The Last of the Visit

My mom just left this morning--the house is so quiet and feels like we're missing someone. Jude misses his grandma already. Here's the rest of the pics from our fun time together. It was so sad to say goodbye this morning--as we never know when we'll see each other next--but I am so grateful for the time she was able to spend with us and Jude. 
Last night we went to THE crepe place in Portland. On the left: pear, walnut, and brie crepe. On the right: banana, nutella, almonds and whipped cream crepe. HEAVEN. Simply heaven. 

"Demolished."

Jude slept the whole time. So from like 5-7:30pm. He didn't go
to bed till like 10 last night. 

We hit up some VooDoo for mom to bring back to
the other siblings. 

I think it's a ghost voodoo doll. not sure. 

They cuddled lots before Jude went to bed. 

Oh, and guess what??

Jude finally got his hair cut! I'm not going to lie, I get very
teary-eyed about this. All of his newborn hair is gone!

Doesn't he just look like a little boy now??? It's alright. Don't cry. 

Temple Day

Yesterday morning, my mom and Adam and I went to the Portland LDS temple together. It was such a precious experience to go with my mom again--we hadn't gone together since right before our wedding and the sweet spirit bore testimony of the eternal nature of families. 

Afterwards, we went and got sushi. I swear, by now 30% of my body must be just sushi. 

And that was just her's! No it wasn't, I lied. 

To end the day, we all took naps, made a peanut butter cup cake, and watched some absolutely ridiculous scary movie mom recommended--after which I vowed never to take a movie recommendation from her again. 

My Momma

My mom is here! She arrived Wednesday night and we've been having such a great time together. Whenever she comes she's always such a big help--making meals, taking Jude in the morning so we can get an extra hour or two of sleep--she's amazing. Get this: she arrived with two huge suitcases. I was like, "Ok....ur gunna be here for 6 days...but sure, why not?.." She then opened the biggest one to show all the stuff she brought for me and Jude. SO MUCH STUFF--lots and lots of clothes for Jude, all of my stuff from my old room, 2 canisters of Pero, zucchini bread, pear sauce, and so much more. Gotta love my momma. 
Today, we took a walk around downtown Vancouver and slurped down some yummy Starbucks frozen frappuccinos - mine double chocolety, her's salted carmel chocolate. They were gooood. 
Also, Mom's been wanting to get me going on canning, so we stopped by a local grocery outlet and got a sweet deal on some cheap produce. We will be canning apples and pears and making some raspberry freezer jam! 
Jude loves his grandma, and got a huge smile on his face when she first arrived--and hasn't stopped smiling since. 

"Hey Ju-Ju, you want some?"

"Here ya go!"

He loves to swing around

This brand of foods is from our grocery store back in PA! 

For some reason he kept dodging her kisses. 

Tonight, we're headed over to the cheap theater to go see Super 8. Rest of America: Was it good? We're also making a peanut butter cake. When mom comes there's always an indecent consumption of carbs. Wouldn't have it any other way. 

Over the Weekend..

...we went swimming, house sat for my in-laws, went to a wedding reception, and spent lots of time together. 

classic. 

beautiful Leah Green. 

Jude and I have to finish getting ready for my mom to get here. He's one stinky kid. 
p.s. the heatwave broke and it's 62 degrees here in Vancouver. I may or may not be wearing a wool hat with my pj's right now. 

One Post From One Delirious Yours Truly

Hey there.
We're alive. 
No need to call in the generic search party of hot English fuzz, wearing their notoriously outdated bobby's, waving wooden batons in the air while trying to calm down a pack of barking blood hounds, screaming, "Hold on, old boys! We'll find 'em. We'll find 'em good!" 
We're alive.
Calm down.
Just thought I'd give you a quick note. Tonight. At 11:12PM. After eating far too much red velvet cake. With cream cheese frosting. Which is, by-the-way, my other lover. For some reason red velvet is synonymous with sexy. Sexy cake. Haha wow, it's late. Moving on...
1. Jude is crawling. LEGITIMATELY CRAWLING. No training wheels on this kid. Not sure what crawling training wheels would be. Maybe a small skateboard wheel superglued to his forehead so his feet wouldn't have to do all the work. 
2. My mom is coming on Wednesday! I'm super super super stoked. It is kind of weird to see her sometimes though. Since I'm starting to realize my aging process has begun, every time I see my mom it's kind of eire. Like looking into the future. 
3. I start training for my little job next week. More of them dolla bills?: Plus. Not seeing Jude for 8 hours once or twice a week?: Probably the most devastating thing I can think of. In my world, every thing would be free. Ha..hello communism. Or is it socialism? Natalie, ask Grant. 
4. Stake Conference was absolutely amazing. Our leaders taught us to stand in holy places, and to do so we need to concentrate on making our homes better sanctuaries for our families to grow spiritually. One of my favorite quotes: "Turn off the TV. Fill your homes with sweet music and scriptures." 
5. I've mastered the big, cone-shaped bun. And I've strategically placed it on top of my head to draw your eyes away from the fat-lady belly I created this weekend with an unhealthy consumption of kettle chips, dark chocolate, and those IKEA meatballs and cream sauce. 
6. Oh yeah, and as of tonight, Jude is pulling himself up in his crib. I walked by his room tonight and just about choked on my ice cream sandwich. I found the crazy animal standing up in his crib while curiously looking over the edge. I felt like screaming, "Don't do it, buddy! Not when you haven't lived!..."
It's 11:35PM. Yes, it took me 23 minutes to write that gob of nonsense. And, yes, I had to confide in my dashboard calculator to subtract 35 from 12 for me. 
Big whoop.
'Till tomorrow. Sleep tight! Pray I don't wake up to a loud thunk originating from Jude diving head first out of the crib. 

Happy Birthday Video

After a week of not blogging, we've got a lot to catch up on--Jude-wise, that is. And since it was Aunt Brynne's 21st birthday on Monday (holla!), I thought I'd give iMovie a try. This was my first time using it, so no judging for my beginners videographer skills. Anyway...
Happy Birthday, Aunt Brynne! Here's a bunch of footage of yours truly! 

Labor Day Weekend from Britney Stevens on Vimeo.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Haven't done this in awhile..hold on tight:
Awkward: 
-The skills test for renewing my CPR certification. There's no need to ask, "Hey, hey, are you okay??!!" to a plastic human, chopped in half. I think that's as far gone as it gets.  
-Being asked a totally unanticipated question during a job interview and completely blanking out. "Umm..sorry..I just lost my train of thought....just give me a minute (or 5). 
-The awkward meals we've eaten the past couple of nights due to our empty fridge. Ok...we can have corn on the cob and scrambled eggs for dinner or refried beans and blackberries.
-Casually running my fingers through my hair while deciding on which sandwich to order and simultaneously pulling out a chunk of hair...and feeling everyone's eyes watch where I'm going to put it. This post-partum hair loss thing is getting a little out of control.
-Changing Jude's dirty shirt before leaving the house, only to discover while out that the new shirt was also dirty. I promise my kid isn't homeless...
-This picture my brother posted on Facebook of my 11-year old membership into a club my sister and I and two friends founded: the S-club 4 (remember S-club 7?? We weren't very original). Yeah, ok, get over it: I was chubby and only shopped in the Old Navy boy's section. I also think that Willy Wonka got his hair inspiration from me. You're welcome you creepy man. (p.s. Why am I the secretary?? I was at least a year older than all of these girls. Way to aim high, 11 yr old self)

Awesome:
-I got a job! I'm working on-call for an assisted living facility!..No experience my ace. 
-Jude is almost crawling! Seriously, I think in a week he'll have it down...and everything else in my house. 
-Jude is also eating his rice cereal like a pro! He opens his mouth real big, snaps his face forward, and gobbles it right off the spoon. I can't wait to see how he handles green beans...
-My mom is coming in two weeks for a visit! We're going to eat lots of food, go shopping, see movies, have late-night tea and cookies--it's going to be awesome! 
-I bought a massive seedless watermelon from Walmart yesterday for $3.50! This is all I'm going to be eating for the next little while...
-I got assigned to do my clinical hours this fall in the progressive care unit at Southwest! I'm STOKED! I can't believe I've been out of the hospital as long as I have. 
-Lastly, I thought I'd give a shout-out to my hot husband for losing 10 lbs! What a hard worker...I thought you might crack while withdrawing from Oreos, but you stuck with it. LOVE YOU.