Introducing...

On April 6th we welcomed our newest member of our family! Aubrie RaNae was born at 10:33pm weighing 7lbs 5oz and measuring  20in. My due date was April 10th, but my doctor was going to be out of town that week so he decided to induce me on Friday the 6th. It was also my 27th  birthday:) I went into the hospital at 9am and they checked me in and got me situated and started the pit by 10am. Labor went SLOW. The doctor came over on his lunch break and tried to break my water, but it was still to high and he wasn't able to do it, bummer! The nurse thought for sure that he would break it so we decided to go ahead and get the epidural so that when labor started to get worse I would be comfortable. I wasn't even really feeling the contractions up to this point, so I was scared to get the epidural since I didn't feel like I needed it yet. The anesthesiologist  came in and got started. After he got the line in place he tested it to make sure it was good to go and unfortunately it wasn't working. He had to take it out and do it over. I didn't remember how weird it feels to get an epidural. The first time the line ended up kinked, kinda scary! Once everything was good, my blood pressure dropped a little low so they had to give me some meds to help it come back up. Finally things were good and the waiting game resumed. I waited and only progressed 1-2cm until 4:30pm. The doctor was able to break my water and things started going a little faster, but not much. Finally after 12.5 hours she arrived!! We couldn't be happier. She has such a sweet little spirit and we are so blessed to have her part of our family.

Big brother meeting his new little sister! He sure does love her alot:)

Going home! She had a little melt down getting into her carseat. She still hates getting into it.

My cousin Holli was kind enough to do newborn pictures for us! We also had Hunter be part of a few of them. Aubrie was content until we undressed her. She screamed her little head off the rest of the time. Hunter just wanted to keep playing with all of their fun toys, so it was a little bit of a struggle to make him look like he wanted to be there lol.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

The weather yesterday was SO nice! The wind was blowing, but it wasn't cold so we decided to let Hunter fly his kite he got for Christmas. He was so excited! It's a shark and he loves it. It was dragging him around a little, but he held on tight and had fun. With all the wind we get in Idaho I'm sure we will be flying his kite alot this spring and summer.

Boise and the Baby

The 2nd weekend in February we went to Boise to visit Brian's sister and her family and to do some shopping! It was alot of fun!! It was so nice over there. Hunter played outside with his cousin and loved every second of it. We got an awesome deal on a nice hotel room(thanks Tara!!) and Brian took Hunter swimming. We ate some good food:) We spent most of Saturday shopping and then went and relaxed at my sister-in-laws. I wish we could go see them more often.

I only have 4.5 weeks until this little wiggle worm gets here! We(Brian) finally got the crib up yesterday and for whatever reason that made this seem way more real. I'm so excited to meet her and bring her home. The past few days I have been feeling a little more anxious about things like how am I going to chase Hunter around while trying to take care of a newborn, will Hunter be overly jealous and how will I handle that, is she going to be awake all night crying, is she going to be healthy. I know that everything will work itself out and that I'm just worrying about things I have no control over. Hunter is pretty independent, so it won't be like I am taking care of 2 babies, but I can't stop over thinking everything. I guess I've always been that way though:) More than anything I just want the next few weeks to fly by and get this little one here!

My Aunt Peggy

On Saturday February 18th my sweet and loving Aunt Peggy passed away. It was very unexpected. I know she is in a better place watching over her family, and we will all be together again. We all loved her so much and will miss her greatly.

It's been awhile

Obviously I haven't blogged in a very long time. I guess I just needed a good, long break. Most everyone knows that we are expecting baby #2 in April! We found out in December that it's a GIRL!!!! Hunter is so excited to be a big brother and is loving the idea that he gets a little sister:) Brian is now back in school working on his BA in social work. He just has a few classes left!! Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find a job in law enforcement, so we decided it was best to continue his education. He is also working full time and helping lots around the house! I'm now a stay at home mom and loving it most days! I'm getting excited to hold this precious little one and have my own body back. Hunter turned 4 in October and started preschool. He absolutely LOVES it!! He learns so much and always amazes us with all that he knows. His teacher told me today that out of everyone in his class he knows the most about animals. He loves to dance, sing, and do art of any kind. He is also loving primary. Hopefully I will keep this more up to date and learn to be better at journaling.

