I absolutely love taking fall pictures. It's even better when Maci loves to help rake and play in the leaves.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Little Brother
My due date was May 21st. But that day had come and gone and left us wondering when the little guy would show up. Saturday morning, we decided to make plans for Memorial Day weekend. Eden's baptism was Sunday and we planned on a BBQ out at the farm for Monday. Then Saturday afternoon around 3, my water broke, in the bathroom (SO grateful for a non-embarrassing experience). Excitedly, we got everything together (I think I was the most calm of everyone) and headed to Miles City. Mom and Dad Held had walkie talkies (sp?) so that we could communicate how my contractions were doing. We got into a room just after 5 pm and the nurse checked me to see how dilated I was. She said I was at a 7 and wondered how I wasn't feeling any of the big contractions. So she excused herself and called desperately for more help and wheeled us into a delivery room. She decided to check again and said she was mistaken, I was at a 4. So we all breathed a sigh of relief, sort of, and got settled in. I was ready for my epidural not too long after and got it around 9. Then I encouraged everyone to get a bite to eat and convinced Terry to take Maci to the hotel. Mom and I tried to get some sleep, we sent Dad and David to another room to have beds to sleep on. Around 3 am the nurse said I could start pushing and a little after 4 we got David and Dad up. The Dr. came sometime after 4:30 and saw that I needed help and suggested the vacuum but could only use it 3 times and then if he wasn't moving, we would move to a C-section. We decided on it, tried 3 times but all he would do is move back inside. So, they quickly got the surgery team together and moved us all to the operating room. With David by my side and my mother further back, at 5:07 am I heard the most angelic of sounds, that first cry of a newborn. They cleaned him up , weighing 10 lbs 1.6oz and was 21 3/4" long, and put a cap and blanket on him and brought him around for me to look at him. What a sweet site he was! He and David and my mom left the room so I could be sewn up and taken to recovery. I woke up at 7 and finally and most eagerly got to join the party.
This is as close as Maci would ever get to Aleck. She loved the idea of having a brother but definitely would not touch him or get close enough to get a picture.
Here he is: Aleck David Steffen.
David napping on the floor and Maci on the Ipad.
The official hospital picture
Maci and grandpa watching a movie
All ready to go home.
This is as close as Maci would ever get to Aleck. She loved the idea of having a brother but definitely would not touch him or get close enough to get a picture.
Before there were 4
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Cookie making
Boy have I been slacking!!!! I figured I should put at least one blog entry on before life gets too hectic with two kids.
Back in March, there was a Relief Society Birthday celebration at the church and I was to help with the food. The theme was Helping Hands all Over the World and some of the sisters and I made hand-shaped sugar cookies and world-shaped cookies. Of course Maci had to help me in the kitchen and that is what I want to share. She LOVES making sugar cookies. From mixing ingredients, to rolling them out to watching them bake. Here are the pics:
And this is how mine turned out. Kinda cute if I may say so myself.
Back in March, there was a Relief Society Birthday celebration at the church and I was to help with the food. The theme was Helping Hands all Over the World and some of the sisters and I made hand-shaped sugar cookies and world-shaped cookies. Of course Maci had to help me in the kitchen and that is what I want to share. She LOVES making sugar cookies. From mixing ingredients, to rolling them out to watching them bake. Here are the pics:
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Fun sayings
Here are some fun tidbits about Maci from December - February:
Every morning when she is ready to get up she hands me everything in her crib (blanket, Nemo, Sock Monkey, and Coco) and then I lift her out and she puts everything back in.
On December 29th she climbed out of her bed all by herself for the first time (and didn't get hurt). She was supposed to be napping but she thought she didn't need one that day. The third time I went into her room to encourage her to go to sleep, she met me at the door. All I can say is that we are lucky she hasn't figured it out sooner.
Every morning for breakfast, about 90% of the time, she wants/eats Life cereal for breakfast. Usually, right after she gets out of bed, she says to me, "How bout Life?" The other 10% of the time is oatmeal. If we are lucky, she will eat pancakes occasionally but only if they have jelly on them.
Maci has learned that if she asks the question that she wants to be asked herself, she will get it. For example, this morning after she ate her oatmeal, she says, "Do you want some yogurt, honey?" So I asked her that and she says, "yes, okay, okay." Makes me laugh every time.
Maci loves to sing in bed. Usually during the beginning of nap time, I will find her singing her ABC's, Where is Thumbkin, Happy Birthday, Deck the Halls or Jingle Bells or whatever she feels like singing about.
Maci finally understands she can love things. Getting her up from a nap sometime last month, she points to the picture of Jesus in her room and says, "I love Jesus." From then on, about every day she loves something new, Coco, Life (her cereal), bacon, Minnie, her blanket, stickers, and so on.
