HELLO THIRD TRIMESTER!

Fun stuff around here,

I am officially 27 weeks today!

27 week baby bumps!

Alex's sister Katie got her mission call this week! She is going to Salvador, South Brazil! We all got to be a part of the reveal via google hang out. It was extra fun and another testament to me that Alex's family couldn't be any more great! One second I am secretly jealous of the girls now leaving on missions and the next I am grateful this new revelation didn't come until AFTER I met and married my dream boy. The Lord has perfect timing whether we think so or not. Katie is leaving just after our baby is born, so our baby blessing will also be our farewell with her :(! She is going to get about a MILLION pictures of our child throughout her mission....lucky her! haha :) I can't wait to see the lives she impacts in the very near future!

I got a job! haha. Okay. At a call center, yes, but at least i won't be bored and lazy next semester when i'm only taking 6 credits. Jobs don't come easy here in Rexburg. The extra cash will be nice when diapers start appearing on our monthly receipts.

Alex's other sister Jenny and her husband, Steve just found out this week they are having a baby.....GIRL! So now our baby has  girl cousins on both sides of the family to play with!

Last Friday I went for my glucose screening test and FAILED. So i had to go back for the 3 hour test to confirm the results. And....it is confirmed. I'm diabetic and pricking myself 6 times a day. FUN. 

My Dad celebrated his 53rd Birthday last week! Love that man to bits!

This week I purchased two pairs of leggings to give some room to my ever growing belly. My belly button is growing shallow and it makes me laugh.

We picked out a Top 10 name list for our baby! Alex could probably bring that list down to 3 but i'm still trying to convince him of a few....so our list remains at 10.

This Christmas to start off Alex and I's FIRST Christmas married, I have planned a little surprise for him. Today the beginning of it came in the mail. I couldn't be more excited. I will post about it after Christmas!

Lately i have been feeling a lot more energy and have been trying out new recipes for supper and relieving my husband of his long episode of dish duty. Pregnancy is getting better!

This Saturday we made ginger bread houses with some friends. Alex made several contributions that consisted of the lovely "dog house" in the front, the "snake protectors" on the sides, a very helpful hand in holding the falling walls and then finally eating the entire gingerbread house in the matter of TWO days. Can't put perfectly good candy to waste right? Where does this man put all the food he consumes? The world may never know.

We are SO excited to be done with school and go home for Christmas. Even the way home will be a blast with this bundle of joy joining us!

Merry Christmas,

From the Stevens.

25 weeks and FIVE days. Less than 15 left? WOW

These past couple weeks have been crazy with school, holidays, family and a lot of FUN!

We crammed all our homework in and made it to Utah to celebrate Thanksgiving with Alex's family. EVERYONE was able to make it, even rare Michelle who goes to BYU Hawaii! She surprised everyone and showed up one morning exploding from a box! It was fun times!

Thanksgiving break included all of the following:

The Turkey Trot. Most of Alex's family entered the "Turkey Trot" which is a 4 mile run on Thanksgiving morning. Alex's family is full of talented runners to say the least and won a bunch of pies and a turkey! 

Ben my brother in law had a birthday and we celebrated by going out to eat at Banana Leaf! There was food on every inch of the table! GOOD food at that!

My nephew is a DOLL!

My sister in laws planned a family baby shower for me! The invites were ADORABLE! Everything from the invites to the decorations to the food included my pregnancy craving....GREEN APPLES :)

It was so much fun and baby girl got a lot of cuteness to wear. She is one lucky girl. And I am one lucky girl to have been adopted into such a great family!

While we stayed in Utah, Jordan and Heather so kindly lent us their apartment to sleep in! It was such a blessing! This pregnant lady didn't have to sleep on the floor and Alex enjoyed his ESPN nightly before bed...he doesn't have that luxury at home. haha. 

Turkey dinner! It was DELICIOUS! Everyone chipped in, even Alex made a pie! 

Tasha, my sister in law got to feel some kicks from my belly! 

We all exchanged our Christmas gifts! Steve my brother in law had us and got us a Wii! Yes, you heard that right. We lucked out! Steve manages a video game company...and let's just say, everyone wants Steve to pull their name next year. 

Thanksgiving was simply the BEST!

When we got home, the fun continued.

