Author: Stephen and Jodi

The Self Cleaning Pooper

A few weeks ago Olivia came up the stairs buck naked! I asked her were her clothes were and she said “downstairs”. I took her hand and walked with her to find her clothes. As we approached the bottom of the stairs I could see I was in for a surprise as we walked past a trail of about five wipes. I immediately steered my direction to the bathroom holding my breath and praying. To my delight she had taken her poopy diaper off on the tile floor in the bathroom. (not on the carpet!) Inside the diaper were several wipes – at least she was thorough. Perhaps this is a sign for the much dreaded road of potty training! YIKES! I have yet to begin…Wish I would have taken a picture!

Hang in There


We went to G&G Parkers tonight for some fun rock climbing, we all got involved. Grandpa challenged Alexis to climb less than 20 seconds with the reward of the last dollar in his pocket. Of course she took him up on it, and made it under the time limit. Olivia had a great time as you can see :-). Grandma was multi tasking and painted her toe nails while watching. Dad and I went around the world together, great fun for all.

Oh Baby


It’s a BOY! Well, I’m so excited to have another brother. I’ve been really excited to find out for a long time and now I want to tell all of my friends. Tonight my dad and mom found out from an ultrasound and bought a present that was boyish. Later on we opened it and found out the baby is a boy. I screamed with joy! I am so happy to finally get another brother. We will now have 3 boys in the family.

Boy Oh Boy!


To reveal the gender of our new little addition we decided to wrap a gift with an outfit that would be obvious. All of the kids were so anxious. Before they opened it each one said they thought it was a boy…good thing! Now we are counting down the days until we get to see our handsome little man. (We’re half way there!)


20 Weeks Prego

The Big News


Today Jodi and I went to Dr. Z and got the news about the new arrival. As he was doing the ultrasound he paused on one shot and then asked us if I wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. From the shot he had, it was obvious, “It’s a Boy!” he was in the perfect side shot position to get a good look at his plumbing. We are very excited with this news. The name JT has been around since we were first married but we are finally getting the chance to use it. It comes from my good friend Joshua Taylor Strobel, and my last mission comp Elder Travis Taylor both were very good influences in my life.

Fun in the Snow!


It snowed the first weekend of October – and not just a skiff. It was so snowy we could hardly see on our way to Island Park. Once we got to the cabin, Mason wanted to get to work out in all of the fluff. He begged anyone to come and play with him. None of us were as prepared as him (i.e. coats, hats, gloves)and didn’t want to go out – everyone that is except Grandma Parker. She had mercy on him and went out. They built this cute snowman complete with rootbeer in hand. Mason also created this cool snow bird.

It’s always fun for everyone when Grandpa & Grandma Come!


This past weekend Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin came to our house for a visit. My, oh, my, was there excitement and anticipation in the air. Of course with Grandma around there are always treats involved and she brought a load! I think we are all on a sugar rush. Shopping is also involved when with Grandma, the most favorite trip was to D.I. Lex and Lily came home with beautician heads – they love them. They came home and washed their hair and went to work doing hairdos. Mason was tickled to have gotten a box of dominoes for $.25 and a hand held game for $.10. It doesn’t take much. I was also the recipient of the spoilng – and not from D.I., thanks mom! (Can’t wait to wear my new maternity sweater) Our favorite part was just getting to hang out and play. We said our good-byes Saturday morning and then Grandpa surprised us and came back to get potatoes from our neighbor’s cellar. When that was all done it was time to say good-bye for a second time. Olivia was very sad and wanted to go with Grandpa – he took her on a drive around our driveway and then really had to go. Olivia was very sad and ran off crying down the driveway. It was actually really sweet. Thanks for the memories!