The Stevener's Story

Let the Journey Begin!

2012-01-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

So I apologize for not writing and keeping people updated in such a long time! For those of you who don't know we have had quite the first month of Cooper's life! Here is our story! Basically, our sweet Cooper failed his hearing screening at the hospital and we were referred to a place here in town called The Sunshine Cottage to do a more accurate hearing screening to see if he just had fluid in his ears, which would cause a temporary hearing loss, or if he had permanent hearing loss. We found out on January 5th that Cooper had both fluid in his ears, that has now gone away completely, and permanent hearing loss in both ears. The ranges of hearing loss go from mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Profound being where they have no hearing at all. Well, Cooper has mild hearing loss in his left ear and moderate to severe in his right. Which means he can hear us it is just like a whisper. Obviously, this news was absolutely heart breaking to hear as any parent wants their child to be just like any other normal hearing person, but there are a ton of good things to look at also. First, at least Cooper does have some hearing which is good. Second, there are so many resources to help Cooper be just like any other child his age! We have started a program at The Sunshine Cottage, which we have since found out is one of the best schools for deaf and hearing impaired children in the state, and they have already gotten things together for Cooper to have hearing aids put on by his 2 month birthday!!! That is amazing!!!! Basically, the program at the Sunshine Cottage is a school where they do no sign language and teach the kids how to listen with their hearing aids and talk just like anybody else. It is pretty amazing to go to the school because they have both hearing impaired children and normal hearing children in the same class and ALL of the kids are talking and learning! We have started a program there called The Parent Infant Program where we meet once a week for the next 3 years where they will teach us strategies to help Cooper speak and develop just like any other child. Lastly, we have been able to see just how amazing God really is. After having no complications during both pregnancy and delivery we were quite surprised to find this news out, and especially since no one on both sides of our family have had any history of hearing loss. But we know that this has happened for a reason and that God is going to use Cooper and his story to do things we can't even imagine. We continue to seek God's guidance as we go along this journey of being the best parents for both Cooper and Mariella! Mariella is such an amazing big sister and so sweet to Cooper and talks to him constantly and we know that God is going to do incredible things in her life as she will see Cooper grow up as well! Cooper has to be one of the sweetest little boys ever and loves to just snuggle and is so layed back!!!! He basically only cries when he is hungry and tired! He is sleeping about 5-6 hr. stretches at night and LOVES to eat! He is growing and growing! Cooper has begun to smile for us and trying to make little baby babbles! We look forward to a couple of weeks when he gets his hearing aids so that he can hear us completely and really start interacting more! I will continue to keep everyone posted along our journey and look forward to all the incredible things God has in store for our family. Thank you for all your prayers! Here are some updated pictures of our sweet little ones!!!!

Hi mommy! I love my baby brother!

Here you go Cooper! You can read this book!

I love giving my brother hugs!!!

Enjoying a day in Boerne on our new Sit and Stand stroller!!! Pretty fun!

Me and my baby brother just hanging out on the couch!

(I thought it was so cute how their arms were almost in an identical position!)

Cooper sleeping with all the toys Mariella thought he needed!

Getting a little sleep time with mommy!!!

This is the life!!!!

Oh yeah! This bath feels awesome!!!

Hi mommy! Do I really have to be in the sink for my bath?

(Mariella played with his little bath sponge during her bath so it was soaking wet and cold so we had to improvise and use the sink for his bath! He didn't seem to mind!)

Thank you so much Gigi for giving me a bath!

(I thought this was so sweet how he was looking up at her!)

Our sweet Cooper's smile!

And another cute smile!

Cooper just talking to his mommy!!!

And then there is Mariella!!! Our silly little girl who loves to wear mommies sunglasses and then be goofy!!!

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

We hope you all have had such a great Christmas and New Years! We have been busy around here so I am just now getting to write the blog about Christmas! This Christmas was absolutely perfect! We just stayed home this year and got to have a nice Christmas morning at our house as a family and got to celebrate with my mom who was so sweet to come and help with Cooper and stay for Christmas! Mariella woke up and came downstairs to all the fun things Santa brought, but still didn't quite understand how she got to open all the gifts and they belonged to her! We ended up opening a few at a time through out the day which was fun! This Christmas will be one in which we will remember forever as it was our first here at our new house and where we got to start our Christmas traditions as a family! We are so thankful that God gave us His son and have been reminded through everything we are going through with our son Cooper how precious life is and how important it is to have faith in everything and trust Him completely. I plan to do an update on Cooper soon so please be on the lookout!

Merry Christmas from the Steveners!!!

Our sweet little ones in their matching boy and girl Christmas outfits! Our little elves!!!

Here you go baby Cooper!!!

(Mariella was so sweet to hand out gifts to Cooper! In fact that was the first thing she wanted to do when she saw all the presents...give her brother one! She is such a sweet big sister!)

Our sweet Cooper with his first Christmas present!

Oh yeah!!! I can't wait to open this HUGE gift!!!

Yeah! I got my own grill and dining set like my daddy! I can't wait til it warms up so I can have it on the patio and grill when my daddy grills!!!

This Gingerbread House was so much fun to decorate...oh wait I didn't decorate it I just ate all the candies while my Gigi made it and my mommy helped me decorate it!!! Thank you Gigi for making such an awesome Gingerbread House!!!!

I love my Nana and baby brother!!!

Nothing like a family Christmas picture first thing in the morning!!! Sleepy eyes and all!

Introducing Baby Cooper!

2011-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Our sweet baby boy is finally here and we are super excited to have him here, safe in our arms! Cooper John Stevener was born on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 at 7:57am and weighed 6lbs. 5oz. and 18 1/2 inches long! He is our little mister! The delivery experience was night and day different than with Mariella as it was a scheduled c-section. Things went so smooth with the delivery and I was able to really take everything in this time, as I wasn't as exhausted as I was with Mariella! Our hospital stay was great, but seemed to last forever as our sweet baby boy had a couple of different things we had to check out. Big sister Mariella came by to visit and she was absolutely adorable! She didn't want to hold him, but just kept looking at him saying "Hi, baby brother!" and whenever new people would come in the room she would say "You no take my brother!" Mariella behaved so well at the hospital and was such a sweet big sister! We are excited to finally be home and start learning how to be a family of 4! Thank you Lord for the miracle of life and may He continue to work on our family and help us to trust in Him in everything that we may encounter in the future! Here are just a few pictures...more to come!

Our sweet baby Cooper!

He is such a sweetie pie! Even the nurse brought him to me and said how sweet he was in the nursery and that he was so easy going! Hopefully that lasts!

Proud mommy!

Proud daddy!

Hello baby Cooper!

(This was Mariella's first time to meet Cooper! She did great!)

Yeah! Baby Cooper and Mommy and Daddy are home!

(She stayed up late just so that she would be up when we got home! As soon as we got out of the car she said welcome home Cooper! So far she is being such a great helper!)

Ready or Not....

2011-12-03T07:52:00.001-08:00

I am 38 wks. and have 6 more days until this baby boy officially enters this world whether we are ready or not! Unless this little boy decides to come earlier, we are scheduled to have a c-section next Friday, Dec. 9th at 7:30am!!!! Besides the fact that we have to be at the hospital at 5am we are super excited to meet our precious little boy! This pregnancy has been such a blessing and this little boy has so much character even without us meeting him yet! He loves to move around all the time and gets really moving when Mariella is around and starts talking to him! It is super cute! Besides me not being able to sleep very well these past couple of weeks, probably God's way of getting my ready for all the sleepless nights ahead, I have absolutely LOVED being pregnant and watching my belly grow! We continue to pray that everything goes ok with the delivery and that our sweet baby boy is strong and healthy!

Here is my baby belly at 38 wks!

While Robert and I are getting ready for our new addition, Mariella is getting ready to be a BIG SISTER! She is beginning to really be a big girl and loves creative play! Here she is playing with her Nativity scene that Gigi gave her! She loves talking to her toys and acting things out!

She is also super excited about Christmas and all the fun decorations we put up around the house!

One of her most favorite things to do right now after bath right before bed is to enjoy some popcorn and watch the Christmas classics...right now she LOVES Frosty the Snowman! Here she is with Daddy laying on the floor watching her show! So sweet! I will have to post a video of her singing! She is super cute and loves to sing Frosty the Snowman and dance around!

She is also in love with her tutus! This particular night she decided it was necessary to put a tutu on over her pajamas and then basically drink her popcorn! Pretty sure her popcorn container was empty and she was just making sure she got every last crumb...just like her daddy does!

Building towers is something she is beginning to really love! Here she is trying to see how high she can stack up her play-do containers until they fall down!!!

And she is going to be the best big sister because she LOVES to help me clean! Her favorite day is "dusting day!!!" Just so you know I did not make this day up! She decided to call every day that I dust "dusting day" and gets the little swiffer to help! She thought it was necessary this particular day to wear her chef hat and take her broom outside to sweep the sidewalk! Sweet little girl!

And most of all she LOVES to cuddle with her daddy! She has become quite the daddies little girl and can't get enough of her daddy!!!!

We are so thankful for every moment we get to spend with our little girl as she is growing up to be such a big girl, and can't wait for all the times we get to spend with both a baby boy and big girl!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T14:23:00.001-08:00

Since our little boy's arrival will be soon we decided to stay close to home and spend Thanksgiving with friends! We went over to our neighbors house for the day and Mariella had a blast playing with all the kids! Then for the evening we were excited to have our friends, Ben and Amy, come over with their kids for the A&M game! It was such a great day and although we had a blast with friends we missed being with our family! We have been trying to teach Mariella that Thanksgiving isn't just about Pilgrims and Indians, but also about giving thanks for things in our lives! We are so thankful for all our amazing family, friends, the amazing things God has done for our family and our lives, and just so thankful for the sweet blessing of children! Although, some days can be a challenge I wouldn't change being a mom in the world! Oh, and one last special thanks to a very dedicated reader of our blog and for all his input as to what is going on in our lives...thank you Mark Hall! :) We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Steveners!

Don't really like this picture but it shows my huge baby belly and how excited and thankful we are to be 37 weeks along today!

Hi Mommy! I love my new friend, Reese! She is so much fun!

***Here are a couple of fun pictures that I wanted to share of our sweet Mariella! She is such a blessing and beginning to be quite the little girl!

I am ready to go...got my hat, blanket, and of course big girl water bottle!

This is my Miss Tammy face!

(So funny story...one day Mariella came home from school and said this is what Miss Tammy, her teacher, did to her today! I immediately knew that was a face of correction so I asked her why did Miss Tammy have to make that face at her? She said because she was talking during "silent time", also known as nap time! I then asked her if she obeyed Miss Tammy and stopped talking...her response was classic..she looked up and without hesitation said "no mommy!" They never said anything to me when I went to pick her up from school, but we definitely had a talk about obeying her teachers and any adult!!!! So now whenever you ask Mariella, what is her Miss Tammy face this is it!)

Take a Peek!!!!

2011-11-23T06:10:00.001-08:00

So the kids rooms are nearly finished!!! As I have mentioned before, my sweet husband offered to do the baby boy's nursery and I definitely took him up on the offer! Besides one more thing Robert has in mind but can't do until we have an official name for this little one, the nursery is finished!!! I would have to say that Robert did an amazing job! With him doing that room I got to work on Mariella's big girl room and she is loving it! Take a look.... (keep in mind you can see each picture little better if you click on the pictures!)

