January Laughs

Here's the most recent in this series. Other installments can be found Dec, Nov, Oct, Sept, and Aug.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of Asher quotes in this edition. He mostly continued in his wacky ways by spending his days in only his underpants, in a wad of blankets on my bed that he calls his "nest." He loves being at home so much that sometimes when he's distressed, even at home, I hear him say, "I wanna go home." Yeah, honey, you're here already.

1-4 After not getting Cheezits and hot dogs at the grocery store, Jaxon came home very grumpy. He gives me his best I-wish-you-were-dead glare and says authoritatively, "Your behavior at the store was unacceptable."

1-5 While eating the last of his Christmas candy, Jaxon reads the strip of paper on his Hershey's Kiss, "Kissie, Kissie, Kissie . . . " Throughout the month, he refers to them as "Kissies." I know I should tell him the truth, but it's so cute.

1-10 Finn and Asher play "Keek-a-boo" under the covers in our bed. After that, Finn loves to "Gock-a-bye" in the rocking chair.

1-13 I picked Jaxon up from school early because he was in the nurse's office with a stomach ache. In the car on the way home he explains, "I'll tell ya when I'm gonna be feeling better. When school is over."

1-14 After what must have been a hard day, Jaxon remarks, "I don't like school. I don't like home. I like leftovers."

1-15 Jabbering about his string cheese, Finn gushes, "It's cute. It's cute, Mama."

1-18 After being offered some kind of meat for dinner that he found undesirable, Jaxon tells me he's a vegetarian. So, I offer him some vegetables. "No, I'm the kind of vegetarian that doesn't eat vegetables." Then when I offer him a bean burrito he asks suspiciously, "What's in the beans?"

1-20 Finn drinks his yogurt from a straw.

1-21 Jaxon is trying to use me as a model to demonstrate something. He says, "Mama, come here. I'm gonna pretend like I'm gonna choke ya, but not too hard."

1-22 We're admiring our darling kitty Milo, and Jaxon comments on the swirl in the kitty's side.
I say, "It kinda looks like a cinnamon roll. Maybe we should have named him Cinnakitty."
Jaxon turns to me with a frownsmile and responds, "No. I don't like that name."

1-25 During family home evening, we discuss how much Jesus loves the kids. Jaxon pipes up very knowingly, "Jesus pays for our clothes, bricks, everything (with sweeping gestures)." When I asked for more detail, Jaxon responds, "He uses Spirit money."

1-27 Two of Jaxon's favorite foods are Smash potatoes (mashed potatoes) and Girl cheese sandwiches. He can't figure out why they're called this even though boys can eat them, too.

1-28 Jaxon tells me, "Milo scratching me was not appropriate so he's on the top bunk in timeout. He can come down when he's ready to be nice again."

1-29 After I had buckled Asher and Finn in the car to go to the park, I started driving to find Jaxon 2 houses down in our neighborhood. I lectured him about not leaving the house without telling me, explaining that if I left him alone in the house, he would be scared. He responds, "No, I wouldn't be scared. I'd be fine. There'd be no one to boss me around."

1-30 While preparing dinner, I had music on and was dancing with the kids. Jaxon stops suddenly in the middle of the song and says, "Mom, I need a sister. I have three brothers and no sisters."

1-30 Jaxon hears his brother Asher growl or holler from the playroom and remarks calmly, "Mom, Asher's getting in a rough mood with Finn. You'd better go look."

The kids are feeding Raisin Bran from 06 to the ducks and i'm kinda glad we won't see how it comes out tomorrow.

Asher's 4!

For his fourth birthday, Mark and I got Asher an easel. It's pretty cool and Asher just used it this afternoon for the first time (I couldn't figure out how to put it together).

As I watched him paint, I remembered the book My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. Perhaps I was thinking of it when I bought the easel way back in November.

Advice- always lift the scooter, trike, or bike in one arm and your child in the other because you will surely walk like this many times.

