Chase's 1st Week

There is only one word to describe Chase...SWEET.

When Chase left the hospital he weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. and at his 1 week appointment he weighed 7 lbs. He has been sleeping so good at night only, waking up every 3 hours! Now that Gracie and Parker's cousins are gone they are paying lots of attention to him. Gracie loves to hold him for a long time, while Parker loves to hold him, but just for a minute. He is the sweetest little boy.

Family Fun!

Chase had fun meeting his Grandma and Grandpa Holgate and his cousins!

Grandpa and Chase

More Parker-isms!

7-14-09
Parker came in our room in the middle of the night crying of leg aches. He said, "Mom, I have leg aches, I think they're heart burn." (Hmmm....I wonder where he got that from! Haha!)

7-24-09
Parker and Gracie were playing. Parker comes to me and says, " Gracie told me you're ugly Parker. But I'm not I'm handsome."

8-15-09
This last week we had 2 of my nieces and 1 nephew staying with us. Kory (5 years old) has a blanket that he's rather attached to that is silk. He calls it his "silky." Well they left to go home a couple of days ago and yesterday Parker come's to me crying big tears telling me he wants a silky.

Me: "I don't have one Parker, so what would you like to do about it?"

Parker: "Do you have a silky machine?"

Me: "No."

Parker: "Grandma does. Will she sell it to me?"

Chase Michael Stephenson

Thursday, August 6, 2009 - 12:20 am - 6 lb. 13 oz. - 19 1/4 in.
The scoop:
It's a little sketchy when the labor began because I've felt like I've been in labor for 2 weeks. But if we're speaking about consistent HARD labor then it began about 3:00 pm on Wednesday, August 5th at the post office in Harrisburg. No, my water didn't break...thank heavens!! But I started having super hard contractions and basically shuffled my way out of the post office back to the van. I drove home and continued to have contractions any where from 1 to 5 minutes for the next hour and a half. During that time I packed my things, packed the kids things, cleaned up what I thought needed to be cleaned at the house, and waited for Phil to get home. Phil came home, seemingly panicked (he might tell you different, but I call it as I see it :) ), rushing around telling the kids and I to get in the car. I was calm and taking my time and ended up being the last one in the car. I was in horrible pain the entire way and dying at each bump we hit in the road. We dropped the kids off at our wonderful friends, the Miekle's and headed to the hospital. As luck would have it, we seemed to follow every slow driver on the road and hit every red light. Phil kept saying, "Is he coming, do you feel like you are going to push?!" Well, by the time we made it up to triage in OB, I thought I was going to die from the pain and I was throwing up. Everyone seemed to be as slow as a snail and in no hurry to get me any pain medication! I'm pretty sure I heard a couple of Phil's bones break in his fingers when I'd squeeze them! :) What seemed like an eternity later, I had finally answered the 1,000 questions they ask you and then they finally took me back to the birthing room and ran through the drill of IV, cords going everywhere, the exam, etc. Here's where you think I'm going to say I was dilated to a 9 and I had no time for an epidural. NOT! I was dilated to a 2 and only 50% thinned. WHAT THE HECK, YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?!...is pretty much what went through my head. At that point they gave me some pain medication which only helped for 15 minutes, then I had to wait another hour to get an epidural after that. Epidurals are a miracle is all I have to say. Most of the night the baby's heart beat was higher than the doctor or nurses wanted it to be and I had a fever. I could tell they were getting a little worried and we thought they might have to do a C section. Phil gave me a blessing and I know we were watched over. They kept monitoring the baby really closely and we fought through it. Well, 11:50 pm roles around and I was dilated to a 6. 20 minutes later I had already dilated to a 10! The doctor comes in, we waited for a contraction, one hard push and he was out!

I think the best moment of my life so far was when Gracie and Parker came in and saw our new baby for the first time, and seeing the expressions on their faces. They were glowing with excitement and love for their new little brother. They both fell in love with him instantly. Parker kept asking if he could keep him. I kept telling him, yes, we get to take him home and we can all keep him. He kept telling me no, that he just wanted to keep him for himself. When Gracie held him she had this glow in her eye and I knew and she knew at that moment that she was going to be the best big sister ever. Seeing our 3 children sitting there all together, meeting for the first time, is a moment that I will only experience once and that I will hold onto and cherrish forever. I love my family more than anything in this world!

Phil is such a good dad and took such good care of Gracie and Parker while I was in the hospital. They are so lucky to have him...and so am I!

