The Stevenson Ohana

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Father's Day!

We sure are lucky to have Riley in our life! There is nobody else I would rather be quarantined, locked inside Japan with. It honestly wasn't much of a Father's Day this year-- I attempted to make salmon and ended up throwing it away before it made it to the plates haha! Hopefully next year the food will be better, but the artwork was on point. I love you Riley!

We also had a special "zoom" online video call with Riley's family to celebrate Father's Day. All the siblings wrote poems about their dad and shared them together during the call. I was BLOWN away at the creativity and thoughtful words of each poem. Here is Riley's attached below.

We love our Dads!

Dear dad

Today is your day they say

Tribute and gifts we pay.

For you my dad, you’ve always lead

Now apart, memories reign instead.

As I look back at the times we had l, I ponder

Fully realizing the sacrifice, you grew stronger.

How you did it all with such smile and fun

Giving of your time til the sun was done.

Battling bills and mounting stress

The ultimate test, you sought to pass.

The man of the house you lead with mom

Working hard for a fresh new dawn.

Being a father now of my own

Learning from you I set the tone.

Much harder than I thought be

Lucky now to have you I see.

The ultimate example you give

A Christ-like life you strive to live.

So on this day we say thank you

For who you are, much respect is due.

You’ve been our dad a family of eight

All your love we now contemplate

All these things I have to say

But most important here to stay

More happy days you will accrue

But today and everyday we love you.

Happy Fathers Day.

Sunday Strolls

Thursday, July 2, 2020

CHRONICLES OF CLAY- 5 MONTHS

This month you started becoming mobile. I can't leave you laying on the bed or couch without you rolling or moving yourself around and would easily roll yourself off if I turned my back, we've had some close calls. You can sit up on your own for periods of time too and wouldn’t be surprised to see you crawling around next month. I ended up going off dairy this month and you've mellowed out and much more enjoyable to be around and nursing better. You love watching your brother and being tickled and talked too. You are a big fan of outside and being in the carrier on walks. If I sit or stand in one place too long though you will let me know to keep moving. You are very opinionated on everything and strong-willed. I didn't realize this was possible at five months! Love you Clay!

Monday, June 29, 2020

Happy Headlines

I read this post that my friend Lori Boss shared:

"Sometimes I just want it to stop. Talk of Covid, protest, looting brutality. I lose my way. Becoming convinced that this "new normal" is real life. But, then I met an 87 year old who talk of living through Polio, diphtheria, Vietnam, protest and yet is still enchanted with life. He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must be especially challenging for him. "No," he said slowly looking me straight in the eyes, "I learned a long time ago to not see the world through printed headlines, I see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization we love big. Therefore, I choose to write my own headlines. "Husband loves wife today." "Family drops everything to come to Grandmas bedside." He patted my hand "Old man, makes new friend."

His words collide with my worries, freeing them from the tether I had been holding tight. They float away. I am left with a renewed spirit. My headline now reads "women overwhelmed by the spirit of kindness and the reminder that our Capacity to love is never ending."

Love that perspective as it seems like we wake up to a new sad headlines all the time. My headline today would read: “Brothers, best friends and playmates: good at making messes, endless laundry and other’s smile.”

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Luke Lately

Hehe

Luke is THREE! He officially changed his name to “Luke Garner Three” he also informed me this week his new favorite color is Gold now, gold and red.

He despises his stroller lately and baths, always wants to be outside and has become a little bossy. We are working on manners a lot and not whining and feeing like I need all the parenting tips as new big emotions are surfacing like fears and frustration when things don't go his way. He’s currently afraid of growing out of our house physically and pillows disappearing under the bed and toys down the bath drain.

He loves art and his scribbles are transforming slowing into unique designs and objects and people which is fun to see slowly evolve.

He loves spicy like his mama! We shared a tabasco infused popcorn together this past week and he will eat whole jalapeños. Also, a big fan of ketchup and requested it with his oatmeal this week and I watched him squirt a little on every bite.

A few favorite things about Luke:

His “Life is a Highway Kiss” he pulls ya in a really tight a pulls and big kiss on you
His prayers always include “grateful for mom” after every other sentence, averaging 3 times in every prayer
When he says "I love you too" randomly unprompted when playing together
Still loves to cuddle and such a mama's boy
The way he goes down so easy always at 7pm and sleeps all night, especially with Clay now makes me extra grateful about this and he's such a deep sleeper
The way he always plays and includes Clays in everything
Cooking together is always way fun, adding sprinkles (seasonings) and telling me how the recipe goes
Japanese prayers with dad, telling me to 'say my prayer in english'
When he makes up words and tells me "that’s how you say it in Japanese"
The way he chases kids at the park, always looking for someone to race
The way he squats when he plays, maybe it's totally normal, but seems so asian (see next four photos)

The hydrangeas are in bloom, and make me so happy.

I'm sorry Luke for making you pose with them and can’t wait to blackmail you one day :)

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Chronicles of Clay

So funny story. . . after I vented in my last post with how miserable Clay has been he did a 360! He had such a good weekend! We wonder if it's related to being dairy-free now, or what?! He slept super well, took long naps, smiled a ton, and was just the happiest ever and I was feeling wayy more rested. I pulled out my camera to capture this rare occurrence and he was non-stop smiles soo picture overload! We are on day two of smiles, hope this happy baby streak continues.