Baby Blessing

Well, here is a picture of our adorable boy after being blessed! We decided to bless him on a Saturday at the Stake Center because our family is too big and wouldn't fit in our house. So, this was the logical solution. I highly recommend doing it this way! Much easier!
Here is daddy and son! Tucker was way fussy before he was blessed but when James started blessing him, he quieted down! It was amazing! James did such a good job and I am so blessed to have the priesthood in our home!
The blanket that Tucker is wrapped in was crocheted by James' grandma before she passed last summer. It was the last one she did I think. VERY special! And his outfit was the same one both his cousins on my side wore! (It barely fit because he such a chunk!)
Here is a pic of me, my dad, my mom, Tucker, James dad, James mom, and James
The four generation picture. My dad, my grandpa, James and Tucker! How special! The last living Great Grandparent on both sides!

The day turned out great! We are so blessed to be surrounded by awesome family and friends! We wish ALL the family could have been there to celebrate with us! We felt their love and support though. I have to say though, I am glad we only have to do this every few years because it becomes quite the project organizing it! So...until next time...

Update

Tucker:

So Tucker is now over 2 months! Time really does fly! At his 2 month appointment back on the 10th, he weighed just shy of 14lbs. He is our chunky monkey! Chubby babies are the cutest though, right? We love every roll! The only thing the dr. mentioned was that he was favoring his right side (which we already knew) so we have to try to have him use the left side more or he will have to be fitted for a helmet. We DON'T want that to happen! They are super expensive he said. Not mention they look incredibly uncomfortable.

Seeing him do more things is so exciting. He actually likes his tummy time which I am grateful for. I think it helps with his reflux a little because he toots like crazy when he is on his belly. He is getting better coordinated with his hands. He will hold his hand in a fist in front of his face, slowly stick his thumb out, then slowly move it towards his mouth and he'll go cross-eyed watching it move closer to his mouth. He loves watching the ceiling fan. It is very calming for him. He LOVES the big boy swing while watching Backyardigans. In fact, that's what he's doing right now. We are loving watching him grow and learn new things.

James:

Our ward split about 2 weeks ago because our previous ward was massive. I am actually glad for this since I couldn't keep track of everyone and I felt like a needle in a haystack. But because of this, there are a bunch of callings to fill. When James got a call from the Stake, he was worried. It turned out not being so bad. He was called to the Asst. Ward Clerk. There are 2 Asst. Ward clerks and he is the one in charge of membership. I think he is actually a little excited about it.

Other than that, nothing is really new for James. He is still working out at the Micron plant in Lehi doing carpentry. He is hoping to start finishing up our basement sometime this year. I am excited for that! We need that extra living space.

Brittanie:

Well, like I said before, our ward split, meaning new callings. When I got the call from the 1st counseler I was thinking Primary teacher. So when he said "Relief Society Instructor", my jaw dropped...ask James! I still don't know how I feel about it, but ready or not, here I go! So me and this man that I posted a pic of are going to become acquainted. This is George Albert Smith and I hope he is good to me. haha.

Besides that bombshell of news, I am just enjoying my time with Tucker. I have thrown a couple baby showers, got a lot of things done that were on my list, have hung out with my family a bit...currently I am planning Tucker's blessing that is on Saturday. Unfortunetly I have to go back to work on Monday. I am only part time but I have to work 5 days a week. Which is good for babysitting since I won't need a sitter for more than like an hour right now. But it's just a pain I have to drive there 5 times a week. Could be worse though=)

Well, there is the Stevens family update. We will keep you posted when more things happen. And I will post more pics of Tucker once our computer is completely set up.

Our exciting Valentines

Valentine's day for us isn't a big deal. I'm not a fan of spending money on flowers, chocolates, etc....call me practical. Luckily James found me because he has the same philosophy and I know most women aren't ok with it. James doesn't hate the holiday, he just says it's a dumb holiday cuz it's pretty sad that there is 1 day a year to show love to your special someone. I completely agree! I would rather have the love spred out throughout the year than put into just one day. Don't get me wrong, I get why people love the holiday, but for James and me, it's really just another day.
So, let me tell you what we did on Valentines day...and let me remind you like I remind James, he is lucky to have found me cuz most women wouldn't have enjoyed this for Valentines. He got home from work, we went to the Mac Store and bought a Mac Mini with our state tax return money becuase our old Mac Mini died and we need to store all of our pictures somewhere (especially since we are taking so many of Tucker!). Then we called into Cafe Rio and picked up our food and went home and watched our TV shows we recorded. Haha. And I loved every minute=) Spending the night with 2 of my favorite men...can't get better than that! I love them both so much!
The only thing that is consistant with Valentines Day is the single red rose I get from my dad every year! It's the only flower I get all year and I am ok with that! I love my dad and am grateful for this tradition! Thanks dad!
I hope all of your guys' Valentines Day was as great as mine=)