I had another doctors appointment! I got to have another ultrasound where I could feel AND see her move at the same time. It was magical. Baby girl is looking good and healthy. 

We attended Alex's sports banquet! There was free food and Alex got me...i mean himself another free shirt. It was fun to spend some time with his team for the last time.

For FHE we made a Christmas wreath! It started out being fun and then turned into me crying. I blame the pregnancy hormones. We got the ornaments from the dollar store so as we were putting them on, they started falling off one by one. It was frustrating but after a lot of glue gunning and Alex's help we came out with a pretty cute wreath that we were able to make together!

Alex entered into a raffle at school and won us TWO tickets to the Canadian Brass Christmas Concert on campus and $20 dollars to Costa Vida! 

We went to Canadian Brass yesterday night and enjoyed every minute! It was very well done. It made me even more excited for Christmas...if that is possible.

We only have one more full week of school left and we are heading home to Canada for Christmas! I am so excited to spend this time with family and friends. One of my best friends is putting on a baby shower for me on the Dec 20th! I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life! 

23 weeks and almost TWO days. Every. Day. Counts.

These past couple weeks have been crazy! I went to yet ANOTHER appointment with my OBGYN. Baby looks healthy and happy in my belly! I have been feeling some FUN back pain and discovered Medicaid pays for 6 appointments to the chiropractor. Don't mind if I do!! I have been to two appointments already and am feeling worlds better! I love FREE stuff!

I'm definitely starting to look pregnant. This is a fact.

Alex won not just one but TWO soccer championships these past couple weeks! That means TWO free shirts for me to laze around in :) He busted up his knee a bit and we are looking into getting an MRI... I hope his knee just needs time and NOT surgery. 

Since my last post Natalie found out what she is carrying! Yep, a little baby girl too! Girls everywhere!

Elections were ultra fun except for the fact that i didn't order my absentee ballot in time to actually vote. Canadian postal service needs to improve badly!...that or my procrastination.

My friends and I hosted a baby shower for our friend and it turned out really fun! I made my Aunt Sandra's famous sugar cookies! That recipe is TO DIE FOR! 

My gift for her was quickly ever so nicely thrown together!

Alex applied to two internships for this coming spring. We are still looking for some options, so if you know of a good one this spring let us know!

Meet our newest addition and only Christmas decoration.....his name is George but Alex insists on calling him BUCK?!

After the temple today, some young women were standing in the cold giving out cookies to those who came out of the temple. WHAT A GREAT SERVICE IDEA? it was cute and Alex sure liked the cookies because he ate his AND mine before we even got home.

I have had old fashioned rolled oats sitting in our pantry for a whole semester so i thought i would finally put them to use and make a giant batch of homemade granola! I got some ideas from several recipes and put together this recipe. I think it turned out mighty fine. It's my daily munchy.

GRANOLA

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cup of coconut
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional)

Bake at 300 until desired crunchiness...

Alex and I CANNOT wait for Thanksgiving with his family next week! I can't believe it's less than a week away! 

-Tiffany Lee Stevens

Halloween Week = FOOD (21 weeks)

This week can be described with two words...FUN....and FOOD! I don't think I have ever eaten so much food in my life. All week Alex has been able to feel our little nugget non stop. I can't believe her movement is big enough to feel from the outside! It's a beautiful thing. Cousin Jared even got a kick last night! She moves a lot but mostly when Alex is around and talking. I think she gets sick of my voice...and no one is blaming her.

This week it unexpectedly of course snowed here in Rexburg Idaho! Our car was locked in with a foot of snow and Alex had a soccer game to go to. We ended up getting stuck and having to take our car in afterwards to get the plastic bolted back up on the bottom. Life is rough. BUT Alex made it to his game and I speedily took our car in to the shop and walked home. A 15 DOLLAR mistake later and our car is back to great condition.

I honestly think I am showing now...for real. Alex tells me I am some days and then other days he rolls his eyes and says sarcastically, "Sure Tiff, I can tell" Well soon enough it will be undoubtable. I can... and cannot wait for that!

