random assortment...

Cute sleepy Eli

Super Daddy with both his boys!

Eli at Souplantation (he went twice in his first two weeks of life!)

Look at that chubby face!

Jayden and Grandma Dottie at the Long Beach Aquarium

Owen and Jayden at Souplantation

14 months old!

Jayden turned 14 months old yesterday!! It is hard to believe. Feels like yesterday we were changing HIS newborn diapers and dealing with his spit-up. Hee hee. A lot of people have asked how he is settling into having a little brother. For the most part, he's just fascinated with Eli and wants to touch him. He also likes to try to steal his blankets. :) He has been more fussy of late, and more clingy. Could be the adjustment, could be a new tooth coming in. Who knows. But for the most part he is still our happy go lucky little guy, filling our lives with laughter and joy as always.

What's he doing these days, you ask? :)

• walking walking walking!!! he has gotten very good at it and we rarely see him crawl now.
  
• still chowing down on tons of food. he has gotten so big, too. our itty bitty guy has turned into quite the big boy!
  
• sleeping 12-13 hours a night most nights and most days still taking two naps. some days one. the other day we kept him up a little late cause there were lots of people here and he was socializing. he then walked over to the bathroom door (where he takes his bath every night), bangs on it, and says, "night night." it was hilarious. we promptly got him ready for bed!
• talking talking talking. so far his words are: papa, mama, boppa (grandpa), kittie (still keeeeeeeeeeey), airplane, cracker (ka-ker), trash truck (tash tuck), all done, hi, bye bye, baby, ball, birdie, duck, night night and car. that's all I can think of for now

Recent pictures to come (we've been a little busy...hee hee)!

THE BIRTH

So I am finally getting around to posting pics of the birth. I figure with an almost 14 month old and a 2 week old, I'm not doing too badly! :)

For those who don't know the gory details yet, labor lasted 18 long grueling hours. I had the goal of doing it without pain relief and succeeded. It was pretty intense and I would NOT have made it without the support of Dan, my mom, my sister-in-law, and my mother in law. They were all INCREDIBLE. My sister-in-law seriously could be a midwife or doula. She was amazing. When I would start to panic, she would say, "Sarah, NO. Relax. Breathe." And when I was really panicking when he was about to come and they told me not to push while they set up, she got on the bed and got right at my ear and said, "Get it together, Sarah. You did NOT come this far to give up now." I said later, "You were kinda mean..." but with a smile on my face. I am so blessed with all these women in my life. And to have a sister-in-law I would be friends with anyway, that I consider just my sister and not my in-law, that flew down from Oregon (she is TERRIFIED of flying, too) just to be with me and help me...WOW. I am truly blessed. And my mom...she does NOT like to see her kids in pain (just like any mom) and was so strong for me, even though I knew it was killing her to watch me go through it. And my mother-in-law...she was there with washcloths, ice chips, jello...she hung in till the end. And Dan...well there are NO words. NO WORDS. Through two labors and deliveries now, he has been my rock. Breathing with me, cheering me on, loving me...I think I am the luckiest woman alive to be married to him. And to watch him weep with joy as both of our sons have been born...his heart astounds me. Every moment of pain and agony was worth it for sweet Eli.

So without further adieu...here are the pictures!!

Timing contractions on the couch


When you're super tired, you will sleep ANYWHERE


Goofing off with Matthew in between contractions


Things starting to get intense


My mom, being a superstar


Fresh into the world!


First kisses from Mommy!


Bonding with Daddy


Sweet little feet


Dan "losing it" like he has with both boys. So precious!

Everett, the future baby whisperer

Our nephew Everett is going to be 5 in September and already LOVES babies. He has always been amazing with Jayden and now is IN LOVE with Eli. He comes up multiple times a day to stroke his head and give him sweet kisses. When Everett was a tiny baby, we all lived together and he would sleep on my chest all the time. From day one, this kid had me wrapped around his finger. To watch him love my kids so much now....there are NO words. His tender sweet heart just makes mine melt!!

sweet baby Eli

a family of four!!!

Jayden....

Showing off his new shoes

Looking patriotic... (some realtors came by and put flags on everyone's lawn..so, amazingly, this was not posed!)

Playing in the cool new giraffe pool with Eleni, his only girl cousin! (Haley from down the street was there too...she is in the second picture)



Jayden, we love you sweet boy and cannot believe you are a big brother!

pictures of our new bundle!

Hey if people want to check out some cutie pie shots of Eli, here is the link to the web nursery page from the hospital.

Eli's WebNursery Page

More of our pics coming soon!! :)

in one day, out the next

My mom sent me these shots via email today and I laughed. The first one, entitled:

In One Day


And the next, entitled:

Out the Next

Welcome Eli Samuel Stephens!!!

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

Eli Samuel Stephens arrived today, July 9th at 3:51 PM after 18 grueling hours of labor for Mommy (no epidural and lots of Pitocin...YIKES!!!). He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs, 2 ozs and is 19 1/2 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair just like his daddy. Here's a couple pics we have. Most of the good ones are on both grandmas' cameras and so we will get those soon.