Introducing Baby boy Stevener's Rangers Baseball room....

Robert did such a great job picking out the bed, bedding, wall color, and all the little touches! Especially the baseball rug! Super cute!

Here is the dresser Robert had growing up and he just made it work for the room! I absolutely LOVE the baseball lamp Robert chose and adorable picture frames!

Oh and I had to take a close up of the knobs Robert changed...they are little baseball bats with balls and a glove!

We used the same changing table as Mariella, but Robert was so sweet in spray painting it red as it used to be white!

(I will have to admit that I was the one that did all the organizing baskets on the changing table!!! It was better for me to do that as I can tend to be a bit OCD when making sure I know where everything is and making sure that everything has a place!)

Check out the super cute valences!!! Love them! And the adorable baseball caps hanging on the baseball hooks and the pictures above his bed were done so sweet! Robert spray painted picture frames in red and blew up Rangers pictures to go in the frames! So sweet!

Thank you Robert for taking the time to make our little boy's room so precious!!! He will absolutely LOVE it!!!

And now on to Mariella's room....Unfortuantely the pictures didn't turn out as good as I hoped due to the lighting but you can get the jist... which was all Mariella really cared about was that the walls were...

PINK!!!!!

Her new little reading knook as we took her rocking chair and ottoman and used it in the nursery!

Her windows with new valences...

I didn't change much in her room it is just amazing as to how much a new wall color can make a room feel so much more fun! Mariella loves her room and is so sweet when showing people her room! She will run to her room, turn on the light and yell "Ta Da!"

Hope you enjoyed getting a little peek of our kids room! Nothing too fancy but absolutely perfect for us!

Our Sweet Baby Shower!

2011-11-19T17:31:00.001-08:00

A couple of weekends ago a couple of my friends, Bethany and Rachel, were so sweet to throw me a baby shower! It was such a great shower and this little boy was blessed with way too many things! Everyone was so generous and we just feel so blessed and excited to be able to celebrate the soon arrival of our baby boy with everyone!

The adorable cake is a little clue as to what our poor boy is going to have no choice but to like...

BASEBALL...

And to be more specific...he better like Texas Rangers baseball!!! Just like his daddy!

Of course every boy needs their very own Rangers baseball and bat...

An adorable Josh Hamilton t-shirt...

Adorable Texas Rangers blankets...

And daddies favorite...pennants!!!!

Besides Rangers stuff we were blessed with TONS of adorable baby boy clothes and precious Christmas outfits!

Thank you so much Bethany and Rachel for hosting such a great shower!!!! I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends!

And absolutely LOVED having my sister and mom there...

As well as Robert's mom...the best Mother-in-law ever!

Thank you everyone for sharing this amazing time with us and can't wait for our little boy to meet all of you!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!!!

2011-11-14T12:33:00.001-08:00

So who would have ever thought Christmas in November could be so much fun!!! I am 35 weeks and have only 4 more weeks until our scheduled c-section and new baby boy arrives, and even less than that if he decides to come sooner so of course that means....NESTING!!!! I am in the nesting mode and was not about to start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving just because that is what people usually do! I figured why not do it now and get it out of the way so that when the baby comes we can just focus on the transition of having only 1 child to 2!!! So that means poor Robert had to get everything down and I am officially decorating for Christmas!!! Merry Early Christmas!!!

Baby boy at 35 wks.!

(By the refrigerator since that is my best friend right now!!!)

YEAH!!!! Tree is up but still have to decorate it!!!

Here let me fix my tree also!

(Mariella has her own tree, which she will put her Jesse Tree Ornaments on, and she saw me pulling all the branches apart and getting Mommy and Daddy's tree ready for ornaments and the next thing I know she was over at her tree doing the same!)

Happy Birthday Nana!

2011-11-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a blast! My family came into town to come to a baby shower that my girlfriends threw for me! I have tons of pictures of that and will post those soon! Another fun thing we did while my family was in town was celebrate Nana's birthday!!! Mariella was so fun this year singing Happy Birthday to Nana when they brought a yummy birthday dessert! We were so excited to all be together to celebrate Nana's birthday and feel so blessed to have such an amazing Nana!!! Also, I have posted a cute little video of Mariella singing Happy Birthday to her Nana...please excuse the hiccups!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Thank you Nana for sharing your yummy birthday dessert with me!

Here Nana let me help you open your gifts!

I love you Aunt Teri and Uncle Josh! Say Cheese! Thanks for coming to visit!

(Mariella actually took this picture herself! With a little help from Daddy of course!)

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-11-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween! So our sweet Mariella did not want to be anything this year except for a Pirate!!!! We had a fun time going to a Fall Festival at a church over the weekend and and then Halloween evening we went Trick or Treating!!! Because the homes in our new neighborhood our more spread out we decorated the golf cart very spooky and headed out Trick or Treating with some friends from the neighborhood! Mariella had a blast this year and really got the hang of how to Trick or Treat! Even though she had a great time Trick or Treating I still love the fact that our sweet Mariella was scared of practically anyone dressed up in a costume and called the houses that were decorated with lights and stuff a "pooky" house!!!! Here are some pictures!!! Hope you enjoy!

Arrrr Matey!

Arrr here is my sword now give me your candy! Please!

(We tried to teach her to be a polite pirate!)

Happy Halloween from the Steveners!!!

(This was at the Fall Festival! Mariella was pretty much scared of everything and kept saying "Let's get out of here daddy!")

Hi Daddy! Let's go! The golf cart is ready and so am I!

Me and my big girl friends!

Me and my friend Chad!

Trick or Treat!

It's Official....

2011-10-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

So lots of things have become completely official in the past couple of days! First, it is official! I am officially 33 weeks today and unless this little boy decides to come sooner we have scheduled his C-Section for Friday, December 9th at 7:30am!!!! Second, it is official that we seriously have the BEST friends ever!!! Our friends Christian, Sarah and their precious daughter, Reagan, came into town because as you all know Robert is a huge Rangers fan and they are in the World Series and Christian and Robert could not miss a chance of winning the World Series and not watch the game together! So while they were here Sarah was so disappointed that she wouldn't be able to come down for my shower so she decorated the house while I was out picking up Mariella from school and threw me her own little shower! It was so sweet and thoughtful and it is official that this little boy is loved by all! Also, one of the most official things ever is that the Rangers are officially draining us all emotionally and physically as they attempt to win the World Series! Game 6 last night was the most emotional roller coaster experience I have had in a while and I am now just trying to get ready for Game 7 and prepare for whatever happens. Unfortunately, due to a rain delay Christian and Sarah had to go home due to work schedules and won't be here for Game 7, but after last night I think we are all just ready for this to be over and let the emotional roller coaster end! But most of all it is official that we are so blessed by our friends and family and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us as we are on our way from being a family of 3 to a family of 4!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures and Go Rangers!!!!

SURPRISE!!!

Wow, I even got a gift also! I love my new book about being a big sister!

The best friend a girl could ask for!

Yeah! Little boy bibs!!!

Aww...such sweet and tiny baby boy outfits!!!!

Yeah! Daddy gets a chance to open some gifts also! Gotta love those sports receiving blankets!

Me and the hubby!!! Love you!!!

The crew!!!

Sweet Reagan in her Rangers gear and ready for Game 6!

Ooohhh mommy she is sooo cute! Are you sure they have to leave?

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch and as usual picture taking went the best it could go with a 2 year old! Mariella wasn't too sure about all the pumpkins at first, but then as she started to understand that she was allowed to pick out her own and that we were going to buy one for us to carve she began to get a little more excited! When we got home we all got together and watched Robert carve the pumpkin! Mariella really didn't want anything to do with the whole thing due to the stinky smell and gooey insides!!! However, she was fascinated with how it lights up when all finished and loved that Robert chose to carve the pumpkin into a "T" for you know what....The Texas Rangers! Here are some pictures! Hope you enjoy!

Can I please have this pumpkin? It is just right!

Wow! There are a ton of pumpkins! I better be careful!

Cheese!

(Mariella LOVES being barefoot so if that meant she would be in a better mood then so be it!)

This pumpkin is perfect for us to carve! I can even sit on it!

Daddy has his pumpkin and I have mine! Life is good!

Oh yeah! My cheese face is pretty scary! Watch out!

Here you go! I love helping my daddy pay for our pumpkins!

Daddy I love my Rangers pumpkin! Thank you for carving it for me!

Fun time with Meema and Papa!

2011-10-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend Meema and Papa came into town to visit! We had a great time just hanging out around the house and cooking out getting ready for the big Texas Rangers baseball game! Meema is from up North so that made for some good fun competition as she was cheering for Detroit! Mariella had so much fun showing Meema and Papa everything about her house and toys and can't stop talking about them! Thank you so much Meema and Papa for coming to visit! We had a blast and look forward to seeing you again! Here are some pictures of our weekend! Hope you enjoy!

Just hangin' out with my Meema and Papa!

(I promise Mariella was happy it is just next to impossible these days to get her to smile in pictures!)

Isn't this golf cart awesome Papa?!??!

Hi mommy! Meema and I are having a blast playing!

There is still love in the family even though we don't agree on which team is best!!!

Thank you Meema and Papa for my new kitty Lulu!!! She is so sweet!

(Don't worry this cat IS NOT real! The kitty cat just looks real and purrs, and meows, and Mariella absolutely LOVES it! She even sleeps with Lulu in her bed now!)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-10-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

So my sweet hubby's birthday was this past Tuesday and it was so fun celebrating his arrival into being officially in his early 30's!!! He had a very low key birthday this year, but Mariella was so sweet in helping me decorate the house, make daddy some birthday brownies, and give him a Texas Rangers coffee mug with a Starbucks gift card inside! Then that evening Robert and I got a sitter and went out to eat at The Melting Pot!!! YUMMY!!! Mariella was so sweet to her daddy all day by constantly singing "Happy Birthday" to him whenever they would talk and was so good at trying to keep her gift a secret! I knew better than to leave Robert with her by himself very long, because I knew she would tell him what his surprise was! Mariella and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing daddy and husband and are so thankful for everything he does for our family!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!! We love you!

Look Daddy here is your card!

(she loved helping daddy unwrap his gift and open all his cards!)

Hi Mommy! Can you please stop taking pictures? I really want Daddy to read my card!

I picked out such a great card for daddy! I hope he likes it!

Here daddy let me help you with that!

Fun Family Birthday!

2011-10-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had so much fun celebrating our nephew, Preston's, first birthday! He was just so precious the entire time and was so sweet to all his cousins! Mariella had a blast with all the Safari theme toys at the party and loved being with all her cousins! She especially liked the cupcakes her Aunt Kara made and loved watching Preston open his presents! Although, getting Mariella to actually take a picture with her cousins was another story! So unfortunately it is what it is and her boy cousins were so sweet and patient with her! Here are just a few from the birthday! Hope you enjoy!

Oh yeah! Thank you daddy for sharing a yummy cupcake with me!

Happy Birthday Preston! We love you!

Thanks Preston for sharing your wagon with me!

Hey wait for me!!!

(This is the best I could get of Mariella with her cousins...the poor boys were all sitting great in the wagon and literally all Mariella had to do was stand next to them but she just wanted to run!)

