Pictures

So I've had some cute pictures that I wanted to post on the blog for a while now, but I just couldn't really think of much to say about them. I guess people really care more about the pictures anyway, though, so enjoy!

Steven's still working on sitting up. He does a pretty good job most of the time, though after a while he started losing it...

slowly falling over...

He's still wiggling off his mat all the time. It's crazy! I put him down, and when I come back he's definitely not where I left him!

He's starting to not hate tummy time so much, and is getting really good at holding his head up and pushing himself up.

This picture is from when we went to Lyndsay's house when Jill, Katy, Jack and Brody got there. I still think it's the cutest thing that all the cousins are always so excited to see Steven! They love playing with him, and he loves it too!

Steven has starting spitting so much ALL THE TIME! It's kind of ridiculous, but so cute :)

The End of the Trip...

After TJ went home, I went on to my parents house where I helped them with some things they needed to get done for their kitchen remodel. I stripped some wall paper and then helped them take down their kitchen cabinets. Before we could even do that, though, we had to take everything out of the cabinets and find places to stack it (like on top of the pool table and chests in the family room). It was quite an adventure. At this point, they've also torn up the linoleum and knocked down the two walls that the cabinets were on. Next, they're putting in hard wood floors and then new cabinets are going up. I'm so excited to see the finished product!

On Wednesday, we went to visit my friend Lindsay (I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of this) and it was so good to see her! We spent the night there, and went on the next day to my grandma's house. It took us about 2 hours longer than it should have, due to traffic, but we finally got there! While we were there we saw all of my aunts and uncles and a few of my cousins too. It was great and they all loved Steven!

Here's my mom, Grandma, Steven, and Me - 4 generations

Mom, Aunt Penny, Uncle Perry, Steven, Aunt Tanya, and Grandma in front

The next afternoon, we left for the airport. I had realized a few days before that since I was flying out of St. Louis, that meant we could go visit Kelly and her family! We had a great time and Brynn and Tyler were so cute with Steven. Tyler kept saying "I love this Baby" (but if you imagine it in Tyler's voice, it's even cuter) and they all wanted to hold him and play with him. They are going to be so great with their new little sister when she gets here! We're so excited to get to spend more time with them in the future.

It was so fun visiting with everyone, but I'm so happy to be home now! I missed TJ so much and I know Steven did too :)

Rands Family Reunion: Part 2

The rest of the reunion was really fun! On Wednesday we went on a couple bike rides. First, we were supposed to go on one around the Notre Dame campus, but before we got very far, Junie wrecked on her bike, hit her mouth really hard, and had to be rushed to the dentist by Cody and Jennie. So then, we had no guides. At that point, we just went for a ride around the lake and through a little bit of campus. While going around the lake, we came upon some people feeding swans. Apparently the swans had been there for years and so were very tame. You can't really tell in the picture, but I fed one! Then, after naps, we took another long bike ride to a pool. It took us about 45 mins to get there and probably 30 to get back. The pool was really fun, though! Steven liked it much more than the splash pad. He fussed a little at first, but then did great! He especially had fun when his cousins came and played with him. That night, the adults played Pictionary and had tons of fun! We played guys against girls and the naturally the guys ended up winning 2 games to 1.





On Thursday, we went to a place called the Children's Healthworks Museum. The kids had a blast there (I think they ended up staying for close to 5 hours) and even some of the adults found things to keep them entertained. Then that night we had a talent show. The kids put on a little skit that Nana had helped them with, Junie and Cody did this awesome dance to a You Tube video (Deceptacon - Le Tigre) and Jennie played her violin. We unfortunately didn't get many pictures of those things... TJ got a little distracted taking pictures of Steven while we were watching it.




Friday afternoon, the Whartons left. After that we had a pretty low key day. The kids played in the sprinklers and had a water balloon fight. The cousins all had tons of fun with Steven, though, and always were asking to hold him. Nathan even said that he was his cutest cousin, and that he wanted to take him home with him. Every time Olive saw him, she would stop whatever she was doing and run over to him yelling "Baby!". It was super cute.




Saturday we spent the morning packing up the cars. But, right before we were about to leave, of course, Steven had a huge blowout. It was so big that we ended up just rinsing him off in the sink and throwing away the onsie he was wearing. That always seems to happen at the most inopportune times... Then we took TJ to the airport :( and I continued back to macomb with my parents to help them tear apart their kitchen! It was so good to be able to spend time with my family! I was so glad they got to meet Steven, especially since none of them had yet except for my parents. I'm really sad I won't be able to see most of them for probably another year, but hopefully someday we'll live closer!!

Rands Family Reunion: Part 1

It's been a very eventful couple of days for all of us! On sunday, we all flew from Salt Lake to Chicago, and it was Steven's first time flying! He did so well. He just slept on a pillow on our lap most of the time, and didn't even fuss that much at all! All went great until the last five minutes or so... I was feeding him as we descended into Chicago and he was fussing a little bit and then threw up all over us as we landed. Oh well. It still went a lot better than expected. It was also really fun because we saw so many fireworks being set off on our way from Chicago to South Bend.

Monday was blueberry picking. It was SO hot and humid (something we're not used to anymore) but we still had a great time and are thoroughly enjoying the fruits of our labor :) Steven fell asleep pretty soon after we started and so I set him down so he wouldn't be so hot. I was amazed he stayed asleep until we left. After we got home, my niece Juniper asked me to paint her fingernails and toenails. Of course, after I had painted her nails, everyone else wanted theirs painted too! It was much more of a feat than it would have been with the Peper family and their 2 girls...

Today we went to a splash pad (pictures of this will follow in a later post) which Steven wasn't a big fan of. The water was a little cold for him, I think. Then we went to the South Bend Chocolate Factory and went on a tour. It could have been a lot more enjoyable, but we had to wait 45 mins for the tour to start and it was so hot in there. We all got to wear awesome hair nets, though, so that made it all worth it. Steven fell asleep after not to long, even though he was basically sitting up in the sling. I guess he was pretty wiped out... We've all had lots of fun so far and look forward to the rest of the week!

¡¡¡Tres Meses!!!

Baby Steve is 3 Months old! He is getting cuter and cuter every day. I love watching him make new discoveries and learn new things. For instance, we've started putting him under this... toy (I don't even know what to call it), and he loves it! He has started grabbing the toys that hang down and swats at them too. Also, he scoots everywhere! As you can see in the pictures, I start him out in the middle (shown in picture #1), and the next time I look at him he's half-way off the mat or has turned himself sideways (pictures #2 and #3). It's hilarious! He's also still talking and laughing up a storm. I feel so lucky that I get to stay home and spend so much time with him.