We actually couldn't come up with a name for "The Baby" until yesterday morning before we came home from the hospital (about 55 hours after he was born). The names we had narrowed it down to at the time of his birth were Krew, Walker, and Landon. Chase wasn't even on our minds at that point. So for nearly 3 days we tried each of those names and none seemed to fit. So out of no where we brought back Chase and it just seemed to fit him.

My mom and dad and Gracie and Parker's cousins, Izzy, Emma and Kory got in the car the night I was in labor and drove 16 hours straight to come see the baby. We are so happy to have them here and be a part of the experience with us. They have been such a big help playing with the kids, cooking and doing whatever they can to help. I am certain that after they all leave, Chase will be able to sleep through anything!

Chase is such a huge blessing to our family. We love him more than words can express.

A mothers wisdom...

This morning I asked Gracie to pick up a few things she had out in her room. She reacted by complaining, huffing and puffing, saying no body ever helps me pick up, and so on and so on.

So I said to her that I know how we can solve this problem. I told her I could take away all her toys and then she'd never have to worry about picking anything up. Then she told me that she'd have to complain because there would be nothing to play with.

Well, I took some time this morning to read some uplifting stories and thoughts...and this is what I came across.

"What you are supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain."

I decided to share this wisdom with Gracie...here's how it went...

Me: "Gracie, what you should do when you don't like something is change it, and if you can't change it, then change the way you think about it. But don't complain."

Gracie: (scrunched up face, shaking her head, clearly showing she had no clue what I had just said, turns around and walks the other way, and says with attitude...) "That makes no sense."

Well, she didn't understand my wisdom (or someone else's)....yet....BUT at least my frustration turned into a good laugh.

Another Dose of Parker-isms!

By the way, something funny about Parker (mostly for me to remember in the future)... his favorite number is 29. Everything that has something to do with a number, an amount, or anything like that, Parker ALWAYS says 29. It really is hysterical when you hear how often he uses it.

5-28-09
Parker's prayer:
"I won't hit Gracie for 29 days...but my arms just keep hitting her."

6-9-09
Gracie comes up stairs with lip gloss on, dressed, and hair done by herself...

Parker says, "Gracie, I love your style!"

Mandi: (laughing)...

Parker: "No, I'm serious, I love your style!"

7-4-09
At the 4th of July BBQ, Parker was over eating his dinner at a different table than Phil and I. He came over to us and said, "I'm done eating all my dinner...but don't come look, k?"

7-5-09
Parker has gotten into this gross habit of playing with his spit in his mouth (which absolutely drives me nuts!).
So there he was playing with his spit, so I told him to stop. He says to me, " Jesus made me that way and so I can't help it."

Gracie, Gracie

(Gracie jumping on the tramp.)

So the other day I'm doing Gracie's hair and I notice a big chunk of hair that looks like it's been cut and is 6 or so inches shorter than the rest of her hair. So like any mom, I asked her if she knew what happened to her hair. She assured me she had no idea. I don't know why, but at the time I didn't question her any more...I actually believed her.

A couple days later I was holding one of those little battery operated foam fans, cooling off my face, and apparently getting it a little too close to my hair for Gracie's liking. She kept telling me, "Mom, don't get that fan so close to your hair because it could get tangled in it!"

A couple days later I was helping her re-organize her room and I came across something quite interesting in her closet, hidden behind some things.

(The quarter is to help show the size of the chunk of hair.)

Of course I asked Gracie what it was. She started bawling and saying, "I'm too scared to tell you, you'll get mad at me!" That went on and on and on until I finally persuaded her that I was not going to get mad at her. She explained to me that she was cooling herself off with that same little foam fan and her hair got tangled in it really bad. She thought I would get mad if I found out so she took the liberty of getting the scissors and cutting it out herself. Only thing, she cut way more hair than necessary!

