Random Ramblings

Spring

2011-03-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Emerick Love

2011-01-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Emerick is a sweet baby boy. He is peaceful and alert and yes, he talks to his Daddy already. My labor with this babe lasted about four hours and the last 45 minutes was a lot of work because he was big and all his rolls needed to come in three different parts (thats right I pushed him out in THREE different parts)

I will tell him one day that we were a good team-he and his Daddy and I. I will tell him he came out and I held him right away against my chest in the birthing pool that was still warm and that we couldn't stop smiling.

A big thank you to Emerick's Aunt Jennifer who took these two week photos for us on a whim. Aunt Jennifer will have a boy babe of her own in a week or so which means Emerick will have a playmate. His Aunt Crystal will have one around the same time too. Three adoring sisters and two new boy cousins coming...lucky little guy? I think so.

2010-11-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

Annabeth (from Percy Jackson), Medusa, and a Witch- they knew what they wanted to be and really played their parts let me tell ya!
Sunday morning happiness

A big thank you to Nani for always sending cute clothes!
Girls are so much fun!

and BOy oh bOY are we excited to have fun with this BOY coming in January!

2010-08-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ava: 1st day of 2nd grade; Sophia: first day of Kindergarten; Esme: not pleased about it.

2010-08-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

I remember when I met Dan I couldn't stop staring at his big bright blue eyes. Now I get to stare at them all day while he is at work.

2010-05-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

5 and happy bout it!

Sophia turned 5 this past month. She loves all things nature- here she is at the beach this last weekend and below she is holding one of our baby bunnies. She spends her days outside looking for bugs and taking care of the rabbits. She would be quite happy living on a farm or in a beach house I'm sure.

This girl is one of a kind and we love her.

Christmas in April

2010-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here a few pics from Christmas- Grandma made the girls matching nightgowns- just what mamma ordered. I love simple white cotton nightgowns on little girls! And Grandma did a beautiful job :)

Trampoline was a hit and the snow on Christmas day made it even better.

Maybe I will get to my Easter post in December :)

Stewart

2010-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

No, not my last name my 3 month old nephew- with a great name I might add. I was able to go eat him up for a few days...not long enough.

Yes he smiles this much and yes he's this cute and yes he is already a stud!

to Aunt Cassie ...

2010-02-09T13:41:00.001-08:00

from E, Maren and Neevzies

we love you and miss you and hope you get good presents

2010-01-01T15:26:00.001-08:00

This awesome girl turned 7 on December 22. Oh how we love her so. Love seeing her grow, develop her talents, teach her sisters, laugh out loud, set a good example, and just be herself.

She's been a bit busy the last few months. She was recently in a play at the Dallas Childrens Theatre- "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" 18 performances or something crazy like that-running from November to December. She was a trooper though and didn't get tired of it once. She had a blast and felt oh so important- I think autograph signing after the show was her favorite part :)

She especially enjoyed having two of her besties in the play with her!

Know what makes me happy?

2009-12-11T12:44:00.001-08:00

The Bird Room

Rocking and changing babies in the bird room, art from good friends in the bird room, a little bit of anthro and some of my mama's sewing in the bird room, my children counting all the birds in the bird room (39 at the moment), Esme pretending to do her "homework" in the bird room, guests staying in the bird room, adding sweet gifts to the bird room (below).

Yep, pretty much makes me happy.

Keeping those ears warm!

2009-11-23T06:49:00.000-08:00

Move Over High School Musical

2009-11-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

It's all about Harry Potter this year! Ava is a reading machine and just started book 4. Sophia and Esme get into it as much as they can with her telling them all about it. It's cute because whenever we are at the bookstore or party store Esme will see something related to Harry Potter and run to Ava and say "Look Ava Harry Potta Harry Potta!" They were excited to be two black cats this year and even more excited when Ava told them there are two black cats in Harry Potter.

2009-10-20T10:10:00.001-07:00

Here is our first little remodel. The ornate vanity and mirror in the girls bathroom was nice but not what we imagined for them. In fact I am certain people will wonder why we exchanged such a fancy piece for such a simple one but that is how we roll over here...

Plus two girls can brush their teeth at the same time!

Before

After

Our inspiration is this family's bathroom shown on Designspongeonline.com

Maybe one day we'll get this big (expensive) deep farm sink :) But we're sure pleased to have our (really inexpensive) one from IKEA!

2009-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

HaAUNted HOusE

Second year in a row the Stewart Fam's have gotten together to make haunted houses. The kids love it and we love that we are making it a tradition.

As you can see we told them to look scary when we took the pic :)

BEACH!

