Momentous Day!

It's official......Kylee has lost her first tooth! She is officially a BIG GIRL now! Haha! She has been a big girl for a while now, but it's just crazy to me that she lost a tooth. That marks the "official big girl" status for me. About a month or so ago, Kylee was at school and bit down on her plastic fork during lunch. One of the prongs of the fork got stuck between her two bottom teeth. She came home with semi wiggly teeth that day. Nothing ever came of it because they weren't loose enough to bother her or to wiggle around. But during these past few days, one of those teeth has become more and more loose. This morning she was complaining of it bother her, so we messed around with it a little and then.....pop! I was able to pull that sucker out with ease! She was so excited! Her first visit from the Tooth Fairy is coming tonight! Which makes me wonder.....what is the going "rate" of the tooth fairy these days? Hmmmmm!

Can't Forget!!

Between Facebook and my blog, I can't remember what pictures I posted where. Apparently I've only been posting pictures and updating "events" in our lives on Facebook. I scrolled through my blog and realized I missed quite a few things. I need to remember to post more on my blog because I print these into journal books every two years and I would hate to miss anything. Lesson learned.....post more on blog.....not so much on facebook! CHECK!

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Well, for starters.....I ran my first 1/2 marathon on January 29th, 2011! And, um, yes....that is my birthday as well. My present to myself on my "golden birthday" was waking up at 7am and running 13 miles! I can't think of a better present to give my body. It was so fulfilling and I felt extremely accomplished when I crossed that finish line. The name of the marathon was London's Run....in honor of 6 year old London Solomon who lost her battle to leukemia. This marathon has been held every year since 2006 (I believe) and I have always wanted to participate in it. Well, in 2010, I lost a lot of weight and became addicted to working out. So I decided to start training and prepare for the 1/2 marathon. I can't believe I did it.....but I did!

These pictures aren't very clear because I had to take a picture of them off of the computer! I didn't want to buy them. Haha!

My time was 2 hours and 14 minutes exactly. I was the 354th person to cross the finish line out of 531 people. Kind of sad.....but hey....it was my FIRST 1/2 marathon and the first time I've ever ran more than 8 miles at a time. Crazy stuff! So glad I did it! It came at a price though.....

OUCH!!!!!
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Kylee had her first big dance performance on February 4th. She got to dance at a Suns pregame show. She did so great! It is so fun to watch her grow and develop and do what she loves to do. She is becoming a great little dancer! Makes Mama proud!

Jaime is awesome and came to support her favorite little girl!

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Here is Kylee's entire dance group! They were so stinkin' adorable!!

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She's in the blue skirt on the bottom, in the middle...

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Gotta have the family picture!

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Grandma and Papa Montez came to support their princess too! Kylee was so happy they came!

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Another season has come! I'm in the middle of my 11th season of coaching Club. I have a super fun and adorable (and talented) 15's team. They are amazing girls and they make coaching fun! I love their energy and their ambition to grow and improve. I'm having a blast coaching with Erin Roth. I coached her on my very first High School team at Higley.....and she was a huge contributor to the reason why we won state that year. Love her!

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And now the "not so fun" part of my post......

Kylee has had a fever for 4 days now. It came out of nowhere and it refuses to go away! It's comforting to know that hundreds of others kids around us have gone through this already and the only signs of sickness was the fever. But it lasts for days and weeks! Her doctor said that it just has to run it's course. She has been pumping the fluids and motrin/tylonel everyday. Hope it goes away soon! I hate seeing her like this!!!

The crazy thing is that most of the day she is happy and normal.....like this below! But come 2pm, the fever comes back and she is back to looking like the picture above. And then it goes away again. So weird!

Since Kylee couldn't go to school today, we decided to have a little fun of our own at home and made today "crazy hair day'!! Gotta love these moments because in about an hour, the fever is going to hit and she will be down and out. It's amazing how I can track this fever! It likes to play "hide and go seek". I'll get you dang fever!!! Watch out!!!

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Times are changing for the Pews! We have decided to move. To the West side we will go! My sister Natalie is pregnant and due in a few months. I have always wanted to live closer to my family, but now that my sister is pregnant, it's given me even more motivation to move back there to be a part of that babie's life! I can't wait!!

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And that's that! Can't believe I missed all of this. I need to remember to post my pictures on my blog after I post them on Facebook! I would hate to miss out on anything for our journal books. LIFE IS GOOD!

2011 Family Pictures

We are a little behind on getting our family pictures done but I guess it's better late than never! We meant to send out Christmas cards but never got around to taking our pictures in time, so we decided to take pictures at the beginning of the new year and send out "Happy New Year" cards. We are also going to be turning these into pass along cards for adoption. With a new year, comes new hopes and dreams and goals. We feel good about our life and what is happening for us and we have a fresh ambitious attitude about finding a baby to join our little family. With the helps of our loved ones, we hope 2011 will be our year....the year that Kylee will finally become a big sister! If I don't have your mailing address, please email it to me at stefanypew@gmail.com. My goal is to send pass along cards to everyone I know! The more that know....the better! We are hopeful and optimistic about our future, and as always....LIFE IS GOOD! Hope you enjoy our pictures! My sister is amazing!!!

Dang dog....but thanks!

Back in April we got a little 8 week old Yorkie-Poo and we named him Charlie. David and I didn't really want to have a dog but Kylee REALLY did. So we decided that since she was turning 5 in a couple months, we felt she was responsible enough and ready to have a puppy. And considering that she is currently an only child, she needed someone to love and have. So a puppy was very fitting at the time and we were all excited to have him join our family.

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Well....with puppies comes consequences!!! Within the first 2 months of having him, he chewed up about 10 pairs of sandals, a variety of toys, damaged dresses and various articles of clothing, and left many pee and poo surprises around the house. Oh man......we were ready to give him back or accidently leave the back yard gate open!!!!! The carpet was by far the most frustrating...as you can see here....

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He chewed the entire border of our carpet along the tile. Everywhere carpet met tile, he clawed and chewed at and left the nails exposed for our lovely toes and feet to puncture.

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We debated replacing the entire carpeted area with new carpet or all tile....but found that it was REALLY expensive. But then one day, my good friend Jamie Williams came over and saw it and suggested we get a tile border done. I didn't realize these even existed! But lo and behold...they do and they are WONDERFUL! We had our good friend Colton Grant (who owns his own tile and carpet business called Majestic Carpet Care) and he came out right away and did some "majic"!

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I absolutely LOVE the finished product. So to you Charlie.....I curse you for making us spend money that we don't necessarily have....but thanks for making us bring this beautiful change to our house! I'm in love with it!

Fun Weekend!!

David worked 11 days straight, starting Christmas night, so it has been nice having him home and doing fun things together. We are currently in the middle of his 7 day break from work and I'm so glad we have this time together, and as a family.

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Last night we went to an 80's murder mystery and dinner game with friends. It was so much fun and we are already looking forward to attending another one! David and I were detectives. I was more of an "under cover" detective, and David....well....it was pretty obvious what he was! He rocks the stache!

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This morning I ran a 5K with my girls! It was FREEZING and I was so nervous that the cold was going to slow me down....but within the first mile, my blood was flowing and I started to warm up. We had a blast and I just love my girls!!! Brunch at the US Egg afterwards was delicious and a perfect way to top off our morning.

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My next run coming up......a half marathon on my birthday! I have 3 weeks to prepare myself for those 13 miles. Hope I can do it! Wish my girls were joining me for that one. Maybe I can still convince them to do it with me! Perfect birthday present right??!!! Heck....I invite all of you to join me! Londyn's Run....January 29th! Sign up!!!! Join me will ya?! :)

Oh the holidays!

Well, a lot has happened but shockingly I have no pictures to post. But I need to post this for journaling purposes.

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A lot has been going on this past month. It all started at the end of November when I had surgery on my nose. I had 3 things done internally (don't ask me what it's all called), but I do know that one of the things that got fixed was my deviated septum. It was out-patient surgery and the recovery wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had to wear a hideous white cast for a week and I had some bruising for about 2 weeks, but I was up and at it after 2 days. I felt good and I'm breathing better already!

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David also had surgery...on his eyes! He had a form of lasik done....it was implantable contact lenses. He is officially glasses free after wearing them for 25 years! Crazy to see the change in him. HOWEVER, his eyes are really bad and these contacts didn't fix his stigmatisms....so he still has minor blurry vision, especially at night. We don't want for him to have to have lasik because his cornea's are too thin and the risks aren't worth it. So he decided to get glasses to wear at work so he feels more confident. He doesn't wear them day to day, but he does wear them at night when he works. So all in all, it was worth it because he can see so much better and he gets to be glasses free 90% of the time. We should be getting new family pictures done soon and once we do, I'll be posting them and you can see what he looks like without glasses!

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Christmas was really good this year. We had a fun Christmas Eve brunch with David's family, then Christmas morning with just the 3 of us at our home, then a big lunch/dinner with my family at my parent's house with all my siblings. I am shocked that I didn't take any pictures of any of these events! I had my camera at all of them, but for some reason never took it out of my purse. I blame it on my "scrooge-like" feelings towards Christmas this year. I don't know why, but I was totally not in the Christmas mood this year. I only put up my tree (but no other decorations around the house), and I took it down right after Christmas instead of leaving it up until after New Year's like I usually do. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I just wasn't feeling the Christmas "cheer" this year. I think I just wanted 2010 to go away and be done with already. There are so many changes coming up in 2011 for our family and I'm ready for those changes to happen. The changes are still "TBD" so I don't want to say anything just yet.

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Anyhow, New Year's was interesting! David had to work so I went out to Natalie's house because her hubby Deron was working too. So we hung out and babysat all 12 of our neices and nephews! It was a crazy house, but we had lots of fun. Simple and fun.

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David is currently finishing up his 11-day working streak. He picked up a few days of overtime and has been a work-a-holic. He is still on his grave yard shift and will be working that again for the next 6 months. We have gotten used to it and have organized our life around his working schedule. So it all works out.

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A new club season has started for me and I have a sweet little group of 14/15 year olds. They are almost all new to club volleyball so this is a growing year for them. They are so eager and willing to learn so it makes my job that much more fun! I'm still the primary president in my ward and loving that. I'm excited for the new year and the new theme we have for primary. Things are good with that and I'm so lucky to be serving the sweet children in my ward.

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Kylee is loving Kindergarten!!! I can't believe she is half way done and is that much closer to being in the 1st grade. Time is flying!!! She loves her dance class and will be performing in February at a Suns pre-game show. So excited for that!!

I am babysitting a little baby girl now. She is a blessing for Kylee and I. We love her so much and love spending our days with her. She fills a void that has been missing in our lives for so long. We love every minute of having her in our home.

Which leads me to my next subject of adoption. Nothing is happening for us with that just yet. It's now been 4 months with ZERO contact from a birth mother. We had a "hot spot" of contacts for about 3 months when we first got certified....but now....nothing. Not sure why, but we are still hopeful and have faith that we are supposed to be doing this. It has taught us a lot and has definitely been a growing experience for us. Not sure what Heavenly Father has in store for our family, but whatever it is, we are willing to accept it and can't wait for it to happen.

As always......LIFE IS GOOD!

Christmas...this and that

Having Kylee in school is so much fun during the holidays! She gets to experience the holidays in a whole new light with wonderful teachers who have such fun crafts and activities for her and her new "school" friends to do. This was the cutest letter to Santa.....

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Next week Kylee's class gets to take a pretend trip to the Polar Express....or the "Polar Bear Express" as Kylee calls it. They get to wear pajamas, slippers and robes. She is so excited! I'm volunteering at her Christmas party the following day and I can't wait to be a part of that. I'm absolutely loving having Kylee in school. I'm positive she loves it more than I love her being there, which makes it all the more perfect!

