Fall Fun at Church

At our church there is a Halloween event called Fall Fun for Families. This year the boys and their cousin, Lily, dressed up as Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. It's ridiculous how beautiful these kiddos are!!

Captain Hook refused to get into the picture with the "good guys" so this left Tink a little sad.

Fortunately, that was only short-lived and we came away with this great picture.

The villanous Captain Hook

We finally got a semi-smile out of him. He's a method actor apparently.

Fall at the Stevens House

Just a couple of Superheroes, leaving the house.

Sentences Spoken over Dinner This Week

1. Put the Baby Jesus down and eat dinner!

2. No dodgeball in the Dining Room

3. I'm Naked Boy!! (spoken by Sebastian)

Sebas Sings Yeah, Jesus Loves Me

The funny thing is this video is Jackson pacing in the background. He was a little unhappy that Sebastian took his guitar for this mini-concert. We were proud none-the-less.

Reflections

Sometimes I have to go back and look at the pictures of my little guys and reevaluate. Like this one of Sebastian.

Here he is, this new member of the family. Only breathing air for a week at this point. He wasn't a fan of the picture taking and we had been up day and night for days. I was tired, wondering how I was going to get to know this little guy and settle him down for a picture. Those were my worries.

Today, I worry about how to get markings off the walls, Vick's Vapor Rub out of his hair, if the child safely lock in working on the car door and how to keep him and his ukulele out of our room at 4 AM. Yep, things sure are different.

Then there's Jackson.

This picture was taken when he was three. I knew that we were a couple months away from going from a house of three to a house of four. Would I be able to nurture him in the same way. Would I get to spend my "Mommy Day" with him in the same way? Would he resent the new family member? How would stay the stellar potty trainer he turned out to be?

Today I worry about his sensitive heart. Will today be the day he's made fun of at school? Will he ever grasp the concept of remorse for cutting holes in our new couch or his new sweatpants. Will I ever see the bottom of his bedroom floor without a rake? Will he make good friends at school. We're officially less than 10 years from him being of age to drive. Yep, things have changed.

It's nice to look back and see these pictures and know that we're doing okay. The things that were at the front of my mind seem silly now. Hopefully in a few years, my current fears will amount to nothing. The bad part is I know I'll probably be exchanging these small fears for others. Until then, I have pictures of these times my kisses could make things better.

Here, Ducky Duckies!

Last weekend the boys, my mother and I went to see Cito & Abby in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. On our way home, we stretched our legs at Mammoth Springs State Park. They boys loved it! They were able to feed the ducks. Sebastian kept yelling, "Here, Ducky Duckies!" The funny thing is that they didn't run away from the yelling 2-year-old. So fun!

The duck food was about $1.00 a bag and it was so worth it!

Tia Abby's Birthday Party

For Abby's 21st birthday the Vargas family had a surprise birthday party. I think the big surprise was how into it Jackson was. He drew pictures on the back of 12 scrapbook pages and folded each of them with lots of care. He presented them to Abby. Then he created lots of art on the back patio with sidewalk chalk. He's pretty fond of his new Tia!

Mmmmm...

A visit to Aunt Carrie's office means M&M's and lots of smiles.

Jackson the Bandito

This pic was too funny!

Cousins

Wow! Has it already been a month since our last post? Well, thanks to Columbus day, I'll be playing catch-up!

Poor cousin Felipe thought he'd have a relaxing nap in the hammock. The boys had other plans!

Our Bi-Partisan View

So, in the Stevens house we are a true democracy...or is that democrazy? As proof that we the people can get along just fine, Bryan and I represent two sides of the political spectrum. While we differ on our political affiliation, we often have the same core values and desires. So, when the hub-bub about President Obama's address to schoolchildren came up, it stirred up some nice dialog in our home.

We the people of the Stevens home believe that it's pretty cool that our very busy president would dedicate part of his schedule to address the ones we value so highly, our children. We believe that while we did not unanimously vote him into office, we have a responsibility to our country that we love to support his position as president and strive to not diminish that role by bashing him before hearing him, especially in front our future generations. We believe that being a responsible parent is to discuss with our children the pros or cons of ideas that may be brought about by this speech and respect the fact that our young one wants to hear what his president has to say to him. We, Bryan and Dulce both, support this speech made today and will watch it this evening with our children.

So, not that you asked, that's our opinion.

First Grade Already?