The other day I made cookies during her nap. I gave her one when she first got up and she scarfed it down. She asked for another and I gave her one from a more "crispier" batch. She bit into it, started to crunch on it and she looked at me and said "yucky" and gave it back to me. LOL! Guess she is more of a soft cookie girl.
We have recently started reading the Book of Mormon reader that has a gazillion pictures to go along with the story. After about a week, Maci has decided she wants to choose which story we read. She chooses the first story, about Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon came about. Now, it is her favorite and asks for it every night. She knows the story practically by heart. It is just so cute!!!
We've noticed in the last few months that either Maci has a fantastic memory or she is able to communicate so much more. She now sings most words to songs and is actually repeating parts of her favorite shows. On Netflix, there is a show called "Wheels on the Bus" which by far is her absolute favorite. I was at the computer and put her show on and she practically repeated the entire episode. Totally blew me away and it was F-U-N-N-Y!
Maci loves to help me prepare dinner every night. If I don't ask her to help, she is right there asking to sit on the counter and help. She has even learned to bring a chair over from the table and sometimes plays in the sink with the water.
Every morning when she is ready to get up she hands me everything in her crib (blanket, Nemo, Sock Monkey, and Coco) and then I lift her out and she puts everything back in.
On December 29th she climbed out of her bed all by herself for the first time (and didn't get hurt). She was supposed to be napping but she thought she didn't need one that day. The third time I went into her room to encourage her to go to sleep, she met me at the door. All I can say is that we are lucky she hasn't figured it out sooner.
Every morning for breakfast, about 90% of the time, she wants/eats Life cereal for breakfast. Usually, right after she gets out of bed, she says to me, "How bout Life?" The other 10% of the time is oatmeal. If we are lucky, she will eat pancakes occasionally but only if they have jelly on them.
Maci has learned that if she asks the question that she wants to be asked herself, she will get it. For example, this morning after she ate her oatmeal, she says, "Do you want some yogurt, honey?" So I asked her that and she says, "yes, okay, okay." Makes me laugh every time.
Maci loves to sing in bed. Usually during the beginning of nap time, I will find her singing her ABC's, Where is Thumbkin, Happy Birthday, Deck the Halls or Jingle Bells or whatever she feels like singing about.
Maci finally understands she can love things. Getting her up from a nap sometime last month, she points to the picture of Jesus in her room and says, "I love Jesus." From then on, about every day she loves something new, Coco, Life (her cereal), bacon, Minnie, her blanket, stickers, and so on.
The other day I made cookies during her nap. I gave her one when she first got up and she scarfed it down. She asked for another and I gave her one from a more "crispier" batch. She bit into it, started to crunch on it and she looked at me and said "yucky" and gave it back to me. LOL! Guess she is more of a soft cookie girl.
We have recently started reading the Book of Mormon reader that has a gazillion pictures to go along with the story. After about a week, Maci has decided she wants to choose which story we read. She chooses the first story, about Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon came about. Now, it is her favorite and asks for it every night. She knows the story practically by heart. It is just so cute!!!
We've noticed in the last few months that either Maci has a fantastic memory or she is able to communicate so much more. She now sings most words to songs and is actually repeating parts of her favorite shows. On Netflix, there is a show called "Wheels on the Bus" which by far is her absolute favorite. I was at the computer and put her show on and she practically repeated the entire episode. Totally blew me away and it was F-U-N-N-Y!
Maci loves to help me prepare dinner every night. If I don't ask her to help, she is right there asking to sit on the counter and help. She has even learned to bring a chair over from the table and sometimes plays in the sink with the water.
Goodbye Binky!!!
Finally, the deed is DONE! 13 days have passed since it "disappeared" and I think we are finally getting some sleep at night. I should have kept a daily journal of the "night activity" so we could share with you but by the 3rd night, I couldn't remember much of what happened during the night. So here is my best recollection of the blessed event.
Maci was getting pretty attached to her binky. It was almost a real person to her. She only used it during naps and night time and had been that way for many months. But recently she would cry for it during the day when she was put in time out or wouldn't get her way or told no. So David and I knew the time was upon us. So I did some research online and we decided to have her go cold turkey with it. So I ordered a book from Amazon called Goodbye Binky and decided to start reading it to her 5 days in advance of when we'd take it away. So Sunday, January 20th, after our scripture reading, we added the book to our nightly schedule. She loved the book. Here is a short summary.