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Kylee has reached a new chapter in her life. She is no longer afraid of Santa!!! She finally sat on his knee without freaking out and crying. When she first saw him, she was hesitant as usual and started to cry but as she saw other kids laughing and smiling on his knee she started to warm up as we got closer to him. Then she let go of my hand and walked right up to him. Such a proud Momma moment!!!

*On a side note....this has got to be the WORST Santa EVER!!! Can his mask, I mean "beard", be any more HIDEOUS?!!! You can't even see his eyes or nose! Come on now!!! Haha!

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So I was pretty sure, after getting 3 comments total with my last 10 posts, that no one read my blog anymore...but lately I've been getting people coming up to me and commenting in person about my blog. So I know people are reading it! I still blog regardless because this is my journal that I eventually turn into a book every 2 years. It's just fun to read comments every now and then. So if you do read my blog, don't be afraid to comment every once and a while! :)

Thankgiving...

The holidays go by WAY too fast! Can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already. We were lucky enough that Thanksgiving fell on one of David's days off...infact, the 3 days he has off was right in the middle of Thanksgiving! So we took advantage of this and drove to California for 3 1/2 days to spend it with all of David's family. Everyone was able to go so we were so excited for a fun Thanksgiving!!

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While we were there, my camera got "hi-jacked" by 9 adorable nieces of mine. These next few pictures are the result of this crime...

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ADORABLE Andersen Kate...

The lovely Meg, Paige and Emily...

Crazy girls...Hannah and Andersen...

We were so glad that Meg flew over from Utah to be with us for a couple days. Wish she could have stayed longer!

The dangerous duo...Cole and Kylee (Kylee striking a pose of course)...

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And the reason why I gained 5 lbs this weekend...2 yummy turkeys!!!! This one was roasted...

And this one was grilled to perfection with an amazing homemade glaze by Brian and Becky...

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We are so blessed to have such amazing families on both sides. We are excited to spend Christmas here with my family next month. I live for the holidays! They make me so unbelievably happy!!! I will always be a kid at heart when it comes to these months. I can't get enough of them!!

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Before we left, David was able to visit Kylee's Kindergarten class for "citizenship week". He talked to the kids about how they can be good citizens in their neighborhood. It was hilarious!!! Kids say the craziest things...and are so open about their home life! I won't even mention some of the things that were said. Some of these kids have been exposed to WAY too many things at such a young age. Sad!!! Kylee was so excited and proud of her Daddy!

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If you haven't noticed...I have made my blog open again. Since my adoption blog and this blog have basically the same posts, I have decided to just combine the two and only post my pictures and comments one time. Plus, my mother in law was having issues getting into my private blog. So this just works better for multiple reasons.

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Thanksgiving was amazing and we can't wait for Christmas to come! Black Friday shopping was a HUGE success!!! I love going with my mother in law and all of my sister in laws. It's a fun tradition that will never die. I always save my shopping for that one day and I usually get 90 to 100% of all my Christmas shopping done in that one day. I love it! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! Life is good!

The end...and the beginning

My 6th season as a high school coach has officially ended. We had our banquet on Tuesday and I was sad to say my final goodbye's to these girls until next year.

But when one thing ends....another begins!!! Or in this case...a couple "new" things are beginning. Club season officially started. Tryouts are over with and all 5 teams are complete and ready to go. I'm coaching the 15's team and can't wait to start working with my team! Should be a great season.

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Another "new beginning" is the most wonderful news EVER!! Natalie and Deron are pregnant!!! They got married 2 months ago and are so excited to start their new family together and to add to the one they already have. I'm so incredibly happy for them both. In less than 8 months, I'll have a sweet new baby to love and hold and kiss whenever I want!!! Can't wait!

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As for our adoption journey.....it's still going. We've had a few contacts from birth mothers since we've been certified but nothing promising and no commitments. It's hard just waiting to hear from someone and not being able to go out and find someone. This is a tough process, but we know that this is what we are supposed to be doing and that our baby is somewhere out there waiting for us to find them. We feel so blessed and have so much to be thankful for. Life is good!