Today, August 19th, I officially have a 1st grader on my hands. I'm hoping that this isn't the year that I won't be able to help him with his homework because it's over my head! Doesn't it seem like kiddos are covering some subject matter that I discovered in middle school?? Either way, he's one excited little boy....err...young man.

I was beaming with pride this morning as we got to his room. Let me back up, we were running late. (What a shock!) Molasses moves quicker than Little Man this morning. We finally get to his school and enter his classroom. Behold, there was no one in there which caused him to look at me smartly and said "I guess we were early after all." After a mental picture of a headlock and noogie, we went looking for some sign of children. We ran into both his teacher and another little girl. We found out where they gather in the morning and as we headed that direction I got to hear the little gentleman say. "Hi! I'm Jackson, what's your name?" When she responded he said, "It's very nice to meet you. Let's go together to the hall." The poor girl was taken aback and the teacher didn't believe her ears. After mouthing the words to me "He's so polite" I beamed with pride and followed at a distance behind them. I also said a little prayer that this wouldn't be the year that his wonderful quality of chivalry doesn't disappear.

Here are the pictures of my little learner:

His favorite pose


Apparently Sebastian has a pose he'd like to strike, too.

Same stance, different background.

Love this new backpack we got from Initially Yours in Jeff City.

Jackson with his super-sweet teacher, Mrs. Keith.
Here's to a great year ahead of you!

My Zumbalicious Workout Playlist

So, some of my friends know that I get up at the crack of dawn once a week and start my day with a Zumba workout. Zumba is a workout that is desguised as latin dancing. I love it because once I'm finished, I'm sweating and look like I'm seconds from a heart attack. It's a great workout. Well, after talking with the instructor, I've decided to certify to teach Zumba. I'm planning on going in November (the next time the Zumba people are training in MO) and take the certification course. This is going to be a big challenge for me but I'm so very excited about it.

I have decided to start building my Zumbalicious workout playlist. It's a work in progress but I was to make sure that the Latin flare that I love is front & center in the music selections. Comments are welcome.

** Oh! To turn off the music that automatically plays on my blog, scroll the the bottom of the page!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Darling Bryan and I were able to spend a weekend together in St. Louis. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) Since my birthday is August 17th and his is the 22nd, we could go all out and enjoy them together. I was able to share in one of Bryan's great loves...baseball. Saturday night was Sports Crusader's night a the ballpark. We enjoyed getting together with some friends we hadn't seen in 10 years. It seems crazy that a sentence like that even exists, to not see someone in that long a time. The great thing is you would have thought it was last week. It goes to show that some friendships are as natural as breathing. Thanks Stevie & Jill!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

While my choice of words may not be correct...the rain tarp was by far the prettiest thing I saw all day. It was like a giant metallic parachute. We all were about to play slip 'n slide while we waited.

Somewhere there is a lesson about littering in this picture.
Litter Bug, Litter Bug, Shame on YOU!

While I never professed to being the biggest of baseball fans, anywhere that gives you a free accessory is okay in my book!

Darling Bryan!

Really? They get paid MILLIONS of $$ to do this. I could do batting practice! Shoot!
They aren't even holding a bat!

Look at the weiner in the picture! (I meant the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile!)

Grandma Pavey

As we were praying tonight, Jackson prayed for Grandma Pavey as he does every night. It dawned on me that I have neglected to post pictures of her with the boys. We had an extended visit from Grandma this summer. Days before Cito's wedding, my uncle purchased a day of beauty for her. Unfortunately, the steep steps at the spa made for an unbeautiful experience. She fell down the majority of the steps and shattered her femur. So, she was in the hospital and rehab for a while. She went from there to Mom & Dad's house for about a month. Grandma boarded a plane home to Florida a few weeks ago with my sister, Carrie, there to help. It was a selfish treat for us that the boys could spend more time with her than originally planned. They are missing her right now and I need to be more sensitive to that. We need to plan a visit sometime soon. Until then, enjoy these pics.

Bryan and Cito "helping" grandma.

I thought this picture was sweet. She was in the van on the way to St. Louis and the boys climbed into the van for this picture.

"Captain Underpants" & "Stinky Feet"

We went to our local Sears and got some sweet pictures done of the boys. We found that the most natural smiles came when saying silly things like "Captain Underpants" or "My brother has stinky feet." The girls at Sears, Mary and Michelle, have done another great job. Enjoy!