Utah Bound....and Back Again

Jonas' Blessing Day

Well, we had a great time in Utah the past week! We did so many fun things. We were able to get all sides of the family and lots of great friends together to bless Baby Jonas on Saturday the 12th. He was so good and Devin did a great job. It was so much fun to spend time with our families and friends and we are so thankful that they were able to share this special day with us.
After the blessing, Devin had to come back to Maryland so he could work :( It was no fun to have him gone. Jonas and I went to Yellowstone with my family over UEA weekend. It was lots of fun! Jonas was pretty good, even though he got really, really tired of his carseat!! We saw lots of fun animals, stayed in a really nice cabin, ate good food and just had lots of fun. It was a little chilly, so we had to stay bundled up pretty good. All of my sisters were great helpers and they loved holding Jonas whenever they could. He didn't like his coat (its just a little bit big still), and his hat made him mad when it covered his eyes.
On our way home from Yellowstone we stopped at Bear World in Rexburg. It was so much FUN!! We saw the bears run to the feedtruck to get donuts, these little baby cubs were playing and fighting, my sister Taryn got attacked by a deer, we fed the ducks and Jonas got his very first stuffed bear named Baby Ben. I had so much fun on the drive home making my sisters laugh and driving my dad crazy. It was great trip and I can't wait for next time!

All in all it was such a great trip! We always have fun when we go "home", and this time was no different. I can't wait for Christmas!!

Jonas is 2 Months!

We went to see our new Doctor last week. She was AWESOME! I liked her about 100% better than the first pediatrician!  She was great. The office staff was great. The whole thing was.....GREAT! The only bad part was that the little guy had to get shots. Seriously who do those nurses practice on? She just shoved that needle into his little leg and she didn't care that he was screaming! Maybe I was a little more emotional than necessary, but I felt so bad for him. He survived with only a runny nose, so I guess I should get over it. We have to do it next time too. Yea!

Yes, he's almost doubled his birth weight. Way to go buddy!

Oh, I'm so embarrased. :)

How cute is he?

Play Group

Jonas and I joined the "ward play group" on an outing to the National Zoo. It was such a BIG zoo and there was a lot to see. According to the girls I went with, we didn't see even half of it! There were 9 adults and 11 kids on the day we went (yipes!). It was lots of fun. I know what you are thinking, isn't Jonas a little too young for things like that? Well, yes, he is. He surely didn't know we were at the zoo. As it turns out, I think the play group is for ME to get out!

This is a giant Panda..well..this is his back-side. He was hiding. My sister Brooklyn wants to see a giant Panda so bad, so I took the picture even though you can't see much of him.

Giant turtles. I love turtles. Once when I was driving around, right after we moved here, I saw one in the middle of the road. No one was with me, and Devin always teases me that I was seeing things. I know what I saw, a turtle. It wasn't quite this big though!

Here is the little man on the metro going to the zoo. He's getting used to riding the metro down town.

 

And Look who found their hands! He used to only suck on his hands when he was hungry, but now they are always in his mouth. He sounds like he is going to swallow them whole. It's pretty funny!

Look at those baby blues! We are still in shock that Jonas' eyes have stayed blue, but they have and we love them!

Road Trip = Fun

Last weekend we went to New York! Don't be too jealous. We were in Liberty, and there wasn't much to do there! Devin's Dad is working on a job there right now and his mom flew out to see him, so we drove up to visit them. Devin's brother, Destry and his cute little family met us there too. It was lots of fun! They have the cutest girls who LOVE their Uncle Devin. Devin is so cute with the nieces and nephews. He swam with the girls in the pool at our hotel. They were in seventh heaven. It was fun to see them and spend time with them and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

The drive to Liberty was about 5 1/2 hours. (6 1/2 with a babyJonas). We used our GPS to get there and it ended up taking us through all these beautiful little towns! We saw this white barn and I promise the picture DOES not do it justice. It was HuGe and so pretty! We also saw white-tail deer, and a lot of gorgeous houses by little lakes. I know where I would want a Lake House!

There were a bunch of Sunflower fields on the drive there too. They were so pretty!

This is how we gave Jonas a bath at the hotel. He tolerated it, but I am not sure he liked it much!

This is the proof that he wasn't sure about the whole hotel adventure. We borrowed my friend Jennie's Pack and Play for the little man to sleep in and he slept so good in it! Devin and I stayed up late on Friday night talking with Destry and Loni, but Jonas just slept the whole time. He loved the chaos and noise and was happiest when all the little girls were around him. Ladies Man?

Here is Devin catching Brynn as she jumped into the pool. They must have done this 1,000 times. They did not want to get out when it was time to go!

Jonas is still trying to decide if he likes his baths or not. He doesn't cry as much anymore, but he isn't really happy about it either. He always pees on me, just as we get to the bathroom. I tried leaving his diaper on until we got into the bathroom, he still got me. Oh well! Anyway, my friend Lindsay gave him this towel and he's so cute in it. It is still so big for him, but it's so cute!

Above the changing table I have a shelf hanging on the wall. Every time we lay Jonas down to change him, he stares up at shelf. My Mom brought him a monkey when she came out after he was born and I put it up on that shelf. So now that he can coo a little bit he "talks " to the monkey. It's pretty cute.

More Jonas...

Jonas has been fighting sleep for a few weeks now. I have to beg and plead to get him to take a nap sometimes. Well on this particular day, he had been awake and crying for several hours. It's so sad because he is so tired, but he just won't give in. Devin had all but given up and then I looked over and Jonas was sound asleep-sitting up like this. The thing is he was dead asleep! That was probably the most sound he has been since he started fighting it so bad. He's a stink when it comes to sleep, but we still love him!

