My Sweeties!

Hutch's birthday party was a hit! The weather smartened up for the day and we were able to BBQ burgers and smokies. Everyone visited while the kids played and then we got it in our minds to try and take some pictures before the kids went to bed. These are basically AJ's only and best friends so far! Lauren is the cutie with all the hair. Her and her parents (Dave & Deanna) live in the basement and everytime she gets up from her nap she says, "AJ? AJ?" They love to play together and do so almost everyday! Next is Jordan, her parents are Mike & Britt and they babysat AJ during that ridicullas phase when I was working!Jordan loves to take care of AJ. When he is sad she will find his favorite blanket and bring it to him, so cute! Last but certainly not least is Hayden. He is younger than AJ but certainly not smaller! He is 6 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller. When these two boys get together Hayden uses AJ as a prop to help him stand up and AJ steals Haydens toys and then just walks away!Anyways, we put the kids to bed and played games till 12:00 when we could no longer stay awake, it was a great night!
Mother's Day was such a blast! After sleeping in untill 8:OO I woke up to the smell of bacon and really what better way to be woken up!?!? Aaron and AJ we hard at work getting a generous breakfast for us to share. It tasted even better than it looked! Each night I wake Aaron up two or three time to tell me what time it is because I can't read the clock without my contacts and so for mother's day he got me a new alarm clock with the "Super Big" display. The numbers are like and inch and a half tall, I was laughing so hard! He is such a sweetie. Little AJ gave me all the slimy kisses I could handle and was so cute all day. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Poytress's house on the Northside for a big family dinner, where all the women were forced to wear spring hats. It was really fun but I forgot my camera, when I get a copy of the pictures I will post them.

Back to the good Life

Despite the wind and rain it has been a fantastic week. It may sound crazy, but after 8 weeks on the job I was a little nervous to be back at home. AJ is so full of energy and likes to be busy, how did I ever keep him entertained? But being a mom is like riding a bike, and I am back at home at loving every minute of it. On Monday we went swimming in the morning and then out to the park in the afternoon. We met up with my friend Kathy who I haven't seen since high school. What a blast! She is living in Portland right now and says that it is the most amazing place to live, so of course I am ever more excited about September's big move!
Every Tuesday for the past month or so my Dad Steele has been flying down from Edmonton for work and a massage (don't ask!). It's really weird to see him for one full day every week, but we are loving it! Now AJ recognizes him as one of his many grandpas. We pick him up and drive him where he needs to go, stopping for lunch, dinner, and naps along the way. Here's Grandpa and AJ reading a naptime story. Since Dave and Deanna are back from Paris we spent the next few days going to the park and hanging ot with them. On Thursday night, Toad and Chuck came over to watch Lost and The Office. I can't believe Lost, AHHHH!! Anyways I am overjoyed to be done working and back to being a stay-at-home mother and wife to the handsome men in my life. This weekend is our friend Hutch Orr's 30th birthday, so we are getting ready for a big BBQ this afternoon. We are expecting around 25 people so it should be a blast! I'll post pictures from the party in a few days. Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers, enjoy it!

Weekend Off

This was a busy weekend for us, but so much fun. On Friday, Dust & Lyndz came over to hang out and have a BBQ since it was so gorgeous out. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs on the deck and AJ discovered the dogs next door. Dustin must have sat there with him for 20 minutes trying to teach AJ to bark like the dogs, but no luck!

Later that evening, Mike and Brittany came over to play games. It has been too long since we have hung out with them, it's funny how the time flies by when you both have kids. Anyways, Brittany is due in 3 weeks, but we took pictures last night becaues she feels ready to pop at any minute. I remeber looking and feeling like that. It made me realize the physical sacrifices our mothers go through to get us here, we really do owe them so much. THANKS MOM!
Saturday was another beautiful day. We dropped AJ off for his first ever sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's around 1:00, and then headed to the Temple. Aaron's cousin Amanda was getting married and since gas is $1.25/L, we thought we would get a session in while we were out there. We had such a relaxing and peaceful day, it's unfailing, the Temple always gives you that overwhelming calm and peace. The Bride and Groom looked happier than ever and we were able to see most of the Dye family, which dosen't happen very often. It's was nice to catch up.
After an unusually quiet sunday morning and Church meetings it was time for my last birthday dinner of the year. Mom made all my favorites: ham, funeral potatoes, corn, and no-bake cheesecake! Delicious! When we got there AJ was down for a nap and didn't get up for a whole hour. We had to at least go peak in on him, it's crazy how much you can miss your little ones after only one day!
All in all it was a really fun weekend.

