Mister Jensen

Thanks Renae for taking a chance on me! Here's your sneak peek!

He's getting bigger

Spence had an appointment a week ago for his two month checkup. Too bad he was way past that. I am so bad at getting them in on time. His last appointment was at 7 weeks and for this one he was 2 months and ten days. So about ten weeks old. He weighed 13lbs 9 ounces (85%) and was 25 inches long (94th %). I need to find the pictures of the other three at this age posed on my couch the same way to compare. Anyway, I get that this isn't the most flattering pose and so I'll share this picture of my sweety pie. Ahhh! Don't you just want to kiss those little lips?

And this...
This is my new best friend. This blanket was made for Spencer by my good friend Deanna Clement, and it's magic. The first night I wrapped Spencer up in it he slept from 10:30pm until 5am. And he's done that for the 3 weeks since. I wondered why he didn't sleep as good as the other kids did. I think he was cold and Deanna solved that problem for me. Now, if I'd just go to bed when he does....

Volunteers Needed

My sweet friend let me experiment on her family. They were so great to work with. We fight for light here in the evenings in AZ, and her hubby had to work most of the day so we only had thirty minutes of light to try to get something. We ended up with some fun shots and I hope she was happy with them.

So...I've got a idea. Let me practice on you, your cutie pie, or your whole family. Now I can't guarantee anything - it might be a total bust. But I need the practice and you never know, we might get something great. Plus I'm pretty cheap. I work for cookies or trade right now. ;) Let me know if you're game.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

My sister Melissa did all the work and put this on her blog. When I watched it I bawled through the whole thing. So I stole it and I'm putting it up here.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I just spent a few days with my parents last week. They are truly wonderful people. As I have gotten older I have come to realize that the "perfect" parent doesn't exist. I used to hold them to that standard when I was younger. It's nice to be able to just love them for who they are and hope that they do that for you too. Thanks so much Mom and Dad for just being yourselves and loving my little family and trying to take care of us.

Spencer's Blessing Day

I know this is coming incredibly late, but I wanted to post it anyway.

Because our ward was reorganized and boundaries were redrawn the day we intended to bless Spencer, we had to do it at our home. It was nice...different, but nice. Darren and I each had our parents and a sister there with us that day. Our bishopric, home teachers, and visiting teacher came as well as a few friends. Because it was done in our home I was able to video it and I went back and typed up Spencer's blessing. Here are a few pictures from his special day as well as the words from the blessing given to him.
Spencer with our then bishop (for another hour), Bill Guttery.

One big happy family

Darren's parents, Jerry and Teressa Stewart

My parents, Marion and Shauna Wells

Our Father in Heaven,
By the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, we take this infant into our arms to give him a name and a blessing. The name that we give him that he will be known throughout this life and on the records of the church is Spencer Chase Stewart. At this time Spencer, we give you a blessing. We bless you with the power to fight the influences of Satan in this world. We bless you that you will have strength, that you will have confidence. We bless you that you will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We bless you that your body will be healthy and strong that it will be able to accomplish all of the tasks which your Heavenly Father has for you. We bless you with a sound mind that is able to reason, to think, and be able to learn. We bless you with a desire to learn, to study out the great things of this world; the scriptures, the prophets and the good books that have been written by many authors, that you will have the desire to know what is right and what is wrong and that you will develop yourself. We bless you as you continue to grow in this life, that you will have the desire to serve a mission. That you will be able to act on that desire - that you will serve. We bless you that you will have the desire to marry in the temple for all time and eternity and covenant with your eternal companion. We bless you to be happy; that you will remember, even when life is hard, that these are the times to be happy. We give you these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Two Months Old Already!!

This was last month...
This is today.

It's been a fun two months.

Can you tell who his barber was?

Can you see the remorse in his eyes? Pshaw...yah right!

People are always asking me

"Where did he get all of that hair?"Apparently it runs in the family! ;)

Me
My mother

You gotta love a baby with a head full of hair!

Can we talk about this?

I was looking through some old picture files and I came across these...WHAT HAPPENED?

Where did these two sweet little things go?
With cheeks like that surrounding me, you can see why I am a cheek squeezer.
Okay forget it... I can't talk about this...
Talk amongst yourselves...I'm getting vaklimped.
(PS. Mom, you're not going to get it...it's a generational thing.)

New Stats for Spence

Spencer had a doctor visit today (should have been his one month checkup). He's seven weeks old and has the following stats. Remember that seven weeks ago he was 9lbs 9oz and 21 inches long and at his week appointment he was 8lbs 12oz and 21 inches. Today my little man weighed 12lbs 6oz (81st percentile) and was 24 1/4 inches long (95th percentile). Gahh! He's getting bigger and has started to smile. Look at him hold his head up like a pro. I love this little guy!

Isn't it time for another slide show?

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More coming soon...

This isn't my baby

But isn't he cute? His momma made this beautiful cake for his 1st birthday and I stopped by to document it for them. You wouldn't know it from this picture, but little Preston HATED that cake. He was scared to death of it. But I'll let his mom tell the story. Just thought this picture was too cute not to share. More posts of MY baby coming soon.

