Steven Hebdon Family Reunion and Trip to Portland

I decided to enjoy the Fourth of July with the kids in Idaho with my family. Joe had to work and be on call. But we enjoyed ourselves and the small parade. I really enjoy Arimo and the small town friendliness and feel. They are always doing fun activities for families. Kevin had caught crawdads with his boys and boiled us up a fantastic dinner. 

Stephanie's family and Joe came up Wednesday and we enjoyed time together. We reserved Alexander Reservoir near Soda Springs. We used to go water skiing there growing up. I had almost forgotten how nice it was up there with the trees, and the grass they have by the dam house. It was such a fun experience!! Addie rode the tube with her cousin Jared and giggled most of the time. I decided to give it a run and go with her as well. She is a brave little girl that has a lot of fun with the water. Jojo was having a rough time sleeping at my parent's home and didn't take a nap so he wasn't up for it. But he did have fun playing at the small beach there. I am so glad our kids enjoy the water, even if it's cold. 

Jared Bare

Adam Hebdon 

Brothers Caleb and Benjamin Hebdon

Aimee Bare

Alyssa Bare

Cousins: Jojo and Adam 

Siblings : Alyssa and Jared

Cousins: Jared and Addie

Four Generations: Great Grandma Norma, Jojo, Great Grandpa Clyde, Grandma Linda, Mommy Krystell

G & G Neibaur's boat

Sisters: Alyssa, Jenna, and Aimee

Jojo enjoying his pool time

Cousins: Jared and Adam

Addie enjoying beach time

Jenna Bare

Grandma with her grandkids

After the day, Kevin and his boys gathered up his crawdad traps and we had a boil. So yummy, my favorite is the sausage.

Caleb tasting the crawdad....

Aimee being brave

Addie didn't want to hold the crawdads this year. Haha!

The next day was so cold they decided to wait til afternoon to go to Lava. The Bare's, Hebdon's and grandma went tubed down the Portneuf River. Our family stayed at home so our kids could nap. Too many days in a row with no napping and rough sleeping is hard for our kids. But we went again another weekend with the kids. It was fun!!

Saturday our little family  continued north and visited Portland for the first time. We were excited to see the trees and beauty the area had to offer. Joe kept saying, "It feels like home! I love it, I love the evergreens, it's incredible!" and it really was. I was blown away! I think it's greener and more wild then Seattle. 

We decided to visit Portland because Joe had an interview for an radiology technologist full time weekday position, and I had an interview for an ultrasound 2 day weekday position. The details to our decision will be in another post. 

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We loved the various parks the city offers. We feel in love with the city, the surrounding areas, the overcast, and green! 

Cathedral Park under St. John's Bridge, it was one of my favorites.

Jojo really enjoyed walking around the paved pathways. It is so hard to believe he had only really been walking for a week or two.

Multnomah Falls, right off of I-84

A letter to my children when they have children of their own...

I want to write this to my children....hopefully they will get some smiles, laughs, and reassurance that we all go through it. I get intimidated being a mother. I do! It's hard not to when I have my mom, that was pretty darn as perfect as they come! And my sister Stephanie, I don't know how she does it all and seems to enjoy every minute of it! And my sister Rachel, who is so patient and mellow about everything. And so I just want to express some of my thoughts and feelings so that my children will hopefully feel like I understand!

**So I would just like to note that the first paragraph was in January!  Lol and I was interrupted and never finished it. **

I have put the kids down for "naptime" and wanted to put updates on the kids, and I realized I never finished this post. And I remember wanting to be positive, funny , and uplifting....but let's be honest....I'm exhausted and envy neighbors and friends who had family close by they could visit and help out, go on dates once a week! Without paying so much for babysitting that you can't afford it.

I am totally being a brat, I know! We spoiled ourselves and we're naughty for going on a Caribbean Cruise in April, and my mom and brother and everyone with them watched both kids for us while we enjoyed ourselves. And not to mention just a couple of days after my dad was hospitalized due to retaining too much fluid! I am incredibly grateful to ALL of my family! They do so much for us. I can't even tell you how much they help us in BIG ways during times of distress such as watching Addie while I was in the hospital recovering from having Joey at the end of February. Assisting me with both kids the first few weeks after having Joey and I had to watch my lifting when Addie was too heavy. Watching both kids in May when I had to train f or a couple of days at the hospital. Watching both kids in October when I had my thyroid cancer removed and recovering from that. The list keeps going, and so I guess one huge lesson I have learned is to not compare ourselves to others. I read somewhere that we are all a hot mess, some just hide it better than others! And to not take things for granted, such as our families. They are the ones the see us at our weakest, ugliest and lowest moments and still love us despite ourselves.