Work? What Work?

After 7 weeks of full time work I am once again a stay at home mom, Yippie! Since I will not be able to work while we are living in the states I though it might be fun go back until we move in September. As it turns out I was wrong. It was really hard the first few days because I had never left AJ with anyone for a whole day before. He was also learning so many new things all I could think about during my shift was what I might be missing at home! After a few weeks it got easier to get through my shifts but things at home were only getting worse. AJ was catching on to the fact that I was always sneaking out so every time I put on a hoodie or picked up the keys he would start crying and cling to me for the next hour. I felt so bad to see him upset especially since it wasn't really important that I was back at work. I mean you can always use more money but we would be fine without the pay cheques. After going to the Temple and being overwhelmed with the feeling that I should be at home with my son, I put in my notice, and here we are. I will miss working with AJ, Megan, and Kenny they were such a fun work crew and we always had the best shifts but after 3 years it is finally time to say good-bye to West 49, cheers!
(AJ's 27 and he still can't just smile for a picture!)

Turning 24

This is the first year that I have successful celebrated my birthday ALL WEEK LONG! I have always thought that birthdays should be a week long event, a view I inherited from my mother. Although this is fairly unrealistic I still try for it every year. Some how I did manage to get 5 different birthday celebrations this year and here's how they went:

Tuesday April 22nd
Dave and Deanna had us over for an early birthday dinner since on my actual birthday they would be in Paris. We had the most delicious lasagna, cheese toast, and Caesar salad followed with death by chocolate! Dinner was just our two families and then Dustin & Lyndsey came over for cake. Dee surprised my with the biggest cookie sheet I have ever seen, it will fit 40 buns on it at one time, and can just squeeze into my oven, it's awesome!


Friday April 25th
We got a sitter for AJ and went out for dinner with Toad & Chuck and Dustin & Lyndz. We went to the Cheesecake Cafe and ended up waiting for an hour before being seated. The manager felt so bad she gave us two free appetizers, so it was totally worth it! We enjoyed the fantastic food and we visited and then decided to come back here to play games. We played Catch Phrase music edition, the boys won the first round (cheaters) and the girls swept the second. Overall a great friday night!




Sunday April 27th
Aaron started my birthday off right with an extra fluffy pancake breakfast. He let me have the biggest one and did all the dishes after! My hubby is the sweetest. After church we celebrated Amber's and my birthdays with a roast beef dinner & skor cake. We even let AJ have half a piece of cake! Grandma Poytress really spoiled us, dinner was amazing. We spent the afternoon relaxing, visiting, and watching AJ explore. At 8:00 Dust and Lyndz came over to play games and eat all the snacks Lyndz had made. She must have been baking all day! We played the train game and stock ticker and ate more sweets than anyone should. A perfect end to a perfect day!




My last birthday dinner is next Sunday at Mom and Dad's house, it will be ham and funeral potatoes, my favorite! Thanks to every one for making my birthday into a birthweek, it was one of the best!

Alberta!

So this is are last spring on the prairies for a few years and it looks like Alberta is trying to make a lasting impression! Here is a picture taken by my friend on April 13, it was 24 degress outside and beautiful. We spent the day at church, went for a walk, and then enjoyed a BBQ with the Gundersons. We were so exited for the end of winter. However, exactly one week later we hade about 20 cm of snow and a few days after that 20 degree weather! We are happy to say that the snow is melted and we are back on the plus side of things!

Oops! I always get so busy and fall way behind on everything. I will try to keep my posts more regular from now on but I can't promise anything! Here's a picture of AJ's first birthday, he had such a fun day! All his Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles spoiled him, what a lucky boy.

His new favorite thing is reading books in his new chair, I'm just not sure he's really reading! Grandma and Grandpa Tolman and Aunt Alaina couldn't make it because they were just getting back from their Costa Rica trip but everyone else was there. It was so hard to belive that he is already 1 year old! It's true what they say, once you have kids the time disappears. Not only did AJ's family spoil him but one of his best friends Lauren Gunderson gave him his first ever birthday kiss! All I can say is he was one happy birthday boy.