Yeah!!! I don't know where I am running to but I am a woman on a mission!

Come and get me Matthew!!!

Third Trimester Here We Come!!!

2011-09-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

So we are officially 28 weeks along and so far the Lord has blessed us with a good pregnancy! I mean besides the heat and pure exhaustion from taking care of a 2yr. old all day everything is going great! Our baby boy is quite the character and seems to be a lot more active than Mariella was inside my belly! Pretty much whenever I eat or drink something I can guarantee to feel a quick or sudden move a few minutes later! He absolutely loves hearing Mariella talk to him and she loves to just come right up to my belly and say hi little baby and give my tummy a sweet kiss! I hope and pray that Mariella and her baby brother have a great relationship and I know that once Mariella adjusts to having a new little one around she will be an amazing big sister! Just a quick little story! She and I were in the nursery today, which is coming along well, and she saw the changing table and insisted that the baby have some diapers and wipes so she headed straight to her room and came back with a handful of diapers and wipes and said "here you go Mommy, these are for the baby!" So sweet! We can't wait to meet our little baby boy and just pray that he continues to grow to be a healthy and strong little boy!

Baby boy Stevener bump at 28 wks.!!!

Gig-Em Aggies!!!!

2011-09-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend Robert and I got to use our season tickets and go to an A&M game together!!! It seems like even though we have season tickets we hardly get to go to a game together so having my mom come down to watch Mariella while we headed up to College Station for the game was a real treat! We were so thankful to have Nana come into town and Mariella was super excited to spend the day with her Nana! Overall, Mariella did very well with Nana and has been talking about it every since we got home! Now the A&M game wasn't as good! I mean it was fun being in College Station and the whole atmosphere was great, but it was pretty hot and watching them just destroy themselves in the 3 quarter was just not very fun! However, we did have something fun happen! During half time we went down to a little spot where there was shade and all of a sudden people started directing us into a straight line onto the field so that we could cheer the players onto the field as they were coming out for the second half! It was something that we had never done before and was pretty exciting being on the field and high fiving all the players!!! Overall, the day was great and it was nice to just be able to get out of town for a while and know that Mariella was in good hands! Thank you Nana for coming in and watching our sweet Mariella and we love you so much! Here are some pictures of the weekend!

Gig-Em Aggies! Whoop!!!

(Here we are on the field before the players came out!!!)

Cheese! I am so excited to ride on the golf cart with my Nana and show her the park!!!

Wheee!!! Thank you Nana for pushing me on the swing! Higher, Higher!!!

My Apologies take 2!

2011-09-15T19:37:00.001-07:00

So I am doing this from my phone and it is different from my computer so I apologize for messing up that first time! So apparently Robert watched the little video of Mariella talking about what she needed to do before she can have babies in her tummy and has brought it to my attention that I asked her the question the wrong way! I should of asked her "What all do you have to do before you can a baby in your belly?" not "What do you have to do to have a baby in your tummy?!" She obviously has no clue about the birds and the bees and we hope to keep it that way for many more years to come! So I apologize for my wording!!!! My bad!

My Apologies!!!

2011-09-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

Cheese!!!

2011-09-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today was Picture Day at school! Considering the fact that Mariella normally refuses to smile for any picture I take or always says "no picture" when I want to take some she did very good for the pictures I took before she went off to school! We talked all about how people were going to be taking her picture at school and to say "Cheese" when they ask her to smile! Mariella talked the whole way to school about what she was going to do when they took her picture and that she wasn't going to say "no!" When I went to get her the teachers said she did great and I look forward to seeing how they turned out! Here are some pictures of how she looked before she left for school! Thank you Gigi and Daddy-Doc for her adorable dress! She finally fits in it and it is perfect for Fall! Hope you enjoy!

Also, I have added 3 new videos of Mariella on YouTube!!! Finally! Just go to youtube.com and type in heidistevener for username and mariella for password! The first one is about Mariella talking about what all she has to do before she can have babies in her belly! Since mommy has a baby in her belly she thinks she can have one too! And then I have included 2 videos of her telling us her colors! She is beginning to learn her colors and does pretty good most of the time, just gets stuck on a few! I am so proud of her! Hope you enjoy!

Hi Mommy! I love my dress!

Aaahhhh!!! Is this what you mean by "CHEESE?"

Look mommy! I can sit Indian style just like you!

CHEESE!!! I think I got it now!

Big Girl Bed!!!

2011-09-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

So we finally have decided to move Mariella to her big girl bed! She is just getting big so fast! I feel like we have been waiting and putting it off but now that we are planning on staying in town for a bit we thought it would be a perfect time to transition into a big girl bed! We just used Mariella's crib and converted it to a full size bed and bought some rails to insure that she won't fall off! I had so much fun shopping for big girl bedding and absolutely fell in love with these colors when I saw them! I am currently working on changing her decorations in her room and we are planning on painting the walls soon so that everything will hopefully come together great! Mariella did amazing sleeping in her bed and has adjusted to her bed perfectly! She knows she may never get out of bed and if she is up and we haven't come to get her she can read her "bed books" (just a basket of books on her bed) until we come up! So far she is doing amazing and napping and sleeping perfectly! It is so hard to believe that we have officially ended the crib stage and on to bigger things!

Yeah!!! I love my big girl bed!!!

This bed is awesome!!! Is it nap time yet?!?!?

(The rails look like they are leaning back in this picture, but I promise they are safe and secure being held down by locks and the mattress!)

Mariella's First Day of School!

2011-08-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, technically I guess you should say today was her first day of Mother's Day Out, but to her she is going to "big girl school!" Mariella is going just one day a week at Grace Point Church from 9-2pm! We decided to take it slow and just do one day a week to see how she does! She woke up super excited about going to school today and to be honest I was a bundle of different emotions. I was excited, sad, and nervous, all in one! Robert and I dropped her off together for her first day and she did amazing! She only cried for about 10 seconds and then was off and playing with her new friends! When I went to pick her up the first thing the teacher said was "Wow, Mariella is very smart and very talkative!" Yep, we weren't too sure about her being smart just because we don't really know what to compare her to, but the talking thing is for sure! She talks non-stop and goodness knows what she was telling the teachers! Mariella had a great day at school and I just hope it continues! We are super excited about all the fun upcoming events she has going on in school the rest of the year, and just pray that she is respectful towards her teachers and classmates and learns about Jesus at the same time! Here are some pictures of our little girl growing up!

School here I come!

All my fun stuff!!!

(This is all her goodies...she brings her own backpack, lunchbox, and my new Dora nap mat! She didn't nap at school but did a good job laying on her map and not walking all around waking kids up...the good thing about that is that she took a great nap when she got home!!!)

Cheese! Thank you daddy for taking me to school!

Hmm...wonder what that is?

(This is Mariella with some of her friends and one of her teachers!)

Wow! That is cool! I love school!

It's time to hit the beach!!!

2011-08-19T14:37:00.001-07:00

What is the best thing to do when you are pregnant, tired, HOT, and don't want to do anything in this heat unless it involves water?!?!?!? Well of course, go to the beach! We were blessed with the opportunity to go to San Destin, FL with a whole group of people, 2 groups being our neighbors! Mariella had such a fun time with all the big girls and once again proved that she was meant for the water! She LOVED playing in the water and jumping over the waves, going out far with her daddy to attack the waves, and build sand castles, find sea shells, and just have some fun!!! She did incredible on the drive since it was about a total 13 hour drive! She just handled it like a champ and is amazing! Thank goodness for DVD players, books, and toys! We stayed for a week and can't wait to go again...next time with 2 kiddos!!! On a sad note, on our way home last Friday my Uncle Bob, whom we were very close to, passed away after battling kidney cancer. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer in April and has been battling it ever since. Although, his passing came much sooner than we ever wanted we all realize that he is in a better place with no more pain and suffering. My Uncle Bob was an amazing man and he will be greatly missed. Here are some photos of our beach trip! Hope you enjoy!

More, more more!!! I love the waves!

(Robert's face doesn't look as excited but things a daddy will do for his daughter are unlimited!)

Hmm...why is this sand just sticking to me?!?

Yeah daddy...I found another seashell!

Here I come Olivia...get ready for some sand on your head!

(The girls were so sweet to Mariella and pretty much let her do whatever she wanted to them!)

Let's get this bike ride going! I am ready and pumped!

Ok, so maybe not completely ready...where is my mommy?!??!

(This was Mariella's first time to ride on the back of a bike! Let's just say our daughter isn't much of a daredevil so this was a huge step for her!!!)

Doing good daddy!

Ok seriously think my daddy is having way too much fun with this. I am ready to hit the beach!

With my friends before we head out to the beach to do my first crab hunting adventure ever!

Crab catch number 1!

UMM...no thank you! I will look but definitely not touch!

Yeah for carousels!

(They had a ton of fun things for kids to do in this little area near our hotel and of course we could not get out of there without riding the carousel!)

Me and my mommy!

This park is awesome! I love this huge swing! Can I have this at home?!?!?

Half Way There!!!

2011-08-03T13:59:00.001-07:00

It is so crazy to think that I am already 20 wks.!!! Seriously, I don't know where the time has gone! I feel awful because I haven't taken as many pictures of my belly growing as I did with Mariella and haven't really started working on planning as I did with Mariella but oh well! That is life! I am super excited to say that Robert has asked to be completely in charge of decorating the nursery and I was totally down with that! I figured the poor guy has had to sit in a pink room, with chandeliers, and tassels everywhere the past couple of years he deserves to make up his boys room however he wants! Plus, it is one less thing I have to do! Don't get me wrong I will still have "a must have in the nursery list" as far as organizing baskets and things of that manner for Robert and will be helping pick out the furniture, but when it comes to color, theme, and decorating I completely trust his decorating style and know that it will be amazing! I am beginning to feel the baby moving around more frequent and absolutely LOVE that feeling! I remember that was one of my most favorite things about being pregnant with Mariella was to be able to feel her move inside me and it is so neat to have that feeling again! What a miracle! My tummy is growing and I am super hot and still pretty tired, but besides that everything is going okay so far! Praise God!

***As far as a Mariella update she is keeping me busy! She is quite the character these days and loves to do things all on her own! I am so proud of her because she is doing so good with potty training! She only wears her big girl panties now and just wears a diaper to nap and bed! She is so good about telling me when she has to go and loves to flush the toilet when she is all done! She is able to count to 20 now and sometime goes a little past that when she is counting along with us! She is still working on colors but definitely knows pink!!! She also knows that her name starts with the letter "M" and will make the Mmmm sound! It is just so fun to see her grow up! I am so excited to see how she is as a big sister and just pray that she learns to share not only her toys but her mommy and daddy also! She is very possessive over us! I have included some pictures of my belly and some of our sweet Mariella!

Baby boy Stevener at 20 weeks!!!

Mariella eating lunch with all her "big girl" friends!

( These are some neighbor girls from down the street and a couple other girls who came to visit from our old neighborhood! They are all so sweet to Mariella and let her play with them all the time!)

This water is so refreshing I think I will just get myself all wet!!! Who cares about clothes getting wet!

(We had a little play date at this place called Fiesta Farms and Mariella had a blast...this was towards the end and she was super hot so she found the right place to be! Thank goodness I bring an extra pair of clothes with us wherever we go!!!)

Come on David! Let's feed the rabbits! They are hungry!

Here you go little goat!!! Little food for you!

(Mariella was so brave about going up to the goats and feeding them! I was proud of her!)

30th Birthday Weekend!!!

2011-07-20T13:17:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to a resort in Montgomery, TX right outside of Conroe called La Terrata Resort and Spa! It was amazing! Robert had gotten the deal off of the Living Social website and we both thought that would be a fun way to celebrate my birthday! This place had several pools, a fun kids area with water splashing over the kids and water slides, a lazy river, nice restaurants, amazing spa and lots of fun activities for the kids! Every Saturday night they have a big fireworks show, so we were able to just sit on our hotel porch and watch it from our room! Mariella LOVED it! Also, every Saturday evening they set up a big firepit by the beach and you can make your own smores...Mariella was a bit scared of the fire and didn't want to even try the smores but we were able to get her a little piece of hershey bar by itself so she was happy! My mom stayed with us Saturday night and then my sister and her husband came up on Sunday for the day and I just had such a nice, relaxing birthday weekend with family!!! Also, on my birthday Robert spoiled me with a spa package so I got to enjoy a pregnancy message and spa pedicure!!!! Very relaxing and much needed!!! Mariella had such a blast and was so good the entire weekend! She loved playing at the "waterpark" as she called it and always wanted to press the elevator button whenever we would go up and down! We definitely plan on going back and would highly recommend this place for any family with little kids!!! I am so excited to be 30 and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me!!! Thank you for all the sweet birthday messages and gifts and thank you also to my amazing husband for planning such a fun birthday! Here are some pictures of our fun birthday weekend!

Happy 30th Birthday mommy!

(Mariella kept singing Happy Birthday to me all weekend! It was so sweet!)

Me and my daddy!!!

Wearing my pool hat and swimsuit cover up and ready to go!!!

Yeah Nana!!! Let's go to the water park!

This is so much fun being at the water park with my Nana!

Having a little picnic at the pool for dinner!

I don't want to take a picture!!!

(This is the face she makes when she is not cooperating and giving a bit of an attitude! Oh no!)

Hmm...not too sure about this stuff my parents are calling smores...looks like I could really get hurt!

And no thank you...that does not look yummy!

Being a little burrito while I dry off! I am exhausted!

Oh wait...I just got my second wind...I am ready to go!!!

Baby boy bump at 18 wks!!!!

Guess what we are having?!?!?!?!?

2011-07-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce that we are having a baby BOY!!!!! We just found out this past Friday and are super excited! My mom drove in on Thursday evening to come with us to the doctor appointment and we are so excited to have a boy around! To be honest I am not quite sure what to do with a boy since I grew up around all girls, but I know it will be wonderful! Robert is so excited to have a man around and hopefully have a little less drama! :) Mariella is so excited as well and has said for quite some time now that I had a baby boy in my belly and she was right! She is going to be such a sweet big sister and is already praying for her baby brother every night before bed. It is really sweet! This amazing gift of life is such a blessing and it was so fun to start off my 30th birthday weekend with such a fun surprise!!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

OUR LITTLE BOY AT 18 WKS.!

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of our sweet Mariella! She is just getting so big and I can't believe how much she is like a big girl now! She talks non-stop and is constantly singing, playing, or sucking her thumb! Here are a few pictures of our sweetie!

I love my dress! Thank you Aunt Teri!

Oh yeah! I got my mommy's high heals on! I got this!

Yeah!!! Braids are so much fun!

Back shot of my cute new hair-do!

Painting time is so much fun!

(Mariella LOVES to do crafts and she especially loves to paint!! Here she is painting a card for daddy!)

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun Fourth of July weekend! Our friends Lacey and Zach came in town with their precious daughter, Ava and it was a ton of fun! It was so fun having Robert home for a three day weekend and just be able to hang out! Our neighborhood had a little parade where you could decorate your golf cart or kids bike or wagon and all go around the neighborhood waving at people watching. It was pretty hot and not that many people out to wave to but Mariella enjoyed it and loved waving to the people and saying "Happy Birthday America!" Afterwards they had yummy hot dogs, watermelon, and drinks and it was nice to meet some of the neighbors and get to know some woman that do a playgroup in our neighborhood once a week! So that was neat! We then just went home and played and Robert made a delicious pork butt and yummy sides for dinner! Mariella and Ava had so much fun playing together and overall Mariella shared her toys very well and was super nice to Ava! She would call Ava her baby and always ask where her baby was! It was so sweet! We had such a fun weekend and feel so blessed to have such neat friends who are willing to come and visit! Here are some pictures of us at the parade! Hope you enjoy!

Heading to the parade!!!

Just a little look at what I am talking about with golf carts and all!!!

Me and my daddy! He is the best!

I love my mommy and daddy!

Cheese!

Me with my big girl friends, Courtney and Caitlin!

New House Updates!!!

2011-06-28T12:46:00.001-07:00

So I haven't mentioned a few things about what we have been doing lately so I am catching you up now that we are back in San Antonio!!! Life is still as busy as ever, but we are enjoying our new house and doing updates slowly!!! We had such a fun Father's Day weekend with our good friends Christian and Sarah and their little 2 mth. girl, Reagan! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get many pictures because I didn't do a good job about that, but Mariella had such a fun time with Reagan and was so sweet trying to tickle her little feet! We were sad to see them leave but look forward to seeing them soon I hope!!! In the middle of everything we are sad to share that Robert's Maw-Maw passed away the Friday before Father's Day and we had her funeral the Tuesday after Father's Day about 6 hrs. away in a little town in East Texas where she and Paw-Paw had a farm. She was an amazing woman who lived to be 92yrs. old and will be greatly missed. So now we are back home and trying to figure out what to do first with our house! We had a decorator come out and give us great ideas on what to do and paint colors for the house so now we are going to just do one thing at a time! Here are some pictures of what we have done so far just please keep in mind the house still needs a lot of work and we are just taking things slow! Hope you enjoy!

Mariella playing with her friends! Our old next door neighbors live right down the street in our new neighborhood and Mariella LOVES playing with her big girl friends, Caitlin and Courtney!

The view from one side of our backyard! Tons of deer!

Mariella up close and personal! She loves the deer and every morning will say "Good morning deer!" Although we are very careful because you never know with animals the deer around here are very tame.

Mariella playing with her new water table from Nana!!!

(This is on the other side of our backyard! It is fenced off so the deer can't get to it and the dogs and Mariella can play!)

*NOW ON TO THE INSIDE!!!*

One of our living rooms! We call this the Rotunda room because it has a very elaborate ceiling which I need to show you but this is a room we watch movies and TV in at night and a little more formal!

Just another view! Gotta love how Dora has front row on the couch! Mariella is very funny about making sure her dolls are well taken care of!!!

The entertainment center in the Rotunda Room!

You can see the family room from this room!

This is what we call the family room/kitchen!

This area is more for Mariella and kids to watch TV and someday watch their own movies and play video games in here while the adults can watch what they want in the other room! This is also a space where Mariella plays and I don't mind if it gets real messy during the day because it is in the back of the house!

Our master bedroom!

Another view of master bedroom! It has windows all along so we can see outside from any part of our bedroom! Don't mind the dog cage...temporarily in our room while we had guests and didn't want them barking!

Master bathroom! Not a very good picture but you can see we have two vanities...mine on the right and Robert's on the left and in the mirror you can see the reflection of the walk in shower! Notice the carpet in the bathroom...yeah that needs to be pulled!

Mariella's bedroom!!! It is huge!!!

Sitting area for reading...that door leads to her closet!

Dresser and door on left leads to hallway and door on right leads to jack-n-jill bathroom!

Her bed! She is still in her crib and we will move her over to a big girl bed as soon as we find out what we are having! By the way Mariella does not like the flower stencils on her walls and wants us to paint over them with pink paint so I suppose her walls will be pink!

Guest bedroom! Ready for visitors!

Little dresser and that door leads to guest bathroom. They have their own full bath!

And for one very last fun addition....

Our new golf cart!!!!! Robert found a place in New Braunfels that refurbishes golf carts and went and got this special made for us!!! We absolutely love having this because you can drive it anywhere in our neighborhood and all on the streets out of our neighborhood!!! It is super fun!

So like I have said before we realize that all of this is such a blessing and none of this will be going to heaven with us, but we are just enjoying the sweet things the Lord has provided for us and thank Him everyday! I will be updating as we keep making changes and start putting up more pictures and making this house our home!

New Yooorrrrkkk City!!!!

2011-06-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

I did the title this way because whenever Mariella would say where mommy and daddy were she would stretch out "York" and it was pretty cute! So on top of all our other exciting things we had planned a trip to New York a while back and it just so happened to fall a week after we moved into our house! So we quickly moved in and a week later dropped Mariella off with her Gigi and Daddy-Doc, Robert's parents, for a week and went to New York!!! It was my first time to go and Robert's second time so we had a blast! We stayed at an amazing hotel called The Manhattan Club which was about 5 blocks from Time Square! When we first arrived we got to our hotel around 12pm and our room wasn't ready yet so we headed out for exploring!!! Let me just say that it still be my first tri-mester and super HOT I wasn't the best travel partner, but I think I got a little better as the week went on! So when we first got there we walked to China Town and ate at a recommended restaurant, then walked to the financial district to see Ground Zero, then walked the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn and ended up eating dinner at Grimaldi's!!! Let me just say I was exhausted after day 1 so we were complete bums and slept in until 11:30am the following day and got 12hrs. of sleep! I can't remember the last time we have slept that much! The rest of the week we just did tons more of fun touristy things, for example river boat ride, shopping in SOHO, walked through Little Italy and China Town, went to the MET museum, went on a super fun food and foot tour around the city, went to see a Broadway Show called Memphis (which was amazing), went on a bike ride around central park, ate tons of yummy food (with no kid interruptions!!!), and the best of all was Robert surprised me with tickets to see Ray Lamontagne perform in Central park so we got to go his concert one evening!!! Overall, the trip was absolutely amazing and just a nice break from all the craziness of packing, moving and unpacking, but it was definitely nice to come home to see Mariella! We missed her a ton and just appreciate Gigi and Daddy-Doc so much for taking care of our precious little girl!!! Here are some pictures from our trip! Hope you enjoy and sorry that so many are of just me but it is hard to take some of the both of us when it is just the two of you on a trip!!!

Robert and I in the middle of Time Square!!! It was awesome! Especially at night!

Yummy McDonald's!!!

(So I know we are in New York and I am eating McDonald's looks pretty ridiculous, but I just had to try the McDonald's in Time Square and plus I was craving it!!! Don't mess with a pregnant lady with cravings!!! FYI Robert did NOT eat this! He went to a vendor on the street and got a hot dog!!!)

About to walk the Brooklyn Bridge!

(See the baby bump??!!! Well, just looks like a tiny pooch but I can see it! Not the best picture but I was tired by this point and pictures weren't a top priority for me!!!)

The backside of me riding in Central Park!!! The best we got!!!

Horrible picture but I saw this and thought it was perfect for expressing my feelings during the bike ride! Robert must of taken this when I wasn't looking!!! You little stinker!

Me sitting again after our visit to the Metropolitan Museum!!!

Yeah!!! The both of us are in a picture together!!! This is one of the yummy restaurants we went to on our Food and Foot tour!!!