Things seemed so much simpler with just the two of us. But then again, everything has more meaning and depth with children. The plan of happiness, was never easy, but always worth it.

Grandpa Gary visits, and Jojo is 16 months old

We were so excited to have Grandpa Gary Johnson come and visit us the last week of June. We have been expecting him to visit since Christmas after his hip surgeries, but he had some complications and ended up staying at a rehabilitation center in Boise December to April, and then he went and stayed at his brother Randy's in Washington. So he felt good enough to fly to Salt Lake and we enjoyed his visit for 5 days. We mainly stayed home and enjoyed his company. We did drive around some of the canyons in the area. Addie and Jojo thoroughly enjoyed his attention and felt comfortable with him from the start. 

He went to church with us and Addie was so attentive to helping Grandpapa walk. So sweet!

Jojo has been cruising along furniture like a pro. And today was his first day of taking 4 or more steps. Pretty exciting! There are days that he wants nothing to do with practicing walking, and others that's all he wants to do. He's pretty cute when he gets excited and waves his arms around. What made it even sweeter was having Grandpa Gary there to watch. 

an attempt at potty training

Ever since Addie was around 18 months she has shown signs of being ready for potty training.  Our only obstacle was getting her to stay sitting for over a minute! But it seems that the last month or two she has digressed and so after talking with her pediatrician during Jojo ' s dr visit, we decided to really try.

And so we bought big girl panties to help encourage the process. Daddy went to work and I dove right into the process. At first Addie was scared of the big toilet seat cover, so we used the small portable seat and she seemed to do better. I used a bubble gun to keep her on the seat for a few minutes at a time. I tried the 3 day method, so nothing but t-shirt. I'm not going to lie, the first day was really disheartening with the many accidents. So the next day we went to the dollar store to buy toys and candy to try to help with the process. And it seemed to work! So as the stickers added on her children chart, and days went by without major accidents, I was so excited, exhausted but excited.  Day 4 we put on big girl panties, went to the Hogle Zoo, no accidents, success with the big seat on the public toilets! I seriously thought we had it nailed!

We went to church on day 5, a little bit nervous but with the success of the zoo, I knew we'd be fine. And she did great! No success at church, but no accidents either. I did put diapers on her for naps and nighttime. Anyways, that night she threw tantrums and did not want to get on the seat, either one. The next day, such a challenge to get her on the seat and that was purely just to be rewarded an d then sh would get off.....again for day 8 from the start of training.

So joe and I decided to take a break from training and attempt it a little later. I was so disheartened!  So much work, emotions, and cleaning for nothing.
But that's ok. Unfortunately Addie is a lot like me, stubborn and the more you push, the more I dig in with my heels. Anyways she went back to wearing diapers without blinking.....and so hopefully next time will be pure success. I think I will try to set a timer next time. So that way she hears it, she knows it's time. And it's not necessarily me sayi ng it's time....I've read loads of blogs and articles on how to potty train. Never would I thought I'd have studied and worked so hard on something like this. Lol, like I've said multiple times, parenting is hard! Why did I decide to post about this? Maybe to h fee LP myself or even my kids that I felt the same frustrations  too. And we survived (at least I'm praying we survive). I told my sister the other day, that kids bring out the worst in me. I never thought I was a bad person until toddlers.....

But there are good times too. The other day while in tears I was telling Joe it would be nice is once in awhile adieu would give me a hug or a kiss. Th is would melt my heart and make things better. Th e next day she did just th at, and it did. It melted this heart and brought tears to my eyes. I love my kids a lot. I do! They are the cutest, most amazing thi ng s of creation, and at the same time the most frustrating, disobedient, whiny hoodlums too.

Such is life! And I'm grateful for these two hoodlums I have been blessed with and given the responsibility of raising. Many days I feel overwhelmed and unworthy, but they are gifts.

Joe is 34 years old

We love visiting Daddy at work for his lunch break. It's always something to look forward to. We usually visit the last part of his long seven days straight of work. And we were beyond excited to bring balloons, candy, and cake to his work at LDS Hospital.

Jojo's cake face.

Daddy's favorite cake, Costco vanilla mousse buttercream sheet cake. 

