continues to be stuffed up and she has trouble breathing(snoring) while sleeping. He said her tonsils are swollen and that could be causing her snoring. He also thought maybe her adenoids were enlarged too but they are harder to see. So we are going to be taking her to our pediatrician and see what is up with that and possibly have to been seen by the ENT doc. Gosh I am sick of doctors and sickness!! Hopefully it's no big deal and she gets better!

Camden-
My "baby" boy is going to be turning 5 next month. He is so excited for his birthday and being 5 is a big deal to him because then he will get to go kindergarten! He goes back and forth about what we are going to be doing for his birthday. First it's Chuck E Cheese and a John Deere birthday then he is having friends over to our house and having a power rangers birthday, etc!!
So I guess we will have to wait and see what he decides on!
He is doing great in Preschool. He does very well in his school work and I can see that from his papers he brings home. His newest thing at home is adding numbers. He does pretty well at it! We are also starting to work on reading(the small words) and writing more words. He can write all of his alphabet capital and small letters so now he is more interested in writing more words other than his name.
He is getting very, very sick of the winter weather. Everyday we leave for daycare/preschool he tells me he is ready for Spring and Summer. This morning he told me he used to like snow but we have to much of it..HA! Boy is he right though!!
One last thing on Camden...He started wrestling a couple weeks ago and loves it! When he brought the papers home for wrestling Brad and I cringed because we are not fans of wrestling at all. He really wanted to do it and Brad and I are not going to pressure him into not doing something/or doing something. He wanted to try it out and we were fine with that. Some parents that won't let there kids do certain things or pressure them into something they don't want to do drives me crazy. Don't get me wrong we encourage the sports, but are not going to pressure him into it! I don't think I will have a problem because Camden LOVES sports!! ;)
Anyways he is doing great in wrestling and learning the basics. He has practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and meets on the weekends. We have not attended a meet yet and I am not sure if we will do meets this year or start those next year if he is still interested in it!
Anyways I need to get going so I will continue this post later..........

2010-01-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Camden thought he needed to wear his new John Deere hat under his new years hat.
Our New Year's consisted of staying home with the kids watching movies and relaxing. Brad had to work the next morning at 6 so going out to celebrate wasn't going to happen. I would rather be home with my kids celebrating the new year! We didn't actually stay up until midnight though but we celebrated early:) Next year I think we will eliminate the noise makers Brad bought. Camden is still blowing them and driving me nuts!! Hope you all have a Happy and Healthy 2010!!!

Christmas

2009-12-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is over already and we are getting ready to celebrate the new year. Time goes way to fast. We had a great Christmas minus all of the snow and horrible weather we had. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning with the kids in Primghar. It was SO nice doing that so they could wake up at our house for Santa presents. We love that our family is complete and we are starting our own traditions now! Friday afternoon we took off for Swea for the rest of the weekend. We spent the weekend running here and there visiting family. We had a great time and I think my kids got plenty of toys to last a LONG time. They also got lots of clothes so I don't have to worry about buying clothes anytime soon! I still don't know where to put everything! Just think Camden's birthday is in 3 months and Maeci's is in 6 months....oh boy more stuff! I posted Christmas pictures on Facebook.....Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Preschool Program

2009-12-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday Camden had his program at school. It was so cute and all the kids did a great job! They are were so FULL of energy!! You would of thought they ate pure sugar before the concert! I am not sure how their teachers have that much patience somedays. It takes alot of patience to have 20 kids so full of energy!!
Here are a few pics.....

Playing Bells

He was a sheperd

Something must of been funny. That's a pretty big smile!

So grown up!

It's been awhile.....

2009-12-15T11:25:00.001-08:00

I seemed to be lacking on my updates lately but this time of year seems like it has been so crazy for us and it's only going to get worse with Christmas just over a week away!
Anways here's what has been going on in the Stevens' household....
Camden- Seems to be a busy little boy lately! A couple weeks ago he had to have surgery for tubes again. We are hoping this is going to be the last set of tubes and once again we are hoping he is going to outgrow this. We thought he was outgrowing this because he went without tubes for about 7 months with no problems and then it hit again. Brad and I both had ear trouble when we were young so we figured our kids would have problems. He was a trooper the day of surgery. This time he seemed to know what was kind of going on. He was trying to act so brave but you could tell he was scared. I guess if I was 4 I would be scared too. We got to walk with him up until the OR hallway and then he was own his own with the nurse. He started tearing up but did very well. I can't imagine going with people you don't know into a scary room (OR) with big machines and a little bed. Surgery took only 7 minutes and doc said everything went well. He was having trouble once he got back to the room with throwing up, probably from mucus in his throat and the anesthesia. We ended up having to give him a suppository for nausea and after that he only threw up a few more times and then he was good to go! And no he was not happy with the suppository, he fought it and I hated having to hold him down! When he got back to the room the first thing he asked is "When am I going to get my tubes in my ears?" He didn't even know they were already done. The one thing he remembers is the smell from the mask he had to wear to go to sleep. Well he was referring to the gas they used to put him out. After we got discharged and got home you couldn't even tell he was any different from any other day. Thank goodness with getting tubes there is really no recovery time after surgery, just eardrops we had to put in for 10 days!
Last Sunday he had his church program and did very well. He is always excited to have us come and watch him during his programs. Tomorrow night he has his preschool program and is very excited for that. I keep asking him what he is going to be singing and he just keeps telling me that I will have to wait and see:)
Maeci-Wow, can you believe that she was 6months old on December 5th? I don't know where the past 6months have went! She is a busy little girl! She is rolling all over the place and getting stuck in places and gets ticked off when she can't keep rolling over. I had to put things away already that is she is able to get. I am not ready for her to start crawling or walking! She is a very happy girl and a very good baby! She always has plenty of smiles for you. She loves her big brother and somedays it's so funny to watch him make her giggle:) I just had her in for her 6 month checkup and she weighed 20 lbs and was 27 inches. (I can't remember the other stats) She is still a little chunk but really is starting to thin out as she seems more active.
Brad and I have been busy with work and going here and there! We are trying to get ready for Christmas, it seems like it snuck up on us very fast this year. Usually I am done Christmas shopping by now but I still have a few things to get. We celebrated Christmas with Brad's extended family last weekend and then we will be celebrating all the others Christmas day/weekend. It's going to be a very busy Christmas weekend going here and there! I love Christmas but some years it gets to crazy!!! Hope everyone has a good Christmas!

Updates

2009-12-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving-Brad had to work so we headed to Cherokee to visit Jolleen. We were lucky that we also got to visit with Jamie, Aaron, & kids and also got to see Justin, Mandy, & Maddox! It had been awhile so it was nice to see them again!
Weekend-The weekend seemed like a busy one for us. Friday night we got together at the Bahrenfuss's with some of our friends. The kids ran wild! It was a fun night! Saturday morning Brad went to get our new fridge since our old died on us. Once he got it home and in the house he realized it wouldn't fit under our cupboards. When we went down to Sears to order it they had a smaller one and then a bigger one. We ordered the smaller one because it would fit to the dimensions we needed and the bigger one was obviously to big. Well the Sears guy messed up and ordered the bigger one....GRRRRR!!!! I did not want to haul it back to Sioux City and return it because it seemed like a pain in the butt! On top of that if we wanted to reorder the smaller one it would take another week to get here. Absolutely not!!! I was not going another week without a fridge!! So we ended up knocking out the two cupboards and in that process the nails and screws left some major holes in our wall and our wall started to crumble. We were trying to be very careful but if you would of seen the space we were working with we had no other options. All of our walls in our house are terrible! So after all of this the fridge is now in and I will get a newly painted kitchen. Saturday night we ran to Spencer to get some groceries since I obviously didn't have much with not having a fridge. I had a long day and didn't feel like cooking once we got home so we decided to eat out over in Spencer too. The kids were SO good the whole day so that was nice!!!
Sunday afternoon we spent the day cleaning the house and getting all of our Christmas decorations out! I always enjoy getting the decorations out and now it's fun to watch Camden get excited when he is helping!:)
Hope everyone is having a good week!

Giving away to children in need......