2009-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh Surfside....Where have you been my whole life living in Texas?

In just 5 hours we arrived at Surfside beach last weekend with some of these great peeps.

And their cute kiddos

We played in a lot of this!

They played a little of this

We didn't care about the wind in our hair

And enjoyed ourselves thoroughly in these waves

An attempt at a little surfing

The face of a girl who got it right!

Speaking of faces- here is one we could not stop snapping pics of

We were lucky enough to spend some time with My bro Jason and his wife Glencora (and my nephew baking away in there-woohooo!) who live less than an hour away from this cute spot.

It was nice to meet you Surfside. If the two of us have it our way we'll be seeing lots more of you.

Solo Trip

2009-09-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

I am just getting around to posting this June outing of mine.

I was able to go to Utah to visit my BFF, Babata, for a few days. I was happy to spend a day in the life of this great friend of mine. I especially enjoyed spending time with her three little girls. We never imagined while growing up together that we would both have three girls!! Maya, Aliyah, and Tehya are awesome and spending some 1:1 time with them just makes me wish I lived close to see them grow.

Of course we found time to do what we do best- eat good food and have good late night chats!

Thanks Girls for a lovely time!

Tehya

Maya and Aliyah

Some Catching Up To Do!

2009-08-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

I'll start with MAY and hopefully get caught up with August before it passes us by...

We were fortunate enough to have the Gauntt cousins at a our house while their parents went on a trip. They truly are as sweet as they look. Neva and Esme were like having twins and the cat fights were pretty funny. Neva's scowl at Esme was the best- but don't get it wrong-Esme gave it as much as she took it!

These guys live too far away so it is very special to us when we have them around and makes it way too hard to see them go.

2009-07-10T09:42:00.001-07:00

Lucky Dan...

Or should I say Poor Dan :)

Oh so grateful

2009-07-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

What does great fabric + one kind sewing Momma =

newly covered pillows for our bare barstools and sofas. Thanks Mom :)

2009-06-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

We're looking forward to the "terrific two's"

Birthday was complete with slip-n-slide, chocolate cake, and 7 cousins to enjoy it all with

(more cousin photos to come)

2009-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

We are keen on a little retro, a little old, a little modern, and a lot of green

This is what we have been up to-with the help of a dear friend who visited and gave her insightful decorating ideas. Yes, those are green stripes on my walls ("lemongrass" stripes that make me exhale when I am eating at our dining room table) and yes those are pom pom's on a drum chandelier that I fell in love with at first sight. It was a must to top it off with our old chair from the 1800's.

Below we took this wonderful passed down play kitchen from drab to fab by painting it- yes green- but not lemongrass "tansy green" for the girls- and added a few new knobs. And what better than some good ole silouettes for our breakfast nook turned art room.

Two things that make us very happy right now- magnetic chalkboard paint all around the art room, and 10 little lanterns in the window.

We're having fun with this house stuff.

2009-05-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

All for Sophia

Sophia turned 4 last month and it was a big one for her. She is my laid back-don't give me a lot of attention girl -but with her best friends and cousins along she had a wonderful day complete with a party at Petland (she is very passionate about animal friends).

Heres to our Sophia who likes to lick the rain, make goofy faces, cuddle rolly polly's, dreams of owning a dog, and still enjoys a good nap.

Easter Love

2009-04-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

I Love Weddings

2009-03-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

Especially my big brother Jason's. Here he is with

me at around four years being the good big brother he

has always been. I have always felt this kind of protection from him my whole life.

I know he will do a fine job of protecting this girl too.

They are in love and it shows.

They made it official on March 28, 2009

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the romantic event

And so did our girls who were flower girls with my little sisters!

(riding on a trolley from the hotel to the church was

one the highlights for these cute gals!)

Don't be fooled by the bored serious look- Sophia was thrilled to be drinking soda in a pretty glass.

My family was all together- two parents, nine kids, three spouses, one aunt, four grandkids...it was indeed a great reason to get together and we enjoyed

every minute of it.

Mr. and Mrs. Ore

Visitors

2009-03-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

We love em. Especially these guys from Austin.

carousel rides

trip to the zoo

kissing a delicious 4 month old

watching a boy make a sword out of scraps from our backyard (that is a rare moment here)

and just simply enjoying each others company

What's not to love about that?

2009-02-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday is a special day, the day we get ready for Sunday...

We start em young :)

Maybe I will get lucky and they will always be this happy to clean windows!

2009-02-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Goop.com

A friend of mine told me about this website of Gwyneth Paltrow's. If interested go there and click on the butterfly for a great parenting newsletter. I dig it.

2009-02-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

See what I'm talking about...and this is not a little chair :)

2009-01-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

A moment for Esme

Esme is 20 months old and it seems awhile since I blogged about her. This girl is so much fun and soooo much work right now. She gets into everything- I never really had to kid proof my home like I do with her. She tries to plug things in the outlets, eats tips off all the markers, puts her hand in the fishbowl and eats the rocks, takes permanent markers to the computer screens (believe me I try to hide some of these things). She keeps us on our toes to say the least. She may however be the most affectionate of all our children at this age. She will put her hands around our neck and squeeze so tight and then top it off with a few kisses. She is starting to have a lot of fun with her sisters and I love hearing her laugh hysterically with them. I love being home with her and Sophia-the two are becoming quite a pair. We miss Ava while she is at school and she loves to come home and lead the pack with games and songs.

2009-01-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Want to know what Dan was busy doing over the holidays?
a little bit of skateboarding,
a lot of reading,
spending plenty of time with me and the girls,
and...
building this ART TABLE in our breakfast nook.

Oh we love him so!!!

2009-01-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

Simple, Splendid, Stewart Christmas

We have always had so much fun going away for Christmas- Nebraksa snow, Austin charm, France beauty, but there really is no place like home so this was a special Christmas for us...

Christmas Eve
We had a wonderful 24th with Kris and Crystal and their kids. It was lovely to see the girls and their cousins indulge in the joys of the holiday-gingerbread houses, singing carols, new pajamas, and treats...lots of treats. I can't believe I snapped a pic of the gingerbread house together because the icing was so runny it kept falling apart. We were all laughing and the kids were good sports about it not turning out so great.

Thanks to a dear friend and her idea we decided to start a new tradition this year of giving the kids a Christ centered gift on Christmas Eve. It is nice to be able to teach them the true meaning of the holiday and watch them grow older and begin to understand.

Christmas morning

Santa brought Sophia a bunny rabbit this year. One night she stood in front of the Christmas tree and kissed her hands then threw them up in the air and said "I wish for Santa to bring me a cat." Well, Santa was not ready (nor will he ever be) to give her a cat but he did find her a bunny and as you can see it was a hit. She looked at us and said, "I am glad I got a bunny rabbit because I hate cats."

She doesn't usually talk like that especially about an animal but it just goes to show how overwhelmed and excited she was.

Have you ever seen two kids get so excited over oranges in their stockings? (they were actually grapefruits- silly santa)Esme loves books so she enjoyed her gift and reading with Dad first thing that morning.

Surprise, Surprise, Ava enjoyed a little more HSM- mom is just about done with that... soooo wanting to go back to the Little House on the Praire craze. (Ava is giggling with her hands on her hips as I type this)We wish you all a Happy New Year!

2008-12-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

#6 for AVA- High School Musical Style
She wanted to be Gabriella for the second time this year and of course Dad had to be Troy. It's darn cute-they both get really into it. It was complete with cousins, a HSM Karoake, and a few close friends-one of which was Troy -more her size :).

2008-12-19T06:49:00.000-08:00

We are loooooving this time of year

And visiting with Nani and Grandpa who traveled so far to see us. We will miss them till we see them again.

2008-11-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ava has had...

A new haircut
and a yummy Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

WILDCATS IN THE HOUSE!

For those of you who are High School Musical fans here we are. From left to right -Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Wildcat Cheerleader, Ms. Darbis
Dan and I agreed that he and I ended up looking more like a wood cutter and Sarah Palin.
The girls were more than excited that the whole family dressed up and played the partsEven Aunt Katie showed her spirit

The night was complete with Trick-or-Treating with friends and way too much sugar.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

2008-10-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I have always said my favorite month was December but Ocotber is trying to move its way into first place-at least this year. Below you will see several reasons why...

#1 Decorating for the spooky holiday-and what better way to do that then with cousins who live so close now. I think we have started a family tradition of decorating a haunted house- kind of like a gingerbread house for Christmas but we get to use black spray paint, googly eyes, and candy corns (oh did Esme looove being introduced to candy corns!)

#2 MOTHER CAME FOR A VISIT

She brought these apples from her apple tree and made us fresh apple juice and yummy apple crisp.

She brought her sense of humor and warm smile

She brought her two youngest which made my three thrilledAnd of course she did what she does best...#3 GOING TO THE ARBORETUM- So, as long as I live where I live you will see pictures of this place throughout the year. There are pumpkins everywhere this month and the girls and their cousins and aunts had so much fun.

#4 SUNSHINE GENERATION-Sophia had her first performance with Ava and loved it. Here they are waiting to go on stage.

#5 ESME TURNS 17 MONTHS OLD-her nickname is Boodgee- may seem silly but I promise you spend one weekend with us and you'll be calling her that too. She is just as sweet as she looks- but she can really hold her own these days (see very large water bottle below that she picked up and took two swigs of without spilling a drop)
My sister Katie is living with us and Esme has really warmed up to her-hmm maybe it's time for a trip away with the hardworking husband...#6 MAKING OUR HOME "US"- this has not gotten my full attention due to the activities above and it will for sure be a long process but we are feeling such joy in our space already. We want our home to show off what we love and cherish most Christ, family, friends, reading, traveling, art, and music. Here is a glimpse at half of our living room-the other half and pictures on the walls to come as time and ideas roll in.
This is one of my favorite nooks in the house. It was meant for a huge flat screen t.v but we found better use for it :)

2008-10-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

HOME SWEET HOME

Flowers to water

Grass to mow

Our family favorite spot. The doors leading to the covered porch and backyard are off the living room and thanks to the weather they have been open all day everyday since we moved in. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner out here.

We love playscapes- especially ones that look like forts- the girls were so excited it was left here

If you want to see the inside don't try to break in... just come visit us :) Sophia is MIA above only because she was napping-she is my little outdoor girl and has spent most of the last two weeks exploring the backyard.

2008-09-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

2008-09-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

My View

Finally...UTAH!

2008-08-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Getting there
Two days of driving, lots of stops at the bathroom, and a ton of m&m's later we arrived in the scenic state- here we got out to explore a bit.

Part 2: Babata and Ken's house

I love this girl. We go way back and I don't think we have spent a consecutive three days together since we were 15 years old. Hiking, Boating, Mountain Biking- these guys know how to show us a good time in their hometown!

My girls could not stop talking about their finished out basement (good job Ken) for days after we got home!!

It was fun watching them use their imagination and make up games-our girls played so well together.

Part 3: Payson Reunion
Almost got him
On Grandma's swingActing out High School musical (Dan plays a good Troy :)Canoe rides

A great visit with cousins from Cali

2008-07-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ethan and Ava

Maren and Sophia

Esme and Neva

Oh how we miss them already!

2008-07-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

We had a fun filled 4th of July-Parade,friends, and fireworks! (and I had a good reason to take lots of pics of these three!

Homecoming

2008-06-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Stewart girls (all of us) are downright spoiled. The Man of the house never really travels for work so when he does we miss him like crazy.

We're glad he's back.

We have been busy doing this...

2008-06-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Jumping, Swimming, and SPLASHING!

TOE painting parties

Duels

Finding ways to NOT taste the veggies we don't like to eat... AND, looking at houses to buy

2008-06-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,

For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

-Author Unknown

2008-06-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Esme's 1st birthday in Nebraska last weekend. I'm not one who is much into character bdays but each of my girls first birthdays have been "Strawberry Shortcake" themed. I loved her when I was little and thought when I was younger that if I ever had a girl I would leave her no choice but to love her as well by starting her off with a little taste of the millenial strawberry shortcake (my favorite being the vintage one of course).

Below is Esme with her first handful of icing-she cried until I wiped it off.

It was nice to be around Grandma and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles who made the party so much fun!

Sophia's Fairytale

2008-05-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here is Sophia at my parents with one of the many toads that are hopping around their farm house. Dan saw her pick up one of the slimy things and looked around to see if anyone was watching then closed her eyes tight and kissed it right on the tip of its mouth. She opened her eyes with a huge smile and then just kept looking at it as if to say "Where's my Prince?"

Stewart Days

2008-05-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day- sweet husband, sweet girls, a sweet mother of my own to celebrate, it was a good day.Six Flags Day- Dan surprised us and took a day off and we went. Nice weather, no lines, very happy kids with parents who acted like kids for a day too :) (aw man, not tall enough)Sunshine Days- cute performances on the weekends of Ava who is still so passionate about her sunshine generation group.Esme Days- everyday is an Esme day. 11 months and so many more wonderful days to come

Gabriella and the Greenbelt

2008-04-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here is my new sister-in-law, Gabriella. Dan's new little sister is a doll-look at all that hair! We were happy to meet her this past weekend in Austin.

We went with family to a part of the Greenbelt in Austin that we had never been to before. Esme shocked us by wanting to walk and wade in the water. She would have slid down this waterfall if we had let her. Always good times in Austin.

Cousins, Just alike, unbirthday parties, and ESME WALKING!!!

2008-04-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

We had family visit us a few weeks ago. Kris and Crystal and their four kids came from Kentucky during their spring break. We were delighted to have them around for a week and the girls LOVED having their cousins in town. Sophia and Camille are quite the pair. Just three months apart-

They dress alike

Play alike

Even get in trouble alike

Our good friend Jennifer ("Mum" to the kids) came up one day and had a magical playdate with the kids. She had the great idea of having an "unbirthday party" for all the kids bday's this year.

Here are some pictures from a day at the Dallas Zoo

(waiting to touch the sting ray)

If I wanted to have any idea what it might be like to have my sister-in-law running around my house at age 2...I might just look at her cute Carina and know

LAST but not least is the announcement (for those who don't already know) that our little Esme is walking!! She is almost 11 months and has been doing this since 9 1/2 months. I can't say I am that thrilled because it means our littlest will not be so little very soon. Here are some pictures of her at the zoo to prove it. She is getting around so well that she managed to walk around this water area at the zoo and make her way to a waterfall.

She is always quite pleased with herself

3... Yipeeeeeee!!!!

2008-04-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

Our Sophia turns 3 today. We celebrated Monday night with pizza and a chocolate cake decorated with lady bugs (the girl LOVES bugs!) Here she is below at just 3 months-hard to believe how much they change. Oh how we love her so...

Did you know?

2008-04-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Child Abuse Quiz
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You. We hear about child abuse in the news nearly every day, but how much do we really know about it? During National Child Abuse Prevention Month (April), Childhelp is asking everyone to learn more about child abuse and what each of us can do to help stop it. Test your knowledge.

QUESTIONS:

1) Three children die of child abuse in the home in the United States each
a) Year
b) Day
c) Week
d) Month

2) How many people report child abuse when faced with an actual situation?
a) 3/4
b) 1/2
c) 1/3

3) What is the single, leading cause of death for children ages four and younger?
a) Drowning
b) Motor vehicle accidents
c) Child abuse and neglect
d) Choking on food
e) Residential fires
f) Suffocationg) Falls

4) On average, child abuse is reported somewhere in the United States every
a) 10 seconds
b) 20 minutes
c) Hour

5) Strangers pose the greatest risk of sexual abuse to children.
a) True
b) False

6) Child molesters get their sexual gratification only from children.
a) True
b) False

7) The average age that child molesters first attack a child is when they (the attackers) are
a) In their early 20s
b) Middle-aged
c) In their teens

8) Which of the following actions can help stop child abuse and neglect?
a) Helping a stressed-out parent by baby-sitting, making a meal for their family or lending an understanding ear.
b) Learning the signs and symptoms of child abuse so you can recognize them when you see the “red flags.”
c) Reporting known or suspected child abuse to the police or local child protective services agency.
d) All of the above.

ANSWERS:
b) Day
c) 1/3
c) Child abuse and neglect
a) 10 seconds. Based on 2.8 million reports per year.
b) False. Most children are abused by people they know.
b) False. Many child molesters also have adult sexual relationships.
c) In their teens—and even as young as age 12.
d) All of the above.

A Happy Easter

2008-03-23T18:12:00.001-07:00

Our week leading up to Easter included lots of crafts, egg decorating, egg hunts, and a good reason to bring out those spring hats! It all led up to the most important day of all-Easter Sunday. We enjoyed our chance to teach the little ones what this special holiday really means, and to remember ourselves. We hope you all had a nice Easter too.

Highly Recommend

2008-03-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

http://movies.aol.com/movie/horton-hears-a-who/24695/video/clip-no-1/2071191

Antique Shopping

2008-03-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

So I have recently (thanks to the help of friends who know Dallas much better than I do) found some great antique stores. I never considered myself a girl who loves antiques- and I still don't. I don't appreciate them near as much as antique lovers. I basically like to find interesting things that other people don't have- and that mean something to me when I find them. I also like a good ole piece of furniture or home accessory from target or pottery barn sometimes. Heck, I have some great baskets and a play room rug from Walmart, art from France, a sleigh bed from JCPenny's, a desk from Mexico... I picture my home being accented with antiques and not full of them. Ive been going through many magazines and online photos of furniture and decor of all different styles to figure out what I really want my home to look like. My friend and I were recently talking about what our personal "style" is- because hers is similar to mine. She came up with a great name that I will now take on for myself.

My style folks is "global eclectic" that works doesn't it?

Anyway, it is fun figuring out what I want our homestead to look land feel like.

Here are the girls and a few of their friends trying on old hats in a antique shop. Ava and Sophia have been good about letting me drag them around these places. Even getting into it a little. Ava knows when we go to these shops they are full of "old" stuff. She walks around saying "look mom it's an old chair" or "look at this old ritz cracker can."

So, I'm curious- do you have a style? and what name do you give it?

ESME OVERLOAD

2008-03-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Esme just turned 9 months. Here are several pictures of a day in the life of our baby who won't be a baby for long... As you can tell I am still learning about my new camera-lighting, settings, and all the other bells and whistles. I think I need to hire a sitter just to sit down and figure it out! When you say "love" or "kisses" Esme immediately puts her face towards yours-it's the best
She wants to be right in the middle of everything. Her sisters are good about letting her join in...most of the time
Get it! (look at those toes!)

Got it! Everyday she helps me unload...all over the floor!

I think she smiles the ENTIRE time she is in the bath with Ava and Sophia- it makes her feel big
Sleepytime

Yes, in mommy and daddy's bed...somehow we don't mind.

Tagged

2008-02-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

I was recently tagged by my sis-in-law to give 7 fun- unknown facts about myself. Here they are- they might not be unknown and some of them not so fun...

1. I played French Horn for 6 years-(I think I was a little cuter than this guy)

2. I don't recycle and I feel really bad about it

3. I have a bowl of cereal or peanut butter and jelly fold over almost everyday between 2 and 4pm- it is emotional eating at its best

4. I once pried two young kids off of their abusive mother, put them into my car, and drove several miles to a nearby childrens shelter while they cried hysterically for her. It was the single most depressing day of my life.

5. When I was in 6th grade I told my parents that my friend and I wanted to sleep in the back of my Dad's pick up truck for our slumber party so we could be outside like we were camping. It was all a plot to walk down the street and meet our boyfriends.

6. I love birthing

7. I wish I was creative on my own but I'm not. Instead I stalk other bloggers who I think are and often times steal their ideas. I'll share this one with you-I love her and don't even know her
Her blog is www.soulemama.typepad.com Her website is even better and is www.amandasoule.com
and she wrote this book

I TAG all my fellow bloggers who feel like doing this...

MY LOVES

2008-02-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

I LOVE my husband who I feel so lucky to have everyday. I LOVE my little Esme who is 8 months old and is so cuddly and happy. I LOVE my Sophia who is a little reserved yet so goofy. I LOVE my Ava who wants to soak up all the good in life that a five year old can. I LOVE that I ran a 1/2 marathon with the support and excitement of family and friends.

HIJACKED!

2008-02-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Cassie!

This is Jennifer, Cassie's sis-in-law, and I am hijacking Cassie's blog.

(I meant to do it yesterday in honor of her birthday, but I ran into logistical and technical problems, issues quite familiar to most Stewarts).

I had a funny little conversation with Ava earlier today where she informed me that her mommy was now 30 years old and that she was 30 inches tall. According to Ava, her mother's favorite food is cake and one her favorite things to do is to play Candyland with her girls. Sometimes, when she has work to do, she can't play.
She also wants to take naps a lot.
Cassie doesn't really sew clothes because she can get them at Target.
Ava says her favorite thing about her mother is that she reads with her.

As for me, I'm delighted to have a friend with whom I have so much in common. I love shopping with her and I love that she loves chocolate as much as I do.
I also love that she appreciates my black bean soup recipe.
She has proven herself to be a reassuring, encouraging and supportive friend (I'm thinking especially of the time around Neva's birth) and of course,
I'm grateful that she makes my brother so happy.
She is a lovely mother to my sweet little nieces, whom I adore.

I easily count you as one of my very closest friends, Cassie, and I'd bet my hands that most of your friends would say the same!

YIPEEEEEE!!!!

2008-02-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

OH I can't tell you how excited I am to get my bday present early this year. We have had our digital camera for over 6 years now and it is time to let it go. In fact this pic of my Nikon may be the last one it takes. SO why do I not have any great pics to share from the new camera?- because I am slowly but surely figuring it out. Hopefully in the next few days...

Catching Up- A Fancy Nancy Birthday, Christmas in Nebraska, Let it Snow, Esme 7 months, Ooh La La France, Water Baby Cousins, and MEANWHILE

2008-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ava, Kya and Tessa's "Fancy Nancy" Birthday Party. Some friends of ours introduced this great book to us awhile back and the girls love it (all of you with girls who don't have this book should consider having it in your collection). Needless to say they got really "fancy" and had a great time in Nebraska with my two little sisters who also have December birthdays so we celebrated together!
SO as most of you know we had Christmas in Nebraska. We had a great time and the girls loved seeing the snow. This year Santa brought BIKES for every little girl. How fun is it for my girls to have my sisters to play with!!

OH Let it Snow- and boy did it!! I love the 65 degree weather in Texas this time of year but it was nice to visit Snow for a change.
Where was little Esme?- who by the way turned 7 months in December...she was toasty warm inside sitting up all by herself.Dan and I took off on Dec. 26 for France. We left Ava and Sophia behind. We went to go to Dan's brother, Morgan's wedding. Morgan and Sarah make such a cute couple and we had a great time celebrating with them. We also managed to go on a wonderful hike and spent some time in one of our favorite places- Geneva. We really enjoyed seeing so much family. There are so many more pics I could post here but I let my sister-in-law (with the great camera) take most of them so I only have a few to share right now.
Water Baby Cousins in France.
So we took Esme to France and Dan's sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Slade, took their four month old, Neva, to France as well. These two are close in age and share common birthplaces- at home in water. Not to mention they both have names that make you go "huh?" We thought they might have a special little bond over all of this- and well.... I think they do Here are a few favorites of mine of these two cuties. Esme sleeping at the reception and Dan kissing Neva on the cheek- how could you not kiss those cheeks! MEANWHILE back in Nebraska we were wondering if the girls were missing us... hmmm what do you think?

Happy Birthday Ava

2007-12-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our AVA GIRL!!!! Five years ago (well four years and 10 m0nths ago) you looked like this!!We love you!!

Thanksgiving,Esme 6 months, and BF Babata!

2007-11-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving in Austin- Kerbey, Isabella, and Mariah made a great weekend for us. We also got to see my brother and his girlfriend Glencora and I got some girl time with my friends!

A lot of these pictures are of Esme taken over the Thanksgiving weekend- she is 6 months on Friday!! we can't believe it! She is such a joy. She sqeals now and scooches- and smiles at everything and everyone. We love this stage and love watching her grow.

Bath time at Grandpa Kerbey's

Uncle Jason, Glencora, and the girls- they had a great time at Uncle J's house and are still playing with their stuffed puppies!

Grandpa Kerbey has the special touch...

Nana Bella and Esme made each other smile a TON!

I can't tell you how great it was to have my BF Babata in town the last few days! We did some much needed catching up and our girls played together so great. Her girls are adorable and we had so much fun with them! We are sad today as they are headed back to Utah. We love you guys!

Maya is a cutie pie who can hold a conversation with you like no other. Sweet little Aliyah (who I managed not to get any pics of) had her one year old birthday party our house and the bigger girls loved having a reason to dress up!

Happy Birthday Dan and Kris!!!

2007-11-04T05:34:00.000-08:00

31 years ago today James Daniel Stewart was born. He is a wonderful husband and father and the girls and I adore him. He is my Prince and their joy and we couldn't love him more.
Here he is with his twin- who of course has the same birthday! We love him too!Here are a few recent pics of Dan- These are from the our Church Halloween carnival. He was one of three guys to spend time in the dunking booth- have to say the girls and I got a kick out of it although we tried to nail him but were unsuccessful- others were lucky...

We Love you!!!

Happy Halloween from Little House on the Prairie

2007-10-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Mary and Laura Ingalls-

Ava and Sophia were watching the classic episodes with me last spring and both agreed they would like to dress up like Mary and Laura. Ava said "They have three girls in their family and so do we!" SO

Here is Carrie IngallsI looooove Little House on the Prairie so I was very excited that my girls were into that this year. Everyone knew who they were when we trick or treated which was fun for them.

Ava's Sunshine Performance (& Solo part!)

2007-10-28T15:40:00.001-07:00

Ava started her third semester of Sunshine Generation a few months ago. It is a local singing and dancing group. She practices every Monday and has performances all over Dallas. She loves it and it has been quite the confidence builder for her. Here she is singing the closing song on the mike with a solo at Saturday's performance. Watch for a minute and she is the third solo after the second chorus "Everything seems big when your sooo small, but one day soon it's gonna change when you start to get tall"- quite appropriate for our little Ava. She takes a cute bow at the end. Dan and I and Sophia were looking on quite proudly as she nailed her part.

TaTa

2007-10-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Kerbey, Uncle Kris, and Aunt Mariah (better known by the girls as "TaTa") were in town last weekend. We enjoyed having them around and as you can see from the pics the girls looooove their Aunt- even little Esme was excited to be with her!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch Tuesday morning with our friends Amanda and Edith! We are getting really excited for the holidays over here!

A little on each of us

2007-10-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

DAN- so Kris came in town the other day from Kentucky and the two twinkies were wearing the same shirt! Dan's mom and me and the girls thought it was really cute- I don't know if they did but I snapped a pic anyway. Sophia was a little confused at first and several times said "Daddy, you look like Uncle Kris." Here they are watching a bit of the Rugby World Cup- these two really should live in the same city! CASSIE- This shows how happy I have been- all of us have been- having Ghislaine in town. She flew back home Monday :( AVA- Reading,Reading,Reading! Seriously, for hours everyday! when she isn't reading she is singing- and sometimes she is reading her lyrics! I think Esme might follow in her footsteps. SOPHIA-Everyday she dresses up like a princess- and everyday she says "I can do it by myself" Here she is trying to convince me to let her make her peanut butter toast all by herself...how could I say no :) ESME- FOUR months OLD, petite, in the Middle, baby TALK, playing with TOYS, and OH that Hair...

Visit with Nani and Grandpa from France!

2007-09-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Nani and Grandpa Tagg are in town and we have been having soooo much fun! We are glad they traveled all this way to come see us.

These are a few pics from one of our favorite places in Dallas called the Arboretum. It is so beautiful there this time of year!

Ava and Sophia love playing in the playhouses- even Grandpa had fun playing in them :)

Sophia enjoyed Nani and Grandpa helping her walk across the tree trunk while Ava had soccer practice.
Thanks Aunt Emily! Esme is so cute in this little set you sewed for her!

Thank you Sariah and Aunt Crystal for my Quilt- I LOVE it!!

2007-09-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa's Farm House

2007-09-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

We're back! And for those of you who don't know where we are back from we just spent the last two weeks in a small town in Nebraska at my parents farm house- I say that like it is their vacation home but it's where they and my brothers and sisters live and I like to consider it my vacation home for now. It is a 100 year old house out in the country and definitely a change of scenery and pace from the hustle and bustle of big time Dallas. My kids played with frogs, rode horses and four wheelers, took walks on dirt roads, went swimming, and climbed apple trees. My activities included running every morning down dirt country roads and basically relaxing and watching my fam entertain and spoil my kids. My two youngest sisters are ages 4 and 6 so it was like a playdate everyday for Ava and Sophia. Here are lots of photos from our trip. The only thing missing was Dan who we were SO excited to get back to!!
Feeding and Petting Callie

Riding Callie

Grandma rocking Esme on the porch

Grandpa swinging Ava and Aunt Kya

Taking a little ride in Grandpa's old Chevy

Esme with Aunt Anna

Esme taking a bath in Grandma's sink!

Spending time with Great Grandma who came from Illinois to see us!

Four Wheeler Fun!

See ya next time...

Hi

2007-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Fun with Friends- Fun for me!

2007-08-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

I love playdates and so do my girls. Here they are with a few of their friends. They played so well together that I relaxed with Esme on the couch for quite awhile! I find that when my kids get along with the friends they have over it is just as much a break for me as the mom who dropped them off!

Baby Bliss Continued...

2007-08-07T20:52:00.001-07:00

With a little more time to write this evening I will continue to say what a joy it is to have our little Esme. She is smiling and cooing and we can't get enough of her around here. She is such a peaceful baby. Ava's favorite thing to do is sing to her and Sophia walks around saying "Esme is so cute."
Having 3 is not a breeze but I find myself taking on the challenge of doing fun things like going to parks, splash parks, visiting friends and shopping. My motto has become "just sling em and go"
I know this baby stage won't last long but for now the Stewart fam is definitely in baby bliss.

2007-08-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been doing much rambling but for right now I will just let the titles of my pictures speak for themselves.

2 years old and LOVIN it!!

2007-08-06T20:51:00.001-07:00

Sisterly Love

2007-08-04T16:19:00.001-07:00

Baby Bliss

2007-08-04T16:06:00.001-07:00

Here is our little Esme at 2 months old. Ava wants to take care of her as much as Dan and I do (which is quite helpful most of the time).

Girls

2007-07-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Can I just say what fun it is to have girls! They are like little whimsical fairies prancing around with sweet smiles on there faces. Yes, there is the occasional meltdowns and high pitched screams BUT I love them so...

Okay, Okay, I've started a BLOG!!!

2007-07-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

So with an 8 week old and a recent move behind me I am certain I could find something better to do than start a blog. BUT my sister-n-law Jennifer and best friend Babata would say otherwise so thanks to the two of them I am officially on the blogger bandwagon. Don't get too excited though because if I start actually unpacking more boxes and holding Esme as much as she wants to be held then I will most definitely fall off. However, today- I'm a blogger...