Hunter made the cutest crown in primary for Father's Day. It says "My pop is King"

Playing at the Rexburg splash park. We went with my friend Amy and her kids. They all had a blast! You can't beat FREE:)

Hunter's first day of preschool! He was so excited and not the least bit nervous. I thought I would cry my eyes out after dropping him off, and probably would have, but that day Brian was working his security job out in the the boonies and the tire on our car blew out and 5 am. He called and told me what had happened and that just minutes after pulling to the side of the road he saw a mountain lion. I told him he needed to wait til it was light out to change the tire and he agreed. After waiting for about an hour he realized he didn't have the right tools to get the tire off, so he woke his poor dad up. It takes about an hour to get to where Brian was at, so Brian waited some more. After all of that, he needed more tools so I quickly dropped Hunter off at school(hence the no crying) and drove out to the middle of now where to give them more tools. They finally got the tire off and the spare on and drove back to town to learn we needed not only 1 new tire, but all 4. What a long morning that was!

My little cowboy on Halloween.

Our birthday boy! I bet you can't tell he was excited;) I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

Grandma Payton

Brian's grandmother, Rose Payton, passed away on Saturday Feb 5, 2011. She was 94 years old. She was able to pass peacefully in her sleep, which we are all grateful for. For the last 8 years she has lived here in Idaho Falls at a local rest home. It's been nice for Brian's dad to be able to see her on a weekly basis and know that she was being well taken care of.

Brian has family from California and Oregon that the family hasn't seen in many years and luckily they were able to make the long drive to be here for the funeral. Although they were all here for her funeral, it's been nice to visit and get to know them. I know that Grandma Payton would have been so happy to have them all here! After the services the women of the relief society in Brian's parents ward put on a luncheon for us. It was so nice of them and we all appreciate their hard work!

These little squirts had lots of fun together the past 2 days. Gabe(our great-nephew) and Hunter are a year and a half apart. They played so well together! We wish we could see them more often!

Catching Up-again

I'm trying to play catch up from Oct-Dec 2010. This is a long post, but I want to remember all of it!

In the middle of September Brian had a PT test for school so he could graduate. Well, during the jumping part of the test he landed and hurt his knee. I kept telling him it was nothing and to "man up" and get over it and to prove my point I made him go to the doctor. It ends up I was wrong. They first said that he probably tore some cartilage and it would heal itself in a few weeks. A few weeks went by and he was still in alot of pain, so they did another x-ray and sent him to an orthopedic surgeon. There the dr confirmed that in fact he did tear his ACL and he would need surgery if he ever wanted to be a police officer. We decided it was best to wait until graduation was over and then have the surgery. We turned in the paperwork and set up a date for the Monday following graduation. We were just relieved that the school's insurance was going to cover most of it, then I received a phone call from the dr's office telling us that Brian's insurance was going to be cut off on Oct 15th, graduation day. There was NO way we could ever afford to pay for a surgery like this without the help of the insurance, so they fit us in for Oct 14th, the day before graduation. The surgery itself took only about an hour and a half, but the recovery time took almost 5 hours...what a long day for both of us. Thank heavens for my step-sister Kacie, who watched Hunter for us!! We got home about 5:3opm and some good friends brought us dinner, which was supper yummy!! They sent Brian home with what they call and drain tube. It's pretty gross, it's a tube inserted into his leg to drain the excess blood. I had to drain it once during the night and then again in the morning. Like I said it was pretty gross! The next morning we took him down to Pocatello(that's where his surgery was) to have his leg looked at and the tube removed. After that short visit we went up to the school and get him ready for graduation, he was heavily drugged so I had to do alot of helping:) I don't think he remembers half of it all. His niece Stephanie surprised him by coming all the way from Boise to be part of his special day! I am so proud of Brian for all his hard work and dedication! The recovery for his knee is going to take up to a year to be completely back to normal, but right now he is actually ahead of what the doctor expected. He is now going to the gym and working really hard to be able to go complete the PT test so that he can take his written test to have the certificate stating that he is certified to be a patrol/detention officer! We are planning for this to take place sometime at the end of January. On a side note, he did just apply for a job over by Boise so cross your fingers for us!!
This pic was taken right before surgery, he looks so nervous poor guy.
The day of graduation!!

I just thought this picture was cute, we were making home made pizza's. Hunter thought it was so much fun. Don't mind the mess in the background;)

We had such a nice fall this year. The temps were so nice, too bad it didn't last longer!! We have a tradition to pick our own pumpkins. Hunter had alot of fun, despite the rainy weather. For FHE we carved our pumpkins. I thought it would be fun for Hunter to paint a little one. He had a blast and now asks to paint everyday. This year Hunter dressed up as a lion, if you ask me I think he is the cutest lion I have ever seen:0 This year our ward put on a carnival and trunker treat. We all had so much fun and appreciate all the hard work that went into it!

I can't believe how fast the holidays came. We went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for Thanksgiving. I forgot my camera, but we had so much fun. We love them alot and thank them for always including us in their family!! They are so good to us, and they will never know how much it means to me.