And of course yummy dessert at Serendipity!!! Don't worry this wasn't all for me!!! We split it but still it was a ton of yummy desserts for the both of us to split!

Beautiful view of New York at night from the top of The Rockefeller Center!

God's Greatest Gift!

2011-06-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

So on to more amazing news!!! Mariella is going to be a...

The Lord has blessed us with the amazing gift of being able to have another baby!!! Baby Stevener #2 will arrive in December! Our official due date is December 16th, but I will have to have the baby before that just because I had a c-section with Mariella so we are looking at more like December 9th, assuming I get that far!!! I am officially 13 weeks today and so far everything is going good! Praise God! We find out Friday, July 15th what we are having so that is pretty exciting as well! Reflecting on all of the big life events going on right now I have made Psalm 126:3 our family verse. It states, "The Lords has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." We are super excited about going from 3 to 4 and know that Mariella will be an amazing big sister, especially when she learns to share! :) We just pray that everything continues to go well and that the Lord blesses us with a strong, healthy child! Here is a picture of our little sweetie at 8 wks.! I will give an updated picture as we get them! Also, I have posted a video of Mariella telling us what she wants to have on YouTube! Please ignore the horrible bed head and strawberry leftovers from breakfast all over her face!!! Hope you enjoy!

Introducing Baby Stevener #2!!!

Our little gummy bear!

Home Sweet Home!

2011-06-07T12:39:00.001-07:00

Well, I am so sorry but it has been forever since I have been able to write!!! We have been just so blessed with so many fun and exciting things that I can't wait to catch everyone up! First of all as you see we have moved!!! We have been looking for quite some time now for a house in FairOaks Ranch and could never find anything that we liked in our price range! Well, wouldn't you know as soon as we got our kitchen perfect in the old house we found the house of our dreams! It is 4 bedroom 3 1/2 bath on 1 acre of land with lots of deer all around for Mariella to look at! The house was built in 1992 and needs lots of updates, but we can see the potential it has and figured if this was the way to get into the neighborhood and school district we wanted then so be it! The entire process was just all God and His works! First, we put an offer on the house thinking there was no way he would counter but why not try. He ended up accepting our contingency offer of buying the house with the sell of our house, but came back with an asking price still more than we wanted to pay. So we talked it over one evening, and Robert being the amazing money cruncher and planner that he is, came back with a spread sheet of what ifs and we came up with a price that we both agreed would be doable. We presented the offer and much to our surprise he accepted! So that meant I had one week to get the house on the market and sell it by June 30th or we would lose the house in FairOaks! With knowing how difficult the market is right now we just kept praying that if this house was God's will for us to live in that he would make it very clear! Well, He certainly did! We put our house on the market on a Wednesday and had 4 offers by Sunday!!! We ended up accepting a cash offer of listing price which was even more unbelievable! God is good! We ended up closing on our house 2 weeks after putting it on the market right before Mariella's birthday, on Thursday April 21st, and rented it back to them for $1 a day! Amazing!!! We moved into our new house May 20th and have been busy ever since! We literally moved in and then a week later Robert and I went on a trip to New York, just the two of us while Mariella stayed with her Gigi and Daddy-Doc, and just came home this past weekend! Pictures of that trip soon to come! So needless to say the house is still a wreck and boxes everywhere but I promise to post pictures of our house decorated with all of our stuff as we get there! Boxes and all we absolutely love our new home and hope, Lord willing, that this is the home that we will live in to see our kids grow up and hopefully someday where our Grandkids will come to visit! Here are a couple of pictures of the house when it was on the market! Hope you enjoy and once we get our computer set up completely I promise to post more...things still in boxes!!!

The front of the house! It has a nice covered front porch and huge circular drive that leads to our 3 car garage!

Anther picture of front and able to see the circular drive better.

Our very white kitchen and much needed new appliances!

Family room off of the kitchen!

We call this the rotunda room because it has a beautiful cathedral type ceiling. We have currently made this our living room, but not sure just yet what to do in here!

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

So I realize this is a little late but we had a lot of things to catch up on! It was so much fun having her Birthday the day before Easter but it definitely made for a very busy and exciting weekend! Easter Sunday was great! We spent Easter in Corsicana and had a great time with family and friends! Unfortunately, with all the craziness of the weekend we didn't get to do any traditional type things like resurrection eggs or lamb cake but maybe next year I will better about that!!! Later that day Robert and I drove to Fort Worth to visit our friends Christian and Sarah and meet their little baby, Reagan! Reagan was absolutely perfect and we just loved being able to hold on her and love on her! We are so excited for our friends and welcome them into the amazing world of parenthood! Here are a few pictures from Easter

Happy Easter!

I love Easter!

Hmm...my mom says I need to come downstairs but I am not too sure if I want to obey?!?!

Here you go Josh! Here is your lambie!

Here is our lack of attempt to get a photo of all 3 grandkids!

Just eating a little snack before church with my cousin Matthew!

I got my purse Matthew...I am ready to go!

**Here are a couple of pictures of us with baby Reagan!!!***

Mariella's 2 Year Stats and Photo Shoot!!!

2011-04-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

So the stats are in!!! At her 2 year check-up a couple of days ago she weighed in at 25.8 lbs. (30%) and almost 35 in. (75%) in height. Her height was not the most accurate stat because she didn't want to lay flat on her back so that was the best we could get! This past month has been so much fun! She definitely is wanting to do everything herself and always says "I do it!" She is talking non-stop and cracks us up with all the funny things she has to say! Mariella can pretty much say everything it is just a matter of being able to understand what she is saying! She loves to play with her best friend, Emily, who she refers to as "me" and the first thing she says when she wakes up from a nap is "I play with Me!" She knows that mommies name is Heidi and daddies name is Robert and she is even beginning to start saying her name! Mariella loves to sing and right now she can sing, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABC's, Mary Had a Little Lamb, The Wheels on the Bus, Happy Birthday to You, and many more! The potty training is going great and she is on a roll except for we had to take a step back because she wasn't going poo-poo in the potty so she would just hold in!!! Not good! Her eating habits are the same...BAD!!! She still loves fruit and is getting better about some veggies but for the most part she just eats grilled cheese, nuggets, corn, spaghetti, pizza...typical toddler food which I don't really like! Oh well! She continues to sleep like a champ and is beginning to fight the one nap she has, but I have been setting a timer and she knows that when the timer goes off she doesn't have a choice...it is nap time! Mariella has one of the sweetest little spirits I know and I feel so blessed to be able to have stayed home with her so see all the fun changes and accomplishments she has had the past 2 years!!! Here are some pictures from our 2 year photo shoot! Thank you Amy for taking such great pictures! I know how hard it was because Mariella was not being very cooperative! "Cheese" was not in her vocabulary!!! Hope you enjoy!

Me and my mommy and daddy!

(I promise her dress was not this short...It just got pushed up a little in the process of trying to hold her down for a picture!)

Life is good!

Sandwich kisses are the best! My mommy and daddy's kisses tickle!!!

Hi Daddy! I love you!

Here I come mommy!!!

This flower sure is pretty!

EEEKKKK!

(I am not sure what this silly face is all about but we are full of those!!!)

Happy 2nd Birthday!!!

2011-04-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

D, D, D Dora!!! So this year our sweet baby girl turned 2 and we decided to have a Dora birthday party since she is pretty much the best thing right now to Mariella! We had the party on Saturday, April 23rd, which is her real birthday and had it in Corsicana to be closer to family! Mariella had so much fun and got soooo many nice things! I think Dora was resurrected because everything she got was Dora and she LOVED it! It was so neat to see the difference between this year and last. She still didn't understand the whole concept of a party but she did understand that it was a birthday party for her and that she got to open lots of fun gifts and see lots of family and friends! We still can't believe that our baby girl is 2 years old! How exciting and sad at the same time! Time has just flown by way too fast! We love you so much Mariella and look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for you in the future! Here are some pictures from her birthday! I will be posting more pictures of her 2 year photo shoot and from Easter so be on the look out!

Mariella's 2nd Birthday Invitation!!!

Table decorations...very low key! Her Dora Easter basket is in the center!!!

Yummy Cake balls for dessert! We just did cake balls and ice-cream!

Another homemade birthday banner made my me!!!

Yeah!!! Present time!!! Hmm...this card is pretty cool! Thank you Nana for my awesome water table!!!

OHH!!! My very own Dora suitcase!!! Thank you Grandmom and Granddad!!! I LOVE it!

Yeah! My new personalized lunch box will be perfect for when I start school in August!!! Thank you Uncle Rodger, Aunt Amy, Matthew, and Josh!!!

I am such a diva! Have my Dora sunglasses on and my Dora bracelet!

Yeah!!! Thank you Uncle John for my very own Dora 4 wheeler!!! I can't wait to ride it!!!

And this is from my mommy and daddy!!! My first bike!!! This is awesome!

Thanks Matthew for pushing me!!! Faster, Faster!!!

(Mariella would tell Matthew, "faster, faster" over and over again!)

Happy Birthday to me!!!

(She sang the Happy Birthday song to herself with us...it was so cute!!!)

Going on a Easter hunt with my Dora Easter basket!!!

Yeah, I found one!

Where to now?!?!

Time to see all my goodies with my cousin Matthew!!!

Excuse me Granddad can you please open this egg for me??!?

Just a little cuddle time with my Grandmom!!!

Me and my mommy and Nana!!! I am pooped!

Is my party over yet?! I am ready for nap!

Aunt Kara is the best!!

Just watching some TV with my cousin Matthew!

(Looks like Mariella is saying something really boring...Matthew doesn't look too interested!!!)

Ok, guess I will just sit here and watch TV and not talk anymore!

Little playtime with my cousin Josh!!!

**Mariella got a couple of neat presents before her birthday and here she is opening them!!!***

Yeah for more gifts!!! What is it!?!?

Yeah! My Aunt Teri and Uncle Josh gave me a basketball goal!! I am going to help my daddy put it together!

And I shoot the ball!!! Score!!!

Yeah!!! Thank you also Meema and Papa for my new scooter!!! I love it!!

**Thank you again for all the sweet birthday blessings! Thank you Gigi and Daddy-Doc for opening up your home to help make Mariella's birthday party a success! The Lord has blessed us with too much and we are so thankful!

Yeah for Dora panties!!!

2011-04-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I am excited to say that Mariella has gone 4 whole days wearing her Dora panties and not had any tee-tee accidents! We didn't push her at all she just kind of put them on and loves them so much!!! One funny way I get her to not go tee-tee in her Dora panties is because I got her to think that Dora gets "brr" (that is Mariella's words) also known as cold when she gets wet so Mariella doesn't want Dora to get cold so she doesn't tee-tee on Dora! As soon as I put them on her in the morning she will say "no tee-tee Dora" or "no get Dora brrrr!" So sweet! The poop issue is another topic...she tends to hold it in and not go in her panties, which is good but then she won't go poo-poo for several days. So I am encouraging her to just go if she needs to poo-poo because I don't want her to get constipated! I think she doesn't want to get Dora dirty with poo-poo but doesn't like to sit still long enough to go poo-poo on the potty so we are working on that next!!! Needless to say we are so proud of our little girl and can't believe she will be 2 this Saturday!!! Here is one little peek of her 2 year photos that our friend Amy Elkins took for us!!! They turned out absolutely precious and there will be more to come after I have shown them to family!!!