One More December Laugh

I was going to say, "messy."

For Asher's 4th Birthday. . .

Today I sent this email out to some family and friends. I've been delighted at the response we've received both in donations and words of encouragement. The love of our family and friends has brought me to tears. Thank you!

Our little Asher turns 4 on the 16th, the day before the P.F. Chang's half-marathon. Mark and I are running as a team, Stomping Steeds to raise money for the AZ Hemophilia Association.

Both Asher and his big brother Jaxon have severe hemophilia A, which means their blood does not clot at all. Thanks to wonderful health care advances, both boys live normal lives, but they are very much dependent on their expensive tri-weekly medication to be able to run, jump, and play like other boys. The AZ Hemophilia Association is a non-profit that helps families like ours as we navigate the difficulties of raising children with a chronic bleeding disorder. The Association helps us with health insurance reviews, family retreats, and summer camp for our children. As a board member for six years, I know that the AZ Hemophilia Association is dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life of people with bleeding disorders.

So for Asher's 4th birthday, will you give the gift of supporting our team?

Please go to our team page to donate. Any amount will be appreciated. We are 25% to our goal (88% now!) and we know that our friends and family are so supportive that we can reach our goal with only 12 days to go.

Your donation will be rewarded with photos of the race, as Mark and I run/walk/crawl across the finish line.

Thanks and have a happy New Year!

Steed Calendar 2010

You may have seen the cover of this calendar.

The third Steed calendar I've made is finally finished! I get pickier and more perfectionist every year.
That's why I've spent the last 3 weeks working on it. It doesn't look like much, but most of these collages I've redone about 3 times and then it takes me forever to get them uploaded to the Costco website. Then I have to find good photos of each individual family member to put on their birthday and couples for their anniversaries. Also, I use Picasa (Google's free photo editing software)- enough said.

The best part about it is that this is pretty much a good summary of our trip to Michigan in November and since I haven't blogged about that, here it is!
(Please note the months are not in order and one month was not a collage so it's missing.)

Big Boys: Jaxon and his cousins Josh and Cedric. Jaxon LOVES these guys and they have a lot of fun.
We found a rock with graffiti on our walk to the lighthouse. It said, "I love Jessica." Jaxon wanted a photo with it. (Oh, and today he told me he wants to bring me flowers every day. This, not too long after telling me he was very disappointed in my behavior at the store when I didn't buy him hot dogs and Cheezits.)


Day at the beach:
Lake Michigan, to be exact. Fun with football, s'mores, and jumping off dunes.

Walk to the Lighthouse:
Everyone had a good time. Well, almost. And Mark had the best time laughing at Jaxon relieving himself off the side of the platform.

The Zoo:
Grand Rapids has a great zoo for viewing (I just wouldn't want to be an animal there). All the creatures were out and about. Lovely visit and only $3! I must say Finn enjoyed himself the most, chasing turkeys.

Katie and Justin with their kids: Addie and Tysen.
We watched these kids for the week between Christmas and New Years (well, technically until the 2nd, but who's counting?) It was a lot of work, but well worth the time our kids had to play with their cousins.


The Steed Clan
Yes, everyone except Uncle Stan (not really, I just threw that in b/c it rhymed).

Nate and Sandrine with Josh, Cedric, and Taiva.
You'll see fancy dessert, bowling, Meijer Gardens, walks through the leaves, and crafts at the library. We did it all!

This is us!
Fun on the outdoor tramp, playing in the leaves, and Asher with the penguins at the zoo.

The Little Ones: Aren't they darling?


Mark's brother, David left on his mission at the end of our visit. He's in the Provo MTC, awaiting his visa so he can go to Brazil.
Here's the blog we're maintaining for him in the meantime. You'll notice in the most recent letter Dave thanks me for this calendar, which was about half finished when he sent it. Lol.

Here's one of the bloopers pages I made. I didn't use this one, though.

I used this page instead. I'm pretty sure Katie's going to hate me.