The Stewart Sentiments

Mother's Day and Adeline's Baby Dedication

2011-05-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day! Not only was it Mother's Day, but it was also the day that we dedicated Adeline to the Lord at church. I'm so glad that my Mom was able to be here for this special day!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful for the gift of Easter! My mom came and watched the girls so that Matt and I could have a little "away" time. I'm happy to say that we made it all the way to Ballantyne! HA! My Mom was nervous about keeping both girls by herself, so we decided to stay close to home incase she needed us. We checked into the Ballantyne Resort and enjoyed sleeping in, and being disconnected from everything electronic except the phone. It was just what we needed.

Easter weekend was wonderful. Ava is really starting to understand what Easter is all about. "Jesus 'dived' on the cross so that we can go to Heaven". She's been walking around telling us that she is going to Heaven and that our whole family was going to Heaven because we all believe that Jesus "dived" for us. It makes my heart smile to know that she's starting to understand our faith.

Our girls were visited by the Easter Bunny, of course. We also had an egg hunt outside. I'm pretty sure that Adeline was more interested in eating the grass than hunting for eggs!

Time Together

2011-04-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

I love it when I have my camera close during sweet moments.

Daddy's Home!

2011-04-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Matt has been out of town all week and just got back yesterday. He always brings home "surprises" for the girls when he goes somewhere overnight. Ava got the Sleeping Beauty dress that she's been wanting for a long time, and Adeline got a little stuffed monkey. We were all really happy to see Matt. It's been a long week!

Class Easter Party

2011-04-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

Adeline and I were able to attend Ava's Class Easter Party this morning. They had a snack, an Easter story, a craft, and an Easter Egg Hunt! Have I mentioned recently how much I LOVE her school? Well, I do. A ton. I could not have hand picked a better place for my girl. Here are some cute shots from the party.

Ready for Spring!

2011-03-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to even post this, but this is the first week in the past few months that NO ONE in our house has been sick! Horray! Spring is here and we've been having so much fun just being outdoors enjoying the fresh air.

Both Ava and Adeline are growing like weeds and both are becoming little social butterflies. We've been doing a lot of cleaning, repairs/improvements to our house lately, so we've had various people stopping by to work and give us estimates. Ava really looks forward to meeting these strangers and talking them up. Not at all like the shy little girl I'm used to.
Adeline loves waving to people and has such a big, infectious smile. She loves to flirt with the check out people at Harris Teeter, Walmart, and Target. I am loving the stages that my girls are in right now. Our days are not without challenges for sure, and there are some moments when I seriously consider auctioning them off on E-bay. Most of the time though, we all genuinely like each other and love to spend time together. I know this stage will pass all too quickly and I'm really going to miss it.

Savings!

2011-03-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Matt laughs at how excited I get about couponing, but tonight I think I genuinely impressed him with my deals. Yes, the receipt is correct. I paid $13.21 for $172.17 worth of groceries at Harris Teeter. I saved $31.98 using my VIC card and $126.98 using coupons! I bought 4 (fresh) strip steaks, 5 (fresh) pork chops, 6 packs of wipes, 5 jars of peanuts, coffee, granola bars, organic black beans, and dish washer detergent.

Sweet Baby Ellie

2011-02-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

The girls and I were finally able to meet baby Ellie Hanson yesterday! I have been dying to see this sweet girl for the past couple of weeks. Jackie (Ellie's Mom) and I became good friends when she watched Ava for us while I had my lymphoma treatments 3 years ago. Her little boy Carter, and Ava were born a day apart and quickly became good friends. They recently moved to Fort Mill, so we don't get to see them very often anymore.
Here are some pics of the new Mommy and baby!

Saturday Meet-Up

2011-02-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Matt has been in San Francisco for the past several days, so the girls and I have been on our own. We decided to meet my parents and my Grandma in Greensboro yesterday. They haven't seen my girls since Thanksgiving and they both have grown so much since then!

What I Love About You . . . . .

2011-02-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

What I Love About Matt
1. I love the way Matt is still my best friend. Whenever I have good news or bad, he is always the first one I want to share it with.

2. I love the way he melts when his girls are sad or upset. He's always ready to scoop them up with a warm hug and reassuring words of comfort.

3. I love his ambition. When he sets a goal, he doesn't quit until he reaches it.

4. I love the way he brings me flowers home for no reason at all.

5. I love the way he never says anything that he doesn't really mean. He never lashes out hurtful comments in anger. If he says something, he means it.

What I Love About Ava
1. I love the way she wakes up going full speed. She has things to do and people to see.
2. I love that she is a girly-girl. She adores anything and everything princess related and she loves wearing dresses and jewelry.
3. I love that she makes up her own lyrics to songs when she forgets the words.
4. I love that she is her sister's biggest cheerleader. She is always genuinely excited when Adeline learns something new.
5. I love her sweet, tender heart. She is always ready to give a hug or a kiss when she senses that someone needs it.

What I Love About Adeline

1. I love how happy she is when she first wakes up. She always greets me with a huge toothy smile.

2. I love her one legged scoot. I've never seen any other baby do that and it's just hilarious to me.

3. I love her laugh. She has that deep belly laugh that doesn't hold back.

4. I love how much she looks up to her big sister. She follows Ava around the house like a lost puppy.

5. I love how loud she babbles in public. It's like she's trying to talk over everyone else. She has things to say and she wants people to listen!

Our girls were both sick on Valentine's Day this year. Ava was so disappointed to miss her Valentine's Party at school. She had worked hard on her Valentine's for her friends and she had picked out a cute pink outfit to wear. Her little face broke my heart when I told her that she was too sick to go to school.
I tried to do a few little things for the girls to try to make their day special. Heart shaped pancakes, Valentine mani/pedis, pink bubble baths, special Valentine crafts and a little extra TV time helped to make their day. Matt also came home with roses for all of his girls!

Adeline Claire- 9 months

2011-02-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

Adeline Claire, you are 9 months old! I really can't believe how fast the time is passing by!

- You are 20.2 lbs and 27.5 inches tall!
- You love to eat everything, but your favorites are puffs, fruit, noodles, and Cheerios.
- You recently sprouted your first 2 teeth on New Year's Eve!
- You also started crawling (army style) several weeks ago.
- You love following your big sister around and getting into her toys when she's not looking.

You are such a sweet blessing to our family and we love you to the moon and back!

Trying to get with it. . . . .

2011-01-26T04:43:00.001-08:00

Okay, I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm determined to get back into blogging more regularly. We've had so much going on the past couple of months that the blog has taken the back seat. I promise to post something of substance (well, you be the judge of that), in the next few days!

Girl Party 2010

2010-12-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

I'm so blessed to have remained close friends with several of my childhood girlfriends. Each year that passes I become more and more thankful for these amazing women and their sweet friendship. We all know that the others are just a phone call away, and there is such a comfort in that unconditional love and support.

We have an annual Christmas party that we really look forward to all year long. It's totally casual and it's always at some one's house. We spend hours eating, laughing, talking, and laughing some more.

This year did not disappoint! Matt kept our girls in Charlotte and I braved the Christmas snowstorm and headed north on the 26th for the night. Below are some fun photos from our 2010 Girl Christmas Party!

Remembering our cheer days! Go Cougars and Dragons!

First Ballet Recital

2010-12-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

Ava Caroline's first ballet recital. She did a great job!

Girl's Weekend in Blowing Rock

2010-11-09T04:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Matt offered to watch the girls so I could go on a much needed weekend away with some girlfriends. I really didn't think I would be able to go at first (breastfeeding), but I finally decided to just go and pump. I'm so glad I went. It was a little hard being away from my girls at first, but I knew that Matt was taking good care of them.
We rented a huge cabin in Blowing Rock, NC. When we got there it was already snowing! We spent the weekend eating comfort food, shopping the outlets, and just talking. I think this will have to be an annual trip from now on!

Halloween Recap

2010-11-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween with our Princess Cinderella and Baby Bumble Bee! We have the only kids in our cul-de-sac, so our neighbors love to spoil them rotten with tons of candy. We also went to a block party with our friends the Goodyears and the Kilcoins. All of the children won prizes at the block party. Ava won "Prettiest Princess" and Adeline won "Youngest Participant". Little Knox and Asher were both monkeys. They were oh, so cute!
I love making fun memories with our family and friends.

Gymnastics Fun

2010-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Ava LOVES her gymnastics class, and I love to watch how much she's improved the past couple of months. Here are some shots of my girl in action!

A Sad Farewell

2010-10-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

We made the very hard decision to find our dog, Savannah a new home. We haven't been able to give her the attention that she needs and she started acting out a lot.

I'm happy that we found her a home with a great family, but I'm too sad to say much else about it.

