Making a House a Home: Stout Family Adventures

Where to even begin? I can't believe it has been a full year since we welcomed Corbin Sean into our family, yet at the same time, I can't rememer life without him. I remember as if it were mere hours ago, the first time I held him and and saw his sweet, perfect, and misshapen head. Time flies when you're having fun! And we have had a lot of fun! I can honestly say this past year has been the very best year of my life! Corbin is such a sweetheart and has such a tender and fun personality! Like every kid, he has some rough days, and definitly some rough nights, but for the most part, he is the happiest baby I have ever known. He lOVES to laugh, and he does a lot! He laughs at everything, and nothing. Sometimes I just look at him and he starts to crack up for no reason. We giggle so much that my cheeks start to hurt from smiling so much. He thinks that he is hilarious. Seriously. He laughs at himself and thinks that when he blows bubbles, he is the funniest thing on planet earth. He has such a sensitive side to him; the ladies will love him! He is very timid about doing things alone. He likes to hold mom's hand, literally and figuratively speaking, which mom is ok with for now. :) He loves to explore and wants to know how things/toys work. Maybe he got some of his grandpa's engineering genes? He has his two front bottom teeth and at one point had a top front tooth, but it disappeared. He now is growing in his two top pointer teeth (canines) and he looks so adorable. Although Sean thinks he kind of resemebles a vampire. He took his first steps while in Utah about a week and half ago, but hasn't taken many since then. Although if he is holding someones hands, he cruises so fast it's hard to keep up! He is the best cuddler known to man. He just curls up in a little ball and snuggles right in. I LOVE IT! Corbin is my best friend, even with the 22 year age difference. I look forward to each day I get to spend with him. Here are some fun facts about my buddy:

FOOD:
Likes:

sweet potatoes
cheese
yogurt
peas
crackers!
chocolate
rice pudding (possibly his favorite)
anything that comes off of mom or dad's fork
bananas
carrots
mom's milk--but only at 3am

Dislikes:

SQUASH-he didn't like it as baby food, he doesn't like it as real people food :)
that's it, he pretty much eats anything, and he eats a lot!

WORDS:

He says "ball" which sounds like "bowl'
has said dog but doesn't say it often
understands words like drink, outside, come here, mom, dad, food, eat, snack, binky, book, where is..., etc.
selectively understands "no"

FAVORTIE ACTVITIES:

Going on walks, as long as the sun isn't in his eyes
reading books, although he turns the pages so fast not a lot of reading takes place
banging toys together
playing "chase" with mom and dad
sneaking into the bathroom to climb on the toilet at every opportunity
screaming (happy, but very loud screams)
playing with toys, especially his basketball, beach ball, and anything that makes sound
being tickled

SKILLS:

Super human fast crawling. I wouldn't walk either if I could crawl as fast has he can.
hiding toys (and dad's glasses) under the couch
he has developed a very nice "throw the head back and arch your body" temper tantrum
making people instantly fall in love with him :)
pulling every movie and every book off the shelf
unrolling the toilet paper rolls
"reading" to himself
an excellent taste-tester of anyting he can put in his mouth
laughing

We are SO incredibly lucky and blessed to have Corbin in our lives. We love this boy more than we ever thought possible! Thanks for coming into our family Corbin! We love you like CRAZY!

A little General Conference selfie. We were listening, I promise.

So he doesn't like pants. Who does?

I was trying to clean the house and he kept dumping his toy box. This was our solution.

I think he may be a sprinter when he grows up...

So I let him eat grass. It builds character...

A very successful cake smash!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!

Well, we are finally here. We have heard about STEP for so long now and how awful the months leading up to it are, and now we are the ones living it. For the few who may read this and not know, the STEP I exam is the first set of boards that medical students take, and the most important. The score on this test determines what kind of doctor the students can choose to become and then more or less where they get accepted into residency. The test is 8 hours long and covers everything they have learned and then some. There are no redos, its a one time only chance to get a good score. It's a pretty big deal. Sean has been working SO hard and puts in LOTS of hours studying. Corbin and I are so proud of him. I know I would not have the mental stamina to do what Sean does every single day. We miss him like crazy and some days are long and hard, but we know that it is worth it in the end (only 2 months left!) Because Sean studies so much, it makes the hour or two every day that he is home, that much more rewarding! Corbin gets SOOO excited when Sean walks through the door every day, and so do I. We both squeal a little. Sean is so busy at school, but makes time every day to be with Corbin and I, and is always upbeat, happy, and makes the most out of his time at home. He really is amazing. Here are some of the memories we have made in those short minutes that we have together:

Corbin trying ice cream for the first time. It was Blue Bell, I thought for sure he would love it! I guess he needs to warm up to it a bit.

Back before his "traumatic" bath accident when the bath was his favorite place to be.

Every night Sean and I creep into Corbin's room before we go to sleep to just tell him we love him one more time :) This was actually taken during one of his naps.