2009-11-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Last night we talked to Camden about going through his toys and giving them to some children who didn't have much to play with. He was all for it and was happy to be giving his toys to some little boy that didn't have much! Along with giving some of his toys he wanted to give all the little boys money too. He is thinking in a good way but I told him we would just have to give some toys! Today we went through all of his toys and I for sure thought he would have a hard time giving some of them up. Nope, he had no problem at all!! There were some things I told him that I think he should maybe keep and he said "Mom some little boy doesn't have this and I think he would like it." We also have adopt a families through work and I signed up for one so he also wants to go shopping with me to find them presents for Christmas. Very proud of him for doing this! :)

Weekend

2009-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

What a busy weekend we had!! Friday morning we headed to Swea for a busy, busy weekend! We had a great time visiting with all of our family! Friday night was Stac's 40th birthday suprise party at the bar. The kids stayed with Paul and Connie so Brad and I could go. We had a good time helping her celebrate her birthday! :)
Saturday I was busy getting ready for Maeci's baptism and running here and there picking up things. Sunday Maeci was baptized and it was a great day! After baptism we had a nice dinner up at Loofts on 9 and everything turned out great! Thanks Stac for all your help and letting us use the station for the dinner. It was great to have some of our family there to help us celebrate. We were all pretty tired from a long but great weekend! I will post the pictures on facebook of our weekend!

Where are you going to live?

2009-11-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

We were eating supper tonight and some of the things that come out of Camden's mouth are crazy! He is really starting to learn more about God by going to church and they also learn about it in preschool. The thing he has been talking more about is living in heaven someday. He understands what heaven is to a certain extent but it's hard to explain to a 4 year old all about dying and going to heaven. He told me today that heaven is a good place but he was not sure he wanted to go there when he gets old! I asked him where he was going to live someday when he gets older and he shrugs his shoulders and said probably just live at the nursing home with the old people! Oh boy the things kids will say!!!

Park fun

2009-11-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

The weather today was perfect for an afternoon at the park.Camden went to the park yesterday with Ashley and was so excited because there is new equipment. So he insisted we go check it out again today! Here are a few pictures!
Camden

climbing the rock wall

Having to much fun

Maeci just taking it all in

Happy baby

2009-11-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a busy, busy weekend! Friday afternoon we went to Sioux City to Maeci's peds appointment. Her ears have cleared up from ear infection which is a good sign! We also are going to continue her allergy medicine as long as it's helping a little. After the doctor we went to the mall and a few other store's to do some shopping.I was in need of some new clothes and the kids were too. After shopping we headed home in time for me to have a girls night out! It was so much fun sitting around chatting, laughing, and having a few drinks. Saturday morning we had the kids pictures taken. Boy that was interesting! Maeci was so crabby she would NOT smile for anything...she is always full of smiles!!! We got maybe one or two decent pics of her but none with her smiling.Oh well she wiill have pics done again in a couple months. We also took pictures of the kids together for Christmas cards and that didn't go so well either. Camden would smile and Maeci would either cry or be looking away! We maybe got a picture of both of them looking at the camera but not smiling! So that was interesting! Saturday afternoon we all took naps before going ot trick-or-treating. Camden of course loved going house to house and getting candy! Maeci made it to a couple houses and then slept the rest of the time! After trick-or-treating we went to the Bahrenfuss's for a party. We all had a good time and were very tired by the end of the night! Sunday we just hung out around the house and watched football. This weekend we are not doing much. I am thinking we need a quiet weekend. Brad has to work all weekend so he won't be home much!

2009-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

GOOD LUCK EAGLES

Brett #61 Oz#4

Halloween Party

2009-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday night our friends Rob and Wendy had a Halloween party for the kids. Brad had to work so the kids and I went out and had a great time. We had so much good food, fun, and great company from all our friends! I think the kids enjoyed it too. The biggest hit was the Pumpkin pinata full of candy..aka- Pure Sugar!!:) We also enjoyed watching the Hawks come away with a heart pounding win. Whew that was a close one. I think the house shook from everyone cheering and yelling after that play. All of the moms took the kids up to the Hospital scavenger hunt at the school that night also. Linda and the hospital did a great job of putting this together! There was different themes as you walked the halls and at each one the kids got candy. Some of the themes were: graveyards, people dressed up in scary masks/costumes, winnie the pooh and tigger, rodeo, jail, old mcdonald, rock-n-roll, etc. All the decorations were awesome and all the people that helped put it together did a wonderful job! What a fun night we had!! I posted some pictures on facebook of last weekend!

Sports

2009-10-26T12:23:00.001-07:00

It was a good weekend for sports in the Stevens' household! Eagles won, Hawks won, Packers won, and the Vikings lost!!!!
I will blog more about our fun weekend once I get a chance!

It's been awhile.....

2009-10-21T13:29:00.001-07:00

I feel like I have been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to blog. Here is what has been going on with the Stevens' family.......
**A couple weekends ago Brad and I went down to Iowa City to the Iowa/Michigan football game. We had a great time with all our friends and we have so many laughs from that weekend. It was so much fun!! The kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Stevens. It was my first time leaving Maeci and it was hard but I made it through the weekend. I still have a hard time leaving Camden and he is 4. The kids were great for Paul and Connie so that was nice!
**Last weekend Brad had the weekend off and it was a great weekend! Saturday Mike and Brad went to Bubba's to watch the Hawks come away with another win! Anne and I decided to stay at our house with the kids and watch the game. Later that night we took the kids uptown and had a nice supper. We love hanging out with Anne, Mike, and their kids! Sunday we didn't do a whole lot but lounge around the house and watched football. It was great to see the Packers get a W!! We were hoping the Vikings would lose but they seemed to also win by a missed field goal by the Ravens...darn it!! Oh well!!
**Today Brad took the kids back home to Armstrong to visit some family. Brad's great grandpa is leaving for the winter so he wanted to get a generation picture with Maeci before he left. They will be staying overnight and will be back in the morning. I had to work this morning and decided I was just going to stay here and relax! I have been busy cleaning and tonight I am doing absolutely nothing!! It's so much easier to get stuff done in the house when the kids are not here.
**The kids....
Maeci turned 4 months old on October 5th..hard to believe! I just had her in for her checkup and at 4 1/2 months she weighs 17lbs and is 26 inches. She sure is a chunk! Camden at 4 months old weighed 17lbs 7 ozs and 25 1/2 inches. So they were pretty comparable at that age. She is "talking" more and more each day. It's so fun to watch her laugh and smile! She loves her big brother and when he talks to her she is so full of smiles and giggles:) She has been sleeping through the night for about a month. She usually goes to bed around 8 and is up between 6 and 7. We had a couple days where she decided that she was going to be up for a couple hours during the night..usually around 3:30 am! That was not so much fun! She is playing with toys and loves to be on her tummy. When on her tummy she kicks her arms and legs like she wants to start crawling...especially when she can't reach a toy that is in front of her. She will be crawling before I know it..not sure I am ready for that! She still has been getting this darn stuffy/runny nose on and off. She is on a allergy medicine once a day and it seems to be helping a little but we need to give it a week or so to see if it is going to work. She started baby cereal about a month ago and loves it! We also just this week started her on some vegetables. She loves her food. I don't give her much of the vegetables yet and she gets so mad when I stop feeding her or when I am not fast enough getting the spoon to her mouth. She is totally different from her brother when it comes to baby food..he hated it and didn't eat much!
Camden is a busy little boy! Always talking and wanting to be on the go! He is enjoying school and going to WWW. (wild worship wednesday) The last couple weeks at WWW he has been learning about God rested on the 7th day and Jesus is the Messiah. Each week he comes home we talk to him about what he has learned and he will tell me about the bible story and explain his papers..I am glad he listens!!! At preschool this week he is learning about fire safety and he is so excited each day he comes home to tell me what to do in case there is a fire! So we practiced the stop, drop, and roll and taught him how to use the phone to call 911 if there is an emergency. He knows now to tell them his address, his name, his dads name, and what the emergency is.
He sure is getting excited for Halloween this year. We bought his costume about a month ago and it's killing him having to wait to go trick-or-treating. I keep telling him it will be here soon! To a 4 year old that should mean right now!!!
Well that pretty much sums up our life right now!! Have a good rest of the week and weekend!:)

Weekend

2009-10-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

Why do the weekends go so fast? It's already Monday..ugghhh!!!
Brad had a 4 day weekend so that was so nice that he was home with us!! Friday we had Maeci's peds appointment in Sioux City and she ended up having ear infection and they put her on some allergy medicine to see if that would help with her constant stuffy nose. After the appointment we went and did some shopping. Camden has outgrown most of his winter clothes from last year so I needed to get him some new ones! Also I didn't have much winter attire for Maeci so she as well needed some new clothes. After shopping and eating supper we headed home and by the time we got home, unloaded, we all were so tired and went to bed!!
Saturday we went to Mike and Anne's house to watch the Iowa game! GO HAWKS!! They came away with another win!! We spent most of the day there watching football and just hanging out.
Sunday we cleaned the house, got groceries, and watched some more football!
Tonight is the BIG game!! Packers and Vikings! I can't wait to watch the game!! Brad made some of his famous chili for the game so it's going to be a great night watching football!!! GO PACK!!!! Oh yeah I need to throw in a GO TWINS!!!!:) Have a good week!

