Stevens in a Nutshell: March 2014

Oh goodness it has been awhile. As you can imagine life can get pretty crazy and hectic with 4 kids (and a husband!) to juggle.
(originally this post was called "Springing into May" - my friend emailed me and said, um, you do realize it's only April, yet your post has May? That's funny I didn't even notice. Thus, proof of the fog I've been walking around in!)
A whole month worth of photos, this is going to be a long post. Because, as you know, I have a hard time leaving any pictures out.
We'll start with these short videos. This is Kaleb telling a story about a cow who goes to the moon. It's a bit hard to understand him but he wrote the story, added the pictures and did all the narration:

Our lives, and camera have been focused on Evelyn a lot. She is a really good baby. Sleeps 4-6 hours at night (usually). She's healthy and growing well and we couldn't ask for more.

We wanted to keep her out of church for at least a month or two because there are so many illnesses going around. Then Jake got a cold and there was no reason to keep her at home if the germs were there. Evelyn's first Sunday she was only 2 weeks old, and I got to take all four kids by myself. Jake was in the land of the dead so he wouldn't have been much help and I had to teach my primary class so away we went. Yup, church was pretty crazy but thankfully the boys can, for the most part, take themselves to the bathroom and get a drink without me. And, Evelyn slept the whole time which was a huge help! Even if the 8 year old girls in my class were annoyed that they couldn't hold her.

I love that all the kids watch out the window and anxiously await for daddy to get home:

For now we call her Evelyn, but when I spell it out I usually shorten her name to Evie:
Here's a slew of Evie:

For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

to fetch one if one goes astray,

to lift one if one totters down,

to strengthen whilst one stands. (Christina Rossetti)

The weather has been awesome! Spring is my favorite season. It hold so much hope and promise. We've been getting out of the house as much as we can. I love having a park next door!
Alexander always has the biggest stick he can find:

and of course there's always a few stick sword fights between brothers:

one night for family home evening we had our treat during the lesson. Me and the kids can't get enough kettle corn popcorn, (I'm glad we don't have to share with daddy):

This poor girl has had crazy hair since day one. After almost 2 years it is always in her face and she hates it. She's always swiping it out of her face with an exasperated sigh:

hey mom, take a picture of my popcorn!

okay, back to Evie:

all the kids ... and dad love the same thing...

Star Wars! Whether it's the original ones or the lego version it's all great:

We got a special treat this month when Jake's mom and two of his sisters came for a short visit. (was it even 24 hours?)

They got a room for the night at a local hotel. The kids all loved going for a swim ... and I was so excited to soak in the hottub.

grandma took all the kids on a clothes shopping sprees. They were all so excited about their new coats and clothes:

(thank you again mom!)

more sisterly love:

yup, she knows how to bat the eyelashes and work the charm with her big baby blues:

I'm finally figuring out how to do her hair ... thank you Aunt Raygan for lighting the fire so I wanted to do fun things with her hair:

I just can't get enough!

Breahna, what are you doing?
"Change" (changing the diaper)
Oh man, she is way too helpful:

Although I just figured out how to tame her mess of hair it was still time for a haircut. At least some fringe and to even everything up.

She did so good with her first haircut and loved the end result. She was so happy and excited to finally have the hair out of her eyes.

and then I tried to get a decent picture of her:

don't stick your tongue out!
okay...

and then Evie sneaks back in...

One morning Alexander got up just a few minutes before Breahna. Soon as she came out of the room though they both went running down the hall toward each other with their arms open wide and big grins on their faces. They threw their arms around each other as Alexander said; "good morning! I am so excited to see you!" They stood in the hall hugging for a good 5 minutes. I told Alexander he needed to get dressed for school. Breahna would not let go of him. She kept following him wherever he would go. Exasperated I finally told her rather gruffly that she had to let go right now or else Alexander would be late for school. Alexander looks at me and says; "it's okay, I can be late for a hug."
As he was headed into his school he stopped and gave Breahna another hug while whispering; "bye, see you soon, I'll miss you"
Being a mom is so awesome. I learn so much for these kids!

sick of the sisterly love yet? I'm grateful these kids all love each other so much ... most of the time:

Evelyn's accomplishment this past month ... smiling! I think this is the most gratifying accomplishment. I love being greeted by a gurgling gummy grin. I've been trying to capture that smile ... I'm never fast enough: