bon voy-yada, yada, yada

the stover fam lives in an area and an economy plagued by high home turnover.  thus, we have been blessed to make many amazing friends and cursed to see many of them leave.  after about 4 years of departures, i'm lethargic and numb about it all- almost as if it's a way of life.  but after saying goodbye to aunt jordyn and realizing 5 guests at stover boy's birthday party are leaving within the month, i'm feeling something again.  i'm sad.  and i'm sick of it.  and i'm........ going to keep my chin up.  i'm... grateful i keep up with many of those friends who hold a special place in my heart.  i'm grateful for the rock of my family and our strength because of this trial. and i'm grateful that with turnover comes more possibilities for dear friendships!

holy birthday batman

stover boy has been waiting and waiting to turn 4... and he's been waiting and waiting for his batman party!

(the favorite party game: defreezing batman)

(the rocket launcher from aunt jordy was quite a hit!)

(so happy to be 'training' with such great allies)

holy birthday stats:

-he has an automatic smile that everyone is drawn to!
-his desire to pleasant has blossomed
-still uses 'what?' constantly
-he's ready for a bigger bike!
-buckets of tears when dad mentioned that he would be asked to go on a mission: 'i don't want to leave mom' over and over.
-is a very inquisitive little boy- perhaps a future scientist!?
-appears to have little desire to stop thumb-sucking
-paradoxical interventions work like magic with his little personality. i.e. 'is that a frown? i love frowns. don't you dare smile. i'm going to get the camera to get a picture of that great frown.' and receive an instant smile!
-recently, we were talking about heavenly father:
      M: who is heavenly father?
       J: a 'fairy' in 'heaven'
      M: what does he do?
       J: he 'makes everything' cause he has 'power in his hands'
     M: what kinds of things does he make?
      J: 'houses' and 'me' and 'superheros'
     M: wow.  does he even make cakes (trying to be silly)?
      J: 'no' in a serious tone
-always the first to point out anyone he notices smoking.  'mom that guy has a ciger.'
-if he could have his wardrobe wish, it would be that he only owns black, blue or red shirts.

pow... we love you stover boy!

i want to be a part of it... first grade, first grade*

kindergarten graduation

there were 32 kids in your class!
you had a rough patch of crying episodes but overcame them just in time for school's end
your teacher 'is the best teacher (you've) ever had!'

*loved all the kitschy show tunes for learning
the teacher's mother (who frequented the class) said she 'expects great things from you- possibly the first female president' with all your smarts!
the 100th day of school was your favorite
barbara is a dear friend whose parents trusted that you would be a help for her at school. SHE ended up helping YOU with her radiant smile.

your whiteboard was used lots for playing school

you could read before school started but loved learning phonegrams
school started early- 7:30 AM
boston was your secret crush. you never admitted it but we knew because you refused to talk to him or about him.

your favorite subject was math and you especially liked money applications
addie was your 'best, best, best friend'.  (your mom and her mom were friends at BYU who were reunited before school began.)  we carpooled every day with addie and you adored her.

logan is a friend you made whose mom is now a good friend for mom
the teacher's aide miss lavonda called you 'kin-kin' and loved joking around with you
BOTH sets of grandparents came to visit you at school this year!
your assignment to escort alexis to the bathroom as needed because she was too scared to go by herself
your grandpa, omi and aunt jordyn attended your graduation ceremony and omi surprised you with a super cute dress she'd made.

a letter from mom placed in a 2024 time capsule:

 

roomies

the stover sisters are now officially roomies! 

stover girl has had lukewarm feelings about sharing a room even in the face of stover boy's raging jealousy. however, at a very opportune moment*, we convinced her it'd be a chance to build a special connection together. last night after a quick review of the rules, stover girl's glimmer continued even when reminding her that she would have to ignore stover babe's crying.  she nodded her head obligingly but it seemed she had plans otherwise.  so i continued with a tiny bit of mature reasoning, 'if you don't, any attention you give might make her cry even longer.'  a look of disappointment came and she said, 'you mean saying ssshhh won't help her?'  stripped of her secret rank in premature motherhood, she was again lukewarm! on the other hand, stover babe is quite happy to give up her closet-dwelling rank.

  
 
*stover babe has been exclusively calling out brother's name.  stover girl was in tears, 'why does she always say his name and never mine?'

jammie wearing, tomato eating mom

bless stover girl for her mostly optimistic depiction of her mother!

together (not separate) family time

since the arrival of stover babe, our family time has often been together but separate time.  think scenarios like this: stover girl and boy hit tennis balls with dad while mom chases stover babe around the adjacent court. or think: one parent plays boardgame with two oldest children while other parent wrestles boardgame cards away from stover babe.  don't get me wrong- i do so love this particular babe but i've grown tired of separated family time to accomodate a dependant little one. 
on a recent visit to st. george, our family time was shaping up to be the same old scenario.  stover dad and grandparents and kids began climbing pioneer park but it seemed an impossible task for stover babe.  once again seperated, stover mom began a positive 'chin-up, it won't be much longer' mantra when superhero dad found an opening to get stover babe up the cliff!
...she (and i) absolutely loved our together not separate family time!