Short Stories

Jackson is at a really fun age right now. He is talking a lot better and is so curious about everything. He says such cute things. I need to start writing them down or I forget them. I already feel like there's so much I have forgotten, and it makes me sad. So here's to being better about blogging!

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Lately Jackson has been obsessed with letters. He loves the Leap Frog Letter Factory show. He watched it one day in the car about a month ago. It must have sparked his interest because one day he came running out of his closet holding up some letters that used to hang on his wall. "A! Mama, A!" I was impressed. I had tried to teach him the letter A a couple months before, and he wasn't too interested. He kept insisting the A was a D. Now he is a sponge and begs to watch the Letter Factory every day.

My dad bought him this Letter Factory toy, and he loves playing with it and learning his letters. He will watch the show and find the matching letter and hold it up. He also enjoys stealing my book from me. "Mama's book," he'll say and then he will find all the letters he knows in it.

Sometimes he will find non-letter objects and bring them to me. He found a Frisbee with a hole in it and said, "O!" Or even black tape. "O!" he exclaims proudly. He does get some letters confused, like A and V, M and W, and S and Z. When I try to tell him it's actually a different letter, he looks at me like I'm crazy. Overall, he does pretty well.

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One weekend, we went to the zoo with Jackson and the tiger there was really active. It kept pacing back and forth by the glass. Jackson thought it was pretty amazing and kept waving HIS tiger in front of the glass to show the real tiger he had a tiger too. It was pretty cute. We stayed there for a good portion of our zoo visit.



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When Jackson wakes up, he looks for Ryan in two different places--in the office and in bed. When he can't find Ryan, he asks me where Dada is. I always tell him, he's at school! When Ryan comes home, Jackson gets really excited and runs and gives Ryan a big hug. It is pretty cute. Today, Jackson and I were running errands, and Ryan got home before us. Jackson didn't really pay Ryan that much attention when we got home, so Ryan requested his daily hug. Jackson quickly said no and tried to run away. Ryan picked him up and started to hug him, and Jackson started screaming (and laughing), "No! Dada, STOP IT!" Yes, that is his new phrase that we all love *cough, cough*

Speaking of which, Jackson also has learned to scream, "No!" over and over again. We also love this...not. We have been trying to teach him how to say, "No thank you" instead. Wish us luck. He is really good about saying please now, so maybe there is hope.

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Jackson has this new found love for babies. He loves to look on Instagram with me and watch all the baby videos. He will sometimes request them, "Babies, please?" Whenever he watches them, he gets this almost goofy smile on his face. I'm pretty sure he thinks babies are adorable.

He has 2 small tiger stuff animals and 1 bigger one. He calls the 2 small tigers the babies and the bigger one the mommy. He then kisses them. Sometimes he will feed them "Babas" and put them to bed.

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Whenever Jackson wants us to go somewhere or to follow him, he will grab out hand and drag us along. I'm pretty sure he thinks he is the boss in this family. If we don't follow him, he gives us a small smile and says, "No, no," very sweetly and then pulls harder. Sometimes he will even go behind us and push us until he gets his way.

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Two things that Jackson hates are (1) Baths. I think this stemmed from him having his hair washed and getting water in his eyes. I have to literally force him in the tub. Once he's in there and playing with his bath toys, he is happy as can be and doesn't want to come out. Go figure. (2) Bed time. He doesn't want to go to bed ever. He has become quite the expert at prolonging bedtime. He's learned to ask for a smoothie right before bed. This is Ryan and my weakness because they are healthy and so good for him. Jackson also learned to run up to Ryan and snuggle with him. This is the only time he will snuggle, and so it's hard for Ryan to send him to bed. Jackson has also been known to hide from his bedtime diaper change, request multiple high fives, kisses, and "ugga muggas" in his crib to prevent us from leaving, and when all else fails, will cry just for those few extra minutes he doesn't have to go to bed. This makes bed time quite the task.

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Jackson has a hard time with prayers. When we say it's prayer time, he starts whining and complaining pretty loudly. We realized it's because whenever we say a prayer, we make him do something he doesn't want to do--sit down and eat or go to bed. This makes it embarrassing at church when they say it's prayer time at nursery, and he is the only one yelling in defiance.

