Our Angel

Taya Ann Stokes

Born: November 26, 2010 at 11:16 p.m.

5lbs 13 oz

18 inches

She already has dad wrapped around all 10 fingers.

Lots of hair! Perfect for all her bows.

(The oxygen was very temporary, in fact she was released to go home before I was.)

Her brothers thinks shes awesome. The first time Carter held Taya at the hospital he wasn't sure what to think. Now he has to hold her at least once a day.

When she first came home form the hospital Quinn didn't want to go to school because he wanted to stay home and help take care of her. He didn't think it was fair that Carter got to play with her all day. Once he found out how much she sleeps he decided he wasn't missing much by going to school. Occasional he'll pray for her to grow up so she can play.

Carter turns Four (finally)

October can't pass without celebrating Carter's Birthday! And he's looked forward to being four for a very long time now! I was surprised by how badly he wanted to be 4, he finally explained that then he could turn 5 just like Quinn. I'm not sure how to explain that he won't ever be the same age as he big brother. Due to scheduling conflicts, mostly making sure we didn't interfere with anybody's hunting trips, we celebrated Carter's Birthday 2 weeks early. (It turns out that was a good idea but more on that later) Of course that meant that everyday after his party he asked, "Am I four yet?" It was a long 2 weeks for Carter.

Aunt Ashely made an awesome cake! She had it all planned out, then let Carter help. He absolutely loved designing his own cake. Aunt Ashely was an awesome sport when it came to watching him slowly change her master piece. There were lots and lots and lots of sprinkles, but it still tasted good.

Carter was excited to see everyone who came to his party. He had wanted a bunch of his friends from Laramie come to his party and I had to explain that because we had moved so far away they wouldn't be able to make it. Finally he asked, "Mom, will you come to my party?"

Luckily having his Grandparents (both sets) and family was enough to make him feel loved. Grandparents make everything better. It has been nice living closer to family! Brian's good friend from high school Kevin came with his family. He has the cutest twin girls, Lyra and Clara. Quinn and Carter had lots of fun showing off for them.

Of course once gifts were opened he forgot about everyone and everything else around him. Funny how that works. He actually did a good job sharing his new toys with his brother. It's fun to watch them play together. Of course everything had to be taken out of its packaging and set up, luckily there were enough adults around that we were able to manage. I don't know what's harder, cutting all the plastic away from the toys or trying to understand the picture instructions?

After cake and ice cream, we finished the party by having an unofficial furniture moving party. Our couch actually fits in the living room! With room to walk around it. Slowly but surly we'll actually be moved in!

Carter's actual birthday is the 26th! The night before was interesting for us (or at least me). Carter and Quinn got to spend the night with Grandma and Granddaddy and they both thought that was awesome and can't wait to do it again. I got to spend the night at the hospital because I was having contractions about 3 min. apart. This is the first time I've ever had preterm labor and wasn't sure what was going to happen. The doctor decided it was too early for the baby to come and (after a couple of different medicines) was able to stop the contractions. I'm suppose to take it easy at least until I'm 36 weeks along (Nov 10), so far so good. I was able to be home for Carter's special Birthday Dinner, Macaroni and Cheese and Pigs in a Blanket!

Cousin Cael

My boys were so excited to have a visit from their cousin Cael! (They also liked seeing Uncle Brady and Aunt Alayna.) Since they moved to North Dakota for Physical Therapy School we don't see them as much as we use to. However, they love to play peek-a-boo with Cael on Skype.


The 3 Stokes grand-boys. Have you ever seen so much mischief in one room?

2 girls on the way

It took a while but finally Cael decided he likes his Uncle Brian (at least enough to let Brian hold him without crying.)

Catch up Time

So much has happened the last couple of weeks that it's going to take several posts to get caught up on everything. However the biggest news is that we have finally finished the necessary projects (electric, water, septic system, and back steps)! And after being patient with the bank we were able to sign house papers!! We are official home owners.
Although I have to admit that it is very nerve racking to sign all those paper. I am happy that part is over. After all the work it took to get to this point I have learned that actually owning the home is not a end of "projects" but a life time of "eventual" project. "Eventual" is such a fun word because I have no idea if it means in the next 6 months or next 6 to 60 years. We've already decided to install a wood stove to help heat the home. And would like put in a sidewalk. I'll keep you updated.
I love these pictures of the kids playing in backyard. Having enough dirt for our yard was a great blessing. When the house was placed on the lot it was too high so a huge hole was dug in the backyard to obtain the necessary dirt for the front yard for the delivery of the house. As we were struggling to finish all of the necessary projects we learned that we would not have enough dirt to cover our septic system. We had planned on doing the septic system ourselves to save money but with everything else happening at the time we found it was better to hire someone. I'm glad we did because he did an awesome job and brought in some dirt to finish for us. However we still had a huge hole, and couldn't really do anything about it.
Before the septic system was done a contractor who was working on the city water line stopped and asked if there was any way he could borrow one of our infiltrators (part of the septic system). Apparently he had accidentally run over someone's and was desperate to fix it. I called Brian and he was able to help the guy out. A couple weeks later the contractors wanted to pay us back by giving us the extra dirt from their project. Wow! Now we have all the dirt we could need. It's amazing how things like that work out. And how taking the time to help someone else can allow the Lord to bless you. It really does come back to you ten fold!