Homecoming

2010-10-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

We decided that this would be a good year to take the girls to Liberty's Homecoming. The ride there was uneventful enough and Ava finally got to try out the van's DVD player! We arrived just in time for the Baseball Alumni banquet. It was nice to see some of Matt's old team mates and to hear about the changes to the campus over the past few years.

That night, the girls didn't sleep well because we were in a hotel, so I was preparing myself for a rough day on Saturday. Matt was pitching in the alumni baseball game that morning. After driving around campus while he was warming up, the girls and I went to the game. It was so much fun to watch Matt on his old field. It brought back so many memories of when we first dated.

After the game, everything went down hill fast. Ava was exhausted and melted down over everything. We were at the football game for 5 mins before we decided to just pack up and come home a day early. We drove home that evening and the girls slept almost the entire way.
We were so disppointed, but I guess we should have known that they were too young to really enjoy the weekend.

I didn't get many pictures but, I was able to take a few of Matt's game!

Splish Splash

2010-10-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Bath time at our house is a riot. Ava would dump her entire toy box in the tub if she could get away with it. I'm really not sure how she ended up with her umbrella in the tub tonight. I guess she slipped that one by me. This is what I saw when I went in to check on her.

Adeline Claire- 5 months

2010-10-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Addi girl, you are 5 months old!

You continue to just go with the flow and have become pretty easy going.

Your favorite thing to do it watch your big sister. She dances around and you laugh hysterically at her. We love hearing your laugh.

You want to crawl so badly and you get so frustrated with yourself for not being strong enough yet.

You continue to love your swing, exersaucer, doorway bouncer and playmat.

You still love to cuddle with Mommy whenever possible.

We started giving you baths in the sink and it's so much easier. You love to splash the water and just watch whatever is going on in the kitchen.

You continue to bring so much joy to our lives. We are so thankful for you sweet girl!

Minivan Mama

2010-09-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

After saying for years that I would never be a minivan Mom, guess what? I am one! We bought a Honda Odyssey a couple of weeks ago and I am in L-O-V-E. My favorite feature by far is the sliding doors of course. No more breaking my back trying to lift Adeline's car seat over Ava's car seat when someone parks too close. The remote door openers are great. Ava can now get herself in and out. I also love the Navigation and the DVD player. We haven't let the girls watch a DVD yet b/c we are just going to use that for long trips, but I can't wait to try it out!

You have to watch this video, it's hilarious!

Indoor Picnic

2010-09-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to skip church today and just have a family day. I guess this is just a season of life right now, but it is so hard to get ready for church and out the door on time these days. I usually end up in a bad mood and that's not the way I want to be on the way to church. So, today we just decided to take the day off.

We planned to stop by Dean and Deluca and get sandwiches and root beer and head to the park for a family picnic. Right after we got our food, it started to pour down rain! It hasn't rained in Charlotte for at least a month, so we were glad to see it, but it kind of ruined our picnic plans. We ended up coming back home and having a "picnic" in our living room.

Lexi's Birthday

2010-09-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ava had a royal invitation to a Princess birthday party for her friend Lexi VanHoy. The girls dressed up in beautiful costumes and had a great time. Lexi's MiMi dressed up and had a special music and dance time with the girls.
Thanks for a wonderful time Lexi! Happy Birthday!

Gymnastics

2010-09-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of my Ava girl! Today was the first day of gymnastics and she was so excited. When the class started she got super shy and clingy. I told her that she could sit with me and watch the class until she felt comfortable. To be honest, I didn't think she would participate at all today, but after several minutes of watching what was going on she felt ready. Most of the little girls in her class are either older or they have taken a class before. I was so proud of Ava for trying hard to keep up. The teacher was very serious and gave a lot of instructions. It was kind of funny watching all of these 3 and 4 year old little girls try to follow directions.
Ava was so tired that she fell asleep on the way home!

First Day of Ballet

2010-09-14T05:04:00.000-07:00

My goal this Fall is to keep Ava as busy as possible during the week. She's in preschool 3 mornings a week as well as ballet, gymnastics, and art classes. Today was the first day of ballet, and Ava did great. She went right in the studio with the teacher. Adeline and I watched her class with the other parents on the TV in the lobby area.

Below are some cute pics I took before we left for her class!

First Day of Wee School!

2010-09-08T18:22:00.001-07:00

Today was Ava's first day of Wee School 3! I still can't get over the fact that she's moved upstairs where the "big kid" classes are! Matt and I both took her for her first day and we had to stop to take some pictures on the way. I was a little concerned that she would cling to us and not want to go in, but she gave us both a kiss and walked right into her class. She has two little guy friends in her class from last year. Will Melton and Aaden Rambo will hopefully help make the transition easier. I'm sure she will also make a lot of new friends soon enough!

Adeline Claire- 4 months

2010-09-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Adeline Claire, you are 4 months old!

You are 14.3 pounds and 24 inches tall.

You love to "talk" to us all the time. You especially love to "talk" to your sister. Your Daddy and I try to imagine what must be going through your mind because you always seem so deep in thought.

You are still being breast fed, but I like to pump a couple of bottles a day for you. You have been holding your own bottle for a couple of weeks now!

You rolled over a couple of times already, but I think you did it on accident. You can't seem to figure out how to do it when you want to. You are enjoying Tummy Time a little more than last month, but it's still not a favorite pastime.

We got you an exersaucer, thinking that you would love it. You actually don't like it at all. Sometimes you do okay for a few minutes, but that's about it. You still like your swing and floor mat and the doorway jumper in small doses.

You are still sleeping with Mommy. You usually sleep from 11pm until 4:30 or 5am, but I'm just not ready to put you in your own room yet.

We continue to be blessed by your sweet smile. I hope you know how much you're loved!

Discovery Place

2010-09-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

We met our good friends, the Bouldins for a playdate at Discovery Place today. It's been a while since we have been there, so we thought it would be a fun way to wrap up the summer.

Ava loved the different exhibits and even surprised Mommy by trying a couple of them all by herself! Adeline slept and just hung out with the big girls!

Meet the Teachers

2010-08-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

We had a special visit this morning from Ava's new Wee School teachers! Ms. Kristina and Ms. Chris were making their rounds to meet all of their new students. Adeline cried the entire time they were here and Ava showed off quite a bit. I'm so glad that the teachers make these little visits before school starts. It helps the children make the transition to a new class a lot easier. Only 3 more weeks and we start a new year!

Adeline Claire- 3 months

2010-08-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Adeline, I can not believe that you are already 3 months old! It seems like just yesterday when we brought you home.

You are 13.5 pounds!

You love bath time now. I've figured out that I just have to put you on the floor of my bathtub with about an inch of warm water and you love to splash around and giggle.

You also love your floor mat. You love to reach up and grab the toys and hit them around.

You seems to really enjoy your swing now. You are so strong that you even kicked the tray completely off of your swing!

You have been quite the traveler the past month. We took your first plane ride to Minneapolis for Grandpa John's wedding. We also took you to Virginia to meet Mommy's family and friends. You were a great traveler!

You are now sleeping through the night and we are so thankful. You usually go to bed around 10pm and sleep until 4:30am. After a little snack you usually go back to sleep a little longer.

You are over your colic and we are so thankful that you are feeling better! You have such an infectious smile and laugh! We grow more and more crazy about you every day, sweet girl.

Welcome Baby Phoenix!

2010-07-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome baby Phoenix Yari!

Ava's New Room!

2010-07-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows how to add pictures to my header, please let me know!

Back to the post. Ava's room has been ready for several weeks now, but I'm just getting around to blogging about it! We transformed above the garage into the perfect girly girl room. She loves it and her new "big girl bed". We still keep Adeline in our room, so Ava thinks that she actually has 2 rooms. She still likes to sleep in her crib every now and then just for comfort. We don't want her to think that her little sister is kicking her out of her old room, so we just let her use both rooms for now. We are hoping that soon enough she will realize that her new room is much cooler than her old one.

These are the only pictures that I have of her room. I'll take some more soon and post them.

Nikki Scott's Baby Shower

2010-07-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Adeline and I attended my friend Nikki's baby shower. Nikki and her husband are expecting a little girl next month and I couldn't be happier for them. Nikki is one of the sweetest, most genuine people I've ever met and I'm so thankful for her friendship. Her husband Gari is in every way worthy of her love.
It was also great to catch up with my friends Vanessa and Raechelle while I was there too!

Adeline- 2 Months Old!

2010-07-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Adeline, you are already 2 months old! You are growing so fast and changing right before our eyes. You have had a rough case of colic and we have been so worried about you, but we can tell that you are finally starting to feel a little better.

You are 11 lbs, 4 ozs, and 21 inches tall. You are starting to look a little more like your older sister and I love to put you in the outfits that she used to wear at your age. You still have just a little bit of red hair and your eyes are a beautiful shade of blue.

