Dear All,

I am sorry for being so sloppy about updating the blog. Seems like life is happening so fast—I don’t have a spare second to slow down and take notes. There is just no way to start blogging about everything that happened since my last entry; nevertheless, here are some highlights of the last six month.

Obviously, the biggest event occurred on May 7, when our third child, Demitri Garrett Stein, was born. He was due on May 23, but apparently, he was ready to make his appearance a couple weeks early. May 7 was my mother’s birthday, so this birth date has special significance for me. Of course, Keith and I had a rough time coming up with a name for Dima. In the end, we named him after my mom’s favorite uncle and Keith’s younger brother, Garrett.

Dima has been a fun addition to the family. His is well mannered, laid back, and really happy-go-lucky. I was a little worried about the transition from two to three children but it has been very smooth for us because the older two children have been very helpful.

It has been enjoyable watching Lena and Benjamin develop a relationship with their little brother. While Lena is great at helping with the baby, Benjamin is there to entertain him. I think Dima smiles the most when Benjamin sings to him.

TULIPS

Our trip to Woodburn Tulip Festival has become an annual tradition. The first time I went, I was 8 months pregnant with Lena, the first trip we took with Jessie, she only had Ella. This year, we each had two children with us, not counting the one in my tummy. The flowers were beautiful. But I thought that the sight of watching the kids run through the flowers was even more breathtaking.

ROAD TRIP

For a while, my friend Jessie and I have been talking about making a road trip to Utah. She’s from Park City and for us it’s been a while since we’ve been to Cedar City to visit Keith’s family and let the kids play with their cousins. Since our husbands are really not “road trip” kind of people, Jess and I decided to do it on our own. We’ve decided to take off after the tax season was over. We were a little worried about the proximity of my due date, but I figured if I didn’t go while 8 months pregnant, I’d have to wait until the baby was older. And who knows what would happen by then.

Jessie and I planned the trip and got our children excited about the upcoming adventure. Keith was having a panic attack about me travelling while pregnant but I assured him I was not going into labor in the middle of Idaho. My promise was not good enough, so he made me get permission from my OBGYN. I am lucky Dr. D. is so relaxed; he okayed the trip without hesitation.

Since neither of us have a minivan (and both of us had a couple of kids), Jess and I rented a van and took off at 4 am, hoping the kids would sleep at least until breakfast. Unfortunately, the kids were so excited they did not want to go back to bed.

We spent the first night at Jessie’s parents’ house, then drove to Cedar City the following day. All six of Keith’s siblings and his parents live there. Lena and Benjamin enjoyed spending time with their cousins and getting to know their aunts and uncles better. We had a great time, enjoying every day of our trip, even those spend in the van; kids thought it was party time, in the company of their friends, Ella and Jonas, movies, and various treats. Daddy was very happy to have us back and I didn’t even go into labor for another week. Who said I was cutting it close?

My sister-in-law Megan and I were due about 6 weeks apart. Now Demitri has a little cousin Isabella.

Riley became my kids favorite dog in no time. It's a good thing daddy has "allergies" or we would be looking for a puppy by now...

Poor Riley endured all sorts of love (torture) from my children

He didn't seem to mind

Benjamin Eric and his uncle Eric sported similar hairdo

Lena doing math and Benjamin watching Peter Pan - to each his own...

Uncle Matt let the kids drive in his truck. Lena now insists that she is a better driver than "those teenagers"

Easter 2009

Even though Easter usually falls on the very end of tax season, a time when I have very little time and energy, I try to plan some fun activities for the kids. Because of my Primary Calling, this year the egg hunt I planned was on a larger scale than in the past. Also, a couple of weeks prior, the kids and I worked on an Easter Basket craft with their friend Ella.

Stein Annual Christmas Letter

Hey Everybody,

It’s time for our 2008 Stein family year-in-review. The Mayan calendar says the apocalypse won’t happen until 2012, so for the time being, we’re safe from terminators, zombies, or whatever else may graciously end my obligation to write these family newsletters in 3-4 years.