Weekend

2009-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Friday night Camden and I traveled to Ruthven to watch the boys play football. They both played very well and won the game 54-3. I love watching them play sports and I only have the rest of this year watching Oz and 2 more years of watching Brett. :( It's hard to believe they will soon be graduating!!
After the game dad and Oz came to our house to spend the night so they could get up bright and early to travel to Omaha so Oz could attend a Creighton baseball recruitment camp! Brad went along with them and they were out the door by 5AM Saturday morning. It sounded like it was a pretty intense camp and Oz said he learned a few things. They had about 80 baseball players attend the camp and 7 of them were from Iowa. It was a great opportunity for Oz to be invited to this camp and I am glad he was able to attend.
The kids and I did nothing all weekend. We lounged around and watched movies! It was kind of nice to do not a thing!!!

2009-09-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't had alot to blog about lately because we haven't been doing a whole lot around here! We have been staying home because both kids are still getting over there colds. I was planning on going to the Spencer fair sometime this week/weekend but I am not sure if we will make it there or not. Tomorrow night Camden and I are going to the Oz and Brett's football game in Ruthven. I am excited because it will be the first football game I have been to so far this year! I have heard they have been playing pretty good! After the game dad and Oz will be coming to stay at our house overnight. Early Saturday morning dad, Oz, and Brad are heading to Omaha for Oz to attend Creighton baseball recruitment camp. A couple weeks ago he got a letter for him at the school about them interested in him attending this camp. What a great opportunity for him to do this! I am sure he will learn alot from this camp.
The kids and I are just hanging out at home this weekend and maybe make it to the Spencer fair! Well that's about all that has been going on lately around here! Have a good weekend!!

Maeci

2009-09-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Maeci is still battling this cold and can't seem to get over it. We took her to our family doctor here in town yesterday and he said she is still pretty congested so we will be trying out a stronger antibiotic. If she is not better by next week he is recommending we take her to her Peds doc in Sioux City to have them check it out. Reflux babies tend to get chronic colds there first year of life and I have a feeling that is what we are dealing with. Doc said when they reflux it can go up into there sinuses and even into there lungs causing upper respiratory problems. And since her reflux doesn't come up it just goes back down that could be the problem. I remember Camden's first year he was sick all the time with colds. I guess most babies are since there immune system is not built up yet. This cold could just be the normal cold and she has a harder time getting over it. I think to it's because she just started daycare and about the time she started she got a cold.(Imagine that) I have heard alot of daycare moms complain that there child is sick right now with a cold so I know it's going around daycare! I am just hoping she gets over this fast!!!

Preschool

2009-09-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

Today was Camden's first day of 4 year old preschool. He sure has been excited and ready to start back up with preschool. He told me last night he didn't think he would sleep very good because he was so excited to go to preschool and see his friends! This morning when I woke him up he had a good luck at school card waiting for him from his dad.He was pretty excited about that. Brad had to work all night so he was sleeping when we were getting ready for the day. I took him to daycare and all the preschool kids ran up to Camden and they were all jumping up and down that they were going to preschool...too cute!:) Sounds like he had a good first day and is already to go back tomorrow!

Weekend

2009-09-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Family Picture...We have not had a family picture since Maeci has been born.(I guess we have but it's one of me in the hospital after I had her and I looked doped up) Camden needed to make a train car with a family picture in it for his first day of preschool tomorrow. He is so excited to tell about his family!!

So sweet! Give it a couple years and they will be fighting!!

Camden and Trevor playing at Sutherland park

Bounce House

Camden and Mikayla waiting for the parade to start...nice smile Cam!

This weekend was just the kids and I home. Brad left for the Iowa game Friday afternoon with Michael and Bubba in the RV. Sounds like they had a good time and the Hawks came with a win...ok barely but it was a W! The kids and I didn't do much but lounge around the house and I got caught up on all my house cleaning. Maeci is still battling this nasty cold and is having a hard time getting over it. I think if it's not better in a couple days we will be taking her back to the doctor. Just as she was sleeping 8+ straight hours at night she gets sick and wants to be up every 3-4 hours now. I can't blame her though when she is not feeling good. Of course she has been at daycare for a month and she has already came down with something. Sounds like alot of kids at daycare have had colds/flu in the past couple weeks. This weather sure doesn't help either!! Hopefully she can get over it and get back to herself. Even being sick she still has lots of smiles for us!! :)

Today I took Camden down to the Sutherland Labor Day celebration. We enjoyed the parade and playing in the park with some of our friends and there kids. We are all pretty tired after the weekend and now it's back to the work week...oh joy! Hope everyone has a good week!

Camden

2009-09-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Camden is finally home!! My dad has been wanting to take him for a weekend this summer and this past weekend seemed to work out the best. I dropped him off Saturday morning with my dad and Brad met my dad this morning in Spirit Lake to pick him up. It was a nice break but boy did I miss him! It was to quiet around here! Everytime Brad usually comes home from work Camden always meets him at the door and it was a little different him not being here and doing that! Sounds like he had a good time with his Papa, the boys and visiting the rest of the family! Grandpa bought him a sling shot so they went up to the lake and shot bullets and I guess he really enjoyed that..typical boy!!!The spent alot of time playing outside and messing around in the machine shed. He also got to spend some time playing with Cassie which is always fun for them. The couple times I talked to him he was playing video games with the boys or trying to get the boys to let him play:) I got home from work today and he was constantly talking about all the fun things he got to do. Dad said he was always on the go and went from one thing to the next. I am glad he was able to do this and spend time with my family!!

Maeci

2009-08-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today we had Maeci's doctor appointment in Des Moines with the specialist. Everything went very well. We were very happy with the doctor and he checked her over very well. He said that she is having reflux which 90 percent of babies have at some point. She is just having it a little worse and it's not coming up which is causing her to have heartburn. He explained to us that there is 3 categories for reflux babies that need to me on medicine or have treatment. She fell into one of the categories and we decided to continue the medicine at a higher dose. We will give this a couple weeks and see if it helps and if it doesn't we will continue with this doctor and talk about what to do next. If he does work we will just have to go back for a re-check in 4 months. He said many babies go through this and they usually grow out of reflux by the age of 12 months. Camden had reflux but he spit up everything and he grew out of it by his first birthday. We are so thankful nothing else was going on with her and it's just this. It was a long day and ride down but we are glad we did it!

Weekend

2009-08-24T14:38:00.001-07:00

It was Maeci and mommy weekend and Camden and daddy weekend! Brad and Camden headed out early Friday morning for Green Bay to attend a pre-season game. It was a long weekend for both of them but sounded like they had a good time. It was about 7 hour drive time with a little extra for stopping to stretch and for lunch. Camden did very well in the car watching movies, reading books, and playing with all the toys he took along. Camden said "Mom it was 6 miles to Green Bay from our house!" Yeah we could only wish it was that short of a distance!!:)Friday night Brad treated Camden to one of Camden's favorite places to eat, Chuck E Cheese. Saturday they did some shopping and walked around Lambeau and then that night headed to the game. Camden said "Mom the Bills beat the Packers really bad!" HAHA! Actually Green Bay won the game. Brad said he enjoyed the game but after about 1/2 hour he was ready to go do something else. I guess I can't blame him, he is only 4. They stayed for most of the game and both headed to bed to get ready for the long drive home. Overall they had a goodtime!!
Maeci and I spent the weekend back in Swea. We did alot of visiting with all of our family. Saturday we helped Brad's gpa celebrate his 95th birthday with alot of his family. Later that day Tab, Cassie, Brett, Oz, Stac, Maeci and I went to Mankato shopping to do some school shopping with the boys and I guess we all did shopping for ourselves too!! We found some good deals and I got a few winter clothes for the kids. We were all exhausted by the time we got home that night. It was a great weekend to spend with our family!!:)

Boring weekend!