You are enjoying the swing more, but you still hate the bouncy seat. You get board easily so I recently pulled out the doorway jumper. We have to stuff blankets all around you to hold you up but you seem to enjoy being able to push yourself around a little. Your absolute favorite thing to do is to just cuddle with Mommy or Daddy.

You were so brave when you got your 2 month shots, and that afternoon was the first time that you have ever slept more than 4 hours at a time. You slept for 6 hours in your swing and your little thighs swelled up horribly! I was so worried about you that I ended up calling your doctor. Fortunately, you were fine within a couple of days and back to your normal self.

Mother's Morning Out

2010-07-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

We put Ava in Mother's Morning Out at our church this summer and it's been wonderful. It's a lot like Wee School, but a little more relaxed. They play a lot, do a craft, and hear a Bible story. It's 3 mornings a week, and Ava always greets me with a big smile when I pick her up. It has especially been helpful now that Ava no longer naps.

It also gives me some one-on-one time to spend with another special little girl in my life!

Ballerina Princess Party

2010-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

We invited 5 of Ava's closest girlfriends to her Ballerina Princess party on June 19th. It was held at the Harris YMCA and was basically a private ballet class with Princess Belle making an appearance. All of the little girls were so excited. They even got to choose a costume to dress in for the party! Ava is constantly dressing up and dancing around the house, so I thought this would be the perfect party for her. Long story short, Ava thought her costume was itchy, so she didn't want to wear it. Since she had already had one major melt down earlier that morning, I didn't want to repeat it by forcing her to wear a costume. I told her she could just put her clothes back on and continue the party. So, she got dressed back in her normal clothes and seemed to be enjoying the songs and dances. Belle showed up and she was of course, very excited about that. I casually asked her if she wanted to put her costume on to take a picture with Belle. She decided that she did and finally put it on. Well, that didn't last long. Within a few mins, she took it off and refused to put her clothes back on. Since her Daddy was only boy there , we decided to just let her run around in her panties for the rest of the party. And, that's exactly what she did!
This was such a great party for this age! I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a little princess of their own. It was so easy to just show up and not have to worry about the entertainment or the mess to clean up after!
BTW, our other little angel slept through the entire party!

Pops in the Park

2010-06-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

We met several of our friends at Pops in the Park this evening for Asher Kilcoin and Knox Goodyear's birthdays! I can't believe these sweet boys are already a year old! It seems like just yesterday we were visiting them in the hospital!
It was so nice to get together with so many of our friends at once too. I love that and I love that our kids are all friends and had a great time together as well. I also ran into my old co-worker and friend Vanessa while I was there. It was so good to see her and catch up a bit!

Lunchdate with Grandma Doris

2010-06-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

Ava and I went met my parents and grandmother in Greensboro today. Grandma Doris hadn't met Adeline yet, and my parents were taking Ava back to Virgina with them for a few days to give me some time to bond with our new addition. Four generation pic below!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Ava Girl

2010-06-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today we are celebrating Ava Caroline's third birthday! It seems like just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital. She was a little early, but we were more than ready for her arrival. I think we must have taken about 500 pictures that first week. I couldn't stop staring at her or kissing those sweet cheeks!

Ava, on your third birthday:

- You are 3 feet tall, and 27 pounds. A little petite for your age, but you can hold your own.

- You love Dora and anything "Princess". You especially loves Princess and the Frog, and Tinkerbell. Max and Ruby is your favorite cartoon.

- You can recite all of Psalms 23!

- You are a big help with your baby sister (who you seem to think we named Claire Adeline).

- You love to play outside. You are always begging us to take you to the park.

- Your favorite foods are cheese, pizza, goldfish, ice cream, broccoli, raisins, and graham crackers. You hold a special place in your heart for chocolate milk. :0)

- You are always saying or doing something to make us laugh ("Cokeycoke", "fruitbeer", "Chichipole", " Princess Jazz Man", "Mary had a little man, little man, little man").

- You like things "just so" before you can go to sleep. You have to have a fan on, your favorite blanket, certain stuffed animals and books, your lamp on, a cup of milk, cotton pants, and 2 M&Ms. If any of these things are missing or out of place, you will refuse to sleep.

- You are extra special because having you made us a Mommy and a Daddy. We love you more than life itself and we feel so blessed to be your parents. Don't ever forget that!

Private Setting

2010-06-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

Our house was broken in to a few weeks ago and my computer was stolen among other things. We decided to set my blog to private right after that happened. I didn't have our address or any other personal information other than our names on my blog, but we still felt like this was a necessary precaution to take. I'm just now getting around to "Inviting" people to have access to it.

So In Love With This Girl. . . .

2010-06-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Adeline

2010-06-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Adeline has survived her first month with our crazy family! She really is a sweet baby, but adjusting to a family of 4 has been a much greater challenge than I anticipated. The first 2 weeks were okay. She slept a lot and was generally happy when she was awake. About 2 weeks ago she started having a lot of tummy problems and seemed to cry ALL THE TIME. Matt and I seriously thought we were going to go nuts. We tried a lot of different natural remedies as well as a couple of prescriptions and I changed my diet. I'm so thankful that she's doing a lot better and praying that she will continue to improve.

Adeline is a lot more alert than Ava was at this age. She has great head control and she can follow us with her eyes and sometimes head. She LOVES to be held and pretty much demands it whenever she's awake. She's not too impressed with the baby swing or bouncer, but she's warming up to them. She hates her car seat but loves to go for car rides. She usually only wakes up 3 times a night in less her tummy hurts. She's already 10 pounds and 21 inches tall!

We feel so blessed to have this sweet girl in our lives and are looking forward to watching her grow!

Pool Day!

2010-06-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Matt is in Boston for a few days so the girls and I are on our own. Today, I decided that it was clear enough to hit the pool. This was our first trip to the pool this summer, so I was a little nervous about how Ava would do. Last summer, she was VERY slow to warm up to the water. I had to stay right by her side at all times. I was also worried about how Adeline would do. She's been extremely fussy for the past couple of weeks and I wasn't quite sure how she would handle a trip the the pool. Fortunately, she sound of the rushing water put her right to sleep. :0)

Ava got in the water after only about 20 mins. We sat on the side of the pool with our feet in for a while until she was comfortable. She didn't want to play by on any of the slides or water equipment, but she enjoyed dipping in up to her shoulders and walking around.

I think the pool is going to make this summer a lot more bearable. I'm hoping that Ava will enjoy the pool even more once she makes some friends there.

Last Day of School

2010-05-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is Ava's last week of Wee School until the Fall. It has been such a wonderful year and she's been blessed with amazing teachers and friends. It makes me sad to think that she will no longer be in the "Downtown" preschool area. She will be moving "Uptown" with the 3 year olds and older.

Here are some pictures of my "Big Girl" her last week of school. Her class had a birthday party for the children who have birthdays during the summer and Ava was one of them! She got a purple balloon with butterflies that she loves and carries around everywhere. She also got a My Little Pony horse that she's fondly renamed "Ponytail".

After much thought, we decided to put Ava in Mother's Morning Out this summer. It's 3 mornings a week for 5 weeks starting the end of June. I figured that for her sanity and mine, she needed to be challenged and entertained by someone other than just Mommy this summer. Until then, we are just going to enjoy the pool and fun times with friends!

Adeline's Birthday

2010-05-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I've been off the radar for the past couple of weeks, but I have a great excuse. I've been taking care of the newest addition to our family, Adeline Claire!

I want to remember the details of her birth and I know some of you have been waiting to hear about it so, here it goes! I have to warn you, this is a LONG post about childbirth so I'm really not offended if I don't get many readers.

I was 1 week overdue and I went into my Dr's office for a stress test for the baby. I had been getting a lot of pressure from one doctor to just go ahead and schedule a c-section for Thursday. I really wanted to try to have her naturally, so I was praying that I would go into labor on my own before then. While in my doctor's office, my water broke on it's own.

I went home and called my Mom to come watch Ava for us. Matt came home and picked Ava up on the way. She was at a friend's house while I was at my appt. Since I wasn't having regular contractions yet, I didn't want to head to the hospital. We waited at home until my Mom got there and then made our way to the hospital. On the way there my contractions were about 3 minutes apart.

When we arrived, I got settled in and then Matt and I went for a walk around the 8th floor to try to move things along. To make a long story a little shorter, I developed a fever of 103 and Adeline's heart rate started jumping all over the place within a couple of hours. I thought for sure that the on call Dr. would tell me that I needed a c-section at that point, but he said that I just needed antibiotics and we had to monitor the baby closer. So, that meant no more walking the halls. I was stuck in a bed and hooked up to several monitors and given oxygen. Within a matter of minutes, my contractions became almost unbearable and my pelvis dislocated. YES, I SAID DISLOCATED. It wasn't as bad as you would think. The worst part was the loud popping noise. I guess it actually happens pretty often in labor. Anyway, the pain from the contractions was horrible. I thought it would be easier since I went into labor naturally, but it was actually way worse than when I was induced with Ava. I found out later that the pain was actually from my c-section scar stretching. Lovely.

Finally, I caved and ordered an epidural for fear that I would actually pass out from the pain. When I got the epidural I quickly realized that it didn't work on one side! I had heard horror stories about this happening, but I could not believe it! At least with the epidural working on one side, the pain was a lot more manageable.

So, at this point, we were dealing with a high fever, baby's heart rate jumping, a dislocated pelvis, and an epidural that didn't work. Oh, and since Adeline was a week late, she had pooped in uterine as well. FUN, FUN. Finally, her heart rate dropped dangerously low so Dr. Pixley came in and said we needed to get her out soon. I was only dilated to 5cm, and we couldn't wait around any longer for her to come out on her own. It was 11:30pm when we decided to have the c-section and she was born at 11:43pm. She was 8 lbs, 8 ounces and 20 1/4 inches tall. I know I'm biased but she was one of the 2 most beautiful babies I had ever seen.

Adeline was having a really difficult time breathing at first so she was taken to the NICU for a little while. I was worried, of course, but the doctors had told us that it was more of a precaution and that she would be fine. While we were waiting for her to be checked out Matt and I were trying to get in touch with friends and family but our cell phones had no reception! I was so upset that I couldn't hold her or even tell anyone that she had been born.

We quickly agreed on the name Adeline Claire. I had given Matt a list of names that I liked a few weeks earlier and told him to pick one. He liked Adeline Claire the best so that was it! I had originally thought that we would call her "Addi" for short, but now that we've had some time to get to know her a little better, I think we will stick with Adeline. Ava actually calls her "Claire Adeline". We'll have to work on that with her!

The hospital stay was a lot more relaxing this time around. I was out of bed, walking around, and taking a shower only 12 hours after surgery. When I had Ava, I was stuck in bed with a catheter for 36 hours. The nurses and hospital staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. Ava came to visit each day. She was so sweet to her little sister. She and my Mom had brought a birthday cake for Adeline on their first visit and Ava sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

I had Adeline on Wednesday and came home from the hospital on Sunday. I was so ready to get home, but a little nervous about trying to keep up with the needs of my 2 baby girls. Matt wasn't able to take his paternity leave until 2 weeks later due to a huge deal that he was working on. My Mom stuck around for another couple of days to help out with Ava, but after that, we were on our own!

Life with a newborn and an almost 3-year-old is busy and hectic. Our days are filled with lots of laughs, tears, temper tantrums, time-outs, hugs, and kisses. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

She's Here!

2010-05-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

Adeline Claire Stewart

DOB: 5/5/10

Time: 11:43pm

Height: 20 1/4 "

Weight: 8lbs, 8ozs

Overdue: Day 4

2010-05-03T10:29:00.001-07:00

I had an appointment with my OB uptown this morning. After a couple of hours of tests, an exam, and an ultrasound, here's the latest info.

1. I haven't progressed anymore at all. In fact, this doctor said that I'm actually only 2cm, 50% effaced and not 3cm, 75% effaced. I'm doubting that I regressed. It's more likely that some one's estimation isn't accurate.

2. Baby is doing great and is BIG (9.3 lbs). This is the same baby that was thought to be unusually small for months.

3. My doctor is afraid to let me go more than a week past my due date and has scheduled a C-section at 1pm on Thursday if I haven't already gone into labor.

Please pray that our sweet baby girl comes out on her own! I really do not want to have another C-section.

Still Waiting. . . .

2010-05-02T04:37:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning and still no action. If anything, the contractions have slowed quite a bit. I have a Dr's appt tomorrow morning and I guess we will decide then how much longer we should wait around for her to come naturally.

My Mom arrived Friday afternoon and has been a big help. Ava seems to be feeling a little better, but she has passed along her cold to me. Matt has been working from home for the most part, but we did get to have a date night on Friday! He's been so stressed out with work, and not knowing when I will go into labor only adds to that stress. His boss told him that I should wait until the Fall to have the baby because they won't be quite as busy then. I'm not sure whether to laugh at that comment or be offended.

We are looking forward to going to church this morning and hearing one of our good friends give his testimony. Sitting upright for prolonged periods of time is really difficult right now, so I'm hoping I will be able to make it through the service.

That's about all the news I have right now! I've been trying a number of old wives tales and nothing seems to be working for more than an hour. I guess she's just not ready to come out yet!

OVERDUE

2010-04-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

and NOT happy about it. It looks like our sweet girl has decided that she doesn't want to be born in April after all!

Matt is getting slammed at work and will have to work long hours all weekend if I don't go into labor. Ava is sick with a cold and looks pitiful. I've been having painful contractions averaging anywhere from every 3 mins to every 25 mins. Thankfully, my Mom is going to come this afternoon to help us out for a few days.

Build A Bear Outing

2010-04-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

A while back I bought a heartbeat recorder from Build A Bear in the hopes of recording our baby's heartbeat and putting it in a stuffed bear for Ava to give to her little sister. I did record the baby's heartbeat, but the Build A Bear outing kind of got pushed to the end of the list of things to do until today. We decided to skip church since last week was really uncomfortable for me to sit through Sunday School and the worship service. We also figured that this would be our last weekend as a family of 3 and we wanted to do something special with Ava.

Ava enjoyed picking out a monkey to stuff for her baby sister. She helped stuff it, and put the heartbeat recorder in it's hand. With a little help from Daddy, she gave the monkey a bath. We also received a birth certificate for the monkey before we left. We then went out to lunch and let Ava have chocolate milk (a rare treat).

This was such a fun outing and I highly recommend it for older siblings. Ava is so excited about having a special gift to give her baby sister when she arrives!

A Lazy 5 Birthday Party

2010-04-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today was packed with lots of fun with friends! We ventured to Mooresville, NC to the Lazy 5 Ranch for Bayden's 3rd birthday. Since Matt wasn't going and it was about an hour drive, Ava and I rode with our friends Britney and Bailey in their minivan. I didn't realize it, but I don't think that Ava has ever taken a trip in a minivan! She definitely has never been in a car with a DVD player and she was SO excited at the thought of watching a movie while riding down the road! I've sworn never to get a minivan before I turn 40, but I was really surprised at how much easier it was to get everyone and everything in and out. Have I been missing out?

When we got to the Ranch, the girls both had to go potty and we were running late as it was. We had to RUN from the bathrooms all the way to the wagon stable to catch our wagon! The ride was really bumpy too so I was sure that I would start having more contractions than usual. Nope, Nada, Nothing. I guess that's a good thing, because I certainly did not want to go into labor in the middle of a petting zoo, surrounded by imported wildlife!

I think everyone had a great time! The weather report was calling for rain, but it ended up being a beautiful day. Thanks for inviting us to your party Bayden! We had so much fun!

Bring It On.

2010-04-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I'm finally at that point where going into labor will be a relief. No, everything on my To-Do list is not done, but that can wait. My house isn't as clean as I would like for it to be, but I'm pretty sure that if I scrubbed every square inch with a toothbrush, it still wouldn't be clean enough to make me happy right now. Ava's new furniture is not ready, so we have no where to unpack the baby's clothes. Above the garage is still full of stuff which DRIVES ME CRAZY, but I've decided to just shut that door and not go in there anymore. Matt will have 3 weeks of paternity leave so that can be his project while he's off.

I've pulled out enough newborn stuff to get us through the first couple of weeks. My bags are packed (for the most part), the infant car seat is ready, the cradle is out of storage and cleaned, Pampers are plentiful, and I have a pile of newborn clothes that are washed and ready to wear. We are also FINALLY close to deciding on a name! So, bring on the labor so we can meet our little miracle baby!

Moving Along. . . .

2010-04-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to be moving along! I dropped Ava off at school and went to my chiropractor's office for an adjustment and some acupuncture. I can't say enough about how much these appts have helped me. I can actually sleep comfortably now (except for the hourly trips to the bathroom). I'm so glad I decided to give it a try.

I left that appt and went uptown to my OB. I wasn't expecting them to tell me much has happened, but I was excited to learn that I'm 2.5cm dilated and 75% effaced! YAY! I know I can stay that way for a long time, but it's encouraging to know that the contractions that I've been having are actually doing something now!

I have to say, waiting around to go into labor is a different experience for us. With Ava, it was decided that I would be induced early on b/c of my high blood pressure. I ended up needing a C-section due to some complications. Fortunately this time, my BP has been perfect, so my doctor has given me the OK to try to have a VBAC if all continues to go well. So, we are just waiting around for nature to take it's course. Not that I'm in any rush. There is still so much left to do!