Devin takes the credit for "teaching" Jonas to hold his own bottle. I think it might have been chance :0. Plus his two fingers on the left hand make it look like he is giving the signal for a smoke.....YIKES!!

About two weeks ago two girls in our ward threw me another baby shower. It was so fun! There were a lot of girls from the ward that I had never met, and they still came. They came in (all with gifts) and said, "You must be Nicole." I felt bad that I didn't know them, yet they took the time to come and meet me and Jonas, and bring us gifts. Our ward here is amazing. Everyone is so welcoming and they are always inviting us over for dinner, to the park, to play group...everywhere. It has been good for me to get out of my comfort zone. Jennie made this cute cute diaper cake. It's so cute I still haven't taken it apart. The diapers are a bigger size, so I can keep it like this for a while. I love it!

Jonas Turns One Month

We've been busy Growing!

I took the little man to the Doctor on Monday and here are his stats. He is seriously weighing in at 10 1/2 pounds!! I almost died. (No wonder I can't carry that carseat up three flights of stairs!) He is 22 inches long, so he is growing in length too. I wish my pediatrition would tell me where he falls on the charts, but she didn't. (I didn't schedule back for his two month check though, I don't like her so I am changing).

Jonas fell asleep in between Devin and I on the couch the other night. Devin got up to get something and Jonas rolled into the crack of the coushins. This is how he ended up. He's like his Grandpa Stevenson. They can sleep anytime, anywhere. He stayed this way for a while too.

A week of Fun

This will be a long post, so I thought I would write first and then you can check out the photo's below. So here goes:
Not long before Devin and I moved to Maryland, my little brother got engaged. Due to some events going on in the bride and groom's lives, they decided to get married on August 19th. Well, according to when I was due I probably would not be able to make it to the wedding. It was hard to think about, but I knew I had to do what was best for me and the new baby. THEN fast forward- the baby comes 10 days early. My parents called not long after Jonas was born and asked Devin if he would care if I flew to Utah for a week to go to the wedding. He loves me SO much and told me to go-so I did! Jonas and I flew home with my mom on Friday the 15th. The best part was..NO ONE KNEW I WAS COMING HOME. My parents and my mom knew, and that was it. No sisters, no chad, no cousins, no one. We are brillant might I add. Surprising everyone was the best thing ever! When we got in to Utah on Friday night (after my car broke down on the freeway in rush hour traffic on our way to the airport-thank you again Jennie for coming to get us..you're still my hero) My Mom didn't answer her phone until we were just a few minutes from home. Then she went in the house and Jonas and I rang the doorbell at the front door. You should have seen my sister's faces when they opened the door and I was standing there with Jonas. Taryn was all teary-eyed, and Brook and Kaylee were way excited. Dad said he thought Jonas was getting fat (thanks Grandpa!). Then on Saturday, my new sister in law was going through the Salt Lake Temple. My Mom and I went down and imagine Chad's surprise when I was in the celestial room!! I didn't go through the session with them due to having a 3 week old baby and major anxiety about leaving him for too long...even though he was with my mom who is more than capable. I just changed my clothes and waited for everyone to finish with the session. I hid in a corner, and waited for my parents' signal. So mom told Chad that she brought him a wedding gift from Maryland, and then: THERE I WAS. I am not sure if I cried more or if Chad did, or if my Dad did. It was priceless. Chad never suspected a thing. It was worth it and I would do it all over again! It was such a fun week: the wedding, the fair, seeing all our friends and some of our family. DISCLAIMER: sorry to the family that we did not get to see, or did not even tell we were coming. I didn't have much time to do everything that we wanted, and our main goal was to spend as much time with Chad and Nat before they left. We are looking forward to going back to Utah in October to bless Jonas, and see more of our family and friends. All in all, it was one of the best trips home I have ever had. I missed Devin so much, and He really missed us, but it was such a great trip. Thanks Devin, for loving us enough and knowing how important it was for us to be there for Chad. Thanks Mom and Dad for getting us there. Thanks Mom and Ray for the car, and for loving Jonas like you do. And especially thanks to the best Aunts out there: Kaylee, Taryn, and Brooklyn for all of your help and for being so great with Jonas. We love you and miss you already!!!!

Jonas' First Vacation

The Logan Temple where Chad and Natali got married. Jonas got to stay with his Aunts while I went in for the sealing. He was VERY good even though his mom was a little nervous. The girls did great. Brooklyn was SUCH a helper!



This is Chad and Natali as they came out of the temple. LOVE Chad's pink tux. It looks really bright, and it was, but it looked good. The best part was when they cut the cake (it was pink) his face matched his tux. The food coloring was as bright or brighter than his tux, and it stained his face. It was pretty funny!

Grandpa Stevenson (my dad) holding Jonas before the reception. Jonas was a trooper for the whole trip. I litterally drug him every where that week and he put up with it all very well.

This was Joans at the Box Elder County Fair. His first fair. It makes me cry a little. We had a great time, and Jonas was really good. He has had more people hold him this past week than I have met in my life time, but he never seemed to mind!

This is Brooklyn, Oaklee, Jonas and Grandpa Stevenson at the rodeo. Just as it started Jonas made a big mess in his diaper, on his blanket...pretty much everywhere. I had clothes in the diaper bag, but no extra blanket so Oaklee is holding him in the jacket that I took for myself. Despite not having a blanket and the very loud noises..he was an angel!

One Week and Four Days

Here is our sleepy little baby. He sleeps, and eats and then sleeps again!

Devin was taking pictures for our birth announcements. He did very well. Now if I could just get him to make them so we can send them out.

Today after his two week check-up at the Doctor. He weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz. (holy cats!) They had to do the heel stick for the PKU. I am not sure that it was necessesary. Why do they have to be so mean to the babies?