I love my mommy and daddy!!!

Oh little Egg where are you?!?!?

2011-04-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

So it has been forever since I have posted a blog and I am so sorry! We have just been super busy! Today Mariella had her first Easter egg hunt for Easter 2011!!! It was so much fun seeing how much she has changed from last Easter and to see her actually understand the concept of looking for the eggs and putting them in her basket! It took her some time to figure out that there were surprises inside each egg, as I wasn't going to point it out because I knew she would want to eat nothing but candy, but she soon watched the other kids and figured it out!!! I can't wait to teach Mariella all about the meaning of Easter and can't wait for her next Easter egg hunt!!!

Just hunting for my eggs!!!

Found one!!! Into my basket it goes!

Hmm...where to now!!!

(Mariella has on her thinking face here!!!)

Well, of course onto more Easter egg hunting of course!!! This is so much fun!

Happy 23rd Month Birthday!

2011-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

So our sweet Mariella is officially 1 month away from being 2!!! That is CRAZY! Where did the time go?!! So this month has been some fun firsts! First, we started potty training! She has done a great job and when she is at home and has nothing on she never has an accident in the house, but if I put a pull-up on her she will go in it rather than the potty! Oh well...baby steps! Today was her first day to wear big girl panties around the house! I am trying to teach her that she can't go when she has something on so she is just wearing her panties at the house and going in the potty when she needs to! Let's just say it is going slow...already 11:3oam and she has gone through 2 pairs of panties!!! Once again...patience is key and since I have no clue what I am doing I am just doing whatever makes since and what I think she is ready for! We shall see how this goes! Also, we enrolled Mariella for Mother's Day Out starting next August!!!! We are only going to start with one day a week and see how she does then possibly move up to two days a week, but Robert and I both agree that she needs some time away from Mommy to develop some independence! Another fun first is her hair is long enough to go in a pony tail so she looks like such a big girl now! Mariella's vocabulary is getting so big and she is talking non-stop! One thing she says that is super cute is that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up! Definitely a Stevener! Also, she can say how old she is going to be and hold up 2 fingers! Super cute! I have them both on video and just added them to YouTube if you would like to see! Mariella also has such sweet manners and always says Thank You and Bless You whenever you sneeze! The one thing we are working on is whenever she wants something she says "need that" or "need milk" so we are teaching her to ask for things nicely rather than demand for things! She is just getting bigger and bigger and building more and more of a personality! Right now we are learning that not everything is "mine" and that she needs to share! The terrible two's have begun and we just pray that Mariella gets through this time with an obedient heart and not get too bossy! As girls can tend to get!!! We are so thankful for this most precious gift of life and pray for guidance everyday on how to raise Mariella! Here are some pictures from the past month and like I mentioned before I have added 2 new videos on YouTube so just go to www.youtube.com and my username is heidistevener and my password is mariella! Hope you enjoy!

These bubbles are so much fun! I LOVE bubbles!!!

Me wearing my Dora panties for the first time! They sure are comfortable!

Hmm...should I let Huntley in or not??!?! Decisions, Decisions!!

Mom and all her pictures! She decided to put my hair in a pony-tail today and I love it!

Honk, Honk!!! This car is awesome!

(It had been raining a lot here so I decided to just take her to Costco and let her play and run around in the aisles! She had a blast! This is a little car she can ride by pushing a little button and she had a blast! The next door neighbor has one and she ALWAYS wants to ride on it and surprisingly she can steer pretty well...she only ran into a couple things hear at Costco!!!)

Uh...trying to have a little down time mom! Is a picture really necessary??!

(Recently, whenever she is really tired she will get her baby and blanket and just get on the couch and lay down like a big person!)

I'm pooped! What an exhausting but fun day!!!

Me and my Aunt Teri! It was fun getting to eat some breakfast with her on her way back to Houston!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2011-03-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We had a fun day going to see a play based on the book If You Give a Pig a Party at the Magik Theatre downtown! I wasn't too sure how she would do since it was about a 40 min. play but surprise to me Mariella did amazing! We went with a friend and the girls were so good and Mariella just sat in my lap the whole time watching the play! It was so sweet! Then we walked over to Hemisfair Park and let the girls play in the playground and had a picnic for lunch! And to make the day even better we wrapped up the evening with some yummy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (since it was green and all we thought it was fitting!!!) We hope everyone had a fun St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I got my backpack and I am ready to go to the Theater!

Wow! This is so cool!

This is my friend Bella! She is so nice and fun!

Just hanging out after the play!

(We tried to get the sign with the name of the play with them and we did but the picture was not very good!)

Play time at the park!!!

(She looks like such a big girl here to me!)

Bye Bye Bella! I love you! Thank you for coming with me to see the play!

Hi Mommy! Just reading my Jesus Book!

(She was real quiet and I walked in her room and she was reading her Bible, which she calls her "Jesus Book!" So sweet!)

Look mom! My fish face!!!

(This is her new face she likes to make...no clue where she got it! She is silly!)

Babies and Family! What more could you ask for?!?!?

2011-03-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

So please forgive me because this post is a little out of order but I just got these pictures from family and they are so cute so I wanted to share! About a week and half ago we went to Fort Worth because we were throwing our good friends Christian and Sarah a couples baby shower!!! Their baby girl is due April 15th and we are just so excited for her arrival and could not be happier for our friends! The shower was great and they got a ton of great things! While we were at the shower Mariella got to go to her Aunt Amy and Uncle Rodger's house and play with her cousins, Matthew and Josh!!! Also, as a fun bonus Mariella's great grandparents, Grandmom and Granddad, came over to visit with all the grandkids! It is so fun watching them play together and we have come to the conclusion that Mariella might have to stay there a bit and toughen up! As she can tend to be a drama queen!!! Daddy says she gets that from me! Oh no!!! Mariella keeps talking all about her time with her cousins and she absolutely LOVES her Aunt Amy, Uncle Rodger, Grandmom and Granddad! Thank you guys for taking care of our little girl!

All the Grandkids with their Great Grandparents!!! Of course it is impossible to get them all to look at the same time!!!

I love snuggling with my Grandmom!

Hmm...Granddad's lap is pretty comfy also!

Uhh...is this ok because I am not too sure about this?!?!?

Ok I suppose I will just go with it and enjoy some cuddly time with my cousins!

I want to be a Doctor just like my Daddy-Doc!!!

Oh and of course I wan to be just like my daddy also and use the grill!!! What should I make?!?!?

Shamu!!!

2011-03-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we took Mariella to SeaWorld for the first time! Robert was so sweet to buy us season passes for Christmas and I was so excited to finally be able to take her!!! We first went with some friends on Friday and then again with daddy on Sunday!!! Mariella had a blast and her most favorite part of SeaWorld right now is of course....Shamu!!! At first she was scared of him when he would jump out of the water, but once I explained to her that he was just playing then she finally settled down and just watched in awe! She has gotten to see the Shamu show twice now and has absolutely loved it! Both times we went it was perfect because we got there when they opened around 10ish and only stayed a couple of hours which was perfect! I can't wait to go back again and am especially excited for when she can do all the fun water things as it gets hotter! Thank you Daddy for such a fun Christmas gift! Here are some pictures of her at Sea World and I have also uploaded a video on youtube.com of her describing the Shamu show!!! Just go to www.youtube.com and type in heidistevener for username and mariella for password! Hope you enjoy!

Nothing better than a piggy back ride from my daddy and trying to eat my hair at the same time! I am such a great multi tasker!!!

Yeah!!! I can't wait for the Shamu show to start!

Well, hello there mommy! This is going to be so exciting!

Wow, I sure hope that Shamu whale mom keeps talking about doesn't come close to me!

Bye, Bye Shamu!

(Shamu will wave during the show and everytime he would wave she would wave back and say "bye bye Shamu!"

Here little Dolphin!

Almost there mom! I love this tunnel thing!

Ooohhh...those flamingos are so pretty in pink!

Just me and my friend Bella riding the carrousel together!

What an awesome playground! I can climb on everything!

Hey girls! Hanging from this pole is so much entertaining than looking at those sharks!

Hi mom! I know I am silly!

Do the Potty Dance!!!

2011-02-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well we decided to start the adventure of Potty training! Mariella has acted interested in going potty for months now and has gone potty lots whenever we put her on the potty, but I was just too lazy to start it going! So last week I decided to start! We are taking it very slow but surprisingly Mariella is doing very well! Whenever we are home I don't have her wear anything but when we are out in public she has moved to pull-ups because she still goes in her potty and it is just hard to stop when we are out and about! But as far as when we are at home she is doing great! Of course she has had some accidents here and there but for the most part she is going tee tee and poo poo in her potty! In fact last Friday she was playing with play-do at her little table and I was in the kitchen and all of sudden I hear her little feet run to the bathroom, close the door and her potty was singing which means she went in the potty!!! Yeah for her! Another fun story was she came to me when I was in the kitchen and said "I tee tee" and pointed to the laundry room. So I went in there and she had done a tiny tee tee and when I asked her if she had more she said "uh huh" and then went again in the potty!!! Good girl! Oh, and one last story! So yesterday she poo pooed in the house and that was very gross...luckily it was solid so easy to clean up! We discussed how it was yucky to go poo poo in the house and that is why we have a potty! Well, today she came to me when I was in the laundry room and said "I poo-poo!" I instantly asked her where she went, concerned that it was in the house again, and she took me straight to the potty and sure enough there was a big poo poo in there!!! Yeah for Mariella! We are far from potty trained, in fact she has had two accidents in the house today, so we are not going to rush anything, but it is just so fun to start this new adventure of moving away from diapers and into big girl pull-ups!

Hmm...what are these? They certainly don't look like my diapers!

Ok mom let's go outside! I have my big girl pull-ups on and my meow boots and I am ready to go!

(She calls her rain boots her "meow boots" because they have little kitty on them! Don't worry I put more clothes on her before we went outside!)

Happy 22nd Month Birthday!!!

2011-02-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

We still can't believe our little girl is 2 months away from being 2 years old! Where has the time gone? This past month has been super fun with Mariella! She is talking a ton more and beginning to prefer running over walking which is really cute! Mariella continues to be a momma's girl and LOVES to be held, but she is getting better about opening up in public! Her favorite words continues to be "no", but she is getting better about not saying "no" to me when I give her directions! Mariella's favorite shows on TV right now are Dora the Explorer and Max and Ruby! She always says..."need Max, need Max or need Boots(what she calls Dora)!" Mariella is beginning to understand a ton and repeats a lot of what we say! She loves to say "bless you" after you sneeze, and the most funny thing of all that she says is "daddy poo-poo!" One time Robert tooted and she immediately yelled "daddy poo-poo" so now even if he doesn't pass any gas she just says it and it is hilarious! Especially when she says it in public! So far she is stringing together about 4 word sentences like "Prince went to doctor" and "my daddy at work" and the word we have learned this month that has been quite the challenge is "mine!" How in the world do they learn so fast?!?! have started this neighborhood bible study where we are studying a book called 5 Conversations you must have with your Daughters and it is just such an eye opener on so many issues our kids have to go through in the society that we live in today! I feel so blessed to have such amazing neighbors and friends who are there for encouragement, support, and advice for times when I feel like Mariella is having an off day! No matter how much our society causes our little girls to become "princesses" and want to grow up way too fast, we know without a doubt that our sweet Mariella will always be our little girl and we pray that she is protected by God from the sin of this world and that she grows up to be a leader in Christ! Here are a few pictures from this month!