And then there was Aunt Missy

My kids love Aunt Melissa. No, I mean they REALLY LOVE her. I think most days they would trade me in for her. She's just so great - seriously. She calls and talks to me and the kids as least twice a week. Who knows what they tell her when they take off with the phone for twenty minutes? Plus she's fun for me to have around too. That's why we were so excited when she called to say she was getting a flight down to see us. Darren and Alexia picked her up from the airport the morning of the 16th and we had three days with her all to ourselves. The kids swarmed her as soon as she walked in the door.When Melissa comes to my house, she doesn't just come to visit, she comes to live with us for the time that she is here, which really translates to her pitching in. While she was here she helped me clean my house, bathrooms, and do laundry. She helped me make bread and plant flowers. She bathed kids and helped them get ready for church. She even cleaned my microwave for me. Plus she held and smelled my baby the whole weekend. I'm trying to remember if she had anytime to relax the whole time she was here. We did sneak in a game of Ticket to Ride and dinner at Red Robin one night. She's the best! Come back soon Melissa! We already miss you!

Grandmas and Grandpas a Plenty

We have had so much fun with all of our visitors lately. Some of the fun of having a new little somebody is that all of the older somebodys come to visit. My parents came for four days and drove in just hours after we brought Spencer home from the hospital. My mom has been with me that first week home for each of my kids. She gives my kiddo's their first bath at home. She sleeps in the recliner next to the cradle while she is here and wakes me up to feed them, then rocks my babies back to sleep for me. She taught Alexia how to write her name when Parker was born. She taught Parker his colors when Elijah was born. She came to read stories and color pictures and help my kids adjust this time around too. She was wonderful! I don't think I changed more than one diaper the entire time she was here. This time she brought my dad, who obliged me and made my two favorite things that he cooks - burritos and Navajo tacos. So yummy!

My parents went home and a few days later our other set of grandparents drove up. Darren's parents stayed a few days with us as well. The kids just soak up the love and we all get spoiled when they come too. Teressa got her fill of soaking up the love as well. They came the weekend of conference so while the guys were at the priesthood session, she and I took the kids (and the stash of old bread I'd been collecting for a month) to the pond in a nearby neighborhood. Feeding the ducks was so fun for all of us. The huge fish in the nasty water got their fill of bread too. Elijah that close to the edge made me so nervous. I just knew that I'd be jumping into that cess pool to fish him out if we didn't keep an eye (and an hand) on him.Here is what Spencer was busy doing while we were throwing crumbs. You can tell he took his job (to keep an eye on the new diaper bag that grandma and mom had bought for just a few hours before) very seriously.

One month old today!

Just about a month ago it was like this..."Come out, come out where ever you are!"

This cute little giraffe had been waiting for this little guy for about a year and a half. Remember when I couldn't find Elly? I ended up asking a friend for hers. Then about a month later while killing time in Walgreens waiting for some perscriptions to be filled, I found another one and this giraffe was sitting right beside him just asking to be taken home for baby number four. At that point I wasn't sure there would be a baby number four, but the giraffe had to come home with me anyway.

He's found his buddy. The little boy who will slobber, chew, wipe snot, and leave kisses on him until he is plum worn out. He found him about a month ago. A month ago! I can't believe my baby boy is a month old now. It has been a sweet month for sure, filled with the feel and smell of a new little one. We love you Spence!

Happy Birthday Honey

I think the older he gets, the better he gets.

Darren with his FOUR kids and his plate of home made creme puffs on his 32nd birthday. He likes them with vanilla filling. Lexi and I like them with chocolate filling. Since it is his day we did it his way. Tomorrow I'll make a batch with chocolate - because I know these will be all gone by then - and I know we are gonna want more by then. These are a birthday tradition for Darren. He should have birthdays more often. :)

Look at all that hair!

This is pretty much the first thing people say when they see Spencer. Lexi has been begging me to put his hair into a mohawk. I told her today we would do a fauxhawk after his bath. Then I had to explain the difference to her. My dad would say that I put a curl in his hair. Then he'd lick his fingers and try and smooth it down. ;)
Let's talk about that onsie for a minute okay? When I had my first boy (six years ago) they did not have anything so cute. I was happy to have found a package that had a gray onsie alongside the two white ones. Now look how stinking cute the brown and blue stripe is. Good gravy! I almost don't want to cover it up with clothes.

PS. The fact that I just wrote the expression "good gravy" (not to mention that I say it all the time) is a testament that I am my mother's daughter. Although her silly sayings were things like "Stars and garders", "Oh my hemalonia" (seriously what does that mean?), or "BraRandHideAlen...Melissa! Whoever you are, come here for a minute." I never understood the listing of all names in the family until you got to the right one until I had more than two children. Now I TOTALLY get it! ;)

So I've decided...

...there is no better way to watch Conference than with a little munchkin sleeping on your chest. Seriously it doesn't get any better than this.
I love the newborn stage. Last night Darren was holding Spencer and I told him that he has changed so much in two weeks. Darren then said, "Yeah, he's growing up." And then I punched him.

Okay not really, but I thought about it. I told him not to use such filthy language in our home. He's two weeks old. He is NOT growing up. Let's not rush things okay?

So in two weeks I have observed the following about Spencer:
* He has Darren's nose.
* He has Alexia's eyes.
* He has Elijah's lips.
* He is a lazy eater and takes FOREVER to nurse. Did you know Little House on the Prairie is still on TV? At 4am?
* He has more sideburns at two weeks then his daddy does at 32 years.
* He poops.
* A LOT!
* He still has that new baby smell.
* He has stolen my heart.

In other news...My camera, Photoshop and I are loving having a baby around.