We changed date night to Thursday this week because we got tickets to go see The All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls and Parachute that night! We took the money Alex's Mom so graciously gave us for date money and grabbed some grub at Buffalo Wild Wings before the concert. I don't think our little girl likes food very much because she never lets me keep it down...especially if it is scrumptious. The concert was oh so fun and my stomach was movin to the music! We were lucky enough to snap a picture with William Anderson, the lead singer in Parachute!

Saturday brought more food as our ward was having a chilli, corn bread and pie cook off! Alex and I showed up and ate...and ate...and ate. After all THAT food we went to our friend's house Lindsay and Skyler. They had all the fixings to make carmel apples. I saved mine for sunday and it was a delicious treat the next day. 

On Monday I discovered I should start cooking more for my dear husband because when he is hungry and alone he will make himself something that looks like this...

Monday, for FHE, our apartment complex hosted a pie night. They said that at Thanksgiving families put dessert last but they want to put dessert first this year. Everyone was to bring their favourite pie and indulge. Everyone's pie tasted professional. I made pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream! I was surprised when it turned out really good! {I'm keeping the recipe for the crust, and filling forever!}

Lastly, i'm planning a baby shower for one of my friends here in Rexburg. I just finished the invites and I know my Mom would want to see them! Sewing on paper is fun! ha

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! 

Our Half-Pregnancy-Birthday!

We have FINALLY broken through the HALFWAY point in pregnancy! This is an exciting milestone we are glad to surpass. 4 and a half months and we will officially be feeding, rocking, swaddling, shhhh-ing, and loving our little baby girl. The only question on my mind now is...what name do we give her? We have a list of about 20 names that don't inspire me, so the process is only beginning. 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the last week:

We FINISHED our Bourne Movie Marathon! Man, do we love action films. 

We partied with none other than my in laws, Ben and Tasha! They say they came to visit Tasha's brother Connor, Alex and I but we all know they really came for REXBURG! haha. They just can't get enough. It started with FOOD at Da Pineapple Grill and ended with a RELAXING night of talking and an episode of Psych. 

We watched the last two debates and enjoyed it like a comedy. Should we laugh at something that could potentially alter our current situation and country? YES. Because that's all you can do and it's terribly funny to watch. 

We finally carved pumpkins! It was getting scary close to Halloween and I was getting panicked that the carving tradition wasn't going to make an appearance. FHE is a great excuse to stop the homework, gather some friends, and start the madness of pumpkin carving. I decided to paint my pumpkin considering i have never done it and thought it would be a fun and new experience. Everyone else wanted to get their hands dirty. Alex of course carved in honour of his Oregon Ducks. I think they all turned out FABULOUSLY!

I made my Grandmother's Famous White Chocolate brownies, with my Mother's Famous Chocolate Sauce and voila....at least 1 pound I can blame on baby fat. 

I started a sewing project with all the ladies in my apartment complex. It has been fun to get some girl time in. I think I am going to frame this project and put little fabric hearts where Alex and I have lived and add as we go along.

One of my best friend's offered to throw our little nugget a baby shower this Christmas! I couldn't be more excited, relieved and HAPPY HAPPY!

We downloaded TAYLOR SWIFT'S new album. It's a love/hate relationship. Some I love and others that will take some time. 

As for the "baby bump", I give up. Not a lot of progress has happened. I'm getting a little impatient.

My hair is also FALLING OUT like mad. I don't know how to stop it! Sad day. I should be thankful now because I hear it only get worse with nursing.

Yesterday I had an epiphany! In 4 and a half months Alex and I will become, the Halloween costume designers, Santa Clause, the Christmas Elf, the Easter Bunny, the Leprechaun, Cupid, but most importantly PARENTS! 

Almost halfway there!

I thought this week I would confess my pregnancy guilty pleasure...

A HUGE diet/caffeine free soda. I sadly indulge in one of these puppies SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. In my defense, it's my remedy for my constant upset stomach. It's funny, I’ve NEVER been a soda drinker, always a water fan. Oh well, what ever gets me HYDRATED and HAPPY right?

 The best part of this whole week was the beautiful miracle that entered the world. AUTUMN KATHLEEN KING. Brittany and Jason were blessed with this perfect baby girl on Sunday, October 14, 2012. I previously referred to her as "Evelyn Israel King"...but when it came down to naming her, Autumn just felt right for them. And it couldn't be more perfect for her. Alex and I couldn't be more excited because this is our FIRST niece and she couldn't possibly get cuter. She was born 7 lbs 1 oz and is a cute addition to their family don't you think? 