It is about a 2 year old boy who loves his binky and goes with him everywhere. One day at the park while swinging, the binky pops out of his mouth and falls to the ground. A girl his age picks it up and tells him that she didn't need one anymore because she was a big girl and that the binky fairy came to visit. So the boy thought of that as he went to sleep, wanting to be a big boy. The next day Bubbles, the binky fairy visits with a red box saying how brave he would be if he gave up the binky. He did that night, tossing and turning but eventually falling asleep. The next morning he awoke happy to see he slept through the night and found a Big Boy award from Bubbles and of course, binky was gone. The next time he went to the park he noticed someone else had a binky like his and wondered if they fairy gave it to him.
So we read it Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night to Maci. On Wednesday night, David switched her name for the boy which made it personal to Maci. I thought I would try no binky during nap time. The next two hours were bad for both of us. I would go in and try to comfort her every 30 minutes but there was a lot of heartache. That night we also cut the tip of her binky off . When we gave it to her, she sucked, pulled it out of her mouth and said "yucky." David and I snickered and put her to bed. Well, about 20 minutes of fussing, she finally asked for some water. I brought it in and what did she do? She dipped her binky in it and put it in her mouth. She laid down and went to sleep. The water caused the sucking comfort that she needed. Talk about a smart little girl! She woke up once during the night and asked for water again for the binky. So the next day, I didn't let her have her binky for her nap again. To my surprise, she actually fell asleep! This gave me hope for this evening. Later she found the red box I had made (with a picture of Bubbles, the fairy on it) and said her binky was in it (good she already knew what was in store). We then took the box to our bedroom and read the story and she was eager to put her binky in. Going to sleep was rough but she finally fell asleep then waking up 3 times during the night. Okay, the night was better than we hoped. In the morning, she found toys, bubbles and a Big Girl award in her box instead of binky. She was sad but loved her presents. No nap the next day and with a little encouraging of not needing binky and being a big girl, she fell asleep. She woke up 4 or 5 times. Saturday night she would wake up each time screaming and couldn't be consoled for 10-15 minutes. Sunday night she fell asleep at 9 and woke up each hour until 2, then up at 8am. (we couldn't tell by now if this was getting worse or better) Monday night she woke up 3 times but we shut all doors and let her soothe herself to sleep. Finally by the end of the week, we were mostly rested and Maci was getting used to the nights. She still woke up, sometimes screaming, some just whimpering. Now, 13 days later, she still haven't slept thru the night like she had before, but she now comforts herself and is able to fall back asleep on her own. The binky is only mentioned when she brags about the binky fairy coming. For example, we were at the story and passed a 9 mo old boy with a binky and she told him her story of the binky fairy coming and bringing her presents. It was cute
The plus side of it you ask??? Well, finally, we see a plus side; we weren't sure we were ever going to get there. Macs now cuddles more. She has never been one to cuddle but now she asks to be rocked to sleep or sit on your lap to watch a movie. She voluntarily comes up to you and gives hugs and kisses for no reason at all (precious are these moments). She altogether seems to have grown up a bit too. She is more helpful around the house and plays better with her friends and cousins.
We are so glad this is past us. David says this next little on isn't getting a binky but I say otherwise. We will just take it away at about 12 months old or sooner. That is of course if he/she will even take to one. We know that binky's are lifesavers but taking them away from an attached toddler was HARD. We know we didn't do it alone. Heavenly help was on our side. It is amazing what prayer, trust and persistent can do.
"Bubbles" the Binky Fairy's Box
Maci was getting pretty attached to her binky. It was almost a real person to her. She only used it during naps and night time and had been that way for many months. But recently she would cry for it during the day when she was put in time out or wouldn't get her way or told no. So David and I knew the time was upon us. So I did some research online and we decided to have her go cold turkey with it. So I ordered a book from Amazon called Goodbye Binky and decided to start reading it to her 5 days in advance of when we'd take it away. So Sunday, January 20th, after our scripture reading, we added the book to our nightly schedule. She loved the book. Here is a short summary.
It is about a 2 year old boy who loves his binky and goes with him everywhere. One day at the park while swinging, the binky pops out of his mouth and falls to the ground. A girl his age picks it up and tells him that she didn't need one anymore because she was a big girl and that the binky fairy came to visit. So the boy thought of that as he went to sleep, wanting to be a big boy. The next day Bubbles, the binky fairy visits with a red box saying how brave he would be if he gave up the binky. He did that night, tossing and turning but eventually falling asleep. The next morning he awoke happy to see he slept through the night and found a Big Boy award from Bubbles and of course, binky was gone. The next time he went to the park he noticed someone else had a binky like his and wondered if they fairy gave it to him.