Jekyll and Hyde baby

So we must have a bipolar baby. Actually, I have heard many people share the same opinions on this. Tucker will be the perfect baby for like a week and a half....he will sleep from 10p.m.-6a.m. then we feed him and put him back down and he wakes up at 10a.m. Then the rest of the day he is a happy baby, smiling and cooing and just content. THEN, after about a week and a half his evil twin appears! Yes, he still sleeps through the night and until 10a.m., which I am SOOO GRATEFUL for since most parents don't get that! But, he just constantly fusses from 10am. to 10p.m. except when he is eating. He will refuse to nap NO MATTER what we do or try! And when he does fall asleep, it's just for like 15 minutes and he will wake up in a full on scream with no warning! It is the craziest thing! Well, that has been my past week until today! Heavenly Father must have known I was going insane cuz the cycle broke and I have my happy baby back! My sanity is back, I can actually get stuff done and I know it was just a phase and I did everything I could to keep him happy.
Let's pray this won't happen again in another week and a half! Cross your fingers! Hopefully this is helpful for you new moms out there.

Phone Photos

We finally got some of the pictures from my phone downloaded to the computer. Here are some of them. They aren't in any particular order. You can tell though how much he has grown by looking at the pics! I love it!

This picutre is Tucker smiling for pretty much the first time on purpose. AND...it just so happened to be on James' birthday last Thursday! I immediately texted James the pic as a b-day surprise! SO CUTE! He still hasn't gotten the complete hang of it, but he is getting there! BRING ON THE GIGGLES! I can't wait=)
Mack LOVES Tucker and likes to cuddle with him...supervised obviously.
Tucker testing out the Bumbo

Now this picture look at Tuckers hand. haha. It looks like he is flipping James off so we had to get a pic. It's funny cuz James had just gotten home from the Jazz game and we were joking that Tucker was going to be mad cuz he was leaving him for the night. Well, Tucker must have really been mad=)
Here is a pic with his binky...that was short lived. He really won't take one anymore, he is finding his thumb which I really didn't want before, now I don't mind the idea. At least I won't have to go in and put a binky back in his mouth when it pops out. At least he will have 24/7 access to his thumb...which is good and bad.
This is Tucker's first day of church. We just went to sacrament and he stayed in his carseat covered the entire time, but still, his first day of church=) I love his little tie onesie! Perfect for a baby going to church!
Another pic of Mack cuddling with Tucker.
Poor baby scratched his cheek under his eye...so, mittens were a must!

Rough couple of days

So, our perfect little boy hasn't been so perfect the past few days! He is like a different baby. Yes, we are blessed to have him sleep from 9:30p.m. to around 6a.m. then we just feed him and he sleeps until 9 or 10am. So we realize that we are very lucky to have that time to sleep. BUT...the past few days he won't sleep at all during the day even though he is so incredibly tired! It is the weirdest thing. He screams and does his tired cry, and even if we do get him to sleep, once we put him in his crib, 10 minutes later he is up screaming again. We are at a loss! We thought it was him being backed up cuz we switched his formula and his poops were a little on the harder side, but that has passed now and he just cries non stop if he isn't eating. We are thinking of switching him back to the formula we had him on before because this is getting ridiculous! We don't think it's anything serious because he does sleep so good during the night. We think that if it was something serious it would be all the time, day or night. So, if anyone has any suggestions for me, I would much appreciate it! Mine and James' sanity would much appreciate it as well=)

Lists...

I don't know about all of you, but I am a list fanatic! I make a list for everything! My "To do list for the week", my "To do list for today", my "To do list before I go back to work" my lists for what I have to get at the store....you get the idea. I have learned that since I have had Tucker, my memory is more 'flighty' than normal so these lists are more essential now because I will really forget if I don't right things down!

I love keeping lists too because it is such a great feeling to cross one of them off. Unfortunetly when I cross one off, one more seems to appear on the list! Is it only me who feels like this?

My goal this year is to enjoy every second with my son, but when he is sleeping....work on my lists that are growing! Today I have officially marked one thing off my list...start the refinancing process on our house!

One thing down, 23 more to go...wish me luck!