4TH OF JULY

We started out our morning with a yummy breakfast at the church, along with a few pioneer games. Later in the day we went to a BBQ at another members house here in Harrisburg. The Wilcox's throw a big 4th of July BBQ every year with a competitive bean bag throwing tournament. There was a ton of people there and they had a poster with the break down of the bean bag throwing teams and the different tiers of the winners all the way down to the champions. By the way, the tournament was for the adults, not the kids! Phil and I loved it because we are both so competitive! Unfortunately we didn't have beginners luck. After the BBQ we went over to Harrisburg Liberty School for fireworks. By the way, Harrisburg is actually a very small town in the country, just south of Sioux Falls with a few thousand people (and those few thousand people are very spread out). As we were waiting for the fireworks we watched the fireflies and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. The kids played with their glow-in-the-dark bracelets and Phil and I (the kids were too scared) wrote our names in the air with sparklers and threw "Pop Its." I couldn't believe that Gracie and Parker were so scared of the sparklers and the "Pop Its!" (To their credit, the next night at our house Parker did the sparklers and they both did the "Pop Its.") The fireworks were an enjoyable 15 minutes of one firework at a time! :) No really, even though they were short, it was just a fun experience to be in our new little small town and with our little family. Gracie and Parker were afraid of the fireworks being too loud so they plugged their ears the whole time. Funny little kids they are! It was interesting because I talked to my mom and dad on the phone that night and they were at the fireworks with my siblings, nieces and nephews, and with several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have some great memories of watching fireworks with so much family, but I really do love and enjoy every second and memory that I get to have with my husband and kids. Our little family has experienced so much growth just being on our own.

505 Honeysuckle Drive!

Doesn't that address have a nice ring to it?! It's nice because it was so easy for the kids to learn.

Well we made it here, to Harrisburg (Souix Falls), South Dakota!

Events:
Phil's mom and dad came to Mesa to help us pack the truck, clean the house, and make the move.
Saturday, 5-30-09:
We had 14 guys from our ward come help pack the moving truck. We are so thankful to all of them! All the guys couldn't get over how organized Phil was. Phil and I had everything packed in boxes and then Phil moved all the boxes to the garage and organized them from heaviest to lightest in the order which they'd be placed in the truck. They were all done packing a 26 foot truck in 50 minutes. (The best part is nothing was even broke when we arrived to SD!) Several guys came up to me the next day at church and said that was the easiest move they've ever done. Way to go Phil for being so organized...THANK YOU!
The rest of the day we cleaned the house. We could not have gotten it done without Phil's mom and dad. They did soooo much to help us. I'm ashamed to say they even scrubbed our tile floor on their hands and knees. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Phil and his dad took off the next morning for the 3 day long journey. Phil's mom and the kids and I stayed at Dennis and John's house until Tuesday when the kids and I flew into Sioux Falls and Phil's mom drove back to St. George. We had so much fun with Grandma Stephenson for those 3 days!
Phil drove the 26 foot truck pulling the civic behind and Phil's dad drove the van with the joy of chauffeuring Oscar. Thank goodness that the vehicles ran good for them and the only problem they had was Oscar getting sick and throwing up in the van on Phil's suit and in the hotel room several times.
Phil and Grandpa Stephenson picked the kids and I up at the airport and drove us to our new home.
The kids LOVED it! The house is literally double the size of our home in Mesa, so needless to say we are loving the space!
Phil's dad stuck around until Thursday and helped Phil put all the furniture together and do a ton of the big stuff that needed to get done. He nearly worked himself to death! Thank you Dad, we couldn't have done it without you!
2 days later my parents drove out to see the new place and help us put everything together. Phil and my dad worked their guts out putting up a fence in our yard while my mom and I worked our guts out shopping for decorations! :) I know, doesn't hardly seem fair! In all honesty though, I think we were nearly just as tired as they were! You ladies that read this can understand the exhaustion that comes with shopping! :) My parents worked so hard around here helping us build things, hook things up, unpack, decorate, play with kids...you name it! Thank you so much Mom and Dad! We would have spent months doing what you helped us to do in days.
We have pretty much gotten the house all together, making it feel like home. We have also gotten to know the Sioux Falls area, made some neighbor friends, and are adjusting to a new ward and making new friends there.
The day after we got here Gracie and Parker saw some kids outside playing and immediately ran out there to make some friends. There are so many kids in this neighborhood so needless to say Gracie and Parker are in Heaven! They have made some great friends their age and are constantly begging to play with them. Gracie has already staked out a little boyfriend named Will, across the street. She loves getting all dazzled up before going out to play with him. Phil and I just roll our eyes and take deep breaths. This girl is boy crazy! 3 words...IT KILLS ME!
The neighborhood feels so safe. We can let the kids go out front and play in our yard or the neighbors' yards and feel safe just randomly checking on them every little bit.
Oh, how could I forget to mention the weather! For the first 2 weeks we were here the temperature was around 55 - 65 degrees during the day. That is a 50 degree drop from where we just were! We were seriously freezing. Out of those 2 weeks I bet we saw the sun 2 days. Even 3 weeks into being here it has rained for 3/4 of the time. The weather did finally warm up, but we are back to some serious humidity! Lot's of adjusting to do! :)
Here are just a few pictures...
(I regret not getting any pictures of Phil's mom and dad...in my defense, the cameras were packed. But still, it makes me sad we didn't get any.)