2009-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

We did absolutley nothing all weekend. I don't think we even left the house. That is unusual for us because we always seem to have something going on. It's probably a good thing because this next week is going to be a busy week. Brad and Camden are headed to Green Bay on Friday for a long weekend to go to a Packers game. Starting this weekend Brad will be gone almost every other weekend to the Iowa games and Packers game. So that means the next 2 months are going to fly by with being so busy and him being gone!
Maeci and I are going back to Swea to visit family, help Grandpa Pulver celebrate his birthday, and take Oz and Brett school shopping. It should be a fun weekend! Hopefully she is good!
She has been actually doing pretty good and the past couple weeks her fussiness at night has seemed to improve alot. She is also sleeping better. She goes to bed between 9 and 10, sleeps until 3 or 4, goes back to bed until 7 or so. Usually after her 7:00 feeding she usually is up just a short time and will go back to sleep for a couple hours. She always takes good naps during the day too. I don't mind the one feeding a night we usually have. Now last night that is NOT what she did. She seemed to be fussy on and off after supper and she did not go to bed until almost midnight and she was up twice and each time she thought she should stay up for about an hour after her feeding and smile and talk! I loved the smile and talking but didn't like the no sleep!! I really hope it was just last night and we are not back to the fussiness at night and getting up more at night! So hopefully tonight goes better. In 2 weeks will be heading to see the GI specialist with her. She is still having problems drinking her bottles. One day it seems better and the next we are back to the same thing. We have tried everything with her and I mean literally everything! I hope we can figure this out once we see this doctor! I have a feeling he is going to increase her reflux medicine to a higher dose to see if that helps.
Camden is going to be starting school up again after Labor Day. He is very excited and ready to start again.We are going to be going school shopping sometime and he is excited to pick his stuff out. It's hard to believe he is starting his 2nd year of preschool. I am excited to see how much he learns and improves from last year in school. The kid amazes with me with all the stuff he knows and has learned. He is a smart little boy and he doesn't forget a thing!
Well that's about all that is going on around the Stevens' household! Hope you all have a good week!:)

Weekend

2009-08-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe we are into the month of August already! But it sure seems like we are finally getting some summer weather! I think I liked the cooler weather we had before and not this humid weather! Our weekend seemed to go by pretty fast as we were on the go! Friday night we went to our friends for supper and a fire. It is always nice to get together with friends and Camden loves it because there are lots of kids to play with at these get togethers! The guys get there guns out and practice shooting clay pigeons and the women sit around and chit chat!
Saturday we headed up to the lakes to Paul and Connie's place and spent the day with them. It was so hot and we really didn't feel like even being outside but we did go to Arnolds Park and walked around for a little bit and went to the car show. It was nice that Connie offered to stay home with Maeci so she didn't have to be out in the humidity! Camden loves to be outdoors but he even was complaining that it was to hot to be outside! We also went to the harley store because lately my husband has been stuck on wanting to get a harley...Oh great!!! He has talked about it alot but now he seems to be more set on getting one!! He likes the regular motocycles but really likes the trikes(sp?). Oh boy just what we need!! He is thinking maybe next year!!
Overall it was a great weekend to spend with family and friends. Today we are just relaxing and getting caught up on house work!

Kim and Drew came to visit!

2009-08-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

This past Friday my friend Kim and her son Drew came up from Altoona to stay with us for the weekend. Brad had to work overnights the whole weekend so it was nice to have them here. Saturday we went to Spencer and did a little shopping. It was interesting going with 3 kids but it was nice to get out of the house for awhile! The rest of the weekend we just relaxed around the house and the kids played. Camden had fun with Drew but he didn't really understand he is only 1 and he wanted him to do all the things a 4 years does. We don't get to see them much so it was nice of them to come up!

Maeci-2 months

2009-07-30T12:35:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that Maeci is 2 months old already! It fun though now because she is smiling like crazy and starting to talk and coo all the time! Today everything checked out ok with her at her appointment. She is a chunk weighing in at 13 lbs 10 oz and 24 inches long. Just a week ago she weighed 12 lbs 8 ozs and was 23 inches at the pediatrician appointment we had...2 different scales so it won't be the same. Camden at 2 months weighed 14 lbs 11 oz. Last week we took her to the peds doc in Sioux City because we are continuing to have problems with her taking her bottle without getting uncomfortable or crying. They ending up putting her on prevacid once a day for the "silent" acid reflux and had us change to a formula that had some rice starch in it to see if that would settle her tummy! It's not that she spits up, it just comes up into her mouth/throat and then goes back down and it bothers her and she gets irritated. They told us to give this medicine/formula a week and if it hasn't got better than we would see a Pediactric GI Specialist. Well the medicine seems to be working a little but she is still have tummy issues and can't get through a bottle without becoming uncomfortable. So I called back the peds doc and she decided we needed to be referred to the specialist just to make sure nothing else is going on. There are not alot of those type of specialist around here and the ones that actually are in are not covered in our insurance network. Brad has pretty good insurance but when it comes these docs I guess they are not covered. We found numerous pediatric specialists in Des Moines that are covered under our insurance so we have an appointment down there August 31st. I wish it was sooner but I guess it takes a long time to get into these kind of docs since there are not many of them around! Anyways we are hoping nothing major is going on with her and we hope this gets better! But overall she is doing pretty good! She still is sleeping alot during the day but I can't keep her awake. She still sleeps pretty good through the night too. She usually sleeps the first 4 1/2 hours and then after that it's about every 3 hours...we have had our fair share of bad nights though where she wants to get up every 1-2 hours! Well I am back to work tomorrow and I am dreading it! The kids don't start back at daycare until next Monday! It's going to take awhile to get back in a routine of getting the kids to daycare and going to work! Ahhhh this past 8 weeks went way to fast!!!

50th anniversary

2009-07-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

Gma and Gpa Angle on their anniversary

This past Sunday the kids and I headed back to Swea City to help my grandparents celebrate their 50th anniversary!! It was a very nice day to have the party outside and in the garage! It was nice to see some family and some of my great aunts that I haven't seen forever!!! Other than that we didn't do much this past weekend. Brad had to work all weekend so it was just me and the kids. This week is a busy week for us as we have had some doctor checkups, swimming lessons for Camden and the fair is in town! This week will go by fast! I will get some more pictures up eventually on facebook from this past week!

Baseball

2009-07-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well the season for NSK has come to an end:( The eagles took a hard loss to AR thursday night, 2-1. We did not play like we have all season and couldn't do much that night and AR took advantage of that. Congrats on a great season Eagles and I am proud of my "little" brothers as they both had a great season!!! With baseball being my favorite sport I am already for next season to start!!! It's hard to believe Oz will be a senior and Brett will be a junior next year. Only a couple more years of watching them in sports:(

Maeci

2009-07-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Maeci is growing like a weed and changing everyday. The first 3 weeks after she was born she was a very good baby and seems like in the past 2 weeks that has changed a little. She has been starting to cry during all her feedings and has such a sensitive stomach along with lots of gas. She will start drinking her bottle and then after a bit she tenses up and starts crying because of her sensitive stomach. She also has a little bit of silent acid reflux. She spits up maybe once or twice a day but when she burps it comes up and goes back down and she gets a little fussy during that. It is so hard to deal with the feedings because we maybe get through one bottle a day without her crying. After she eats a little and starts crying she can't eat anymore because of it. The doctor has had us change formula's a couple times and nothing seems to be working. My gosh there is a ton of different formula's for every symptom a baby might have..I wish one would work for us!! She has a fussy time at night to from about 7:00-9:00. We took her into the doctor today and they had us change formula's again and wasn't to concerned because she is still gaining weight..she is up to 12 lbs 11 ozs! Doctor also said she has an under developed sensitive stomach which can cause some colic, fussiness, and gas which usually happens around her age. It's just something we have to deal with because they grow out of it and her stomach will get better. I wouldn't say she has bad colic because she cries on and off during her fussy time at night and it's not for a long time. Some of our friends have had colic babies and they said their baby would cry straight from 6 at night until midnight and they would not stop and they couldn't console them for anything...oh god I would go crazy!!! So we are hoping this formula will help her tummy because I feel terrible watching her try to eat and I can't do anything for her:(

Okoboji/Arnolds Park

2009-07-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday we headed up to the lakes for the day. Our friends and their kids also went along with us. Paul and Connie were at the lakes with Brad's aunt Denise and cousins, Charlotte and Caroline from Chicago. We decided to leave Maeci with Connie at the trailer because it would be to much for her down at the park and it would give us a chance to get away. Brad's dad, aunt, and cousins also came down to Arnolds Park to enjoy the afternoon. The kids had a blast riding the rides and playing the games. After the park we walked down by the lake for a bit and then decided to go to the Barefoot Bar. The kids played on the swingsets and the adults relaxed. It was a great day to be with our friends and to be able to spend time with Brad's family! I will post some pics on facebook once I get around to it!