1 Month Photo Shoot

So I don't really know how to post lots of pics very well on the blog so sorry for it being so scattered.
Yesterday we went to Fotofly and got Tucker's 1 month pics done and got some family one's while we were at it too. They turned out pretty good! I would highly recommend getting them done around 2 weeks and not 1 month for all you new moms. I tried to do it at 2 weeks but they were COMPETELY booked cuz of the holiday. Anyways, here are some of them!

I found this beanie and had to get it because it was BYU colors and thought James would like it.

This cute little onesie was given to him from his Aunt Amelia. It turned out SO cute!

First Christmas down

So these are a little out of order since I don't have this blogging thing down quite yet. Here is our family Christmas pic. As you can see, James once again looks SOO enthused to be getting his picture taken! haha

Every Christmas Eve the Stevens get together and act out the nativity. This year the family had a baby boy to play baby Jesus...Tucker! Tucker did a great job and did everything he was told to do...just lay there and be quiet!

Elliott was Joseph and Grace was Mary

Our first real venture out with Tucker was to the Santa Party with the Stevens. Here are some pics from that. Tucker didn't freak out this year when it was his turn since he was too young really, we will see what happens next year though=)

Grandma Mardeen with Tucker

I think that my Grandpa is getting the hang of holding a baby. I am so grateful he has the opportunity to meet Tucker and hold him!
Tucker was all "tuckered" out by the end of the day. (Sorry...I couldn't resist not using that phrase!) It really didn't FEEL like Christmas to be honest since it was sunny and has been super chaotic the past couple weeks. We saw numerous people riding around on motorcycles! Really? It's Christmas! That's crazy! Next year will hopefully feel more like Christmas with Tucker being older and hopefully snow on the ground. I was just glad to be with family=) I hope everyone else had a great Christmas like we did=)

He's HERE!

Well, he's here! I had a feeling I would deliver early, but EVERYONE kept saying since it was my first and it was a boy, he would come later. Well, on Saturday the 10th at 1:30am I had to go to the bathroom. Well, lucky me my water broke there! That was my fear was that my water was going to break in a public place. It was funny cuz I told James before we went to bed to not be surprised if I wake him up telling him it was time to go to the hospital. He just laughed it off=) So, once I told him he showered and shaved since contractions hadn't really began.

We got to the hospital around 2:45am and I was dilated to a 3. It stayed that way for a few hours. Then they started pitocin. I got the epidural a few hours after we got to the hospital. I think it was around 10am. It took Dr. Johnson 3 TIMES to get it somewhat right with the epidural! So I was in the uncomfortable position for like 2 hours waiting for him to get it right! My neck hurt soooo bad! Plus, having contractions while he was trying to make it work, not a whole lot of fun! He said it was the hardest one he's had to do it 20 years! I was SOO glad to be the lucky one to have to endure that=)

Then when they checked me at 2pm I was dilated to a 4. Then at 4pm I was dilated to a 10! I was shocked but happy! I pushed for about 1&1/2 hours with the nurse and James and then Dr. England came in and about 20 minutes later he was here! I was shocked! I thought the head had just come out so I was ready to push again and then Dr. England just set him on my chest! I was shocked, then cried! It was awesome!

Both our parents were in the waiting room so after about 45 minutes of just "us" time, James went out and was crying I guess. So cute! I love that man!

So, after the hospital we came home and WHAM, you are parents! Good luck! The first couple days were great! My only issue really was we had to put him on formula until I got the breastfeeding thing figured out. Best decision! I was an emotional wreck cuz I was worried he wasn't getting enough to eat, but once we changed to formula, a weight lifted off my shoulders and I could focus on other things. Then I saw a lactation specialist and she helped me with the pumping, etc. So, I am feeling a lot more confident now=)

Well, now that you have the whole story, whether you wanted to hear it or not, here are some of my favorite pics.


Here is a pic oof Tucker after his first bath at home! HE loves just hanging out under the running water!
CUTEST PIC of James cuddling with his son

James caught this cute pic of him smiling while he was sleeping. ADORAbLE!

At the hospital with the little man

Me and my boy!

I will have to post after Christmas and show some cute pics of his first Christmas. Have a good holiday, I know we will!

The FINAL touch

Well, the baby's room is FINALLY complete! The vinyl lettering is all up and it looks AWESOME! If you notice as well, I hung up orange vinyl construction trucks as well randomly all around the room. I am very pleased with how it turned out! Now all we need is Tucker to arrive to enjoy the room we worked so hard on=)

About that....I have been told MANY times that I should expect to go over my due date since it's my first baby and it's a boy. Well folks, I honestly think I will go before that. We will see though. I could be eating my words when Decemeber 19th rolls around, but with all my symptoms that have been happening, I think he will be here sooner. I will keep you posted though=)

The Tradition Continues

So let me start by telling you who the Overby's are. They are the family that has lived next to my parents house for probably 37 year or so. Not only are our families extremely close, my mom and Sheila look more like sisters than with their own sisters! It's pretty crazy how much they look alike. When we were younger we would get them confused now the grandkids get them confused!