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Today, Jackson's cousin, Christian, came over to play while his siblings went to the temple. Jackson was pretty excited. They played really well together. Jackson has what we like to call a totem pole. Whoever is at the top is Jackson's favorite, and he will only let that person do things for him. I'm usually at the top. Grandma trumps me a lot of the time. Well Christian trumped both of us tonight. Jackson kept trying to get Christian to take him out of his crib. He wouldn't let anyone else do it. Unfortunetly, Christian is 9 and not old big enough. After awhile, Jackson finally let me do it, but it took some encouraging.

When Christan left, Jackson waved and said, "Bye, Christan!"

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Jackson was playing with his toy drill today. He was drilling a toy screw into the platform thing. He was concentrating so hard. When he actually did it, he threw his hands up in the air and screamed, "I DID IT!" It was pretty cute. He then stuck the drill in his mouth and turned it on, just to see what would happen. He quickly pulled it out and laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"I did it!" (Sorry it's blurry! Cell phone pic.)

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Now that Jackson is talking more, he wants to make sure he is understood. He will repeat things over and over until I repeat it back to him showing him I understand. The problem is that sometimes I can't understand what he is trying to say. The other day he was saying something like, "Dist! Dist! Dist" I had no idea what he was saying, and he was very persistent. Finally I pretended like I knew what he was talking about, "Oh! Dist!" and he then nodded his head in approval and walked away.

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Jackson loves his elephant backpack. I think he sees Ryan with his backpack and wants to copy him. He insists on putting his "pack pack" on and walking to the car, except he only walks a couple steps before he dramatically plops on the ground and can't walk anymore. I guess those "pack packs" are heavy things!

 

 

Meet Buzz

 

One night, about a week or so ago, Jackson was really excited about something. He kept pointing and trying to get Ryan's attention. At first, Ryan thought Jackson was excited about a book, but when he picked it up, Jackson said, "No! THAT!"

There on a ground was a ladybug.

We have a ladybug problem sometimes, so we usually just kill them. We thought Jackson was upset about it, so Ryan killed it and threw it in the trashcan. Wrong move. Jackson was devastated. His poor bottom lip was sticking out, quivering. He had huge crocodile tears streaming down his cheeks. Poor guy, we felt really bad.

Ryan took the ladybug carcass out of the trash and let Jackson see it.

Jackson endearingly named the bug "Buzz". I think he was trying to say bug, but it sounded more like "Buzz". "Buzz!" he would say proudly, pointing to his new pet. "Mama, Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" He was so excited, he grabbed the paper towel and ran towards me.

I hate bugs. Hate them. This was my worst nightmare. I scrambled away and yelped, "No! No, no, no, no!"

Jackson was completely offended. With one last effort to show me how cool Buzz was, he chucked the dead bug at me.

Yuck.

We finally threw the bug away after Jackson went to bed. "G'night, Buzz!" he exclaimed lovingly.

The next morning, Jackson was asking about Buzz. "Buzz? Buzz?"

Eventually, we found another one, and Ryan put it in a jar. It is now Jackson's pet. He proudly carries the jar around. This one's name is Buzz too. We keep collecting Buzzes and now there are 3 in there (although I think one may be dead). We looked up and saw that ladybugs eat aphids and sometimes leaves, but we are feeding our Buzz apple peels. He is still alive, so he must be okay. Maybe he is snacking on the dead Buzz.

Jackson loves his new pet so much, he even posed with it and said "Cheese!" for me.

 

 

The best thing about Buzz is that if he dies, there are always more Buzzes, and they look exactly the same!

January in a Nutshell

Time to dust off this ol blog. I couldn't let January pass me by without updating my blog at least once.

Let's rewind a bit:

Christmas was magical. We were in Washington, and Jackson was at such a fun age. He participated in some of the festive activities this year, and it makes me even more excited for next year when he can participate even more. Ryan's parents worked really hard to make everything perfect. We were definitely spoiled.

Christmas was extra long for us this year. We got back to Georgia and had another Christmas celebration with my family. Both of my sisters and their families were in town. Jackson loved having so many kids around. He was a little overwhelmed at first, but warmed up pretty quickly.