4th of July weekend

2009-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

Twins game...it's funny the way he is posing for this picture

Camden and the Hooters girls

Nickelodeon Universe

Swimming

Zoo

We headed out on a small family vacation to the cities last Friday. It was a fun weekend but we were all very tired and ready to be home last night. Here is how our weekend went....

Friday-We headed out Friday morning early and made a stop at the outlet mall in Medford. I found alot of good sales and got a good start for the kids for winter! After shopping for awhile we headed to the zoo. Camden was excited because he loves animals and could not wait to get there. The weather was great and we all enjoyed the zoo. After the zoo we headed to our hotel to hang out and go swimming. After swimming we relaxed and called it a night!

Saturday-We headed out Saturday morning to spend the day at the Mega Mall. First we hit up the Nickelodeon Universe. This place is so fun for kids. We will for sure be going back there. Camden enjoyed riding the rides, playing in the arcade, and shopping at the Nickelodeon store. I didn't know if he would ride the rides or not but he did and made his dad ride with him:) Brad also enjoyed some of the big roller coasters.There were some rides there I would never get on. After Nickelodeon Universe we went to Lego Land. My kid LOVES legos, so of course he enjoyed playing there. After Camden enjoyed his fun we did some more shopping and again I found some great sales. After a long day of fun and shopping we headed back to the hotel for supper and bedtime..we were all very tired!

Sunday-We enjoyed the afternoon watching the Twins come away with a win! Camden had a goodtime but did get restless towards the end. He was so excited to go and he wanted Joe Mauer to come and give him a high five. He loves Joe Mauer! Overall the kids did pretty well and we had a good/busy weekend!

One last thing...When we were at the Mega Mall we decided to go into Hooters and have a drink. Ever since Camden was in the Hooters in Green Bay, he loves going there!(Just like his dad) He had his picture taken with the Hooters girls. Later that night we asked him what his favorite part of the day was and we thought he would say Nickelodeon Universe or Lego Land. Nope, he said his favorite was going to Hooters...GEEZ!!!

Anyways here are a few photos and I will post the other ones on facebook!

2009-06-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

It has been another busy week for us! Brad has had the whole weekend off so it's been nice! Friday night we headed to Paullina to Mike and Anne's to hang out with them for the night! It was nice to get together with them since we haven't seen them much since Maeci has been born. Saturday we got up early because the kids had there pictures taken. They did pretty good with pictures except for the fact that Maeci really didn't really want to wake up at first. I am excited to see them once she gets them done. Saturday late afternoon we headed down to Paullina for there fun days parade and they had fun games and bouncy things in the park for kids. Camden had fun running around with his friends, Trevor and Mikayla. After the fun in the park we went back to our friends Brooke and Aaron's house for pizza and to let the kids play some more. It was a busy weekend for us and seemed like we were on the go constantly but we had a good time! The weather was perfect all weekend and it was not as humid like the weather we had last week. I have been wanting to go to some more of the boy's baseball games but it's hard to take Maeci when it's so hot and humid out. Hopefully we will make it to a few more before the season is over. Today we are going to hang out and relax. I am going to take Cam swimming this afternoon...he is becoming a little fish. He has private swimming lessons the end of July so it will be interesting to see how he does with. We are also excited for next weekend. We are taking a small family vacation to the cities. We are going to the Mega Mall to shop and go to Camp Snoopy(i think thats what it's still called) and let him go to Lego Land. He absolutley loves legos so he will have fun there. We are also going to the Zoo, a Twin's game, and going to make a stop at the outlet mall. I am excited to get away!!! Well that's about all that is going on around here for now!

Busy last week

2009-06-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

Our last week has been pretty busy. Last week Brandi came home from Aurora to visit. I didn't tell Camden she was coming and he was sure excited to see her when we picked him up from daycare. He kind of just looked at her like what are you doing here and then ran to her and gave her lots of hugs! We just hung out around the house while she was here. She kept Camden entertained outside while I took care of Maeci, which was very helpful! They had fun playing soccer, having water fights, and just hanging outside! Last Thurday night we packed up the kids and went to the Oz and Brett's baseball game at Milford. I didn't know how Maeci would do during the game but she did well and pretty much slept the whole game. It was my first game I had been to this season. It was great to be able to go and they came away with a win! Friday Brandi headed back to Swea to spend the rest of the weekend up there. I was going to go back on Friday but decided not to leave until Saturday morning. This weekend was Brad's first weekend back to work since I had Maeci so it's been just the kids and I most of the weekend. Friday night we headed to our friend's for a BBQ since I did not go back home. It was fun to get together with everyone that night and Camden enjoyed playing with all his friends. Our friends have a little girl also that is almost 2 weeks older than Maeci. Saturday morning I packed the kids up and headed to Bancroft for the baseball tourney. They won there first game and ended up winning the tourney that day! Again it was nice to be able to see another game. After the first game we headed to Gma and Gpa Beadle's to visit with them and the Roman's who were home from Wisconsin. After spending the afternoon visiting I packed up the kids and headed back to Primghar. It seemed like a long day but it was nice to visit family and watch baseball. Thank goodness Camden and Maeci do well in the car especially since I was by myself. Today we are just lounging around at home while Brad sleeps. After he gets up we will do the whole father's day thing! Happy Father's Day to all you dads!!!!
I will post some pics later otherwise I usually post all the pics on facebook!

Doc appointment

2009-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Maeci had her week check-up yesterday. Everything went well and doc said everything looked fine. She came home from the hospital weighing 9 lbs 9 ozs and yesterday she weighed 10lb 8ozs. I was happy to see she gained weight instead of losing it. Doctor said she is a very content baby because she just layed on the table and slept for the most part during her check-up. So we were happy to hear that everything looked good. I was just saying yesterday how good she was and her sleeping was good during the night. Well last night she decided to she wanted to be up for 3 hours during the night and she is fussy today. Boy I sure hope it was just last night and today because I am already used to her being such a good baby and can't imagine her starting to be fussy all the time. She gets so gassy and gets tummy aches easily so I think that has been some of her problem today.I guess everyday won't be the same with her. We also have been trying to keep her awake today and that is not easy!! Anyways that's about all that is going on right now.....Oh yeah my sister is coming here tomorrow from Chicago. We are excited to see her! Camden does not know she is coming and he is going to be so excited to see her!!

2009-06-15T08:16:00.001-07:00

Well Maeci is now a week old and everything is going pretty good. She is a very content baby and sleeps all the time. She sleeps all day but she still does pretty well sleeping at night. Most nights she will sleep for 5 hours at a time. She is hard to get back to sleep after she wakes up but she will eventually go back to sleep. I guess I can't complain considering she is only a week old.
I am still breastfeeding her and I am thinking I am about ready to give that up. The past couple days I am just pumping but I feel that is all I am doing! I guess people were right when they said how demanding and time consuming nursing is! So we will see how this week goes with it and I will go from there!
Yesterday we headed back home to visit all the grandparents, aunts, and uncles! It was a long day but it was nice to see everyone. Camden enjoyed playing with Cassie and the boys and was worn out by the end of the day. Maeci literally slept all day. I think everyone maybe got a peak at her eyes but for the most part she was sound a sleep. I will post some pictures from the last week either on here or facebook!

2009-06-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Our first day/night at home with Maeci....

2009-06-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well I wrote this post once but for some reason it didn't post....
Our first day home with Maeci went pretty good. We are all just trying to get settled in and get a routine started. Brad has been busy doing alot around the house and getting stuff putt away...he is such a great husband and dad! Oh yeah and he is taking care of me since I am a little layed up from the surgery!Camden is starting to adjust a litte better. He does not like it when she cries really loud...like during her bath last night! He got very upset because he didn't understand why she was crying!He held her for the first time last night and fed her a bottle...boy did he love that!! He has been giving her lots of kisses and hugs:) Maeci slept alot during the day yesterday and I wasn't sure how last night would go. She went to sleep around 7:30 and I finally woke her up around 11:00 to nurse her before I headed to bed. She went right back to sleep so I went to bed thinking this could be a long night since she had slept ALL day. She woke up at 1:00 and she took a couple oz. of formula and went right back to sleep and slept until 6:00 this morning! I about died that she slept that long! I figured she would be up for the day after I fed her. Nope she ate and went back to sleep and is still sleeping and it's 9:00! I know it's the first night but I hope she continues to be a good sleeper! I will probably have to maybe wake her up one more time in the night to nurse since 5 hours is a long time to go without me nursing or pumping. And she really needs to really eat every 4 hours since she was losing some weight in the hospital and newborns just need to eat more often! Well the rest of the household is getting up so I better get going!