Whoo-Whoo!!! Life is good!

(Sorry this is so blurry but that is how most pictures are now a days!!! She LOVES running around the house and especially doesn't care for getting dressed so here she is running from mommy!)

Hmm...let me think? Is there anything I forgot at the house that I might need? Blanket, check...doggie, check...book, check...Nope! I am sitting pretty!

Hi mommy! How do you like my HUGE headband?!?!?

(She found this in her drawer and wouldn't take it off!)

Ok...seriously! Mom, do I really have to wear this hat?!?!

Me and my Gigi! It was so fun having them visit!

Quick Trip!!!

2011-02-21T10:47:00.001-08:00

We decided to take a quick trip to Houston since we have busy weeks ahead and haven't visited in awhile! We drove in Saturday morning and met my mom for lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese! It was Mariella's first time to go there and she had a blast! She was hilarious when she saw Chuck-E because she wasn't too sure about him so she immediately put her hand out in a stopping motion and said "No, No!" Later she then gave him a high five so she did eventually warm up to him a little! We spent the night with my dad and step-mom and Mariella had so much fun hanging out with PaPa and Meemaw! It was such gorgeous weather that we pretty much hung out on their deck in the backyard all day and had such a great time visiting! Mariella LOVED running around their deck and pushing her baby stroller up and down the steps! Here are some pictures of our quick but super fun trip to Houston!

What that O'?

(This is Mariella's way of saying What is that?! They give you stamps when you first walk in with numbers on them to reassure your child's safety and she kept asking what it was!!!)

Go Nana Go!!!

(I don't know who was having more fun...Nana or Mariella! Unfortunately the poll was in the way of Mariella's face but you can tell that she was having fun on the carousel!)

Not too sure how this game works but I sure am going to focus and find out!

Yeah! Riding on the Barney choo-choo is awesome!

Mom...this is Chuck-E and he is my friend!

Thank you Nana for my Ladybug pet pillow for Valentine's Day! I definitely need to rest my head and take a little nap!!!

Yeah!!! PaPa's chair is the best ever!

I love my Meemaw!

Yeah for kitchen make-overs!!!

2011-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah!!! Our kitchen is finally finished! All I have to say is that I absolutely LOVE our new kitchen, but the process definitely was the opposite of instant gratification because it took almost a month to get everything done! Robert and I have always wanted to do some type of upgrade to our kitchen but just never did it until now! To be completely honest we had been looking for a larger house but just never found one that we both loved and I am not ready to move from our house, neighbors, and neighborhood! So when the microwave handle broke off, the oven handle that had broken off when we first moved in was still super glued on, the sink was leaking and the disposal was broken we decided to just go for it and make-over our kitchen! First, we decided to take out all of our old appliances, which were white, and replace everything to stainless steel! We then replaced our counter tops to granite and had them extend our bar top area all around so now we can serve on the bar top and even have a place for bar stools! As far as the cabinets were concerned we knew we couldn't afford to replace them so we decided to stain them a dark walnut color and we absolutely love it! And the last thing we did was changed out the lighting! We replaced our old kitchen light that was above our kitchen table with a chandelier and had it moved so it is now centered over the table. Instead of just throwing out the old light that was above the kitchen table we used it to go over our sink! In the kitchen itself we used to have a box with fluorescent lights in it and we decided to take that down and put in recessed lighting! There are a couple more things we still need to do like put knobs on the cabinets, but the painter said to wait about 10 days before doing so, and we would eventually like to put under cabinet and above cabinet lighting, but for now Robert and I were very happy with the end result and it was all worth the wait! We absolutely LOVE our new kitchen and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to upgrade our kitchen! Here are some before and after pictures!!! Hope you enjoy!

***BEFORE PICTURES!!****

***AFTER PICTURES!!!***

Yeah!!! It is done!!! Granite, I need to do something as far as decorating above the cabinets better and we still need to put knobs on but that is soon to come!

Just from a different perspective in the kitchen and see our new refrigerator!!! One thing I like is that is was stainless steel but still magnetic...as you can tell our refrigerator is covered with tons of stuff!!!

This was the light that used to go above our kitchen table and we moved it to go above our sink now! I love it here! Also, I took this to show how we added more bar area to allow a space for bar stools!

This one is just to point out the fact that the box light is gone and now we have fun recessed lighting! It is nice at night because we have the lights set to a dimmer so it is nice just background lighting!

New kitchen chandelier!!! I have always wanted a nice light to go above our kitchen table, since we don't have a formal dining room, and now I have it!!!

Happy Valentine's Day and Fun weekend with Gigi and Daddy-Doc!!!

2011-02-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had an amazing Valentine's Day! This past weekend Robert's parents, Gigi and Daddy-Doc, came to visit! They were so sweet to offer to pay for a sitter and take the four of us out to dinner for a Valentine's Day celebration! We went to a restaurant in Alamo Heights called Tre Trattoria and the food was heavenly! It was so nice to be able to sit down and enjoy an amazing 4 course meal kid free!!!! Mariella got to take her Gigi to gymnastics with her on Saturday and had so much fun hanging out with her Gigi and Daddy-Doc all weekend! Thank you so much Ann and Larry for everything! We had a super fun Valentine's Day as a family! Mariella and I made a fun banner for daddy and hung it up on the mantel with his gifts and then she helped me make heart shaped cinnamon muffins and yummy chocolate covered strawberries! Robert and I decided to stay in and just order out for dinner so we decided to wait until she was in bed to eat and we had a nice dinner just the two of us! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband to spend Valentine's Day with and just love and adore all that he does for our family! Happy Valentine's everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Muah! Sending everyone big Valentine kisses!

I love Dora! She is my Valentine!

Yeah Daddy! We love you so much!

(Mariella helped me paint the letters for the banner and then helped me do her handprints for the heart! Very homemade but daddy liked it!)

Hi mommy! I love my Daddy-Doc! I can't wait to take him to see my church!

Yeah Gigi gets to go to gymnastics with me!!! I love you Gigi!

Snow Day+Incredible Surprise=The BEST Weekend Ever!!!

2011-02-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Well, this weekend our friends Christian and Sarah were planning on coming into town but they live in the Fort Worth area and the weather there has just been awful so Robert and I just had to accept the fact that they wouldn't be coming! So the fact that when we woke up on Friday morning and saw snow outside was fun, but just not the same because we also knew that meant we wouldn't be able to see our friends! Because of the weather Robert was able to stay home and go to work a little later so we had fun playing outside in the snow! Mariella was a little scared at first and kept asking, "What that oh?" which translates to What is that?! She eventually got used to the cold weather and didn't want to come inside! So the day was going good and come Friday evening we ate some yummy potato soup and I go to run a few errands and to my fun surprise when I get home our friends Christian and Sarah were in my kitchen!!! It had snowed in Fort Worth and the sun finally came out so it was beginning to melt so they hopped in the car around 3:30 and was to our house by 8:30pm! On top of everything Sarah is 30 wks. pregnant so I know it was a huge sacrifice for her to come and I love her for that! As an additional surprise I had planned a spa day with Sarah that I had canceled because I didn't think they were coming and to my fun surprise Robert surprised us with a spa pedicure and message at the Watermark Hotel and Spa downtown! It was an amazing surprise and the spa was magnificent! We got to relax, talk, eat lunch at the spa restaurant, and just enjoy catching up! We had an amazing weekend and just feel so blessed to have such amazing friends! Thank you so much Christian and Sarah for coming to visit and we miss you already!

Uhh...not too sure about this stuff my mom keeps calling snow!

(I wish I could of zoomed in because if you look real close she has tears coming down from her eyes because she was so cold...poor thing! Least I don't have to worry about her living up north. FYI I did put gloves on her right after this picture was taken!)

Yeah!!! Snow day!!! My friends are all home from school!!!

Need a little help people! I have on so many layers I can't move!

(She insisted on wearing her rain boots which she calls her "meow boots" because they have Hello Kitty on them!)

Me and my mommy!

Just hangin' with the girls!!! I love my Aunt Sarah!

Just giving my Uncle Christian a little fist pump before bed! He's so fun!

Wow...that's the baby!

(Mariella was so fascinated by Sarah's belly and every time she would see Sarah she would ask, "Where baby at?" )

I love my Aunt Sarah and Uncle Christian! Thank you so much for coming to visit! I can't wait to play with your baby!!!

BRRRRRR!!!

2011-02-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

So I realize we aren't as cold as some places right now but we are sure cold for San Antonio! I took this picture right before we headed out to run a few errands! Nothing like a nice warm hat to cover her ears and then the nice jacket is next...I spared you that picture because Mariella doesn't like to wear a coat so she wasn't very happy! Hope everyone is staying warm! Also, I included two new videos on YouTube! One of Mariella saying the two sounds she does know...S and W!!! And she learned a new word...Heidi!!! Just go to youtube.com and type in heidistevener for username and mariella for password! Hope you enjoy!

Good gravy mom is this hat really necessary?!!!

(Blurry because it is hard these days to get a picture with her not moving!!!)

Yeah Gymnastics!!!

2011-01-31T12:23:00.001-08:00

So my sweet husband and amazing daddy got Mariella and I a membership to this gymnastics facility by our house! It is called The Little Gym and it is awesome! Mariella is a class called the Big Bees and we go once a week for 45 min.! She has a friend in her class so that makes it even more fun! At first I wasn't sure how much Mariella would enjoy gynmastics because the first time she went she just clung to me the whole time, then the second time she was much better and opening up more and now that we have gone three times she is having a blast!!! She still is a bit timid to try new things that they are teaching but atleast she is trying! Her favorite thing right now is walking along the balance beam! She insists on me not helping but there is no way I am going to let her just walk on that thing without mommy being there to support her!!!! Here are some cute pictures of my Big Bee!!!! Thank you Daddy for this super fun gift!

Hey there mom! I got this gymnastics thing down!!!

(We usually go every Monday and there is only about 5 kids in her class, but we had to make up a class and go on Saturday so there were tons of kids!!!)

BUBBLES!!! YEAH!!!

Wow!!!! I am so good at throwing!

Getting all ready to roll!!!

Just doing a little stretching!!! My toes sure are pretty!

Hmm...what to do, what to do?!??!

(They get to explore for a bit of the time and she is always so cute trying to figure out what she likes to do!)

Happy 21st Month Birthday and Fun Filled week with 2 kids!!!

