Holden is 9 months old

Hunter on his first day of School

I took the little guy to the doctor yesterday for his 9 month check up and everything went well. He weighs 23 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. Holden has been walking for about a month now and is trying is hardest to keep up with his big brother. For the most part Hunter enjoys being able to play with Holden now, but some days it's just so hard for him to share his toys. Holdens doctor informed me that we no long have to give him formula. He eats like a champ and is getting most of the nutrients he needs through his food. I am so excited that i don't have to buy formula anymore. This next month i am going to attempt to take away the bottle. Holden uses his sippy cup through out the day, but at nap and bed time he gets rocked to sleep with a bottle. Wish me luck!

Hunter started preschool at the end of November and is loving every minute of it. For the first month he is only going to be going for an hour Monday and Wednesdays, but after Christmas he will start going for two hours. It's so nice to have him in school and it gives Holden and i some time together, just the two of us. Shopping with just one kid is heaven.

Happy 3rd Birthday Hunter

It seems like yesterday that i was holding my small little boy for the first time. He was so little and so sick, we had know idea if he was going to make it or not. Hunter is now three years old and doing GREAT. On November 17th we celebrated Hunters 3rd birthday by having a little party at our house. His first "friends" party. He was so excited to invite some of his friends over. Hunter loves Mickey Mouse Playhouse so we decide that would be the theme. When all the kids arrived we ate pizza and then decorated Mickey Mouse cookies and made Mickey Mouse necklace/nametags. After we got beads and frosting everywhere the kids played a quick little game of find plutos bones and then it was present time. Hunter received a lot of great gifts from all his friends. All in all i think it was a great party and am glad we only have to do this twice a year.

Family pictures and more to come

My handsome little men

Hunter loved taking the pictures at a barn

We finally got our family pictures taken. Stefanie did an awesome job and i am very very pleased with the results. She will definitaly be our photographer while we are in the flathead valley. Thanks Stefanie!!

Hunter and Holden did an awesome job. It is so hard for us to get a picture of Hunter smileing. It took the boys a couple of minutes to warm up to Stefanie, but when they did it was lots of fun. It is so nice to have a picture with all of our family in the picture. Usually it's Jimmy and the boys or me and the boys or just the boys.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

I will post a few more pictures soon.

Halloween 2009

Here is a picture of my cute little trick or treaters. Hunter was so excited about his costume and Holden wasn't a big fan of his. The boys had a great time!!!

Now that Halloween is over it's time to plan Hunters 3rd birthday. I can't believe my little boy is turning three. So many things go through my mind when Hunters birthday comes around. It brings me right back into the delivery room and not knowing if our little boy was going to make it or not. Over three months of living in the Ronald McDonald house ( a great charity to give to by the way). It was a long hard three plus months, but we all made it though and made some great friends along the way (The Campbell's). A big thanks goes out to all of you that helped us when we needed it the most. I love you Hunter!!

My little pumpkins

Before Jimmy left for two weeks in Washington we took the boys to the local pumpkin patch. We had so much fun!!! I was still a little under the weather so we didn't stay as long as we would have liked. Hunter could have spent all day and night there. Holden was just along for the ride, but he did enjoy eating all the sticks he could find.

Me and my super cute boys



Hunter, Jimmy and Holden

Feeding the chickens

My sweet little pumpkins

Great Times At Grandma Reens

Me and my cute cute nephew Ryker @ Grandma and Grandpas 60th wedding anniversary

I hope i can make it to 60 years

Holden, Hunter and Ryker playing in grandma Reens bath tub

Holden wanting so bad to get in the bath tub with the big boys

Our cute little family at grandma Reens in Fargo




Jimmy, me and the boys took a trip to ND and MN for my grandmas 80th birthday and my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. We all had such a great time. Hunter and Holden had a blast playing with cousins and grandmas and grandpas and great aunties and uncles. It was so nice to see my family. I miss them so much. Jimmy was a tropper and drove the whole way there (32 hours total) and back. He was a great babysitter so me and my mom and sister could get things done for the party. Thanks hunny!! I can't wait to go back again, but i think next time we are going to try the train and see how that goes.

Do they look alike????

So i've been told that Hunter and Holden look so much alike and i've also been told that they don't look alike at all. Just wondering what you all think. I think they look alike, but only a little. They both have the same Holden family ears and for some odd reason they both have blonde hair. I hoping it will darken up soon. I must say i have some pretty handsome little guys.

Holdens 6 months check up

Holden went into the dr. for his six month check up today and is doing wonderful. He has gained about three pounds and has grown 2 inches since his four month check up. He is by far our BIG baby, but i'm sure he's just normal to most people. I can't wait for the next six months with this little man. Holden has also start to crawl a little so now the baby gates must go up and everything must come off the floor.

Playing around

I was looking at Echos blog and she mentioned picnik to edit your photos. I love it. I'm not sure how to use everything yet, but i have a feeling this is going to be so much fun.

Salsa

This is the beginning of our first salsa canning experience.