Update

2010-04-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged much lately, but I've just been feeling overwhelmed and super busy. Baby Stewart is due in less than 2 weeks and I can't help but feel like there is still so much to do! The "nesting" has continued and I think I'm about to drive us all crazy with my never ending "To-Do" list. No matter how much we get done, it keeps growing! I have to give Matt props for taking it all in stride. I know I've been acting super hormonal and OCD lately, but he's been really sweet and understanding for the most part.

Some exciting news . . . . . I went to the Dr. yesterday and I've dilated 1cm! I know I can stay that way for weeks but at least it's progress from last week! I've also been seeing a chiropractor for my back pain and it seems to help a lot. He specializes in acupuncture too so he's done a little of that on me as well.

Baby Stewart's kicks and punches are so wild right now. It's funny to just watch my stomach sometimes. Her movements are so much stronger than Ava's were. I can sometimes even grab her foot while she's kicking hard and feel the complete outline of it!

We still have not decided on a name. Matt is good at vetoing names, but not suggesting new ones. He finally told me to just give him a list of my top names, and he would choose one. I'm hoping that once we see her sweet little face, we will both know what her name should be.

Ava Caroline is staying as busy as ever. I think she really understands that her little sister will be here very soon. Last week, I pulled out all of her newborn clothes and I was in tears just thinking about how fast she is growing up. Ava picked up one of her old dresses and said "Oh Mama, baby sister will look so cute in my baby dress. I think I will let her borrow it". She seems okay about sharing, as long as everyone knows that these items are actually hers.

Monkey Joe Fun

2010-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ava has been out of preschool all week for Spring Break, so I've been trying to schedule something fun and active on the mornings that she normally has school. This morning, we met my friend Britney and her girls Bailey and Brooklyn at Monkey Joes. The girls had a blast! They were so much fun to watch. Ava had never been to this particular Monkey Joes, so she was a little nervous about some of the play centers. Britney was sweet enough to go with her on several of the slides so that I wouldn't have to (not that my enormously pregnant body would have even been capable of climbing an inflatable staircase at this point). Ava eventually felt comfortable enough to go alone or with Bailey leading the way. Monkey Joe also made an appearance and Ava ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. You have no idea how unusual that is for her. She is usually extremely shy and quiet in new environments. Finally, we played some video games, ate lunch, and then it was time to head home!

3 Years of Bunny Shots

2010-04-06T05:18:00.000-07:00

Since Easter is the only holiday that we faithfully get Ava's pictures taken, I thought I would include some of her bunny shots from the past 3 Easters. I'm sorry if some of these are blurry, but I had to take pictures of the pictures for the first 2 years.

First Easter 2008- 9 months

Second Easter 2009- 21 months

Third Easter 2010- 33 months

Easter 2010

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

Happy Easter! We had a quiet day today. Ava was up early and excited to see what was in her Easter basket. The weather was perfect and so warm today. It was really nice not to have to bundle up for once. Ava didn't even have to wear a sweater with her Easter dress!

We rarely take family pictures so I was really hoping to get a couple of decent ones before church this morning. You can see below that I was able to get a couple of shots of Ava, but we were running too late to get one of the three of us. And my attempt to get a family shot after church ended with Ava kicking off her shoes, rolling around on the pollen covered deck, ruining her Easter dress by rubbing up against the grill, and Matt and I arguing. So, I gave up. Maybe next year. . . . . .

This afternoon, Matt took Ava to the park while I made a traditional Easter dinner of ham, sweet potato casserole, beans, and asparagus. I felt really bad that Ava didn't get to participate in any Easter egg hunts this year so we planned to have a small one for her in our yard after dinner. It was a little sad that there weren't any other kids there for her to hunt with, but she didn't seem to mind. Next year, hopefully her little sister will be active enough to hunt for eggs with her!

First Mani/Pedi

2010-04-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is a little of what Ava Caroline has been up to while visiting her MiMi and PaPa in Virginia for a few days. You can tell, she's being treated just terribly and is absolutely hating every second of it. LOL

Thanks Mom and Amy for indulging her. I'm sure this will do wonders to help rid her of her "Princess" complex. After all, she did have to wait until she was two and a half before getting her first real mani/pedi. How absurd!

Baby Stewart Update

2010-03-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby girl is coming in less than a month! That's so hard for me to believe. I had an ultrasound yesterday and her weight is estimated to be 5 pounds, 13 ounces! My doctor thinks she will be a solid 7 lbs or more if she goes to full term, like we expect. I can't believe that they were ever worried that she would be too small!

I had to include a pic of my other baby girl as well! She is now spending a few days with her MiMi and PaPa in Virginia while I do some major nesting around our house. I was trying to change Ava's room into a "Big Girl" room this week, but I'm having a really hard time finding furniture that I like, that isn't too expensive, and that will fit in her tiny room. Maybe we will end up keeping her in her crib until we are ready to move the baby out of our room (3-4 months). It would be really nice to have everything done in the next month though.

Peter Cottontail

2010-03-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Ava Caroline for her bunny photo shoot. We started this tradition when Ava was just 9 months old, and we've continued it the past 2 years. We have been reading Peter Cottontail a lot lately, so when I told Ava that we were going to see the bunnies, she asked if we were going to Mr. McGregor's Garden. HA!

I'm constantly amazed at how fast my baby is growing up. The first thing she said when she saw the bunnies was, "Oh Mama, look at how cute they are. Awww, how sweet!" The funny thing was, she had on a sassy little jean skirt, some green jelly sandals, and her hand on her hip when she said it. I had a small glimpse of my little girl as a 10 year old. Sniff, sniff.

Needless to say, Ava had a great time. She danced and jumped up and down with excitement for the photographer. She cuddled and loved on the adorable bunny for as long as they would let her. What a fun morning!

Easter Party

2010-03-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

I helped out with Ava's Class Easter Party yesterday. I read a sweet little Easter story and helped with their craft.

Plans

2010-03-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as it turns out, we probably won't be putting our house on the market right now. We made an offer on a house a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't get it. It's under contract and listed as "conditional" so there is still a small possibility that it will fall through, but I'm not holding my breath for that. After a minor panic attack yesterday, we decided that it really doesn't make sense to sell right now. I'm so disappointed, relieved, and irritated by this decision. I've had the mind set for the past several weeks that we were going to move and we've spent a lot of time fixing up/cleaning/decluttering our house to prepare to sell, and now we probably aren't for a while. Mix that with the pregnancy hormones and the fact that I can't sleep and I'm kind of an emotional mess. At least when we do decide to sell, a lot of the work will already be done!

My parents are going to take Ava for a few days next week so I'm going to use that time to have Matt pull all of Ava's newborn clothes/equipment out from under the house and try to get everything ready for Baby Stewart's arrival! I can't believe that she's due in less than 5 weeks! Crazy! We are also probably going to get Ava a "big girl" bed and surprised her when she returns. If anyone has any tips on transitioning from a crib to a bed, I'm all ears. It's going to be so strange not putting her to bed in a crib anymore!

Lots of Savings and a Sip and See

2010-03-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, this weekend has flown by!

I agreed to work a huge consignment sale in Matthews on Saturday in order to shop early on Friday. My main goal was getting Ava and Baby Stewart's Summer wardrobes. I was a little disappointed in the selection for Ava's size. I found a few dresses that will be cute to add a monogram to, and a few play clothes, but I didn't find any of the adorable smocked outfits that I can usually find at this sale. I hit the jackpot in the newborn- 6 month section though! I got so many sweet layette items and smocked dresses and bubbles. I LOVE the boutique brand KissyKissy for babies, but I can never justify paying full price for it. Would you believe that I found SEVERAL items in that brand that all looked brand new? I don't think I paid more than $6 for anything.

This weekend was also the Gap Give and Get 30% off everything sale. I got several outfits for both girls and even got a couple of matching "sister" outfits. I also got Ava a couple of swimsuits for really cheap. Can I just mention one more time how excited I am that we are having another girl??? I know we would love a boy just as much but I'm really looking forward to my two sweet girls!

Anyway, I have to talk a little about my experience working the consignment sale. I arrived at 7:30am on Saturday and there was already a LONG line wrapping around the building, and the NEWS Crew was already there. They had me working SECURITY, which I thought was hilarious, but the thinking was that I could sit down for the majority of the 4 hour shift if necessary. I had a chair right by the bathrooms and I just had to make sure that no one was taking any merchandise into the bathrooms with them. Seemed easy enough. I didn't really need to sit very much so I kind of walked around my little area and kept an eye on things. You would not believe some of the ways that I saw people stealing! Unbelievable.

After working the sale, I went to a Sip and See Shower for my friend Nikki and her baby girl Campbell. A Sip and See is a shower after the baby is born. Baby Campbell was born right before Christmas. Her big sister Bayden is in Ava's preschool class so we get to see them a lot. My friends Betsy and Britney hosted the shower and did a great job!