{Here comes an OVERWHELMING amount of pictures...sorry...PROUD AUNT}

Our little girl and Autumn will be the best of friends...I just know these things.

This past weekend we went with our friends, Skyler and Lindsay, to the HAUNTED STRAW MAZE! We experienced the following...

-Being scared

-Screaming

-Getting lost...very lost

-Getting tired and crampy...okay that was just me.

-And finally...jumping for joy when we finally made it out.

This week has been filled with school and SOCCER. Alex had two games and what felt like practice EVERYDAY! It was however really fun to watch his games. Alex's team has had an overwhelming amount of injuries. I'm just glad Alex has managed to avoid this trend, apart from the typical soccer bruises and blisters.

This week is a GREAT week because...

1. I listened to the BYUI devotional and I heard exactly what i needed to hear.

2. I'm currently sippin a soda.

3. Our house smells like melons and cake...thank you Scensy.

4. Alex had a soccer game tonight.

5. I finally picked up my guitar...it's been a while.

6. My husband is overwhelmingly perfect.

7. I was reminded this week that I have such a great family support on BOTH sides.

8. Music has inspired me today. but not just any music...CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

9. I discovered a sale on peanut butter and jelly granola bars. 

10. My cousin Jared decided to come out of his dark hole and PHONE ME! Love that guy!

11. We got to skype our new and only niece tonight :)

12. Alex and I started a "Bourne" movie marathon. One down...three to go.

13. The people who park next to us at our apartment complex finally gave us enough room to open our doors! haha

I hope our little girl is as passionate about music as Alex and I are. These girls are 11 and 7 and very talented.

Lennon and Maisy

Well we are almost HALFWAY there! We can't believe it! I love feeling her move around. She likes to let me know that i am NEVER alone. Love her.

The Gender Verdict of Baby Stevens Number One...

Today was MAGICAL! We got to see our little "____" move around, wiggle and kick. I knew this was happening already because in the past week I am certain I have felt movement EVERYDAY! I know those of you who actually read my blog are dying to know the BIG QUESTION....

                          BOY OR GIRL??!?

WELL...

   OH BOY

OH BOY

OH BOY

OH BOY

OH BOY

OH BOY

WE'RE...

Yep, it's true. Despite my predictions of her being a boy she is definitely a GIRL!

She cooperated perfectly.

She's turned but look how cute her little hand is.

Look at the definition! haha... Must have Alex's legs.

These pictures always scare me but she's a doll.

And alas, the profile....

I was sincerely expecting a boy so I made the ultrasound tech check twice to make sure. It hasn't quite hit me yet. This morning my Mom and I went baby shopping and I bought my first "fun" purchase. 

I still can't believe i'm buying pink...

The nurse said she was a healthy weight of over half a pound, putting her in the 62% tile for babies (50 being average). She's slightly chubby and we love it. 

This week has been way too much fun! We had a GREAT Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. Heather cooked the turkey perfectly and Jordan really did try to make "Hill Salad". {Just kiddin, Alex is still talking about how good it was}

Conference was as expected...wonderful! I love being a part of and watching such great revelation be given by our Prophet. It was great to watch it with some of Alex's side of the family. I left with a list of things I want to work on.

The BYU football game was oh so fun to watch! My family loves football and being there is a blast! My Mom and I really wanted to paint our nails for the occasion kinda like this...

But who would have known {brown nail polish} was so hard to find.

My Mom brought me all of her scrap material from years of sewing. Most of it involving girl colours so lucky me! I can't wait to get some projects going for our little girl. 

We ALSO got a FUN package from Momma Stevens!! It was filled with fun goodies, date money and a couple important things Alex and I forgot at his parent’s house in the summer.

Having my parents here this week has been exactly what i needed. I ate a gross amount of food and laughed ALOT! I love those guys! I can't wait until Christmas!

As beautiful as today was there is some bitter news...Brittany's due date is today and still no baby Evelyn! We are all praying for her safe arrival any day now!

To do list for the week:

~Go to the temple

~Start a sewing project

~Eat healthy...er

~Skype Brittany's perfect baby girl!..when she comes this week!!