Christmas this year was so nice. Hunter really understood "Santa Claus". He sang along to all the Christmas songs and always asked when Santa was coming. This year I was sick over Christmas weekend, but still loved every minute of it. My cousin Kristy gave us her kids' horse on springs. It's seriously one of Hunter's favorites! He thinks he's the coolest cowboy around. We want to thank all our family that helped put present under our tree and made this Christmas so special for all of us!

Some funny/some naughty things Hunter's been up to:

Pouring and full bottle of syrup all over my kitchen floor in a matter of seconds. Waking up and being so quiet and coloring with permanent marker all over our bathroom mirror. Stealing gum out of my purse and getting it all over himself. Telling us he wants to kick us in the bum when he gets mad at us. Coming out of his bedroom at bedtime crying and telling us we don't love him anymore because we won't lay next to him while he falls asleep. Singing songs. He absolutely loves church! A few Saturday's ago we saw Hunter's new teach for Sunday school(can you believe my baby is in Sunbeams) at Walmart, she was introducing herself to him and asking him questions. When Brian came back to the cart Hunter got supper excited and told him that he saw his sister, haha. When he woke up Sunday he kept telling me "I get to see my sister today". He's a funny kid and we love him to pieces!!

Hunter's 3rd Birthday!

"Ta-Da"

My sweet little boy turned 3 on Oct. 3rd. It was conference weekend, so I debated whether or not to have a party that weekend, but the weather was soooo nice. We decided to have a party at a local park on Saturday!! It was so perfect. We let Hunter pick out some decorations at Zurchers Party Store. He wanted a pirate party:) We bought him a plastic pirate hat and eye patch and all the kids got eye patches. They all had lots of fun and Hunter was spoiled rotten. We bought him a doctor kit and he plays doctor with the big bear he got from his aunt Patty. He is such a big boy now. On Sunday, his actual birthday we watched the morning session of conference and then went on our annual fall drive and listened to the afternoon session! It was so pretty. We drove up past Ashton, ID to Cave Falls and then over to the Lower Mesa Falls and Upper Mesa Falls. I love this time of year!!

Some of the fun things that Hunter is doing: He is potty training and doing really well(when I put him in his big boy undies), Singing along to his favorite toddler songs(If you're happy and you now it, Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, Popcorn Popping, and Do as I'm Doing), Loves cartoons, He wants a puppy named puppy and much much more. He still is the worlds pickiest eater:( He loves Church and was sad that we didn't go on Conference. He loves all his nursery buddies!! I can't believe we have a 3 year old, where did the time go?!

Stellmon Family Reunion-August 2010

The whole clan! We were visiting the ghost town of Custer, ID.

My mom bought Hunter some goggles and he wouldn't let me take them off of him, silly kid!

My cute Grandpa!

My Great Aunt Sharon and Uncle Harve

My mom and her new hubby Joe!! We are so happy he is part of the family!!

My cousins little cutie, Malaya!

In August we had the Stellmon Family Reunion. It was lots of fun!! We all met near Stanley, ID. We stayed in 2 cabins owned by the LDS church. The air was so fresh and the views were fantastic! I love coming to Stanley! It was so nice getting all together(we were only missing 4 people). The last time we were all together was 6 years ago. It was lots of work pulling it off, but it was SOOOO worth it!!! I'm so glad everyone was willing to drive so far! I can't wait for the next get together!! Love you all!

Island Park

This past Saturday we went up to Island Park for the day. We had a picnic lunch in Harriman State Park. It was so nice to get away and just have fun!! It was the perfect temperature. After we had our lunch we went to the antique fair(it's kind of like a flee market) in Last Chance(right before Island Park) and then we stopped at the antique fair at Pond's Lodge, and then drove to Warm Springs to let Hunter play in the water. We bought him a life jacket a few months ago and he has wanted to wear it all over the house, but for some reason he didn't want to wear it in the water...silly kid! He threw a huge fit and kept trying to take it off. Brian finally got him calmed down and put him in the water and he threw another fit because it was too cold. His grandparents have spoiled him this summer by filling up his pool with warm water from the house. We ended up driving back up to Macks Inn and let him throw rocks into the water by the bridge. He had lots of fun doing that!! While we were there we left his life jacket on our trunk to dry and when it was time to go I told Brian to put it back in the car. Well, he forgot. He drove away with it still on our trunk, about 2 mins down the road he remembered. We turned around and came back. We thought for sure it would be in the parking lot, but it wasn't. Brian asked if anyone had turned it in and of course no one did. He walked up the highway looking in the grass and it wasn't there either. Someone took it:( It was a super nice one too. I can't believe that someone would really take a little child's life jacket. Other then loosing Hunter's life jacket we had so much fun!!