Crowded Crib

2010-03-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

I just had to show you Ava's crib. There are so many stuffed animals, toys, and books in there that I have no idea how she sleeps comfortably, but she loves it!

Shower

2010-03-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

My sweet friends Heather and Laura threw me a floating baby shower this afternoon. I have to say, it's a nice luxury to have a shower for the second baby, especially since I'm having another girl. I totally did not expect it, but I'm thankful to everyone who came out to help celebrate our sweet little blessing!

We received a lot of cute girly clothes, a special quilt and diaper bag made by my Mom, and several necessity items that were greatly appreciated. I never thought I would get excited about a pack of diapers or wipes, but oh how times change!

My parents came down for the weekend to stay with Ava and me while Matt is out of town. I'm glad they were able to come spend a little time with us before Baby Stewart arrives! Ava loved all of the attention that she got from her Mimi and PaPa this weekend and I got a nice break. :0)

Blog Funk

2010-03-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

I seem to be in a Blog funk. I really don't have anything blog worthy to share. We've been busy doing little things around the house in hopes of putting it on the market in the next week. We still aren't sure if that's a good idea or not since we have a new baby coming next month, but it will be easier to show now than with a newborn. This weekend Matt spent painting and doing yard work while I organized closets and did the usual chores.
The nice thing about showing the house is that we hired our cleaning lady to come weekly until it sells. I'm LOVING that. She's wonderful and does such a great job. I can't tell you how nice it is not to have to worry about cleaning when you're enormously pregnant.

We did spend Friday evening with our friends the Kilcoins and the Goodyears. It's always great to spend time with them and to love on their sweet little boys. Ava was quite the entertainer and enjoyed showing off for everyone. She is really starting to come out of her shell and while it usually manifests itself in silliness, I love that she's comfortable enough around our friends to be herself. :0)

On The Wings of Love. . . .

2010-03-01T23:46:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping up with The Bachelor this season and I'm so upset that I've wasted so much time on this stupid show. Once I got sucked in, I had to keep watching to see how it ended. I knew that Jake would pick Vienna, but it was just painful to watch sweet Tenley get dumped.

Is anyone else wondering what kind of job Jake has that allows him to just take off and participate in not one, but two reality shows in a row? And someone should break it to Jake and Tenley that being "great friends" is a bad idea. Really BAD IDEA. Just wish each other well and go your separate ways. Please.

I hope they all find happiness and love. . . . . somewhere.

Some other note worthy news for the evening is that Kate Gosselin and Bachelor Jake are going to be on DWTS! I guess I'm going to be sucked into another season of that as well because there is NO WAY that I'm going to miss Kate try to shake it on the dance floor. HA! Now, I'm going to take some TUMS and go to bed before I lose my dinner while Jake and Vienna slow dance to On The Wings of Love.

First Princess Movie

2010-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Meet Tinkerbell (aka Ava Caroline).
Ava really seems to be into the "princess" stage that I'm pretty sure all girly girls go through around her age. Matt and I thought it was so funny because she had never even seen a Disney Princess movie before but she knew all of the different princesses and can spot anything princess related from a mile away.

We decided to have a family movie night Saturday evening and rent Cinderella. I was honestly shocked at how many princess movies are out. There were about 4 different versions of Cinderella, as well as Cinderella 11, 111, and even Cinderella with a Twist. HUH? All we wanted was the ORIGINAL Disney Cinderella movie, which of course, they didn't have. I ended up bringing home the original Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Ava chose Sleeping Beauty and she loved every second of it (except for the scary dragon part that we fast forwarded through when she wasn't looking).

Bailey's Birthday Fun

2010-02-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a birthday party for Ava Caroline's sweet friend, Bailey Bouldin. She actually turned 3 last month but they had to reschedule the party because of a snow storm. Ava has been looking forward to this party for a long time and I'm so glad that it was a nice day to celebrate.

The party was held at The International Sports Center in Charlotte. The children played on the gymnastics equipment and had pizza, cake, and ice cream. Ava was a little cautious of some of the equipment, but she really enjoyed jumping on the different trampolines and just playing with her friends.

Happy Birthday Bailey! We had a wonderful time at your party!

Baby Stewart Update

2010-02-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

I have been having ultrasounds every 2 weeks for the past couple of months to keep a close eye on Baby Stewart's growth. She has been measuring really small for her age but otherwise is perfectly healthy. A little over a month ago, my doctors decided to take me off of my thyroid medication. This was a huge relief because this medication has been linked to birth defects. Apparently, these meds have had something to do with baby Stewart's growth because she is now growing like a weed! She was off the charts tiny and she's now in the 50th percentile! YAY! Nice growing little one!

This is a picture from today of her face. The 2D pictures of the face look really freaky so don't be alarmed.

Beautiful Weekend!

2010-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was absolutely gorgeous. We spent a lot of time outside and took a couple of nice long naps. It was so relaxing. Ava was a character, as usual. Yesterday, church was evacuated because of a fire in the kitchen. Matt, Ava, and I were all in different places. Matt was in the worship service, Ava was in her classroom, and I was in my classroom (young toddlers). Fortunately, everyone got out and we all found each other! We decided to go home, change clothes, and enjoy the day. We went to a restaurant near uptown for brunch and sat out on the patio to soak up the sun. This restaurant didn't have a kid's menu (not cool) and Ava really wanted pancakes so we ended up ordering her an adult size pancake plate. Matt and I were laughing so hard at her trying to eat all of those pancakes!
Below are some pics from the park.

Princess Cut

2010-02-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

We have been wanting to give Ava Caroline a short cut for a while now but I've been putting it off because I was scared that my baby wouldn't look like a baby anymore with short hair. She always puts up a huge fight every time we have to wash or brush her hair so yesterday I had had enough. I took her to Doolittles, the children's salon that I took her to for her first haircut over a year ago. It's such a fun place and each station has a different kind of car/animal for the kids to sit on as well as a TV to play their favorite cartoon.

Ava did great! I thought she would wiggle around decide that she didn't want her hair cut half way through but she was very excited and called it her "princess hair cut". She did everything that the stylist told her to do. She does look a little older, but I think it's really cute! Here are some pics of my sweet girl getting her "princess cut".

Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

Just a few shots from Valentine's Day! We all went out to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Matt also gave me and Ava flowers, candy, and cards. It was nice to just spend the day together counting our blessings!

Bang Up Valentine

2010-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Matt and I have never, in the nearly 10 years that we've known each other, had a good Valentine's Day. For one reason or another, something ALWAYS goes wrong. A few years ago, we decided to just stop trying. We usually go out to dinner sometime near Valentine's Day and Matt always sends me flowers and candy, but we stopped putting so much pressure on having "the perfect evening" on Valentine's Day.

That said, Saturday night we ended up getting a babysitter and going out because it had been forever since we had a "date night". We forgot that it was Valentine's Day on Sunday and I guess a lot of people were celebrating Saturday night. Every restaurant we went to had at least a 2 hour wait! Matt ended up suggesting a cute place near uptown that he didn't think would have a long wait. As we were walking from the car to the restaurant, I tripped over a step and went flying forward. I immediately felt pain in my hands and left knee but I was confused and wasn't sure if I had landed on my stomach. I was bawling like a baby and couldn't catch my breath. Matt and several employees were hovered over me and I was incredibly embarrassed. I was so afraid that someone was going to call 911 when they realized that I was pregnant, so I was trying my best to get it together as quickly as possible once I realized that I hadn't fallen on my stomach at all. The restaurant employees brought me out a chair, a blanket, and a bag of ice. HA! Turns out, there was a 2 hour wait there as well, but they pushed us up to the top of the list so we got right in! I guess a sobbing, bruised, pregnant woman laying on the ice outside your restaurant makes the manager a little nervous. Especially when her husband happens to be an attorney. HA! Whatever, at least we didn't have to wait 2 hours for dinner!

Valentine's Day Party

2010-02-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

Today was Ava's Valentine's Day Party at school. We worked on her "Princess" Valentines the past couple of days and she was so excited to give them out to her friends. I was assigned to "Story time" at the party today and I read a sweet little story about love to the kids.
Ava is always so excited to see me every time I come to her school and she was so proud that it was her Mommy reading to the class. Too funny. I know in a few years she will probably be ducking down behind a table in embarrassment when I come to her school so I'm treasuring these moments while they lasts.
Here are some cute pics of my girl.

Fun Savings!

2010-02-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

Want to know what you can get for $25 at Target this week?