Most recently, we have been sick with a flu. Ryan was so so sick. We were blessed that he got sick on a 3 day weekend, so he didn't miss as much school. The doctor prescribed him Tamiflu, which is supposed to reduce the amount of time you are sick, but it actually made him even more sick. He stopped taking it after a day because he was getting better anyways. Jackson, who was the only that got the flu shot, also ended up getting sick. I wasn't nearly as bad, but am still battling the body aches and overall yucky feeling.

Yesterday I woke up from a nap and felt worse than I did before the nap. I was so bummed out because I thought I was getting better. I was sick all night and was wondering how I was going to make it through today with Ryan being at school and Jackson being extra needy. We were blessed yet again when it snowed and Ryan's school got cancelled.

Ummm yes, you heard that right...it snowed in Georgia!!! This happens once every couple years and when it happens, the whole city shuts down. Jackson LOVES the snow. He has been walking around the house saying, "Snow! Snow! Snow!" He begged to go outside on the back porch and was sooo happy when we took him "sledding".

Traffic has been crazy with everyone trying to go home and the snow still piling down. We have heard sirens all day long and hope that everyone makes it home safely.

Anyways, that is our life right now. Hopefully February brings warmer weather and healthier days.

2013

RYAN

Currently in his second year of law school

Interned at the child advocacy center this past summer

Drove over 8 hours and braved a torrential downpour to attend a BYU football game in Virginia

 

JULIE
Currently serving with young women ages 12-18 at church

Trying to learn how to be a mom to a two year old

Made an appearance on the jumbotron at the Oregon vs BYU game (check that off the bucketlist!).

 

JACKSON

Currently perfecting the terrible twos

Learned some of his numbers, animals, and Mickey Mouse character names

Enjoys singing, drinking smoothies, and running around

AS A FAMILY, WE...

Have gone to the zoo 5+ times

Had the opportunity to see all of our siblings and parents this year

Excited to see what 2014 brings.

 

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, the Stephens

Lions and Tigers and Zoos; Oh My!

Since we are a zoo loving family, I thought it would be fun to have a zoo-themed birthday party for Jackson. Here is what I came up with: (Prepare yourself for picture overload.)

Jackson woke up to these balloons. He kept saying "Woah!" and pointing at them. At first he was too afraid to go under them. He warmed up pretty fast and started hitting them. Poor kid, later that night when we put him to bed, I took all the balloons down. When he didn't fall asleep, I brought him back out and he was heartbroken that his precious balloons were gone. Oops. If I had known he wasn't going to bed, I would have left them up!

  

A quick video that morning. Check out his awesome bedhead!

 

 

He didn't stay sad for long though...

 



More balloons on the front door

 

 

Jackson is one loved boy. There were 2 more presents that aren't even pictured! I thought Jackson would love tearing into the wrapping paper, but he was a bit nervous to open the presents himself. He watched Dad open them instead! We took a break halfway through the present opening, so Jackson could play with some of his toys. I think it helped him feel not as overwhelmed.

 

We went to Chick-Fil-A for Jackson's birthday dinner--his favorite! We then came home and played some games.

 

A little twist on the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game.

Jackson won (he was allowed to look). Grandpa came in second place.

 

We then colored and cut out these elephants. Stick a party blower in there, and you have an elephant trunk! Jackson thought they were pretty funny.

 

Our zoo animal display. Jackson kept sneaking off with the animals throughout the day.

 

The picture bow

 

 

These kabobs were a bust. They wouldn't stand up on their own!

 

Jackson thought these masks were hilarious. He refused to wear them at his party though!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!!! 



Jackson is 2!

Can you believe our little boy just turned 2?

Jackson is such a joy in my life. He keeps me laughing with his fun sense of humor, melts my heart with his sweetness, and frustrates me at times with his stubborness. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fun Facts about 2 year old Jackson:

--He still loves his Tiger and Blankie. He doesn't carry it around with him quite as much, but they are still his pals and he sleeps with them every night.

--Jackson loves animals. He is really good at saying the animal noises. My favorite is when he does a duck noise. He says, "Duck! Duck!" instead of "Quack! Quack!" and I think it's really cute.

--His favorite show is Mickey Mouse. He used to love Leap Frog videos, but he has since been converted thanks to the Disney store and Grandma and Grandpa's Mickey room.