Benj is 3 years old and now attends preschool. Like a budding engineer, he spends lots of time building things. He talks constantly and we’re finally starting to understand him. We’ve learned that frissmas wides = Christmas lights and fock-it mick = chocolate milk. (You get used to it). And when he’s utterly incomprehensible, Lena’s always available to interpret. He’s said some funny things this year. I’ve been writing them down. My favorite quote this year:

DADDY: Do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?
BENJ: I want a brother.
DADDY: What if Mommy has a girl?
BENJ: Then I’ll make a baby boy in my tummy.
DADDY: You’ll make one in your tummy?!
BENJ: Yeah, and two girls in my boobies! (Demonstrates).

So the kid is ambitious—and yes, he’s perhaps a bit too nurturing. But in most respects, he’s just like his old man: he’s kind of lazy, loves chocolate, spaces out for minutes at a time, and lets a female control his life. I have that same problem.

As for Lena, she’s now 5. She’s incredibly bright and has become quite the accomplished reader. The other day at the grocery store, she asked Ira how to spell Kool Aid. Ira spelled it C-O-O-L. Lena gleefully corrected her. We think she’s a little too smart for her own good. Just this week, she faked a serious illness to get out of class. The kid deserves an Oscar. Her teacher was ready to quarantine the whole school! Seriously, we shouldn’t have to deal with these antics until she’s at least an obnoxious teenager. She’s also said some funny things this year. My favorite quote came after a prayer:

LENA: Heavenly Father, please bless the whole world and all the planets and stars . . . except for Mars. Don’t bless Mars. Amen.
MOMMY: Good prayer, Lena. But why don’t you want Him to bless Mars?
LENA: Because we can’t breathe and we die there.

Wow. We didn’t have the heart to explain to her just how inhospitable most of the universe really is—she’d ask God to curse the whole universe! In almost all ways, Lena is just like Ira. She loves to organize things, make lists, and adopt rules (for others to follow). She hates chocolate, loves people, and has an uncanny ability of getting her own way. How precious!

As for Ira, she got herself knocked up. Again. I can’t complain about her freakish fertility because her body has started changing in all sorts of “husband-friendly” ways (she begged me not to say this). Her due date is May 23. For now, she’s keeping a busy schedule. When she’s not juggling work, motherhood, and her church calling as Primary President (a big responsibility), she relaxes by reading books or watching the tube with me. She went sort of crazy this year on that Twilight series. Since everybody we know has heard her go on and on (and on) about it, I’ll spare you another round of punishment. Just so you know, she keeps a family blog at: www.steinfamily-oregon.blogspot.com

As for me, I feel so blessed. Though I’ve lost some more hair and found a few pounds, family, work, and life in general have been better than a man like me deserves. No complaints.
Merry Christmas from Keith, Ira, Elena, and Benjamin

Celebration Part II: Welcome to NEVERLAND

For Ella and Benjamin's birthday this year we decided to go with "NEVERLAND" theme, having them dress up as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and inviting their friends to come dressed as pirates, Lost Boys, Indians, or Wendy. We ended up having all these characters at our party!

The trip to Neverland started out by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell sprinkling pixie dust on the guests as they arrived. We reviewed the story by going over some scenes from the movie, making sure everyone was aware of what the party was about. Below is a picture of us watching the movie...

Captain Hook (Keith) made special appearance and chased the kids around the house and back yard, making them walk the plank and having sword fights.
The kids got to play in the tent - LOST BOYS CAVE and decorate their swords with stickers.
We also had a Mermaid Lagoon (wading pool with some sprinklers) but unfortunately the weather was not really Lagoon friendly... We did get to "make shadows" by tracing each kid's outline on black paper.

Towards the end of the party we received a message in a bottle from Peter Pan, asking for help in finding his treasure before Hook got to it... Everyone enjoyed a treasure hunt, especially since they got to keep the found treasure (coin candies, treats, and a toy). Below I am giving out the treasure...

Keith decorated the cakes to make them look like the crocodile with the ticking clock. The kids loved those.

Even Jessie and I decided to join in on the fun by dressing up.

At the end of the night, after all the work we put into the party, we figured we deserved a turn at WII (the boys were playing during the cleanup!). Jessie beat me at tennis, just like she does on a real court!

Official Jam Tasters

The kids and I have been very busy this summer getting ready for winter - picking berries, freezing them, and making jam. This last week I've decided to make some new jams - blackberry and triple berry (blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry). The kids volunteered (actually, more like begged), to taste every single batch. Lena (being so much like her mom!) told me it was wa-a-y-y too sweet, Benjamin (just like he daddy), doesn't think there is such thing as TOO sweet.