Jimmy did and awesome job helping chop all the ingredients.



All the tomatos and oninons were fresh from our garden.




This is right before we started to cook the salsa. It's so yummy just to eat it this way.

Our finished product. We thought it was pretty good for our first try. I think next time we'll change the recipe up a little and make it a little spicier.

Holden is 6 months old today.

A few new pictures

Hunter and I waiting on line for the carousel.


Seaside Oregon



Hunter stopped watching the kites for a second so i could get a picture.

Holden and Hunter in a canoe at Cataldo Mission


Jimmy and Hunter outside of the Cataldo Mission Church.

Cataldo Mission

It's been so long..........i never seem to up date as much as i should. Jimmy, Hunter, Holden and i had a great summer. We just got home last week from a two week work/vacation trip to Oregon and Washington. We had so much fun. Hunter loves going to see his great grandparents and getting to roam free at their house. Holden was a joy on the trip. He is such a happy baby. I love it!! Hunter got pneumonia the last three days of our trip and Holden and i both returned home with colds. All is good now, but its never any fun when the kiddos are sick. We are now trying to get our life back on track. Summer is coming down to an end and our fall schedule is nearing. I hope everyone enjoyed their summer.

Just a few new pictures. This summer has been so much fun. We've made a couple trips to Idaho and also had Jimmys sister and neices come from washington. Hunter and Holden have enjoyed being around lots and lots of family. On the 14th of August we are leaving for two weeks in beautiful oregon.

Taylore and Holden enjoying the campfire

Cute cute brothers

Hunter and uncle Mike going for a ride

HOLDEN IS 4 MONTHS OLD

Holden loves oatmeal

I can't believe how fast these last four months have gone by. Holden is growing so fast. Holden started out weighing 6 lbs 15oz and was 20 1/2 inches long, he now weighs 17 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches long. Hunter has finally excepted the fact that Holden is staying with us and that we can not take him back to the hospital. Hunter is enjoying his brother more and more everyday. Holden has brought so much joy to our family. I can't remember my life without him in it.

We had a great 4th of July this year. Last year was a little crazy with the move and all, but this year was totally relaxing. We started our day with the Kalispell 4th of July parade. Hunter and Holden loved it. Fire trucks, airplanes, horses, and candy Hunter was in heaven. After the parade we enjoyed a nice bbq with some of Jimmys softball buddies. Hunter and Holden didn't want to stay up for the fireworks so they went to bed and Jimmy and i enjoyed seeing a few fireworks from our porch. It was a great day.

I can't imagine my life without these two little boys. Hunter and Holden bring so much joy to my life. Hunter is getting so big it's hard to believe he was only one pound when he was born. Everyday he is doing something to make me laugh. Hunter loves his brother so much. For a while there i didn't know what i was going to do with him. He was not impressed with the baby at all. Now all he does is love on the baby and worries every time Holden cries. Holden is growing like a weed. He weighs 14 pounds and is 24 inches long. I think he'll be my chubby baby. I can't wait for the boys to start playing together. God has blessed me with a wonderful family.

This is my cute little family about a month ago. Sorry that you can't really see Holdens face, but trust me he's a cutie. Life has changed so much in the past two months. Holden has brought so much joy to our lives. Somedays Hunter would like to return him to the hospital, but he's adjusting really well. I'm still waiting to get a full nights rest, but don't plan on that happening anytime soon. Holden is two months old now and is doing great. He weighs 13 pounds and grew almost four inches. Grandma Reen, aunt Corrie and great grandpa and grandma Leach are coming to visit in a week and we can't wait.

I love these two boys sooooo much. The past three weeks have been wonderful. Hunter and Holden bring so much joy to our lives. We couldn't ask for two better boys. Hunter is doing a great job at being a big brother. He helps me out with anything he can. Jimmy, me and the boys are going to be traveling to Idaho for Easter and can't wait to see our family.

HOLDEN LEE STEVENS WAS BORN ON MARCH 4, 2009 AT 5:01 IN THE MORNING. HE WEIGHED 6LBS 15OZ AND IS 20 1/2 INCHES LONG. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO FINALLY HAVE HIM HERE. HUNTER IS DOING A GREAT JOB AT BEING A BIG BROTHER. HE IS SUCH A BIG HELP. JIMMY AND I ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE OUR FAMILY COMPLETE.

Lately Hunter has been wearing his sun glasses whenever he can. We went out the other NIGHT and as soon as we got in the truck the sunglasses went on. He makes me laugh so hard. I don't know what i would do without this kid.

We are still waiting for the arrival of our newest family member. I am getting so sick of being pregnant. I am currently at 36 weeks five days and growing bigger by the minute. Hunter is still trying to understand everything. Him and i watch A Baby Story on TLC every morning, i hope it's helping him out a little bit. My mom will be here on the 12th of Feb and Jimmy will be leaving on the 15th for a two week stay in Vancouver. We are all very excited to have Grandma Reen stay with us for a couple of weeks. I will let everyone know when Holden arrives.