Our first day/night at home with Maeci....

2009-06-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

Daddy went home :(

2009-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Brad just left a little while ago to go home for the night to pick up Camden. Camden was pretty excited because daddy and him were going to the movie today in Spencer and were going to go buy some toys for Maeci! He had a hard time leaving but we thought it was a good idea for him to spend some time with Camden before we get to come home tomorrow. I hated to see him leave too because it's alot easier with him here to help me since I am having some pain still, I guess I will just rely on the nurses...which I hate asking for help all the time!
Maeci is doing pretty good. Dr.Caldwell, the peds doc, came and checked her out this morning. She is a little concerned because yesterday she was down to 10lbs and today she was down to 9lbs 9ozs. All baby's usually lose some weight but she has almost lost a lb. So we are going to see what she weighs tomorrow before we go home and we may have to take her to the clinic back home and get her weighed for a couple days to make sure she is starting to gain and not continuing to lose the weight! She seems to be eating good though so we will just have to watch her. She is a pretty good baby so far, obviously likes to sleep alot. Her dad and her love to nap in the hospital chair already. Her color is really good and everything else seems to be going pretty good. This is something new I have never heard before but on her eyelids and right between her eyes she has a couple "stork bites" I have seen them on lots of baby's before just never hear of them called that until the nurse told me yesterday. I guess they are a type of birthmark and something with the stretching of blood vessels in the area where they are located. They are flat and not raised. I guess it's common in baby's and most commonly go away completely or at least fade by the time they are 18 months old. It's nothing serious at all but I guess I just learned something new yesterday! Well she is ready to eat so I better get going! YAY we hopefully still get to go home tomorrow!

Day 2.....

2009-06-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

The night went pretty well last night. I had her in here one time to nurse her and the rest of the night I was able to sleep because she was in the nursery and they bottle fed her. This morning she did good nursing and throughout the day has not been so good. She is having trouble latching on or if she does she falls asleep about 3 minutes into the nursing and it's hard to keep her awake. My milk has not come in yet but the colostrum(spelling?) is there so she is getting a little of that. It is frustrating at times but I guess if it don't work out at least I can say I tried it with her. The nurse thinks we will be fine because it does take awhile to get used to it!
I am also having alot more pain today than I had yesterday. I am trying to keep ahead of that with pain meds but they make you so loopy and tired and I hate feeling like that but I guess that's what I have to do. I am also having that neck pain again that I had after I had my spinal before surgery yesterday. So hopefully tomorrow will be a better day with the pain control. Other than that we are just hanging out and enjoying our visitors! I will probably put some new pics of her up on Facebook later tonight or tomorrow. She looks different today than yesterday because some of her swelling has gone down. She looks alot like Camden did when he was a baby. The nurses look at her and can't believe she is over 10 lbs, they say they think she looks smaller than that! Brad and I think Camden looked bigger at birth than she does! She is still a little chunk though!Hopefully everyone is enjoying there weekend:)

Maeci Esta Stevens

2009-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well she is here and doing great. Maeci was born at 7:38 this morning weighing in at 10 lbs 6 oz and is 22 inches long. She is a little chunk! She is already daddy's little princess! This morning on the way down here I started having contractions and when I got here they hooked me up to monitors and sure enough I was having contractions. So even if I wouldn't of been coming down for the c-section today I would of probably had her this weekend somtime..Crazy how that happened! The morning started of kind of shakey with not being able to get an IV in me. I was poked 3 times and finally they got it in....they sure DO NOT feel the best when you have to get poked that many times. I went into OR around 7:00 am and they gave me my spinal to numb me and I instantly got nausea and really bad pain in my neck and upper back...they gave me some medicine to take care of that so I was feeling pretty good when doc came in to start the surgery. He came in and started at 7:25 and I had her ata 7:38...it went pretty fast!! Once I got back to my room I started the neck and back pain again but it's under control now and I am hardley having any pain at all. I am on a liguid diet right now until I can keep stuff down. Everytime I eat Jello or drink somthing I have been vomitting it back up so I am a little dehydrated. If this continues they will have to put another IV back in to get me some fluids through that. THey took it out a little while ago because it was bothering me so bad when they put the IV and my machine would constantly beep. So I am hoping I can keep all this water down that I have been drinking so I DO NOt have to go through another IV attempt! Well that is about all for now. I posted some pics on facebook so check them out! Oh yeah bare with me as some of this might not sound right or spelling might be a little off, I am still a little doped up from some of the medicine!

Quick update on BB game tonight....

2009-06-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight NSK traveled to Buffalo Center to take on undefeated North Iowa. Brett was the starting pitcher. We got an update at the end of the 4th inning and the score was 0-0. I thought maybe we could get the last inning on the radio here and we could hear bits and pieces of it on 98.1 but we had to keep driving back and forth in the drive-way. Dad and I were very nervous not sure what was going on in the last inning with Brett pitching. We ended up winning 6-2 and Brett got the win. From what we could hear on the radio both boys also had some hits and I guess it was a heck of a game!! Way to go boys!!:)

The Big Day...

2009-06-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow is the big day for the arrival of Baby Stevens'. I am SOOO ready to be done. This past week I have been very uncomfortable..I swear the baby has double in size in the past week. I have been battling headaches and backaches the past couple days! But tomorrow that will all be over with..thank goodness. We have to leave for Sioux City a little after 4 in the morning tomorrow...it's going to be an early morning and I probably won't sleep tonight! My dad is coming down this afternoon to stay with Camden in the morning and bring him down to the hospital after the baby is born. He can't wait til his Papa gets here! So tomorrow we will be letting everyone know once the baby arrives!

Weekend

2009-06-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Like usual our weekend seemed to be pretty busy......
Friday-We headed down to Paullina to Mike and Anne's for a BBQ. We had lots of good food, fun, and the weather was perfect. It's always a goodtime getting together with them and there kids!
Saturday-We went to Spencer to do some shopping, got groceries, and to get a few last things for the baby. After we got home we relaxed for awhile because I was exhausted and with it being hot all weekend I was swelling up alot! That night Camden and I were supose to go with Mike and Anne to the rodeo in Cherokee but Camden decided he wanted to go to the races. It was probably a good thing we didn't go because I would of had a hard time sitting through the whole thing! So after relaxing for awhile we headed to the races here in Primghar. The Jaycees group here in Primghar sponsor and put on the races. We are members so Brad was working there that night. Last year Camden didn't like them so much because it was so loud and his ears are sensitive to loud noise but this year it didn't seem to bother him as much and he really enjoyed them!
Sunday-It was such a nice afternoon so we spent alot of time outside and were able to get some yardwork done!
That pretty much sums up our weekend....I will post a few pics later!

Baseball

2009-05-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

I hate it that I am not able to go to Oz and Brett's baseball games yet. If they were a little closer I would for sure be at some of them. Dad usually calls after the games to tell me what happened during the game. It sounds like Oz has been playing shortstop again this year and is also doing some pitching. I think he did a little pitching last year too. Dad says he has had some good plays and is hitting the ball well. Brett is playing left field and also doing some pitching. They played a double header tonight agaisnt Bishop Garrigan and the first game Brett got his first official start as pitcher. Dad said he thought he was a little nervous and the game started out we were down 9-0 but ended up coming back to win 13-9. Brett ended up pitching the whole game. Dad said once he started to settle down a little and everyone else started making plays, we got back in the game and Brett was fired up! I so wish I could of seen that! I am so proud of him!!! The second game we ended up winning 4-3. So with this being the first week of baseball I would say from what I have heard they are not doing to bad. Sometimes it takes a few games to get everything figured out and everyone playing together! If the boys are going to be doing some pitching this year I am going to be even more nervous, you all know how I get at games. I don't think either of the boy's really did any pitching growing up or did much in the past couple years so I am excited to see them pitch once I can make it to some games!! I believe after tonight there record is 3-2 and they still have games Friday night and Saturday.