ALL THIS.
I'm going to have to organize all of this before Matt sees it and accuses me of being a hoarder. HA! Seriously though, how can anyone turn down savings like these? I think I calculated a savings of over $160! The Gillette Fusion razors are normally $9.99 each. I paid $.49 each and I got all of the body washes for free! You can find out details here and here. You have to have stocked up on the coupons in the Sunday paper to be able to take full advantage of these deals. I normally only get 2 papers each Sunday, but when I saw the great coupons in last week's paper, I went back and got 4 more.

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say that we partied it up with friends and enjoyed lots of yummy game food but honestly, we weren't really feeling that social yesterday so we stayed home and had a family fun evening. We went to church in the morning and I dropped Ava off at the nursery and she cried and cried. Poor kid. I felt so bad leaving her when she was upset. She usually has the same teachers in her nursery class and generally the same group of children but sometimes I think she feels a little overwhelmed by Sunday School.

We got through church and went out to lunch. My brother Sam and his wife Amy, and their girls stopped by on their way back from vacationing in GA. It was good to catch up with them for a little while. Amy hit the outlets while in GA and bought a bunch of clothes for Ava and baby Stewart for the Summer. Seeing all of those sweet onesies and newborn outfits made me more excited about meeting our baby girl! I'm not sure if I've mentioned on here, but Sam and Amy were finally able to legally adopt the girls last month. Tonya and Amber are Amy biological nieces. Sam and Amy have had custody since right after they were married (5 years), and those sweet girls have melted all of our hearts. The girls are 8 and 10 now and we are all thrilled that it's finally official.

Homemade Playdough

2010-02-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Ava's teacher sent home a recipe for homemade playdough so we thought we would give it a try!

HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

1 cup of flour
2 Tbsp of cream of tarter
1/2 cup of salt
1 Tbsp of cooking oil
1 cup of water

Mix flour, cream of tarter, and salt in a pan. Mix desired coloring with water and oil. Add to dry mix. Cook over medium heat until thick (about 3 mins). Knead on wax paper until smooth.

Ava enjoyed it so much that we made 4 batches! We mixed some of the colors and also made purple and orange. I'm not sure why we've never tried this before but it was a lot of fun and super easy!

My week so far. . . .

2010-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

has included the following. . . . .

1. One OB appointment

2. One endocrinologist appointment

3. One neurologist referral

4. One ultrasound appointment

5. One pediatrician appointment for Ava

6. One MRI referral

7. One Blood Glucose Test

8. Two orders of extensive lab work

9. One shot in my butt

10. Registering for Preschool for the Fall

11. One trip to the library for books/videos for my sick daughter

12. One afternoon of holding Ava in my arms while she cried for 4 hours straight.

13. One desperate call to Matt at work to beg him to come home early and save me from losing my mind.

And it's only Wednesday.

Snow Day!

2010-01-30T10:47:00.001-08:00

Everyone in Charlotte has been going nuts the past couple of days preparing for this big snowstorm. It started snowing last night and when I looked out the window this morning, we barely had an inch. Not even enough to cover our grass!

We did have a very excited little girl who couldn't wait to go outside and run around in the snow. Thankfully, Matt didn't mind taking her out to play and I was happy and content to watched from the window and sip my hot tea. They even went on a stroller ride down Rea Road just to see the other yards.

This evening we all had cabin fever so we braved the weather and went out to eat. I was surprised at how bad the roads really were. Even main roads were really icy. Be careful if you head out!

Up to Something

2010-01-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

I can always tell when Ava Caroline has been alone in a room. Something is always amiss. This is what I found when I went in our half bathroom this afternoon. That's a roll of toilet paper, completely unrolled, in a pile by the sink. I wish I could say that this has never happened before but this is about the 3rd roll that I've found like this!

Just Because . . . . .

2010-01-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I had a special delivery of flowers from my sweet husband. Matt is really good about making me feel special on random days "just because he loves me". This week, he was put on another big project so he's been working nonstop. He has taken a break for about an hour in the evenings to spend time with Ava and help put her to bed, and then works from home until after midnight. I know he's been stressed and feels stretched too thin, but he still takes time to make sure his girls feel special.
Thank you Matt. I'm so blessed to be your life partner and I love you with all my heart!

Pajama Day, Take 2

2010-01-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Today was Pajama Day in Ava's class at school. I bought these "Princess Pajamas" at a Carter's Sample Sale a while back and have been saving them for today. The cute little tutu came with the pajamas and Ava couldn't have been more excited. She thought she was a REAL princess and kept spinning around and dancing. We need to get this girl in some dance classes soon!

Wonderful Wednesday

2010-01-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been AMAZING all week! I can't believe how warm it's been! This afternoon it hit 70 and I was actually sweating!

This morning Ava and I went to the gym, the park, and we met our friends Jackie and Carter for lunch at the mall. I also took Ava to BuildABear to get a heartbeat recorder to record her baby sister's heartbeat at our next appt. We are going to take Ava to BuildABear when it's a little closer to my due date and let her pick out a bear to make for her little sister. We will put the little recorder in the bear so that we'll always have the recording of baby Stewart's heartbeat!

Fascinating, I Know. . . .

2010-01-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

This is probably going to bore you all to death, but the ordeal we have had the past week with our hot water heater has made me want to beat my head against a wall.

Long story short is that our hot water heater started to leak in the garage a week ago. After an entire week of ridiculous incompetence from one plumbing business, we hired a sweet little old man to come out and finally get the job done . Seven hours, a gas leak, and a lot of money later, we have a new heater installed. Sorry for even posting this but I wanted to remember what a pain this project was. Below are the before and after pics. Please ignore the water damage in both pics. We still have to clean that up.

BEFORE

AFTER

Again? Really?

2010-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

I can not believe it but it looks like I'm sick AGAIN! What is going on? This is the third time in the past 2 months! UGH. Enough already! This morning we all went to Sunday School and I started feeling bad during the lesson. Matt's stomach was hurting too so we decided just to skip church and come home. Matt ended up having to work some from home this afternoon so Ava and I both took a long nap. I'm trying to drink a lot of water and flush this out before it gets too bad. YUCK.

Other than not feeling well today, we've had a nice weekend. Friday we had a family fun night and went out to dinner and came home and played with Ava's toys. Saturday evening Matt had his firms suite tickets to the Bobcat's game so he invited some guys to go to that while I stayed home with Ava. Our friends Heather and Laura came over for a while with their little guys but all in all, it was an early evening.

New Design and Healthy Baby

2010-01-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

Notice anything different? I am trying to give my blog a little face lift, but I'm really not happy with the way it has turned out. I'm probably going to play around with it a little more when I have time, but for now this is it!

We've had a really busy week and I'm just now feeling like I'm on top of things. The good news is that we had our high risk ultrasound this morning and all is well with our sweet baby girl. I wasn't too worried because I figured that if there was something seriously wrong, it would have shown up in the other ultrasounds that I've had. My OB referred me to The Woman's Institute because they apparently do a more detailed ultrasound. The scan took about an hour and they measured everything and looked closely at all of her organs. The technician said that everything looked great except her size was "dangerously small". Thankfully, when I talked to the Dr. after the scan, she didn't seem worried about her size and did another scan to look closer herself. I guess the scan can be 10-15% off and she's not so small that she's off the charts. She's 1.7 lbs and looks perfect! Thank God. I'll go back every month to have her measured but as long as she's growing, everything should be fine. Here are some pics of our little Sweetie!

Design Change

2010-01-14T04:52:00.001-08:00

working on changing my blog design! Should be able to finish it today at some point. :0)

Fun Weekend with Friends

2010-01-10T23:02:00.000-08:00

We got a sitter Friday and Saturday night and hung out with friends. Friday, we went to a post Holiday party with some of Matt's co-workers. There was a lot of good food and I'm afraid I didn't practice very good self control. It was really nice to catch up with everyone and I laughed and laughed at some of their bizarre work experiences.

Last night, Matt snagged his firms suite tickets to the Winter Jam concert. It was Christian concert at the Bobcat's arena and several popular bands came together for a big concert. We invited some friends and left all of the kids at home. The music was really good but I guess I didn't think about how loud it would be. We left early b/c it kept getting louder and louder and I was afraid it was too much noise for Baby Stewart. I know she's in a little cocoon and it probably wasn't hurting her at all, but still. . . . . . .

I didn't take any pictures Friday night, but here are a couple from Saturday.

Deals, Deals, Deals

2010-01-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

If you shop at Harris Teeter and especially if you are a Mom, then you know that this week is Super Doubles (HT doubles coupons up to $1.98). I went Wednesday night and spent $28 and saved over $110! And went back today, spent $18 and saved over $60! I should add that obviously, I only get items that I know we use. Sometimes that means stock piling a little (something Matt hates), but I can't justify not stocking up when the items we use often are on sale 60-90% off when I use coupons. It's becoming quite an addiction.