2011-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

So I have to apologize for not posting on here more but we have been super busy with 2 kids this past week! My sister in-law had to come into town and go to work at the home office for a week so I got to watch my nephew, Preston, who is 3 months old while she was at work! I have so much to say about how much fun we had but first I want to say Happy 23rd Month Birthday to our sweet Mariella! Seriously, I will have to stop doing month to month birthdays but I just love to go back and see everything she has accomplished!!! Our sweet little one is talking a ton these days! She says "weoo weoo", for an ambulance or firetruck and also says "uh-oh" because she knows someone is hurt! It is so sweet because when we are in the car and when we see one she will say "uh-oh" and I will ask her if she wants to say a prayer for the people they are going to help and she will always say "uh-huh!" Mariella is so caring we just love her sweet heart! The other day I was giving her a bath and I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she responded with "daddy home!" I then said so your favorite part of the day was when daddy got home and she said, "uh-huh!" So sweet! She also says "what that oh" for what is that?, Huntley, Prince, Momma milk, Dadda milk, and tons and tons of words! She is quite the talker! We are so excited for this new stage of her being able to use her words rather than whine about what she wants!!! As far as her eating is concerned it hasn't changed much except for the fact that she continues to be picky and her sleep patterns are the same as well! Usually naps about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. and goes to bed every night around 8pm! Thank you Lord for this priceless gift of motherhood and please continue to hold our sweet Mariella in your hands! Here are a couple of pictures of her this past month!

This spot looks good for a nap!

(Apparently, Mariella is just like her daddy because he used to do this exact same thing! She will take her blanket with her all around the house and just follow us and when we stay in one spot for the while she will just lay down! So sweet!)

Yeah Dora and Boots!!!

(No one can explain the obsession she has for Boots but I think it is super sweet and she especially loves her Dora jammies!!!)

***Now on to our week with Baby Preston! So as I said earlier my sister in-law, Kara, had to come into town to work this past week at the home office so I got to watch baby Preston all week! Let me just say that 2 kids is definitely different than 1!!! We had a blast but I was exhausted by the end of the week!!! We had an exciting week of venturing out to Target, go to a couple of playdates, and visit Aunt Kara and Daddy at work! Preston has to be the most perfect baby and basically just ate, played and slept! He was content playing anywhere I would put him and definitely not nearly as high-maintance as Mariella was at 3 months!!! He has such a sweet personality and such an easy baby so that definitely made it easier! To our pleasant surprise Mariella was amazing as well! It basically just proved to us that she is going to be an amazing big sister someday! She always wanted to help with the baby and would constantly ask "where baby at?" Whenever Preston would cry she would immediately get up and give him a toy and then proceed to try to stuff the pacifier in his mouth..will need to work on that in the future!!! Also, she loved sharing the backseat with him and whenever Preston would fall asleep she would look at me and say "momma shhh" and put her fingers to her lips and then proceed to stay super quite the rest of the car ride! I was happy to see Mariella adjust so well and now that they are gone all I hear is "where baby at?" non-stop! Here are some pictures from the week! Hope you enjoy!

***I have also posted some videos from this week and one of Mariella dancing with daddy! Just go to youtube.com and type in heidistevener for my username and mariella for the password!***

Yeah! We survived a week all together!!!

Peek-A-Boo!!!

(Mariella loved to make Preston laugh and peek-a-boo would always do the trick!)

I love my Aunt Kara! Thank you so much for letting me watch my cousin!

Good morning mommy! I am just making sure Preston is ok!

Mommy, I thought you said you needed some diapers! Here they are!

(Mariella loves wearing her rain boots in the house and she was being cute one morning by bringing me some diapers when I asked her to! I never told her that she brought the wrong ones because she I loved how hard she was trying to help!!!)

Hi Preston! What do you want to do today?

Hi mommy! He told me he want to play!!!

Here we go on our first outing with two kids!!!

Gotta love Target and pretty nice that Baby Preston fell asleep on the way there!

Getting ready to visit my Aunt Kara and Daddy at work!

Preston hanging out in Mariella's bed! Check out the tie onesie we got him!!! He got to wear his tie for when we went to visit his mommy at work! Super cute!

Hmmm...let me see what report I can get done before Aunt Kara gets back to her desk!

Preston and I during our routine nap time rocking sessions!

(Mariella would be sleeping during this time so I would get to just sit and rock Preston while he slept for nap! This was my most favorite part of the day!)

I don't know about you mom but I am exhausted! Do you think Preston will mind if I take a little nap in his bouncer?!?!?

(resorting back to when she was a baby!)

Fun Weekend with Friends!

2011-01-11T14:00:00.001-08:00

Last weekend our friends Lacey and Zach came to visit with their adorable daughter Ava! Mariella had so much fun entertaining Ava and she seemed to really enjoy being the older child in the group! Mariella was so sweet and gentle with Ava the entire time and was great sharing her toys! The girls had a fun time together and we had a blast just catching up and having a nice, relaxing weekend! We look forward to the girls growing up together and feel truly blessed to have such awesome friends! Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Well hello! This is my friend Ava!

Let me show you how to hold hands!

Your outfit is super cute Ava! I especially like your jacket!

Yeah!!! It is so much fun having a friend spend the night!

I know mom...I am sharing my toys don't worry!

Just having a little cuddle session with my Aunt Lacey!

And I can't forget a cuddle session with my Uncle Zach also!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

Hello!!! Yes, we are still here! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Year! We spent Christmas in Corsicana with Robert's family this year and had a blast! We stayed there for several days, went on a fun date night to see the Stars play in Dallas, and had a blast! Then for New Years my family came in town and we had a great time ringing in the New Years together and doing our Christmas with them during that time! Mariella is still at that age where Christmas wasn't much of a big deal in regards to waking up early and wanting to open every present in sight! She actually slept in a bit and opened a few gifts on Christmas morning, a few with Robert's family in Fort Worth, and a few the day after Christmas! It was real nice and relaxing! When it comes to presents for Mariella this year it can be summed up with one word....DORA! Mariella absolutely LOVES Dora and Boots and got so many fun things related to them! She also got so many other amazing things that we just feel so blessed to have such thoughtful and generous family members! Even beyond all those amazing gifts she received from family, we have enjoyed teaching her that the best gift of all and the reason for Christmas is the gift of Jesus! We started doing the Jesse Tree with her this year and she absolutely loved it! Basically, she had her own baby tree next to our tree that she could touch and starting December 1st we would sit down as a family on the couch, read a bible story from her Kids Bible starting from creation and open an ornament every night that went with the story in the bible! We read stories every night in December beginning at the creation and ending at the Jesus's birth! It was really neat to see how fast she caught on to the routine and eventually would just get her bible and gift and sit on the couch and wait for us to come! Super neat! We will definitely make this a new Stevener Christmas tradition and hope that Mariella will learn the true meaning of Christmas! Here are some pictures of our Christmas and I hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Yeah it's Christmas and I love my "ho, ho, ho" shoes!

(The first time I put these shoes on her they are red and shiny and she immediately goes Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Just posing for a family picture with my cousins and Gigi and Daddy-Doc!

Cheese from the whole crew! Hey wait...what is going on over there?!??!

(Of course Mariella is always more interested in figuring out what is going on, even when nothing is happening, that she won't look forward!!!)

Hi Mommy!

I love my Grandmom! Oh yeah, climbing onto this bench sure is fun also!

Just playing with some cars and boats with my big cousin, Matthew! He is pretty cool!

YEAH...I LOVE DOGGIES!!!

Thank you Grandmom and Grandad for my dollie! I love to brush her hair!

**Change of outfit because this is Christmas Eve! We went to real nice candle light service that evening and then went to eat dinner at some friends house!***

I love my new cousin Preston! He is super cute!

I think I got this opening presents thing down!

Hey mom...look at my awesome Boots doll!!!

Yeah...more Dora stuff! What a fun book and it plays music! Awesome!

***New outfit because this is Christmas morning!!!***

Wow, I love my new rain boots! Now I just need to figure out how to walk in them!

Thank you Gigi and Daddy-Doc for my lego wagon! I love pushing it around and building!

Ohhh....I am having so much fun with new etch and sketch!

Thank you Nana for my Cozy Coupe! It is awesome! I love playing with it around the house, since my mommy says it is too cold right now to take it outside! I even got to put my Santa doll inside and push him around the house!

Thank you Grandpa and Meema for my awesome rocking chair! It is awesome! I sit in it everyday!

Putting my first ornament on my Jesse Tree!

(She tried really hard to put all the ornaments on herself! It was really sweet to watch!)

Happy 20 Month Birthday!

2010-12-23T12:56:00.000-08:00

I am still in shock that she is officially 4 months away from being 2 years old! It is both amazing and crazy to think about! This month has just been so much fun! Mariella is beginning to talk so much and beginning to understand a ton! Her favorite toys right now are her grocery cart, puzzles, baby stroller, and coloring book with crayons! She LOVES to watch Dora and Boots and always yells out "map" and "boots" and all the fun words as she is watching! Mariella loves to help whenever she can and we are just adoring every day! The Lord just blessed us so much with our sweet Mariella and can't wait to see what more He has in store for us! Here are some pictures from this last month and I have uploaded a video on YouTube of Mariella talking! She amazes us with all the new words she is saying! Hope you enjoy!

***In order to view the video of Mariella talking just click on the link below and sign in at the top right hand corner. My username is heidistevener and my password is mariella! Then go to "my videos" and click on the video of Mariella talking! Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com

Hi there! I love playing outside!

(She looks like such a big girl in this picture!)

Just showing off my adorable outfit!

Hi mommy! Huntley and Prince are in time out because they were bad!!!

(This is Mariella's time out spot and we found her putting them in there! Poor doggies!!!)

I am such a big girl sitting in the booth and eating like mommy and daddy!

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

2010-12-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Mariella had so much fun seeing all the lights down at the Riverwalk when we went a couple of weeks ago! But she had the most fun seeing Santa and Mrs. Clause and getting to take a picture with them! We figured to prevent her from crying and holding up the line we would get in the picture with her so this year we all got to take a picture with Santa! Also, I have added a fun video on my Youtube account of Mariella and her new words! She is talking so much now and the most fun thing she is saying right now is "Ho, ho, ho!" She even will try to do it with a deep manly voice!!! Super cute! Hope you enjoy!

In order to view the Ho, Ho, Ho video just click on this link and then my sign in is heidistevener and my password is mariella! Once you are in my account at the top right hand corner just click down where it says heidistevener and go to my videos to view the video of her saying "Ho, Ho, Ho"!!!

http://www.youtube.com/index

Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!

Holiday in the Park!

2010-12-17T12:03:00.001-08:00

This past weekend we joined some friends of ours at Fiesta Texas's Holiday in the Park! Mariella had a blast and LOVED all the Christmas music and beautiful lights! She and her daddy rode on the carousel together and Mariella had a blast! We also got to ride on a fun Scooby Dooby Doo ride that involved going through all these fun little tunnels, and things popping out at you! Surprisingly, Mariella just sat there and was amazed at everything she was seeing so much that she wasn't even scared! We tried to take pictures with Santa but the line was over an hour long so we decided it wasn't worth it! Plus, she already saw Santa when we went down to the river to see the lights so it was ok! Besides the fact that after this fun evening we have all been a bit under the weather it was so much fun and can't wait to go back next year! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Yeah! This carousel ride is going to be so much fun with my daddy!

Muah!!!! I hope my mommy gets all these kisses I am blowing to her as we go by!!!

YEAH!!! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!

Not too sure why they have me all strapped in?!??!

(This was Mariella and I on the Scooby Dooby Doo ride before we began! She wasn't too sure at first!)

Just posing for some pictures! I can hardly move with this huge coat my mom and dad are making me wear but it is all good! At least I am toasty warm!!!

(This is about as close to seeing Santa as we got!!! They had these pretty trees in the waiting area so Mariella stood in front of them and just waited as we took some pictures! Kinda funny!)