Baby Appointment

2009-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well today was our 38 week checkup and doc said everything is great so we DON'T have to go back for a checkup early next week...just c-section on Friday..YAY!! My blood pressure was good and I am swelling still but last appointment I didn't gain any weight and this apointment I gained just 1 pound so doc is not so concerned about the swelling. I measured today at almost 39 weeks so nurse said I am now a little ahead but it's obviously because this baby is going to be a BIG baby! I am measuring a little early but we are still going with June 5th as the big day and not any sooner unless I go into labor! Doc had us do a stress test today and baby was not under any stress and heartbeat was great! Well that's all I have to report today!

Weekend

2009-05-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was pretty quiet around our house. Brad had to work all weekend so Camden and I just hung out around the house and relaxed. We did run up to the lakes Sunday afternoon to meet my Gma and Gpa Angle. My mom bought us a new playpen so Gma and Gpa brought that over to the lakes when they came over for the weekend. After visiting for awhile we headed back home. Sunday night after Brad got off work we went to our friend's house for a bonfire. It was fun to get together with a bunch of our friend's and Cam had fun running wild with all the kids. It was fun even though we didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning and I was SO tired!! At least all the kids were passed out way before that. After sleeping in Monday morning we got up and did some yard work and finished hanging the decor in the nursery. I think we are officially ready for this baby to get here. We go back to the doctor tomorrow so I will report more on how that goes later. We are hoping it's our last appointment since a week from this Friday is the c-section but we will have to see I guess!

Doc appointment

2009-05-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly...2 weeks from Friday and the big day will be here! We had another apointment today and again everything went well. The only concern is that it is getting hot out and my legs and feet are starting to swell alot! I am going to continue to work this next week since I only work about 3-4 hours a day and next Thursday's appointment we will see how the swelling is doing and go from there. At least with this pregnancy I have had no protein and blood pressure has been great! I think we are all ready for this to be done and Camden is beyond excited! He has been a great helper and wants to help us when we are getting things ready for the baby to be here. He just told me the other day he wants a sister now so he can find her a good boyfriend when she grows up...the things he will say!! On that subject.....Camden came home from daycare the other day and Brad asked him what he did at daycare and he said I just played all day with my friends. Well then he proceeded to also tell us when they were playing outside he kissed both of his girlfriends in the little playhouse thing they have outside! He also told us alot of other boys kissed the girls and the teachers didn't see them do it! I told him he was to young to be kissing girls and he said "Mom, 4 year olds can do that you know!" Oh geez!!!!
Well hope everyone has a good rest of the week!

2009-05-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Keeping warm at the track meet

Not sure what he was looking at....

Weekend

2009-05-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our weekend seemed to be pretty busy and went by pretty fast. Friday night we headed to Laurens for Ozzie's district track meet. It was freezing and rainy throughout the whole night. I hate it that it is on Friday nights now instead of Saturdays. The track meet started at 4:00 and we assumed Oz would be doing the long jump and we got there a little before 4:00 and they decided to not have Oz do the long jump due to his knee hurting him. He was running in the
4x100 and 4x200, one of his races was right in the middle and one was the very last race! So we got to sit for awhile until he was running and on top of that after all field events there is a mandatory 45 minute break! So he did not end up running the 4x200 until about 7:15...it got to be SOOO long! The 4x200 started off great and we were in first place at the beginning until the baton was dropped during an exchange....whew, Oz didn't have anything to with the dropped baton. So we got to see Oz run even though they were disqualified. We ended up not staying until the last race because it already was getting to be a long night! Well now it's on to baseball.....YES I can't wait! Baseball by far is my favorite sport to watch them play! I have alot of the summer off so I am hoping to make it to alot of games, pending my recovery from having the baby!
Saturday morning Brad ran uptown to get some things he needed and ended up coming home with the rug doctor. We wanted to have someone come and do it for us but the guy who usually does it is so busy this time of year it probably would of been another month before he got here. So Brad cleaned the carpets himself and it actually did a pretty good job! So that is just another thing to cross off of my to do list! Saturday night we had to go to a retirement party for one of Brad's co-workers and Camden stayed home with Ashley. It was a fun night but I was so tired by the time we got home. Sunday we pretty much just relaxed the whole day. It was so dreary, cold, and windy so we didn't feel like doing much. Today is beautiful outside and sounds like the rest of the week is supose to be pretty nice too!

2009-05-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight Camden and I had to run up to Brad's office to take him his uniforms so he could get them to the dry cleaners. We were getting into the durango and Camden said out of the blue "Mom do you have your license?" I said "It's in the house in my purse." He freaked out and said "Mom, you have to have your license to drive the durango, if you don't you will get in big trouble from the cops!" He was so serious when saying it and had a look of worry on his face! I have no idea where he got that from! Yeah I am bad and I rarely have my license with me when I am driving just in town...I guess my son is already watching out for me:)

2009-05-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well now we are officially down to going weekly to the doctor. I will be 36 weeks on Friday and we have just over 3 weeks left to go...thank goodness! Today's checkup went well. The heartbeat was good and I am still getting some fluid but blood pressure is good and I actually lost weight since last checkup so doc is still not concerned about the fluid and swelling. This last month I think is going to kill me. I am so uncomfortable..I never was this uncomfortable in the last couple months with Camden...but I guess that's why they say every pregnancy is different! Well that's about it for now! Hope everyone is having a good week!

2009-05-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

We didn't do a whole lot this weekend and of course the weekend went by so fast! Brad had to work overnights the whole weekend so it was pretty much just Cam and I hanging out. We ran to Spencer yesterday to get some flowers to plant. Most years I buy alot of flowers and this year I decided I wasn't going too...I am sure I will be back to it next year!! I also have a couple bushes in my front yard that are not coming back for some reason this year so I need to find something to replace them.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mother's!! I love being a mother and I have a pretty great son! We didn't do a whole lot today since Brad had to sleep most of the morning and then has to be back to work at 6 tonight. Brad and Camden made me a nice dinner and the rest of the afternoon we spent outside playing soccer, baseball, and just relaxing. As Camden was learning last week in school that it was going to be Mother's day this weekend he kept asking me why we don't call it parent's day? After I explained it that there is a mother's day and father's day he realized why we don't call it parents day. He is so funny! Hope everyone enjoyed their special day!:)

Preschool Concert

2009-05-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

Doing actions to a song

Dad and Cam before the concert

Introducing himself

"Why do I have to take my picture again, let's just go to the concert!"

Last night we had Camden's Spring concert. It's hard to believe he is done with his first year of Preschool next Wednesday! It was such a cute concert last night with all the songs they sang! He officially got his award that he passed 3 year old preschool so it's onto 4 year old preschool next fall:) He had a good year, learned alot, and I could see improvement throughout the year on certain skills.He loved bringing home his weekly papers to show me what he had learned or what they were studying about that week.I told him that preschool is over next week for the summer and he wasn't to happy about that! He loves to learn and I am sure this summer I will still see him at his desk at home writing his letters, numbers, or doing his homework as he calls it!

Clip of a song

This video is sideways for awhile, then I realized it and flipped my camera in the middle of it. I don't know how to rotate it the right way after I download them!HA! I just need to remember to tape the right way!

Busy Weekend

2009-05-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here it is...I look crabby in this pic but I really wasn't....I think I wasn't so thrilled about taking a picture of myself! Just over 4 weeks left...I swear there is no more room for this baby to get bigger! Everybody keeps saying "You are going to have a big baby!" I want to say "Yeah ya think so, I already figured that out!"

The weekend of course went by so fast! Friday Brad and Camden headed back to Armstrong to Brad's parents for the night. He went back home because Saturday morning he had to go pick up my dad's new lab we found for him in Minnesota. It is a black lab and is almost 10 weeks old. I talked to dad and he said they haven't picked out a name yet but the pup is fitting in just fine around the farm! I guess Brett and the pup were laying in the grass napping yesterday afternoon! I decided I wasn't going to make the trip home this past weekend as I wanted to get some things done around the house and it was nice to have some time to myself. My friend Anne and I went out Friday night for awhile, which was long overdue!! Saturday I got up and went to Spencer and did some shopping. After shopping I came home and did some cleaning. Brad and Camden came home later that afternoon. We pretty much spent the rest of Saturday outside doing yard work because it was so nice out! Sunday we went to church and out for brunch with Anne, Mike, and their kids. After visiting for awhile we headed to Spencer to get a new dresser for the nursery and some fishing supplies. After we got home we went down to Paullina to Mill Creek to do some fishing. We had a couple bites but didn't catch anything. I don't think anybody was catching anything yesterday. After fishing and playing at the park we headed home to spend a little more time outside. It was such a nice weekend to spend time outside!