Thursday after dropping Ava off at school, I went to Target because I had heard that they were marking down a lot of their clearance toys 50-75% off. I didn't see a whole lot that would really interest Ava but I did get her a Princess dress up costume and a Princess sleeping bag that we can save for her birthday. I found a lot of educational baby toys for 75- 80% off so I snagged several items from that category. I think Baby Stewart's first Christmas is taken care of already. Wow! It feels great to be so far ahead of the game for once!

Too Early. . .

2010-01-06T04:17:00.000-08:00

For some reason, every morning between 4:00 and 5:00am, my unborn daughter likes to wake up and start dancing in my tummy. It's like clockwork and I always have to get up, go to the bathroom, and get something to drink to make her stop. She still usually moves around for about an hour and I can't sleep at all, which is why I'm up right now. I have a feeling that this little one is going to be a lot more hyper than her big sister! At least she's consistent, right? HA!

Ava started back to preschool yesterday and it was a little bittersweet. I think I had psyched myself up about how hard her winter break was going to be without any free time to run errands and regain my sanity. While it was difficult at times, we worked it out and Matt really helped a lot with her in the evenings. Sometimes I didn't make it to the grocery store until after 9pm, and I distinctly remember a midnight run to ToysRUs, but we stayed so busy with all the holiday activities that it really didn't seem too stressful. Still, I had a Dr appointment this morning so I was glad that she had somewhere to go for that. She was all smiles when I picked her up and talked nonstop about her teachers and friends. I think she really missed seeing them over break. We had a tea party when we got home and she went right down for a nap.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having a little girl? A boy would have been nice the second time around to experience having both but I'm thrilled that Ava will have a sister. She loves to hug and kiss my ever expanding tummy and talk to her baby sister. I can't wait to see her reaction when this little one is finally here!

Today we are hitting the gym and Super Doubles at Harris Teeter! Can't wait to see my savings!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

We were invited to spend the New Year with our friends Zach and Laura at their mountain house in Boone, NC. Our friends Michael and Heather and Jake and Abby also came with their children.
My parents came to visit for a night before we left and watched Ava so that I could run errands. We had quite a difficult time finding a size 2T snowsuit. Who would have thought? Finally, after checking 7 stores, I found one. We packed up the car and hit the road!

It was so nice to spend time with friends and our children had a blast. The gorgeous house was at the top of a huge hill and overlooked the mountains. Ava was so excited and loved being surrounded by people. She was always the last child to go to sleep and the first one up. Matt had to lay down with her each evening for over an hour to get her to sleep. She also didn't nap at all while she was there. We weren't even out of the driveway on the way home and I heard snoring in the back seat. HA! Matt and I just laughed at how exhausted Ava must have been from all the excitement and no sleep.

The guys took the children sledding on New Year's Day while I stayed in the warm car with Laura, Heather, and their baby boys and took pictures. I figured that I probably shouldn't be sledding 6 months pregnant. We also hit the outlets later that afternoon. Other than that, we pretty much just hung out at the house, talked, played games, and watched the kids have fun. Definitely a nice way to bring in 2010!

Girlfriend Christmas Celebration

2009-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Each year, a group of my high school girlfriends all get together and have a Christmas Party Reunion. It's the only time each year that we are all able to get together and even then, someone is usually missing.
This year we met the day after Christmas at Lisa's house in South Hill. We had a great time talking and laughing as usual. It's so nice to catch up with friends that I have known all of my life. We always pick up right where we left off and I love that!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T01:27:00.000-08:00

I know I'm posting this a few days late but Merry Christmas! We had an eventful Christmas to say the least. Matt's Dad was visiting from Minnesota and arrived on the 23rd. We haven't seen him since last April so Ava was a little shy at first. She soon warmed up to her "Grandpa John" and started to include him in her fun and games.

On Christmas Eve we went to our church service and came home for our traditional Christmas Eve donuts and hot cocoa. I went out to grab a few items from the grocery store around 7pm and they were already closed! WHAT? I thought only small town areas closed that early on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, Walmart was open until 8:00 so I scooted over there and grabbed what I could. It wasn't a Super Walmart so there were a few grocery items that I couldn't get but I figured we had enough for the Christmas meal with what I had. STILL, really frustrating.

Later that night, we put Ava to bed and Matt went to work putting together the new kitchen set that we got for her. John watched a movie and I got busy wrapping gifts. Little did we know that we (or at least I) wouldn't sleep at all that night. Ava ended up coming down with the flu and spent the night puking, taking warm baths, and cuddling on the couch. Poor baby. I felt so bad for her. She has never had the flu before and I could not believe that she got it on Christmas Eve! She was also really constipated which only made her feel worse. I don't know how anyone in our house was able to sleep that night. She was crying so loud. She finally fell asleep around 5:30am and I TRIED to catch a few z's before I had to get up and get ready for the day. Ava started to feel a little better later that morning and was able to open some of her gifts. She was so excited about Christmas this year and it broke my heart that she was too sick to really enjoy it.

Anyway, I took a nice nap that afternoon and managed to prepare a decent Christmas meal that evening while Matt and John entertained Ava. And that was it! Christmas was over. We talked with Ava quite a bit about the birth of Jesus and I was even planning to make a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus but given the difficultly of just getting through the day, I decided that would be something we can do next year. Check out our pics from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Santa Baby

2009-12-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

Last night Matt and I surprised Ava with a trip to the Mall to see Santa Clause. To say she was excited was an understatement. She ran around the house screaming and talking non-stop while we were trying to get her dressed. I don't think I've ever seen her so excited.

I was a little concerned that she would get nervous and not want to sit on his lap when it was her turn but she went right up to him and Matt put her in his lap. She talked to him and asked him a lot of questions. This Santa was so sweet. Not only did he LOOK like the real Santa, but he talked softly to her and answered all of her questions. He finally asked her what she would like for him to bring her for Christmas and Ava said, "Santa, will you please bring me a big purple present and a little green present"? Santa told her he would see about that.

Ava has been asking for a purple present for a few days now and when we got to the area where Santa was, there was a huge Christmas tree and a very large purple present sitting underneath the tree. Ava turned to me with huge eyes and said "Mama, that's my purple present". It was really sweet.

We've been talking to Ava a lot about the real meaning of Christmas and how it's a celebration of the birth of Jesus. She doesn't understand why she gets presents on someone else's birthday so she's decided that Christmas must be HER birthday as well. Hummm. We'll have to work on that one. Below are a couple of pics. I know she doesn't look really excited to be sitting with Santa, but believe me she was!

Last Day of School

2009-12-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we are all on the mend from this horrible cold. I kept Ava home from school for an entire week (or 3 mornings for her). Normally, I would have been stressing about not being able to get anything done, but I was so sick that I couldn't have done anything anyway. Now I have a HUGE to-do list to get done before Christmas!

Ava was well enough to go back to school today for her last day. After I dropped her off, I went straight to Target and bought several gift cards. Ava has 4 teachers that I still needed to buy Christmas presents for. Normally, I love putting together little gift bags with special treats/presents in them but I decided to just do Christmas cards with gift cards this year to make it easy. I also climbed under the house and pulled out all of our Christmas decorations. We were planning to FINALLY decorate last Sunday, but since we felt so horrible nothing got done. Being that Christmas is next week and all, I figured that I should get started on that. I got everything done but the tree and I'm hoping we will pick that up tomorrow. I'll be sure to post pictures once we are done with the tree!

Sick Sunday

2009-12-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. Our whole house is sick. I kept Ava home from preschool on Friday because she woke up snotty. She seemed fine the rest of the day and was a ball full of energy. That evening, I braved the outlets in Concord and met up with some friends for dinner. I returned home and Ava was a little feverish and fussy.

Yesterday morning, Ava woke up with a fever and Matt and I started feeling a little icky. We had our Sunday School Christmas Party last night. We helped plan it and were in charge of all the dinnerware and drinks so we sucked it up and went. We had a great time but by late last night, we knew we were definitely getting sick. I tossed and turned ALL NIGHT LONG and could not for the life of me, get comfortable. Ava was up off and on all night too so I ended up sleeping upstairs with her. I guess the best way to describe this is just a bad cold. Today, we have been a miserable looking bunch and haven't left the house. I don't think we've ever all been sick at the same time before. Ugh. Hopefully, this will work it's way out of our systems quickly!

Prayer Continued

2009-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Please pray for the Kissinger/Parker families. Flip passed away this afternoon from his injuries from last week's crash. I am just heartbroken for this family and at a loss for words.

You can read the most recent news broadcast here.

Ava's Christmas Party

2009-12-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

Ava had her Christmas party at school this morning and I went to help out and take pictures. The children had a snack, played with bells, talked about Jesus, and received a nice gift bag with presents. Ava got a plush snowman in her giftbag and she has been carrying it everywhere and excitedly calling it "her Christmas present". I think she thinks this is going to be the only Christmas present that she will get!