Some beautiful flowers in our yard.


Phil and my dad putting up the fence. The ground was made of hard-as-a-rock clay. The job ended up being much harder than planned. They did such a great job!


Gracie, hard at work! The final product!


Poor little Oscar...totally exhausted from all that digging! Haha! Grandma Holgate and Gracie working hard to get the decorations put up.


We love grandparents!

WE NEED BABY BOY NAME IDEAS!

We beg of you please give us some ideas for boy names!

If this baby happened to come early, he seriously would not have a name! We are throwing around a few ideas, but honestly nothing really seems to fit or feel like "Yes, that's it!"

We are looking for a name that is solid, unique but not far out there, that he will be the only one with that name in his classes and not have every 5th boy with the same name...so not way common, but not completely made up. (I know some of our choices on the poll are common, but that's because we can't come up with anything else!)

I put a poll on the sidebar of our blog that we'd love for you to respond to. Just pick your favorite name. If you don't like any or you have suggestions then please comment and let us know! :)

For kicks, I'll add a 2nd poll with the names that either Phil or I came up with, but the other can't stand!

Signed,
Desperate

Parker's Preschool Graduation

Parker graduated from preschool today....well at least for this year. He still has one more year of preschool, but this is his last year with Miss Alisha. :( We love Miss Alisha and are so grateful for all that she has taught Parker. Graduation was so fun! They said the Pledge of Allegiance, sang Macarana Months and Days of the week, signed the alphabet, recited some nursery rhymes, and received an amazing book of accomplishments they've made throughout the year. Miss Alisha said something positive about each kid in her classes. She said that Parker is loyal because he will stick up for his friends no matter what and he always makes sure his friends are okay and taken care of. I think on the flip side of that, it could mean if you aren't his friend, then watch out! :) We are proud of you Parker! You have grown so much this year!

Last Day of Kindergarten

Gracie has had one awesome year in kindergarten! We are blown away at how much she has learned! Gracie was doing so well in school early in the year that she was chosen to be one of a few kids in the early readers program. She reads books to us every day! She is also learning math already! Gracie's teacher, Mrs. Weinerth is the most amazing teacher ever! We love her so much! She has really set the bar high for all the teachers that will follow her. Gracie has been crying for days because she doesn't want to leave Mrs. Weinerth. When I picked Gracie up on the last day she was sobbing! Of course I joined her!
Way to go Gracie!

Tornado Alley!

Phil went back to Kirksville, Missouri for graduation this week. I was to come on Friday for graduation on Saturday, but Phil had to go on Wednesday for meetings, interviews and tests before graduation.

He hadn't been there an hour... He was at our friends house when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. They all headed down into Bobby and Katherine's basement until they heard the wind pass. When they went outside, they saw the damage from the tornado that hit their neighborhood! We lived there 2 years and no tornado. He goes back for 5 days and a tornado hits! The damage was unreal! He and some of his medical school buddies helped neighbors move what was left of their possessions from the top floor of the roofless house down to the basement. They picked up broken tree branches all over the neighborhood and cleaned up as much as they could with the few hours left of light they had.

When I got to Kirksville we drove around the neighborhoods that were hit by the tornado and took pictures. It was so surreal! My heart just breaks for these poor families.

Gracie is 6!

We can't believe that our baby girl is 6 years old! We tried to stop her, but she wouldn't let us! Gracie is the most amazing little girl I've ever known! We couldn't be more proud of her and who she is becoming.

Unfortunately Phil and I were in Kirksville for graduation on Gracie's birthday, so we celebrated earlier in the week. Before Gracie left for school she opened up her presents. Then Phil, Parker, and I surprised her and took her a happy meal and ate lunch with her at school. We brought her balloons when we picked her up from school. Then she had her dance recital. After that we went to Peter Piper Pizza and ate and played. Then we went home and had birthday cake and ice cream. We had so much fun celebrating with you Gracie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!

Dr. Phil Stephenson

HE DID IT! After 4 insane years of grueling medical school, Phil graduated! I can't believe it is finally over! To say that I am so proud of him would be an understatement. Phil has worked so hard studying and doing fantastic in his classes and rotations as well as making time for his family. Even in the most stressful times when we didn't see much of him, he did his best to spend time with us and make us feel loved. He is an amazing husband, father, AND doctor!!! Thank you for working so hard for our family, Phil! We are proud of you! We love you! Congratulations!