Celebrating Dad's Big Day

I know that I am so far behind blogging about events that have happened in our family this year, but here is my initial attempt at recording our life in a small way.
This year for Eric's birthday we celebrated as a family and had a day date. Eric has every other Friday off and it makes it nice to be able to spend it as a family. This year his birthday fell on a Friday and we took advantage of it.
We tried a new restaurant called Cheddars and liked it. We also went mini-golfing and had a great time. Alex especially loved dropping his golf ball in the hole and watching it come out the other side. There was one hole that he REALLY ENJOYED! It was a hole that had a stream of water that you sent your golf ball down and it directed it straight to the hole. Alex thought that it made a better water slide than its intended use. He thoroughly enjoyed sitting,running, and laying in the water. Sarah, our sweet girl was content to follow her big brother around and just do what he did. It was a great day to spend some time as a family. I sometimes feel like we don't really enjoy and live in the moments enough. I really should take a lesson from my children and savor each moment more.

Life with Three

It has been an adjustment period here at our house lately. I wouldn't say that anything was back to "normal" yet.
Alex and Sarah have done so well with welcoming baby Levi into our family. Alex is always so helpful with bringing me diapers, wipes,and giving love and kisses to Levi. He is so affectionate with him and is always requesting to hold him. Levi is sure adored by his big brother.
Sarah is very affectionate toward Levi in a slightly different way. She is very good at finding all of his pacifiers and trying to stick them into his mouth. There is a slight problem with that though, because she likes to put them into her mouth before giving them back to him. She is getting very good at identifying body parts and likes to poke, I mean point, them out on Levi.

One funny story about Alex and Levi when we first brought Levi home from the hospital. I was changing Levi's diaper one day and Alex was watching me. He saw Levi's umbilical cord that hadn't fallen off yet, and was curious. He asked a few questions about it and told me I needed to take him back to the Dr. and have them take it off. I didn't think much more about it until Alex dismantled Eric's nail kit and brought down all of the instruments to try and take off the umbilical cord. Thank goodness it came off a few days later.

Eric and I are doing well, but I did pick up a nice case of bronchitis the day that Eric's parents left to go back home. I have been nice enough to share with Eric and now he has a cold too. Life goes on and we are all getting used to having Levi in our family.

Levi is a very good-natured baby and is very laid-back except when he has his diaper changed. We are getting adjusted to life with three around here. I can't believe that Levi is 4 weeks old today! Here are some pictures from the past 4 weeks.




I will have to publish more pictures in the next few days of his first visit with Grandma and Papa Stewart and Grandma Jung. Meanwhile, enjoy these teaser pictures.

Little Levi Daniel

Yea!!! Little Levi is here safe and sound. We are so excited to welcome little Levi to our growing family. We have been waiting in anticipation for when he would finally make his arrival into this world. We had a few false alarms and I could feel my body growing very tired of still being pregnant. Finally on Sept. 15th I saw my midwife and she scheduled me for an induction the next day because my blood pressures was rising and nothing was going to fix that until our little one arrived.
We got a call from the hospital early the next morning and said that we would have to wait because they were too full and couldn't take me when I had been scheduled. They said to wait and call back in about 4 hours. I called back and it was still busy and had to call back again in 4 more hours. Called again and was still told that they were full and to try back in 4 more hours. Right before I was going to call back they called us and asked us if we could show up at 5 pm that night. Absolutely!!! We arrived at the hospital and got ready. I had fabulous nurses and the best midwife ever. She stayed around and I was induced starting at about 5:30 pm and they broke my water 30 minutes later. I continued to labor and only had really hard labor for about 15- 20 minutes. Eric was wonderful and just when I got to the point of " I really can't do this any more" is when he said that they were turning on the baby warmer and were getting my midwife. She came in and was fabulous. I gave one great big push and out our little guy came.
He was by far our biggest baby so far.
I love looking at him and I am once again taken back by how much more love in in my heart. I am so happy to have him join our family. I can't thank Mom and Dad Stewart enough for sacrificing and coming down to help us with the adjustment from 2 kids to 3. They have been fabulous. What a burden they have lifted by being here to take care of Alex and Sarah for us.
Alex is a fabulous big brother. He is always wanting to hold Levi and will tell me if he is sad and needs something. Sarah is still adjusting to having a little brother, sharing more of my time, and not being the youngest in the family. She still wants to give him loves and touch his tiny hands.
I love our growing family. Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers. We appreciate them so much.

Our new arrival

Levi Daniel Stewart was born at 8:20PM last night! He's 21 inches long and weighs in at 8 lbs 14.5 oz!! We were surprised given Alex and Sarah were both in the 6 pound range. Mom's doing well, and was in labor for a whole 2.5 hours. He arrived on the first push. We should be coming home tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day

I just wanted to make sure that my husband knew how much I love him being the Father of our children. They love to spend so much time with him and are always wanting to play with him. I must get at least a dozen questions about Daddy's whereabouts throughout the day.
Here are some of the many things that I love about my sweet husband.

• He is an excellent example of putting the kids first when he gets home from work. There is a chorus of squeals when he opens the door and they run to him.
  
• He is great about including them in "helping" with projects around the house. They feel so special when they get to work with Daddy.
• He is an excellent provider for our family and makes sure that our needs are met.
  
• He is able to give us priesthood blessings to bless our lives and health.
• He helps me with the things I need done around the house.
  
• He loves to play with the kids and makes time for them.
  

I love that I married him and that he is the head of our family. You make me so happy and I appreciate all of the sacrifices that you make of your free-time, finances, and energy that you make in our behalf.
Here is a picture of your first official Father's Day.
Here is another proud moment in his life.
We love you Daddy!

Sarah's 18 months old

My little baby girl turned 18 months old a few weeks ago and I can hardly believe it. She has grown-up so fast before my eyes. I am constantly amazed at what she is learning and the new things she is able to do everyday. The list keeps getting longer and longer of her accomplishments.
We went to the doctor a few days ago and were still amazed at her stats. She is one solid kid. Pretty soon she will give Alex a run for his money.
Weight: 27 pounds ( 75-90%)
Height: 33 3/4 inches (90-97%)
Head size: 48 1/2 cm (90-97%)

Here are some things that I want to remember about Sarah at this age:

• She loves to read books and will bring you a book to read her.
  
• If you are sitting on the floor, she will back herself up to you and sit down on your legs.
• She calls Dad- Daddy, Mom- Bobby or Mommy, Alex- Adix, Sarah- Sada
  
• She will call after Alex and run to play with him at the park.
• Sarah is a climber and is often found on top of the kitchen table.
• She loves to be rocked with at night and loves her blankie that Aunt Karen made for her when she was a baby.
• She is constantly on the go and loves to RUN
• She gets excited about doing a little job for you.
  
• She wants to do everything that Alex wants/can do.
  
• She is a cuddle bug and LOVES her Daddy!

Best Buddies

A lot of our day is spent correcting behavior and practicing being kind to one another, but there are those moments that you want to remember and cherish. It is fun to see Alex and Sarah playing with one another. A few weeks ago we decided to make cookies for Daddy because he was returning home from Denver on a business trip. I asked Alex to take good care of Sarah and these are the pictures that I took from that day. What a cute set of kids I have at my house.

Wow, That's Messy

Aren't you glad that your toddler doesn't look like this after every meal?

Fun Times with Daddy

Alex and Sarah can't wait to spend time with Daddy and often ask about him while he is at work. When it is time for him to come home at night, usually there is a chorus going of "Daddy, Daddy!" "Where is Daddy?". Who can blame them if you had someone there to play with you when he got home. Here is a glimpse into why they love playing with Daddy.

Alex Singing his ABC's

I got Alex to sing the ABC song to me the other day. He is adorable, just my opinion. ;0)

Our month of Surprises

The month of May was full of surprises. It started with a trip to Colorado Springs to surprise Eric's mom for her 70th birthday. She had no idea that we would be there to share in her birthday. Her birthday happened to coincide with Mother's Day this year and what a better way to celebrate than to be there to share in her happy memories. We also had a surprise of our own up our sleeves. More about that in a minute.
We flew into Denver and got there late at night. It was a difficult flight with Sarah. It was her bedtime and I thought that it would be a good time to fly because she would be ready to sleep. It totally back-fired. She was screaming and kicking almost the entire 2 1/2 hour flight. Eric finally held her standing up in the back of the plane and she finally slept for about 3o minutes of the flight. It was not a fun experience. Alex was amazing on the plane and he was so excited to get to visit his Grandma and Papa Stewart.
We hung out at Aunt Heidi's house and got to play with our nieces and Cooper the "Ginormous Dog". He really is so huge. I was a little worried about Alex and Sarah interacting with him, but slowly over a period of time, Alex was ok with having a dog the size of a horse around him.
Finally we got ready for the big surprise party. Family came in from Utah to share in the excitement. There waiting for Mom Stewart were her family and friends. We all waited in the living room and were waiting for her to come into the kitchen to see all of us there. Dad Stewart rounded the corner first and everyone yelled surprise.

Then the real guest of honor came in and saw all of us standing there. It was so fun to see her reaction and to know that we were there to witness it too. Alex ran over and attacked Grandma Stewart with a giant leg hug. She was so surprised to see him and us because Eric had been so heavily involved in a work project, that we didn't know if we would be able to really come out anyway. Thankfully we were able to and it was a great feeling to know that we were able to be there for this big moment.


Now for the other surprise that we had been keeping. They didn't know that we were pregnant and how far along we were. It just happened that we had our 20 week ultrasound the day that we left home. We asked the technician to find out the gender and then she sealed it in an envelope. We placed it inside the card for Mom Stewart and presented it to her at the party. We were on pins and needles waiting to see if a little boy or girl were going to be joining our family. When she opened it, I remember saying , "Well, what is it?"
She didn't have her glasses on and we finally got to see the picture of our little boy that will be joining us soon.
Thanks Heidi for taking that picture of the baby surprise.

We got a sinus cold while there. Sarah had to go to the doctor because of a pink eye infection and a rash, but not all of it was spent at the doctor or being cooped up. We got to spend time playing at the park, feeding the guinea pig, Honey, and just spending time with family creating memories. We loved being there and sharing in those happy memories.
I took this collage from my Sister-in-law's blog.

Some major catching-up to do....

I am going to attempt to post a lot of posts in the next few days because so much has happened and so little has been written about what we have been doing in our family. I will attempt to post them in a meaningful order, but no promises. Stay tuned to our family happenings.

Good-bye Old Friend

We had to say good-bye to our our old friend, our Honda CR-V. It has been affectionately called the Black Hole and Black Death, That is the first car I bought and it has been a wonderful and dependable car for our family.
Since our family is expanding and our car's capacity is not, we had to get a new set of wheels. We traded in our CR-V for a 2007 Honda Odyssey. I am loving it!!!! We have been looking for a few months now and found a great deal on the Odyssey. The kids love it and I am looking forward to many new and happy memories in our new family car. Before I show some pictures of the Odyssey, I want to remember a few of the many memories we have had in Black Death...

• Bringing Sarah and Alex home from the hospital
  
• Driving in the Smokey Mountains
  
• Many road trips to Colorado and Killeen
• Hitting black ice and running off the side of the road in Amarillo
• Fitting our TV , dryer, and bicycle in the back of the car
• Evacuating for the hurricane with our cat, Shadow

Good-bye old friend and Hello New Friend....

Please Mom, I need your help....

This actually came out of my sweet little boy's mouth this morning. He was talking to me and this is how our conversation went.
Alex: Please Mom, I need your help.
Me: What do you need help with, Alex?
Alex: I want to kill you.
Me: What? You want to kill me?
Alex: Yes.
Me: (light bulb going on in my mind) Oh, like David and Goliath?
Alex: (getting really excited and with a huge grin on his face) Yeah!!!
Me: OK. Now I understand.

Last night for Family Home Evening, we were role playing the scripture story of David and Goliath complete with swords, helmets, and paper balls for stones. Wow did that story get Alex and Sarah excited. They both had the opportunity to pretend to be David and slay Goliath (played by Dad). I love that they are remembering and wanting to learn about the scripture stories. That was a fun conversation that I want to remember and record.

Our Little Tie-Breaker

What do you do when the score is even? Eventually you have to break it. Well, so far in the Stewart household it has been an even score: Boys-2 and Girls-2. That will all change in September. The new score will be Boys-3 and Girls-2!
We are excited to have a new little boy join our family in the fall! His due date is Sept. 24th. We can't update with a picture now, but will do that when we return from visiting our family. So welcome back trucks, planes, and all-things-blue. I know that Alex will be a great big brother and Sarah will be a wonderful big sister. We look forward to your arrival in a few months.

Surprise

It is so hard to surprise Eric and he ALWAYS finds out even the littlest surprises. Well, we got him good this time. Look at this. Eric's sister, Heidi, and her family came for their Spring Break and very few people knew about it. It had been in the works since January. Well Eric you had this coming to you.

Our Lucky Charms

We are the luckiest parents in the world to have these two beautiful children in our home. They bring so much joy and happiness in our lives. Parenting moments are not always happy ones, but at the end of the day these two little miracles are worth all of the small and insignificant frustrations and setbacks that being a parent comes with. We love you very much.

Moving and Shaking

Our sweet Sarah does a dinner dance almost everyday. She is so funny and when big brother imitates her, she gets going even faster. It is so funny to see. Take a look.

It's Never to Early to Celebrate Christmas

Alex surprised me today and created a Christmas tree out of blocks. I was sitting there and he just created this wonderful surprise for me. It was very creative. What a smart boy I have. He showed it to me and said "Look, Mama a Christmas tree. I need lights, a star and ornaments." So what better way to spend a morning, decorating a Christmas tree with your 3 year old. Here are the before and after pictures. Alex, I love your excitement and love of the most wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas anytime of year!

Sarah's Rough Day

Yesterday was a rough day for our little Sarah. While Sarah was walking in the living room yesterday, she tripped on the carpet and hit her head on the corner of the coffee table. It swelled up quickly, but we were able to put some ice on it. It took her a while to calm down, but after that she was up and running again. She is now sporting a nasty little bump on her forehead.


Then later that night she was standing at the top of the stairs and got to close to the edge and fell down the stairs. She was ok, more scared than anything, but I don't think as scared as her mom was. Boy, was I glad for the end of that day. I hope not to repeat any of yesterday's events for a long time.
Here are some pictures from today. A whole new day and brand new smiles for us to enjoy.