Jojo is 15 mos old and taking his first steps

We visited the Bare's to support Jared in receiving the office of a Priest. Kevin's family, grandma Hebdon, and me and the kids drove to enjoy Sunday with them. The next day, Jojo was holding my hands walking, and he let go to walk a few steps to Aunt Rachel. It was a pretty big deal!

He's doing really well feeding himself with finger food. Sometimes he gets so excited he keeps pushing in more and more food til looks like a chipmunk and has to spit it out. But he is doing better at that. He is getti ng more and more independent and wants to feed himself. 

His enjoying taking toys out of a bag or basket, and then putting them back in. He lives snuggling into blankets and rolls around in them. He doesn't have a lovey, but any soft blanket is his favorite. He now gives kisses in the lips! I live yhem! His first time, he leaned forward and puckered up those lips! 6 times! Melted momma's heart!

Jojo is 14 months old!!

He is getting more and more interested in walking. He likes me to hold his hands as we walk throughout the apartment. Addie and he spent ten days at Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon, and Kevin's family while Joe and I went on a cruise to the Carribean!!?!!(More on that in next post). So when we picked them up, we were pleasantly surprised to find out Grandma had taught him how to crawl up the stairs. When she would get him up from his naps and morning, she would have him crawl up the stairs to save her back, and he became a pro!! about a month ago he had climbed up the stairs, but I think he got scared because he didn't know how to come down. And I was busy putting clothes away that I had no idea he even knew how to climb up let a lone that many. Thank goodness I got to him before he fell down. But since that first time, he has shown resistance to going up the stairs, so I am glad grandma had the magic!! Now just to teach him how to go down the stairs....I can't wait to get rid of the gate blocking the stairs....I say that now until I get sick of them making messes on both levels, ha! Kids keep us busy, and supposedly young, but I actually feel older and realize how much more energy I really need.

His first canine tooth has poked his head out on his top right side. Again, all four of them are sore looking and I am sure causing him discomfort. He never does things one at a time, it's always all at once. I always joke our kids get so many teeth so quick because they need to eat more then other kids because they are so big and so active!!

Easter and JoJo is 13 months old

Easter in March landed on our nephew Ben's birthday. We were able to come early Saturday and enjoy time with the Bares and Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon. Our kiddos just love all of the extra attention and love. They never get bored or feel lonely, and hopefully they add fun for the others as well. We arrived just a few minutes to late to make it to the Arimo town Easter egg hunt, but we went to one that a group of us ladies in the ward put together. So they did get to enjoy finding eggs, finding out that they had goodies in them, and enjoying the excitement of Spring.

Easter morning was full of surprises and candy that the Easter bunny left for the kids. Chocolate, candy, toys, games....it's fun to see the expressions of the kids when they see what was specifically chosen for them. Even the older cousins were fun to see. Stephanie did rolls with marshmallows in the center. When they cook the marshmallow rises and then disappears, making them and "empty tomb" to remind us of the miracle of the resurrection of Christ. We are so grateful for all of the hard work that everyone puts in to make such an enjoyable time. We are definitely spoiled!! We were also grateful to be present for Ben's ordination into the Aaronic Priesthood. His blessing was very special and touched our hearts.

Wow, Jojo is just bursting with energy and wants to go go go!! He is loving his ability to get around and doesn't show the slightest interest in walking. I try to hold his hands and help him walk. He lasts for a couple of steps, but gets bored quickly. And that's just fine by me.  The more mobile they get, the more trouble they find....and he is doing enough of that with his big sister. They are always keeping us on our toes. As Joe says, they don't give us any room for error, so we are constantly trying to stop accidents from happening and guessing any possibilities that might come up.

He has all four molars in. He seemed to get them all around his one year birthday just a couple of weeks....his third molar came in on March 2nd with the fourth one poking through, finally!! Poor little guy, and all through being sick too. This winter has been a frustrating one. All four of us get sick for 10-14 days with head colds and sore throats, to get better for a week, just to go through the vicious  cycle again!! According to the pediatrician, there is a virus that is going around that does that....we're done!! No more....We can't wait for warmer weather and less sick times, hopefully!!

Jojo seems to be crawling on his knees more and rarely does the army crawl, which I kind of miss. I got comments occasionally from the sisters in the ward that said their boy crawled the same way, and it made them so happy to watch him. He is full of character and his smile melts many hearts, especially mine. It's fun to see his personality more and more as he gets older.