So we read it Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night to Maci. On Wednesday night, David switched her name for the boy which made it personal to Maci. I thought I would try no binky during nap time. The next two hours were bad for both of us. I would go in and try to comfort her every 30 minutes but there was a lot of heartache. That night we also cut the tip of her binky off . When we gave it to her, she sucked, pulled it out of her mouth and said "yucky." David and I snickered and put her to bed. Well, about 20 minutes of fussing, she finally asked for some water. I brought it in and what did she do? She dipped her binky in it and put it in her mouth. She laid down and went to sleep. The water caused the sucking comfort that she needed. Talk about a smart little girl! She woke up once during the night and asked for water again for the binky. So the next day, I didn't let her have her binky for her nap again. To my surprise, she actually fell asleep! This gave me hope for this evening. Later she found the red box I had made (with a picture of Bubbles, the fairy on it) and said her binky was in it (good she already knew what was in store). We then took the box to our bedroom and read the story and she was eager to put her binky in. Going to sleep was rough but she finally fell asleep then waking up 3 times during the night. Okay, the night was better than we hoped. In the morning, she found toys, bubbles and a Big Girl award in her box instead of binky. She was sad but loved her presents. No nap the next day and with a little encouraging of not needing binky and being a big girl, she fell asleep. She woke up 4 or 5 times. Saturday night she would wake up each time screaming and couldn't be consoled for 10-15 minutes. Sunday night she fell asleep at 9 and woke up each hour until 2, then up at 8am. (we couldn't tell by now if this was getting worse or better) Monday night she woke up 3 times but we shut all doors and let her soothe herself to sleep. Finally by the end of the week, we were mostly rested and Maci was getting used to the nights. She still woke up, sometimes screaming, some just whimpering. Now, 13 days later, she still haven't slept thru the night like she had before, but she now comforts herself and is able to fall back asleep on her own. The binky is only mentioned when she brags about the binky fairy coming. For example, we were at the story and passed a 9 mo old boy with a binky and she told him her story of the binky fairy coming and bringing her presents. It was cute
The plus side of it you ask??? Well, finally, we see a plus side; we weren't sure we were ever going to get there. Macs now cuddles more. She has never been one to cuddle but now she asks to be rocked to sleep or sit on your lap to watch a movie. She voluntarily comes up to you and gives hugs and kisses for no reason at all (precious are these moments). She altogether seems to have grown up a bit too. She is more helpful around the house and plays better with her friends and cousins.
We are so glad this is past us. David says this next little on isn't getting a binky but I say otherwise. We will just take it away at about 12 months old or sooner. That is of course if he/she will even take to one. We know that binky's are lifesavers but taking them away from an attached toddler was HARD. We know we didn't do it alone. Heavenly help was on our side. It is amazing what prayer, trust and persistent can do.
"Bubbles" the Binky Fairy's Box
Saturday, February 16, 2013
First real prayer
Tonight was a heart warming parental moment for us. For family prayer we take turns and when it is Maci's turn to pray, David and I switch off helping her. She is really good at repeating whatever we have her say. Probably about two weeks ago, we encouraged her to start on her own and to our surprise she said "Heavenly Father, thank you for this day." That is as much as she would say. We were ecstatic she got even that far! Well tonight, we encouraged her again to start and much to our surprise she kept going and going. It went like this:
"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, thank you for Ryan, thank you for Aaren, thank you for Krystin, thank you for Boden, thank you for toys, thank you for our home, thank you for Book of Mormon, thank you for Blaine, thank you for Elzie, thank you for Zoey, please bless work."
She then was quiet and we helped fill in with gratitude for family, temple, prophets, good health for her baby brother and then she ended it on her own. Wow! We had just spent the evening with the first 4 people and the others she named were kids from the nursery and we normally ask for David to be safe while he is at work during the day. I will admit that I was beaming during her whole prayer and it brought tears to my eyes. She understands and articulates so well at such a young age. It is so fulfilling already to see her think for herself and learn about the gospel and to express it! Such a tender mercy from Heavenly Father!
"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, thank you for Ryan, thank you for Aaren, thank you for Krystin, thank you for Boden, thank you for toys, thank you for our home, thank you for Book of Mormon, thank you for Blaine, thank you for Elzie, thank you for Zoey, please bless work."
She then was quiet and we helped fill in with gratitude for family, temple, prophets, good health for her baby brother and then she ended it on her own. Wow! We had just spent the evening with the first 4 people and the others she named were kids from the nursery and we normally ask for David to be safe while he is at work during the day. I will admit that I was beaming during her whole prayer and it brought tears to my eyes. She understands and articulates so well at such a young age. It is so fulfilling already to see her think for herself and learn about the gospel and to express it! Such a tender mercy from Heavenly Father!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Christmas
Halloween and Birthday
And of course, the ever SO EXCITING BIRTHDAY! I believe we celebrated 3 or 4 birthdays not too long before November so Maci knew what to expect coming into her big day. We would keep telling her, "Maci's birthday is coming up" and eventually she would repeat it every day. We would practice singing the song, too.
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