Newest Member of the Stokes Family

Baby has not come early. Still a few weeks away.

A very early Christmas Present instead.

Meet Lucky! He's a registered black and silver miniature schnauzer. A gift from Grandma and Grandpa to Quinn and Carter, the boys couldn't be more excited.

He was born on the 4th of July. My mom actually was able to help in his birth. We've told the boys that they could have a dog one day, after we had our own house. Who would have thought that "one" day would come so soon.

I don't know if you can tell just how excited they are in this picture.

Lucky is currently living with my parents in Green River until our house is finished. Where he is being house broken and receiving some training before coming to stay with us.

Quinn's First Day of School

Who gives children permission to grow up? Quinn started kindergarten this year. He was very excited and ready to go. And believe it or not I was actually ready to send him. He's been going for a month now and LOVES it! He's been doing really well and it's fun to watch him grow intellectually. He tends to impress me on a regular basis with the things he now knows.

Waiting ever so "patiently" on the front steps of the house.

There was not a moments hesitations as he left the gate and waved goodbye.School starts at 9 in the morning, which works out perfectly for us. First of all because I'm still not a morning person. With school at 9 I have a chance to get up with Quinn and make sure he has breakfast and everything he needs. Although he's the one who wakes me up most mornings. Second, Brian doesn't have to be to work until 9 so he gets to drive Quinn to school most mornings, which is good bonding time for them!

Quinn is a "North Star" Just like his father was.

His teacher Mrs. Lonsway! Quinn adores her. We actually requested her as his teacher, because she was Brian's kindergarten teacher. Once I met her I knew she was the perfect teacher for Quinn.

Sugar and Spice

First in August and then again in September the O.B. confirmed what Brian and others have already suspected. I am expecting a little girl. Of course when he gave us the official gender Quinn looked at him and said, "We already knew that." Taya Ann's due date is December 7 or 8, but we'll see if she waits that long before coming.
On a quick trip up to Laramie, my awesome friends got together to give me a baby shower. Not only did this help me feel a little bit more secure about having the appropriate girl attire but helped me become excited for pink, cute shoes, and bows!
Thank you to everyone who came, Thank you to everyone for the awesome gifts. And a special thank you to Cari, Jen, and Julia for putting that all together and giving me an awesome party! I hope you know how much I appreciate your friendship.
We will actually be in our house before Taya comes, and we now have a place for her to sleep. Luckily we still don't have to have her room ready until she's a few months old. It's making a great place to store boxes until we can get them unpacked.
While I still feel nervous about the new challenges a girl will bring, I am excited for something different from wrestling, cars, and guns!

House Update

In the last 6 weeks or so there has been tremendous progress on our house! If you can take all stress out of the equations, it's actually been fun to watch it all come together. Power was the first thing that was hooked up. It was also the one thing that took the most time. But boy is it exciting to see lights on at our house.The Septic system in the back yard. It's now hooked up, buried and fully functional. As both boys just had to "test" the system once it was up and working. About the same time as the Septic System was being finished, the propane tank showed up. By the end of the day we had heat! And the holes in the backyard were filled in with dirt.

The back yard is just dirt but it doesn't seem to bother Quinn or Carter. They think it's their own personal sandbox. Grass, tress and other landscaping will have to wait until summer, but that's fine with me as I really have no idea what I'm doing.

Although I'm not sure who is having more fun playing in the dirt, the boys or Brian. Of course Brian calls his work that he just "has" to do. But he never seems to complain when there is a need to rent and run a tractors in the dirt.

Another hole that had to be dug. This one is for the water! The last one left. The next project is to actually move in!

Canning 101

Check it out, I tried my hand at something new. And it left my hands very sticky. I helped Mom Stokes make and can peach jam. Yum! I learned a new way to peal peaches. By putting them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes you can pull the peal right off. Then I used a chop wizard to cut the peaches to the perfect size. Luckily, Mom tackled the important stuff like cooking and measuring, so it all turned out good. It was actually pretty cool, not necessarily hard but very time consuming. Not something I would want to tackle on my own, but look forward to helping again.

The end masterpiece! We've already finished eating the first bottle.

The New House

I've finally made it to Evanston and have seen my new house for the first time! Everyone who was worried will be relieved to know that Brian did an awesome job and I love it. We're still waiting for some "finishing" touches. Carpet needs to be tacked down in some of the rooms, the trim needs to be put back up, septic system needs to be finished, etc. We'll also wait for power and water to be hooked up before we actually start moving in our things. (Which are currently in Mom and Dad Stokes' garage)

The front of the house! We're going to have a lot of landscaping to do. Anyone have any advice for me?

Carter ran all the way to the new house! The boys are so excited to be living next to Grandma and Granddaddy.

They don't look excited do they?

This was actually the first room in the house Brian showed me. Yes, he blindfolded me and lead me through the house to my very own master bathroom. I'm definitely excited to try out that tub!

The boys have decided that this room will be their new bed room! Both are really excited to try out bunk beds. We'll see how sharing a room works.

The Kitchen is actually a lot bigger than it looks. And it has an awesome pantry.



This is just one of the amazing views from out the windows.

This is what you see out my back door!

The front stairs are one of those finishing touches we'll be waiting for.