--He is still my shy little guy. Jackson will hide his face in his hands or my shirt if a stranger is trying to talk to him. This makes for a tough time taking family pictures.

At the puppet museum

--He loves to sing. Loves it. We have an Elmo CD in the car with 5 kids songs on it. He knows them all and will sing loudly in the back of the car.




--Favorite foods: smoothies, french fries, chicken nuggets, apples

--Talks a lot more now. He has trouble enunciating sometimes and as a result, sounds British.



"There it is"

--We have a family zoo membership pass and have been to the zoo several times. Jackson is in awe that animals are real. The other day the lion was roaring from the top of a rock, and Jackson (and Ryan) thought it was the coolest thing ever.

--We took Jackson to the doctor today, and to say Jackson was upset was an understatement. He fought the doctor as hard as he could. It took the doctor, Ryan, and me to hold the little guy down, and he still broke the doctor's light tool. Jackson's doctor said that Jackson was the strongest kid in the world. We'll be sure to add that to his resume when he's older.

--Had a small obsession with shoes for a little while

 

He thought it was funny to put shoes on Tiger

Ain't nothing wrong with a boy in leopard print

 

Boots...and yes there's a video to go along with this

--The first thing people say after they find out how old Jackson is is, "Wow! He's big for his age!"

--Loves duplos, Little People, trains, cars, books, and animal figurines


Jackson's 2 year old stats:

Height: 38 inches (Greater than 99th percentile)
Weight: 33 lbs (96th percentile)
Head Circumference: 51 cm (98th percentile)

I never did post Jackson's birth story. I typed it out, but for some reason never shared it. In honor of Jackson turning 2, here is a little snippet I wrote just after Jackson was born.

"Jackson Ryan Stephens was 9 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long (not sure how accurate this was, we think he was longer). He was born on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 3:23 pm. When I saw him, he looked so big! My mom had said she thought he was going to be 9 1/2 lbs and the dr laughed at her! He said that if there was a 10 lb baby then the dr needed to be smacked. When the baby came out, the dr was like, "Uh oh, looks like I need to be smacked!" It was crazy to see the baby and to think that he was actually MINE! He was perfect. He wasn't blue or white at all, he was rosy pink and the size of a 3 month old. They put him on my chest and he stopped crying and listened to my breathing and heart beat. I loved the little guy!"

Trunk-or-Treat

Tonight was Jackson's first trunk or treat! I thought long and hard about Jackson's Halloween costume. He's at the age where he refuses to wear anything crazy. Hats, bandanas, funny shoes--all out of the picture. I also wanted to get something that he would be able to wear again.

So this is what we decided on:

Skeleton pajamas! He was really excited to put them on when he saw that Mom and Dad had matching shirts.

 

A family of skeletons.

I exclaimed that we were a family of bones! Ryan asked me what bone I was. I didn't really get what he was saying, so I said, "I'm Mama Bone!"

In which he replied, "I've never heard of that bone before."

I told him he was a "funny bone".

Jackson had a good time at the trunk-or treat. We arrived near the end thanks to the BYU game. Jackson was a little shy, but soon perked up when he realized that people were handing out CHOCOLATE. He had this small little pumpkin basket that we bought at Target last year for $1. He had that thing in a death grip all night.

There was this one kid, probably around 7 years old, that wanted to give Jackson candy. He reached out and tried to put it in Jackson's basket, but Jackson kept desperately pulling away. The poor kid tried 3 or 4 times to give him a Snickers. I'm pretty sure Jackson thought the kid was trying to steal his candy.

By the time we were done trunk-or-treating, most of the kids had left. We hadn't even gotten our huge Costco-sized bag of candy out yet.  So we put Jackson in a wagon and went around giving adults handfuls of candy.

At one point, I had put the half-empty bag of candy next to Jackson, and he started frantically stuffing chocolate in his basket. When I tried to give the missionaries chocolate, Jackson did not want to give me the bag. I think he was worried that I was going to give all the candy away. Poor kid--he has no idea that his Daddy will probably eat most of his candy while he's sleeping anyways. :P

When we put Jackson in his car seat, he refused to give up his chocolate stash and kept his prized basket of candy next to him all the way home.