Playing catch up!

Wow! I am behind on my "journaling". What's happened since Halloween? Well a lot! In November we went to Billings, MT to spend Thanksgiving with my Grandma Black and Aunt Sindy and her family. The best part of the trip was Black Friday shopping. I woke up at 3am on Friday and shopped until I dropped! I LOVE black friday shopping and hadn't been in a long time. It was so much fun! I was able to get all of our Christmas shopping done and got some fantastic deals!

December was a busy month for us. The first of the month Kolby and Diana and their girls came to Casper for the weekend so we were able to meet them for the day on Saturday. We took all the kids to see Santa Claus in the mall and then dropped the kids off at the hotel with Jase and Kolby and Diana and I did some shopping. It was a nice break! The boys did NOT like Santa one bit. We had taken them to our ward Christmas party the weekend before and they HATED Santa!!


Stedson & Treydon's visit with Santa in Casper

Kambria & Brielle with Santa..I love this picture of them!

This was their first visit with Santa at the Ward party.

We left for Star Valley on the 23rd and were able to stay for five days. The boys had some serious stranger danger issues, but finally warmed up when we were getting ready to leave. We had an awesome Christmas. We were surprised with an ipad on Christmas morning and I was moved to tears! :) We were soooo excited. The boys loved Christmas as well and had a lot of fun opening presents. It was nice to be home and spent time with my family.

Lindsay got the boys the cutest Broncos sweat suits for Christmas!




I stood in line on Black Friday to get this gun for Jase. He was so surprised!


SURPRISED by our ipads. :)

After spending time in Star Valley we went to Pegram for five days. The boys had warmed up a little to being around new people when we got there. We had a lot of fun. It's always refreshing to be home and be around our families and friends. The first of the trip I was so good at taking pictures and by the end I just didn't even think about it. Grandma & Grandpa Romrell got the boys some ride on four wheelers and they LOVE.



We are so grateful for Christ and his sacrifice in our behalf. We are truly blessed!

Halloween

We didn't do much for Halloween but we did dress the boys up. We took them to our ward Halloween party on the Saturday before Halloween and then took them to a few of the guys that Jase works with on Monday. They hated their costumes but they sure looked cute!

Stedson--little lion man

Treydon--monkey boy

S&T Turn One

On October 27th my precious little baby boys turned one! It was kind of an emotional day for this mommy. I can't believe that one year has already come and gone. It makes me so sad to think that they are already one! Last weekend my dad and Cara, and Grandma Pat came to visit for the weekend. We had so much fun with them! My sister Lindsay also came down from Buffalo on Saturday and we had a little mini party for the boys and let them open up some of their presents.






We had a cowboy birthday themed party for the boys. It was so much fun to plan this party! I found the cutest party package from Totfulmemories on etsy. She sent me an email with everything that she had designed, banners, invites, favor bags, choc wraps, water bottle labels, just so many things! Then I just printed everything out and put it together. It was a lot of fun, but oh so much work! :) I also got a hair brained idea to make horse cupcakes. They ended up looking a bit like dogs but they turned out ok!









True to their little personalities, Treydon immediately began digging into his cake, shoveling handfuls into his mouth. Stedson on the other hand watched Treydon for a minute, tasted a little of the frosting, looked at me to make sure it was ok, and then picked up the entire cake and started chomping! It was so adorable! It was so much fun to watch them make mess.






These two little guys are such a blessing in our lives. :)

The month of October has been a month of reflection for me. Since the first day of October I have thought about how different my life is now then it was one year ago. One year ago I was MISERABLE. One year ago, I had not yet experienced the joy of watching Stedson & Treydon giggle at each other. One year ago TODAY, our long journey of getting them here safely began. I can't help but think about where I was, one year ago today, lying in a hospital bed in Gillette, wondering if my babies were going to be ok. I have had numerous break downs this month thinking about my babies and the fact that in a few weeks they will be one. I can't believe how fast time has gone. Jase and I were talking about the day that they were born. I will never forget the events that transpired that day, and hearing their beautiful cries for the first time. From the day we got in Salt Lake, until the day we left, was one of the hardest months of my life. I remember thinking, is this ever going to end? Will I ever get to hold my baby whenever I want and snuggle with them? Looking back, it seems like such a small part of the last year. I love my boys so much. I don't know what I would do without them. They make me so happy. Sometimes I get frustrated with them, and sometimes I need 10 minutes away from them to maintain my sanity but I honestly, honestly don't know what I would do without them in my life. I am a better person because they are in my life. I don't know why Heavenly Father believed in me enough to send me not one but TWO babies, but I am so happy that he did. Some days are tough, I'm not going to lie. But when they look at me with such an insane amount of love in their eyes, it makes everything worth it.

