Clean-up Time!

We recently took a trip to Ikea and bought a little something to reorganize Mason's toys:
And I clearly labeled all the boxes:
I think Rob may have been even more excited than I was with the way it turned out! It looks awesome if I do say so myself. haha :)

Future Missionary

Lately this is one of Mason's favorite past times...please watch to the end...despite the horrible singing... :)

January (Part Two)

Morgan William Stevens

Sunday, January 30th at 7am, Rob and I were at the hospital to start the process of bringing another one of God’s children to earth. There isn’t really a “story”; I was being induced so most of that day was spent playing the waiting game. About 8pm, though, I decided I was ready for an epidural. I was in sooo much pain, but my epi with Mason had hurt so badly that I kept putting it off. It was kind of a lose/lose situation in my eyes. I finally decided that the epi would only hurt for a short while and the labor pains may last for another 12 hours, so I called for the shot. When the anesthesiologist got there and was preparing my back I started to have a nervous break down. They gave me a pillow to hug to keep my hunched over and I buried my head in it and just started crying. Rob and the nurse had to keep telling me to breath because I was so nervous I was about to hyperventilate. I’m not a wuss; I’ve had shots my entire life, and they don’t bother me. But for some reason this just unnerved me to no end. The medical staff calmly told me several times exactly what was going to happen and what I was going to feel and I finally calmed down enough to get the shot. They had told me I may feel a kind of jolt-like feeling (like when you hit your funny bone), but they didn’t tell me not to move if I felt that. Well, I felt the jolt and my body automatically arched and the next thing I know the anesth(etc) and nurse are YELLING at me not to move. Loud yelling. “Don’t move! I have a GIANT needle in your back and I’m going to hit your spinal column!” etc, etc, etc. Well, it worked. I froze, and soon the ordeal was over and the anesthesiologist was out in the hall telling all the nurses how I made him crap his pants. I hate epidurals. Why can’t they be like any other shot? Anyway. I was at a 4.5 about the time I got the epi and by 12:30am he was ready to come. Morgan William Stevens was born at 12:50am, Jan. 31st. He was 8lbs 9oz, and 20 inches long. He wasn’t the giant baby my doctor and two peri’s had thought I was going to have (although he was still very large).

I had been nervous for several months now that I was not going to be able to love him like I love Mason, but I love him sooooooo much! More than I could have ever imagined. I can’t quit looking at him and cuddling him and talking to him. I’m slightly torn though because Mason does not understand why I can’t hold him like I used to. Last night Rob was taking him out for a walk and he was pulling on me to come but I had to feed the baby and he started to cry a little. After I got done feeding Morgan, Rob took Morgan and Mason and I went for a little walk together. He just held my finger in his hand and pointed at the moon and all the basketball standards and all the rocks and I felt a little sad that my time with just him had flown by so quickly, and that he would probably never remember that there was a time when it was just he and I. I love both of my boys so much though and feel I have been blessed beyond all expectations to have two such perfect little angels in my home. The selfish part of me never wants this part of life to end because right now they need me and love me and they are so innocent…but enough of me being emotional. I need to say "thank you" to my dear Mother-in-law and sister, Savannah, for watching Mason while we were in the hospital. Also, thank you to my wonderful mother for taking care of me, Morgan, Mason, our laundry, the food, etc our first few days home. I love you! Here are a few pics of Morgan and the fam. Thanks for reading!

January (Part One)…

…began with a funeral and ended with a birth. But first I should back up a couple of days. Rob and I dropped Mason off in Fillmore and spent our 4th anniversary in St. George. Rob was very kind and despite his hatred of sea food took me out to a sushi bar for dinner. We went shopping, went to the movies, and did a lot of eating; all without kids :) We had every intention of going to the temple, but that morning when we went out to the car we found our back tire flat to the ground. By the time we got it fixed it was too late to go; the last session for the year was at 11:20 that morning. The last day we went out to Snow Canyon and went hiking around. There are a lot of cool little hikes and things to see!

The day after we got back was Grandpa Matheson’s funeral. Aaron and June came down from Washington and it was fun to spend some time with them. The funeral was beautiful with each sibling and L. Tom Perry speaking.

June and Mason were a huge support to each other during this time…a time of them having to sit still in a church on a day other than Sunday…

The next Wednesday Rob and I had one of the most awesome opportunities ever: we got front row seats to the Jazz game! Rob’s work has box seats and 100 club seats which include a big, fancy buffet dinner, floor seats, and private half-time snacking. It’s so cool to be that close and hear the team members talking to each other and talking to the fans.

Unfortunately Mason had been sick that day and on our way home from SL we had to stop at an insta-care in Layton to find out what was wrong: diagnosis? Ear infection. I must say this was his first one ever, and he stayed quite calm despite not feeling well at all. And of course, Rob found something to laugh at while in a not so fun place:

Since I knew I may not make it to Fillmore for a while once the baby was born, Mason and I decided to take a trip one week. Other factors contributed to deciding to go down: my parents had a new bear (stuffed), a new kitty (alive), and my cousin’s funeral was that weekend. The kitty was a HUGE hit!…as was grandpa …and Mason’s belly-button…

Now we get to the end. At my prenatal appointment on the 24th my doctor started getting worried about how big the baby was getting. So, next thing I know I’m seeing a perinatologist (sp?) at Ogden Regional. He also tells me the baby is big and signs me up for an amniocentesis on Thursday to determine if the baby’s lungs are developed. I didn’t understand why I needed a huge needle in me if either way the doctor thought I needed to deliver the baby, so on Thursday (with the help of some friends :)) I was at Salt Lake regional getting a second opinion from another Peri. He also recommended being induced sometime that weekend. So, calls were made and it was decided I would go in 7am Sunday morning. We decided to dedicate the rest of that day and Friday and Saturday to having fun with Mason and doing the last things to get ready for baby. Since we were in SL we decided to go to the Living Aquarium. Mason had a BLAST touching the manta rays! He kept trying to climb in with them. We also saw penguins. Mason started yelling at them for no apparent reason; telling them what was what. I was laughing sooo hard. We also saw the biggest snake I have EVER seen, a 20 ft anaconda, eat a guinea pig. It was an awesome day! Friday we tried something new; we went to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. Holy cow I have never seen Mason move that much! He was constantly moving from toy to toy and place to place. It was such a hit that we bought a membership and have been four times since then…It is honestly the most fun place ever! If you have kids ages 1-10 you need to take them!

That afternoon we went to Logan to the movies and gossner’s cheese factory. We tried to watch Megamind, but Mason wasn’t in the mood to sit in a theater so we didn’t catch the last 20 minutes or so. That’s ok; this weekend was about Mason. Saturday we moved furniture and clothes around and packed bags. And here we transition to January Part Two.