Sunday School

2009-04-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last night was our last night of Wild Worship Wednesday Sunday school until next fall. We had a pizza and roller skating party for the kids. Camden had a blast!
Just starting to figure out how to do it on his own...My friend Anne's boy in the background, Craig. These skates were heavy and a little hard to figure out!

He was one of the last kids out there roller skating, but he did have to take a break every so often! Here he has the plastic kids skates on and it was alot easier for him.

About ready to fall, but caught himself. He had plenty of falls though!

Ashley and Tayla showing him how to skate when he first got his skates on! Such nice girls helping him!:)

34 week appointment

2009-04-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today we had another checkup and everything went well! I have been having alot of pressure in my belly but doc said that it is normal around this part of the pregnancy.My legs and feet are swelling also but my blood pressure is still good and I didn't gain any weight since my last appointment so doc is not to worried about the swelling at this point! I swear everyday I wake up and I think my belly has gotten bigger. It's for sure going to be a big baby and we still have 5 more weeks to go! My belly feels like it is all baby! Gma Beadle told me last weekend that I am for sure growing a BIG baby! We go back again in 2 weeks and then we will start going weekly! YAY we are almost done!!

Rusty

2009-04-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

My dad's chocolate lab Rusty has been missing for about 6 weeks now. I didn't realize this until we were at my dad's yesterday. I thought it was weird when we first pulled up to my dad's and Rusty is usually the first dog that meets us at our door! Dad said one day he just didn't come home and has been missing since:( Dad usually would let Shooter and Rusty off the chains during the day if he was at home otherwise if he was gone one had to be put on the chain. At night he had to have one on the chain also. This dog was a smart dog but didn't have any training at a younger age. My dad put many hours and alot of his time into training this dog. He loves his dogs and was always worried about getting them taken care of if he was gone! This dog has become a very smart and great hunting dog. Dad thinks someone shot him or took him. He also thinks that coyotes could of got him too. Rusty would go crazy at night when he would hear the coyotes so it is possible that he went after some and they attacked him. Who knows though! Dad said he has put many miles on looking for him and pretty much has given up. I guess you don't realize how close sometimes you get to a dog until they are gone:(
I came home and was telling Brad about what happened and our friend Matt I guess knows someone that has a purebred black lab that someone is trying to get rid of. This lab's parents are hunting dogs and we think it would be great for my dad to be able to train another lab because he is pretty good at it. I called dad last night and told him I got him another lab and he said he would let me know today if he wanted it! I really hope he says yes!!:)

Busy, Busy

2009-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

I feel lately that we have been going nonstop around here! Last week it was so nice out so we were outside as much as possible and of course this weekend has been so cold and stormy!
Friday night we went to our friend's house to play some sand volleyball in there backyard. It was a nice during the day on Friday but quickly turned cold that night when we played volleyball. I guess I didn't play and it sucked just having to watch. Last summer we started going over there and playing quite a bit and this year they decided to put sand down. I am bummed that I probably won't get to play all summer considering I will have to have a c-section and it is an eight week recovery...ugghhh!!
Saturday Camden and I decided to head back home to visit some family. We just went home for the day but it was nice to stop and visit both sets of grandparents and my parents! Camden always enjoys going home and visiting even though it can get long going here and there. He enjoyed going to Burt Lake with Oz and Brett and seeing the carp at the dam and then trying to skip rocks like the boy's did! It was cold and windy though so didn't stay to long. We hadn't seen some of our family for awhile so Camden got a few more late birthday presents and Easter baskets so he has been having fun today going through them. Brad has been busy at work so he didn't get a chance to go back home with us yesterday. Brad loves this weekend because it's draft weekend. I love football but really don't enjoy watching the draft so much. I can only watch so much of it. Speaking of football Brad just recently decided to go in with one of his buddies for Hawkeye season tickets. His buddy has 2 tickets and was trying to get someone to go in and buy the 2nd one with him so Brad decided to. Since Brad works every other weekend he thinks he will probably only will be able to go to 4 games since he is not going to take every weekend off. His buddy will just sell whatever remaining tickets Brad does not go to or have his wife go. I am excited he is doing this because I haven't been down there for a couple years and I am sure I might go down and go tailgating with everyone!!:)

2009-04-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it was today!! I got home from work at noon and we spent the afternoon outside. Since it was so nice I figured I should get something done outside. We had a really windy day a couple days ago and I swear our yard got all the leaves and corn husks. I accomplished raking the yard and getting my outside windows washed. Brad got the yard mowed and got the lawn fertilized. Every year I plant lots of flowers and this year I am debating if I am going to do it again or not. It is alot of work but I do enjoy doing it but we will have to see! Camden is feeling better so he got to enjoy being outside all afternoon riding his bike, playing baseball, etc. I don't work tomorrow and it sounds like it's supose to be another nice day..YAY!

2009-04-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

This was Camden's favorite clown act...2 clowns boxing..it was hilarious!

This is a picture of a guy driving a motorcycle on a high wire and a girl is hanging below it doing stunts...Camden thought the motorcycle was pretty cool!

Elephants

At the circus with his light up sword he got

Not feeling so good last week....He never takes naps anymore and this day he napped for 4 hours and 3 hours after that he was back in bed for the rest of the night! I knew you wasn't feeling good!

Measles In Spencer

2009-04-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of you have heard about some kid having measles in Spencer last Saturday and Sunday. I of course am freaking out because we met the Stac, Cassie, and the boys over there last Saturday. I looked up online where this kid had been and the times she had been there to see if we were at any of the places at the same time. The only place was Walmart and we were there that morning and she was there later that night! This kid had been all over at an easter egg hunt, churches, nursing home, etc. Yikes that is alot of exposure to other people! I think we are fine but it's just the thought if it and Camden has been sick all week! There is 2 doses of the MMR vaccination and you have one at 15 months and another with your kindergarten shots. I called up Camden's nurse and she said he should be alright considering he had his first shot and his second one is not required until his school starts but she said we could go up this next week and get the second dose. I guess though there is a 6 day exposure time so if he got exposed last Saturday the shot will not help him. We are going to go next week anyway and get it taken care of and not wait until school shots!

Circus/Sick

2009-04-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

With Camden being sick all week with a cold and fever I wasn't so sure we were going to be able to make it to the circus today. Last night he just had a low grade fever and this morning he woke up feeling good and no fever. There was no way he was going to miss it so I figured with no fever we could go. He liked the circus but during some parts he got pretty bored. I think if it was all clown acts and animals he would like it better. He got bored during the dancing, juggling,etc. His favorites were the motorcycle act, all the animal acts, and clowns!
After getting home from the circus he ran around all afternoon and acted like he was back to his normal self but all of a sudden it hit him again tonight and his fever went up again and he was passed out on the couch by 7:30. It is also a battle with him to take medicine, he absolutely hates taking it and sometimes will spit it out and refuse to take it! That part is not fun! Yes I have tried putting it in juice or food and he is pretty smart and knows it is in there! I called the doctor on Wednesday to see if I should bring him in and they said I should because Influenza A and B are going around like crazy. The strains that are going around are not covered by the flu shot!! At that point they didn't think he had Influenza because he didn't seem or act that sick he just had a temp. They said it is probably just the common cold and it would have to run its course. If he is not better by Monday then I will take him back in and I am sure they will do the Influenza test! I think he has passed his sickness on to me because I feel like I am starting to get a head cold! We have been pretty healthy in our house. Camden was pretty sick his first year of life and battled with ear infections and colds but in the past couple years he has hardley been sick. He usually never runs a fever either when he is sick. He has probably had a total of 3 fevers in his life. So we will let it run it's course the rest of the weekend and see how he is on Monday! I will post some Circus pictures later this weekend!

32 week checkup

2009-04-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today we had our 32 week checkup and everything went well. I will be 32 weeks on Friday..hard to believe! The heartbeat was good and I am measuring just over 31 weeks! I am getting more fluid and swelling up but my blood pressure is great and I don't have any protein. When I was pregnant with Camden at 34 weeks I had border line preclampsia but everything turned out fine. I hope I don't start with this one. I will post some belly pictures once I get around to taking some!

Pictures from last weekend

2009-04-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the nice weather and riding his new batman scooter

Easter Bunny A.K.A -Brad

Look I found an egg!

Camden and his babysitter Ashley with the Easter Bunny