I found this on Pinterest and I love it. I need to always remember it.

10 (almost 11) Months OLD!

My baby boys are 10 months old (almost 11!). Where has the time gone? They are growing up into little boys and it sure makes this mama sad. They can do so much now. They are getting more and more independent as well as becoming such great friends. It is so fun to sit and watch them play with each other. They are crawling all over the place. Literally. I can go to one end of the house and within minutes they are at my feet. Treydon is now walking. He looks so cute because he is so short and small. Stedson is really close to walking too. He has taken 6 or 7 steps. It's so cute. Their sudden mobility has brought much more chasing around for mommy but I love it. They play so well together. They are constantly chasing each other and playing peek-a-boo and laughing together. Here is a little about each of them:

Stedson, (SJ, Steds Baby, S-Man, Big Fella)
LOVES food. All food really. He turns into a hungry bird whenever there is food of any kind out and is begging until you give him a little. :) He loves Treydon and loves to be chased by Treydon. When you start singing "Patty Cake" he does all the motions....so cute! He is an awesome sleeper and would probably sleep 24/7 if it wasn't for Treydon constantly waking him up. He LOVES popcicles and cords and pretty much anything that isn't a toy. He gets super sensitive when he is tired and everything becomes super dramatic. He also loves to stand at the dishwasher and play while I unload/load it. He has two bottom teeth and two top teeth that haven't quite popped through yet. He loves water, bathtime, playing in the hose, if there is water you can count on him splashing up a storm! He is just such a sweet little boy. He has this shy little smile that just melts your heart.

Treydon (Trey dog, T-Dog, Trey, little guy)
Is a flirt. He is such a smiley, happy little guy whenever we are in public and gets all sort of attention. He loves being held and loves attention. He likes using Stedson to pull himself up and is constantly using Stedson's hair to balance while standing. He loves wrestling with his daddy. He turns into an grumpy bear when he has teeth coming up and sure loves cuddle time with his mommy. He is constantly getting into stuff he shouldn't and when I say "Treydon get out of that!" or "Treydon! Come here!" he turns and smiles at me and continues to cause mischief. He knows how to throw a tantrum when Stedson steals a toy or when you take something away from him. He is just such a happy boy and is constantly making us laugh. He gives awesome hugs and kisses!

They both love to be places they aren't supposed to be, the bathroom, our room, the dishwasher, the fridge. They are mischievous little suckers. Treydon has learned how to point the remote to the TV and change the Chanel. Sure doesn't make daddy happy when he is in the middle of a football game!

The first video is Treydon walking and the second one is them playing with the laundry basket!

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend my Grandma Hyde celebrated her 80th birthday. My mom threw a big surprise birthday party for her with all of my extended family, so we made the trip to Star Valley to be there for it. My Grandma is an extraordinary woman. She has been through so much in her 80 years of life! My Grandpa died at a young age and left her 6 young children to raise on her own. She is such a strong woman and such a great example to everyone in our family. One year ago she was diagnosed with colon cancer and she fought hard to beat it. As of right now she is cancer free! We are all so happy to have her in our lives and love her so much! There were 80 kids, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends in attendance. It was so fun to see some of cousins that I haven't seen in a very long time.


My mom made Grandma a beautiful quilt. She had every great-grandchild either draw Grandma a picture or draw their hand print on it. It turned out great.



Isn't the cake beautiful?





On Saturday we relaxed with my family and then went to Grandma & Grandpa Erickson's house for a bbq. That was the last time that we would see them for a year. They were called to serve in the Louisville, Kentucky mission and leave on Oct. 24.


On Sunday we went to church with my family, lasted through Sacrament meeting and then Treydon peed through everything so we had to go home. Jase was heartbroken. :)

The boys in their new church outfits.
On Sunday we said our goodbyes and left for Pegram. It was fun to spend some time with all of Jase's family Sunday night. Monday morning we went trap shooting. The boys did awesome! I was afraid that the sound of the gun going off would scare them but they actually did really well! It was a lot of fun!




After 5 poopy diapers, two screaming babies, one big puke, and locking Treydon in the truck with the keys inside, we FINALLY made it home. To be completely honest, I'm relieved we don't have to make that trip again for a few months. :)