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!