Anyways, every time a new Twilight movie comes out, all the women from both families go to dinner and then go to the movie. This is exactly what we did Saturday. We headed to Red Robin and then saw the movie. It was definitely a typical cheesy Twilight movie, but all in all, it was entertaining. Here are some pics of dinner. The younger Overby grandkids went and saw Hugo while we went to Breaking Dawn.

The Sailor girls minus Heidi. She met up with us later for the movie. Jody, Sara, mom, me

Stacy(pregnant), Jody and Sara


Mom, me(pregnant), Tracy(pregnant), and Traci (yes, 2 Tracy's in one family...very confusing!)
Sheila, Jen and Marcy. It was great having Marcy there since we don't see her very much since she lives in Idaho.

The 5 younger girls who went and saw Hugo. Taelyr, Sadie, Kaylee, Callie, Breonna

Well, we will have to wait until Part II comes out now. Then we are still going to continue the tradition and go and see the Hunger Games movies which look AMAZING!

Pregnancy thoughts

So I have been thinking about what else I could post since I really don't want to post pictures that have me in them since I have been feeling super huge. So, I figured I would post some thoughts about pregnancy that I have discovered over the past 8 months.

Today I actually called my doctor's office just wondering if it was normal to all of a sudden swell like crazy! I have been swollen, but NOTHING like this! I was at work on Saturday and that was when it all hit really hard. It was like nothing I have seen before! It looked like I had 2 sprained ankles! I wouldn't have been so concerned if it had been a gradual thing, but it came on so sudden. So I called the dr. office to see if this was normal and because of a couple of other factors, they sent me to labor and delivery to get checked out. After a couple hours, all is good. THANK GOODNESS! So, I will just know that sprained looking ankles will just be there for the remaining 5 weeks...lucky me.

Braxton Hicks contractions are a very weird experience as well. They don't hurt me, just SUPER uncomfortable. It took me a while to realize that it really was Braxton Hicks, but now I get them all the time it seems. I suppose it's a good thing since it's getting me ready for labor.

Most women that I talk to get really bad heart burn during pregnancy, not me. I just get acid reflux which is more annoying than anything. I was not warned about this. It is a good thing for omeprazole and tums!

The waddling. Need I say more? People at work make fun of me because I waddle. I am not aware I am doing it, it just happens! I have to admit though, it helps my back so it doesn't hurt as bad.

One thing with this pregnancy that I am grateful for is the fact that I am the most pregnant during the winter. I am hot ALL THE TIME! I have a new found respect for women who are the most pregnant in the summer!

I decided not to take any pregnancy classes because I feel like I know enough about labor. I don't want to know ALL the details, but I feel like I know enough to feel comfortable delivering a baby. Now breastfeeding, that's a little different. That's the one aspect that I feel is a little bit more foreign to me. So, with my best friend Annie by my side, I went to the breastfeeding class last night. I am grateful I did it because it was very educational and I feel more comfortable for what's ahead.

So, there are some of my thoughts on pregnancy that I have experienced over the past 8 months. Even though this last month is going to be rough physically, we are so ready to meet Tucker and have our family grow by 1 more. Let's hope it goes quick and smoothly=)

Updated room...but not all the way complete

So I realize it has been a while since I last posted so I thought I would post some pics of how the room is coming along. It is pretty much done except hanging things on the walls. I thought everything has come out awesome! Thanks to James making the crib and changing table and his mom making all the bedding and my sister giving me the glider that matches perfectly! In this pic you can see the bumpers that my mother in law made and the bed skirt.

She also made cute bumpers for the changing table to match! That was actually James' idea! Good thinking babe!

And to my surprise, she whipped together the diaper holder! I was planning on making it and she was in Manti and happened to have the pattern so she just made it! Total surprise to me! I love it! Way better than how mine would have turned out! And my sister Sara made this awesome rag quilt that matches perfectly!! Good job sis!



So, my bags are packed, the room is pretty much ready, now all we need is Tucker=) Only 5 weeks left and trust me...I am counting! This week my body is REALLY feeling this pregnancy and work is getting a little more rough. But, I know I need to enjoy the quiet while I can, so that's what I am doing. And thanks to James for stepping it up with the household stuff cuz I just don't have the energy or the physically capability to do it! Can I really do this pregnancy thing a few more times? We will see.....