Grotto Falls

We found this awesome little, kid-friendly hike online that was a quick drive up Nebo Canyon. It was a beautiful drive. The hike was fairly flat and had fun bridges to cross. 

Matt walked through the falls with Eliza. It was a super cute daddy daughter moment.

I had Lucas in a carrier. He was only 2 months old and we did ok hiking up together. It was not his favorite adventure though.....

Lagoon with Stephen's Family

We had a great time at Lagoon with Stephen's family. Stephen was a bit under the weather but that didn't stop all of the cousins from having a great time. I also got to enjoy some fun mommy time with Emily and our babies while the kids went on ride after ride after ride.

Lucas' Baby Blessing

Lucas' Blessing July 3, 2016

(a sweet girl in the ward wrote down a few notes from his blessing)

Know what a blessing it is to be on earth at this time

You are so very loved by your parents

Be a light to your family

Follow light of Christ

Be a good example

Have faith in Christ, follow those who will help you to do the right thing

Be kind, stand for what is right in the face of adversity.

I have had many people approach me and mention how sweet his blessing Sunday was. I loved the blessing, I loved the testimonies that followed, and I loved spending time with so much family after the meeting. 

A big thanks to Stephen for all of the awesome pictures of Lucas.

I'm a bit sad we didn't get more pictures with family members on this day. I really need to get it together when it comes to momentous occasions. 

Lucas 3-4 weeks

Lucas has been a sweet, sweet baby since the day he was born. He cries a lot when he is put down but  he quickly adjusted to a life of snuggles AND floor, bed and swing time.

Every time he yawns, he lets out a bit of a scream.

Eliza loves holding baby brother.

Lucas had his first cold. I really thought having a baby in the summer we were pretty safe for the first few months......how wrong I was. We also all had a bout of the stomach flu around the Stacey family but I tried to be meticulous about germs and fortunately he did not get that.

We all spent lots of time snuggling and snuggling.

I am pretty sure he was already smiling at about 4 weeks.

Probably one of my favorite newborn pictures.....and the darker gray is a shadow NOT a big wet spot. 

Eliza's Naughty Day

A picture is worth a thousand words......

YES it's poop!!!

It's one of those moments you hear about from other parents but never think your kid will do something so gross and awful. Eliza had been out of diapers for probably almost a year. I did still put a diaper on her when she had a nap or for bedtime. She would sometimes be wet and sometimes poopy so I was not willing to pull the diapers. And you hear stories that kids will just be ready and not need diapers anymore for sleeping. WELLLLL..... I was wrong. By the beginning of the year, Eliza was basically waiting to poop until nap time or bedtime. And we could not come up with a positive reinforcement good enough to stop her from doing it. SO I just whatevered it and decided to not deal with it until after the pregnancy.

Then this day came. To preface this, Eliza had that morning made a huge mess in her bed from her poopy diaper leaking all over her bed and pillow and clothes. Matt went in and cleaned her up and told her she needed to tell us when she needed to go poopy. AND that this just was not acceptable.

So then nap time came. She was not sleeping and I had a camera in her room. I looked at the camera and pretty much knew what I was in for. I calmly walked upstairs and opened her door and She was holding poop like it was play dough and I just gagged. I was so mad. I carried her downstairs and just rinsed and rinsed. Some of it was crusted on. It was so nasty. I was SOOOO mad!!! 

Of course, Eliza is still in good spirits, even though I am telling her how mad she made me and that there were going to be some serious consequences. Matt and I both have decided she was just being totally naughty that day. She doesn't even like to get her hands dirty.......

So that was the last diaper I ever put on my 3 year. That was her biggest consequence. She wet the bed a few times the first week and a few times in the months to follow but never pooped out of the potty again and she is doing great. I was holding my breath, though, because I also know there are kids that just can't stay dry until morning. But it all worked out well and for the best. I couldn't be happier having her completely out of diapers and maybe that is what I needed to finally pull the plug.

Honestly, I still don't really laugh about it, though. It still grosses me out to look at the picture.......... I was sooooooo mad!  

But the day will probably come. .....maybe when this picture is in her wedding video montage.  Hahaha!!

Lucas' First 2 Weeks

It is so fun to snuggle this little guy. He would snuggle all day if we were willing. And there were days that I spent sore and sitting on the couch cuddling my baby. I loved it!

Lucas Matthew Stacey has a name!!!

Lucas didn't have a name for the first day of his life. We were sifting through a few and just couldn't settle on one. We knew we wanted Matthew to be the middle name but that was it. Our list was short but strong: Lincoln, Lucas, Calvin, Isaac, and William. Matt also really liked Kit and Max but I sort of vetoed those. 

Eliza really took to the name Luke and more recently decided she wanted to call him Lukey. So the nurses wrote his "name" on the board. We really went back and forth and back and forth. I never knew it would be so hard. 

But I'm thinking this is sort of how baby boy felt about the whole back and forth nameless thing.

SO the time came and we HAD to settle on a name. I was leaning toward Isaac Matthew and Matt really was too. So he finally penned it on the birth certificate. Then after a nice, long trip to the bathroom, he came out and said he wanted his name to be Lucas. And I said OK. So we crossed Isaac out and Lucas it was forever more. I am so glad that is where we landed on a name. It fits him perfectly and can't imagine any other name for him. And even the nickname Lukey has grown on me, it's kind of like lucky and that's how we feel to have him in our family. 

Getting ready to go home.