He is able to now say cracker, cookie, and hi mommy (or daddy). We thought that was a pretty big deal. Those are big words, and putting two words together is pretty exciting. He is a smart little boy and blows us away by what he can do. Once again, I keep thinking he's my little baby and seem to resist believing he's growing up.  I think with Addie, I had a lot of one on one time, so I tried to teach and help her learn. Expecially with walking, I really wanted her to be able to walk around and be independent when I had Joey to make things easier for all of us. And she excelled!! And with Joey, I feel more overwhelmed because of both of them needing so much attention and help, I feel guilty most of the time for the things that I should be doing to help him, both of them really. But despite my lack of teaching, Joey still is amazing and bright. I think he picks up a lot from Addie.

Addie is doing really well in Nursery, and we are able to just drop her off and walk out, without her crying. That has been a huge thing for us. For awhile, she would cry and want to be held by the teacher for the majority of the time. I think that due to us visiting family, missing so much church because we have been sick, it's been hard for her to get used to everyone. But she is a big girl and is so sweet that she seems to get along just fine.

Wearing their Sunday outfits mommy and daddy gave them. They look so nice!!

I gave them both their first haircuts the day before Easter. It's amazing how much it really made Jojo look like a toddler. He's so handsome!! And Addie's hair looks so much fuller and healthy. They both did really well.

They both had a hard time enjoying coloring eggs. They didn't get very good naps in, and it was past their bedtime. But we have to keep tradition, right? Poor kiddos!! After awhile, Addie warmed up to the idea and had fun. 

St. Patrick's Day

"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

A traditional gaelic blessing

I hope that our kids will always love and be proud of their heritage. We have many
wonderful people and cultures to learn from and keep passing down. Joe's maternal 
grandfather Grandpa Francis (Chucky) Patrick Loyd was the first child born in the 
United States, in Pennsylvania  state. His family came from Ireland, and they 
decend from a well known highwayman, Black Jack Maloy. I hope to gather up some 
stories from his side to pass down to our posterity. My family has done so much so
 I'm not worried about my side. His Aunt Joan has actually done a lot for the Loyd 
family.

Family History is so very important, and has even become a commandment, to 
fulfill the promises found in Malachi 4:5-6

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I comeand smite the earth with a 
curse."

So I tried a new tradition for our family, we cooked corned beef, cabbage, carrots
and potatoes. LOL, the kiddos didn't like it as well, but Joe and I really enjoyed it, 
especially the cabbage. It will be fun to have the kids get olderand enjoy these 
holidays more.

JoJo is 1 year old!?!!

I can't believe my baby boy is already one year old. It seems like he's still my baby. I forget how much he can do until he shows me....and I am blown away that he has gotten so big. It may be due to the fact that him and Addie are so close is age, but I keep forgetting that he is so big. He is now crawling on his hands and knees, and occasionally going back to his army crawl when he wants speed. He is furniture cruising around and feels really independent doing so. He really squawks and vocalizes his excitement. He says a few words, Mommy, Daddy, JoJo, No, and Hi. He likes to open and close his hand when he waves, and even rotates his hand around to wave.

For his birthday, I did a birthday banner with his name on it, just like for Addie's birthday, except we did triangles everywhere. Grandma Hebdon brought over some cake pans in shape when she visited  awhile ago. His birthday cake was white, and made in the shape of a teddy bear. I wanted it to be colorful, so I did the bears shirt mutiple colors. It was a lot of fun to make. I remember loving my birthday cakes that my mom made and hope my kiddos will feel the same. When he finally got a chance to enjoy his cake, he had no reservations!! He really like it, especially the frosting. Addie really enjoyed it too and asked for cake for a few days after.

We gave him an alphabet train, that you can sit on, push buttons, and it sings songs and repeats the alphabet when you put in the letter cubes. We've been waiting a year to give this to him. It's a toy he can grow into....and of course his big sister seems to take over. But that's ok, they will both need to learn to share and enjoy each others toys.....that's the goal anyways. Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon gave him a cute blanket she made (she calls them snuggle blankets, to make up for the snuggles she misses out on), that had frogs on them and a toy plush frog to match. He loves to bury his head and roll in his blankie. Addie gave him some farm animals to add to his Little People Farm set he got for Christmas.

He went in for his year old check up. He is doing really well and keeping up with his growth rate in the 90's percentile. We couldn't be more grateful to have a happy, healthy boy.
His stats: