Cutting down the Christmas tree...

It is officially after Thanksgiving, so that means our we went to cut down our Christmas tree. It is up in the house and we are just starting to decorate it. Pictures of that adventure will follow in the near future.  Decorating is going to be interesting this year.  Even while writing this post, I had to stop and vacuum up broken glass from a ball that Peter broke...he said, "look momma, ball"  just before he threw it.  Oh my, it's going to be fun!

This is going to be fun...

I put a bow in Natalie's hair for the first time and it made me a little bit giddy.  She looked so cute and girly!

A great Thanksgiving...

We had a great Thanksgiving this year.  We enjoyed a wonderful day at our home with Aaron's family!  Below are a few pictures of our day.

This is actually the night before.  The boys put on a "concert" for us with the recorders I bought for them at the dollar store.  There are moments in time when I feel like I'm a pretty sharp mom....and then I go and make the dumbest purchase of my life thus far....recorders for a 2yr old and 4 yr old.  I spent days being tortured by Luke's rendition of "Go Tell It On The Mountain."  Which really just sounded like a small animal being tortured.  Peter enjoyed just blowing his as hard as he could so it would make a screeching noise.  Unfortunately, both recorders were somehow broken overnight...I have no idea what happened...or maybe I do, but either way, I have learned my lesson!

Here's Peter on Thanksgiving with Aaron's grandma, Nana.  Peter had a great day.  Just before dinner time I took the kids upstairs and changed them in to some nicer clothes for dinner.  When I was dressing Natalie, Peter "added" to his outfit...an old blue sweatshirt with...of course...a football helmet on it.  I tried to get it off of him, but he insisted that his nice shirt was underneath.  Some battles just aren't worth it!

Here's Luke at Thanksgiving dinner.  He was such a great helper this year.  Although, the turkey brought mixed feelings for him.  A few weeks ago I was prepping a whole chicken for dinner.  Luke walked into the kitchen, took one look, and made the connection that chicken is actually CHICKEN (of the cluck cluck variety.)  He wanted to know where the head and feet were?  I decided honesty was best and explained that they don't send the head, because we don't eat the head.  He responded, "I bet it had a sad face, cause it knew it was going to get cooked."   Luke is my endless source of entertainment!

Natalie enjoyed her first Thanksgiving as well.  I put her beside me in the highchair so she could be at the table with all of us.  She immediately fell asleep and snoozed her way through the meal.  

Happy Thanksgiving Dude...

Peter made this adorable hat at preschool.  He proudly wore it ALL DAY long.  It really is just about the cutest hat I've ever seen.   

Auntie Saza came for dinner tonight and was asking Peter about his hat.  She asked, "What's on your hat (referring to the "feathers"), he said "those are SURFBOARDS."  

Growing, growing, growing...

Growing could describe all three of our kids, all of the time. I am constantly sizing up in kid's shoes, clothes, etc. I love watching the boys grow and accomplish new things..bike riding comes to mind. But the "growing" seems so much more obvious right now as I watch Natalie, who is certainly not a newborn anymore, grow into such a precious baby!

Slow down little one...your momma can't take it. I often wonder how we got here? How did my first baby get to be such a tall, capable, 4 yr old that is eager about everything and is sweet enough to slow down and give me hugs and kisses. How did my second born, move on from baby things to love monster trucks, motorcycles, and everything that seems remotely dangerous. Each night from his bed he yells, "nuggle me momma, nuggle meeeee." And when I snuggle up next to him, it melts my heart. So, as Natalie grows, I am quite aware how fast these years will go. In the blink of an eye, our baby will be on the move. So for now, I am trying to soak it in and enjoy the constant companion that she is to me. I have got to be the luckiest mom in the world!

Here are a few pictures of our baby!


Her play-gym is a favorite place. She loves to roll around and chew on anything she can reach.



We just tried the johnny-jump-up for the first time and it was a big hit. Although, Luke and Peter decided that they could make the jumping much more fun by pulling back the jumper and letting it go...don't call CPS just yet...I stopped the plan before it could be carried out. It did ensure that she will never be left unattended with her brothers nearby. I think her hair looks a little red in this picture...it's not in person, but I can always hope!

A little dose of reality...

Just in case you are reading this blog and thinking that our children are sweet and life is always peaceful in our home, let me assure you that is not the case! A strong dose of reality has flooded our house in the last 24 hours.

It all started at 12:45 AM when EVERYONE in our house was wide awake. It began with Peter crying because he was scared. Poor guy. He tried to crawl in bed with his big brother, who so tenderly shoved him out of the bed and on to the floor, yelling the whole time, "get in your own bed you cry baby." (okay, we'll deal with the name calling at a more reasonable hour.) The boys woke up the baby and she began to cry...and at some point along the way, I think I saw Aaron crying too. (Just kidding) At the end of the whole ordeal Luke was sleeping on our floor, Aaron was in Luke's bed, Peter was with Aaron, and Natalie (the lucky one) got to sleep in the crib all by herself!

Needless to say, moving Pete to the big boy bed, and having the boys share a room has been a challenge. But, there is no going back and I have been assured by many that in a few weeks all will be well. Until then, Aaron and I are depending on caffeine to carry us through!

Jesus loves me....

Peter loves Natalie and has recently started singing to her...he only knows one song...Jesus Loves Me...and really doesn't know all of it, but just improvises as he sees fit.   

PS...That's Luke in the background singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."  He's just like his dad, it's never too early to start Christmas!

Miss blue eyes....

We went on a walk the other day and I took this picture of Natalie...I love her blue eyes and chubby cheeks. She weighs in at just over 13 pounds...most of that has got to be in the cheeks!

The Shiner....

Luke came home from preschool with a black-eye last week...the story goes that he and one of his buddies collided during play time...I guess it's that or he's started some sort of 4 year old fight club.  He thinks his eye is really cool and tells everyone to "check out his shiner"

Election Day....

Luke informed me that "today we are getting a new Mayor to run our whole universe." It cracked me up that even a 4 year old knows that it is election day...he hasn't grasped the whole concept, but close enough!

The truth comes out....

Tonight while I was making dinner, Luke and Peter were playing together in the family room. Luke announced that they were playing "house." He said that he was the dad, Peter was the little boy, and "the mom" was at the store. Then I overheard him say to Peter, "okay little boy, now that mommy is at the store, you can watch a special tv show." I started laughing....ahhh the truth comes out! No wonder nobody sheds a tear when I head to the store...it's way more fun to be at home! Too funny.

Halloween 2008...

Happy Halloween...we spent our day with Woody, a football player, and a lady bug.  

Trick-or-Treating to Mema and Pepa's house

Luke as Woody...this is his "howdy little lady" pose.

Peter ended up putting candy in his helmet.

I love how Peter is holding Natalie's hand.

Our little "Natty-bug"

Meet the small ones...

Below are posts featuring Luke, Peter and Natalie.  Take a look to read a little about them and see what they've been up to.

Natalie....

Natalie arrived a few weeks early, in late June.  She has been a complete joy every step of the way.  Her labor and delivery was fast and efficient at just under 4 hours and she arrived happy and healthy.  Just after delivery, she stretched out her legs and arms and fell asleep and has been pretty relaxed ever since.  The last 4 months have been a lot of fun and have flown by.  The boys adore their sister... a little too much sometimes, and we are enjoying this new adventure of having a little girl in the house.  Here's a few pictures:

Just a few hours old...

10 days old

Aaron and I agree....we love when babies do the "I surrender" sleep.  It's just too cute.

Just about 4 months old...smiling and giggling and growing up a bit too fast for me.  Time is flying and our newborn is gone....now we have this precious baby girl and we just can't get enough of her. 

Peter...

Peter turned 2 in July.  He is talking up a storm and can melt us with his funny words, sweet smile and big eyes!  Here are a few pictures.

2 years old

Peter worked hard this summer, and in August he figured out how to ride his little bike.  He's not so great at braking, but is infinitely proud that he can peddle.  He's really tough too.  He took several spills along the way, and would just get up and try again.  

Peter recently moved to his big boy bed and now shares a room with Luke.  The transition has not been as easy as we would have liked.  Peter has always been a super sleeper and would have happily continued to sleep in the crib....but, we needed to move Natalie to the crib...so he got bumped.  Since the big move he has been up at all hours of the night calling for us, reading books at 2 am, needing snuggles, etc.   Tonight we put the boys to bed and Luke fell asleep fast.   I was surprised to find that after Luke fell asleep, Peter crawled up into his bed, cuddled up, and fell asleep with his big brother.   

Luke...

Luke is 4 years old and has great exuberance for life.  His energy is amazing and he keeps us on our toes with his observations of life.  He gives the greatest hugs...when we can catch him! Here are just a few pictures of what he's been up to.

4 years old

This is the first day of 4 year-old preschool. He was just a little bit excited.

Luke spent a good portion of the summer riding his bike.  He's assured us that he'll be riding without training wheels next year...I don't doubt it.

A long time coming...

For months I've been thinking of starting a blog for our family.  It's a fun way for family and friends to check in and see what kind of craziness we are up to, but really I want to have a place to preserve fun (and funny) memories of this stage of our life.  So, here it is... the Stewart Family Blog!

Just for reference, we are a family of five....me (Jenny) mom, Aaron- dad, Luke 4 yrs, Peter 2 yrs, and Natalie 4 months.  Having three kids, 4 years old and under, has its challenges...of course anyone who's been in a restaurant with us would know that...but most days we are having a lot of fun and feel incredibly blessed.  I hope you laugh along the way with us.