Haul Out The Holly!!!

"We need a little Christmas... Right this very minute..." and I am getting really excited. We put our tree up on Friday (there so isn't room for it- if you visit our apartment- you'll pretty much be greeted by it and then you'll have to jump over it to get in basically. :) But what is Christmas without a tree? :) It was a lot of fun putting it up- the girls kind of complicated the process (so much for the little color coded labels.)- but also made it memorable (that seems to be the pattern with them. :) Anyway- I'm making gingerbread ornaments and we're having some fun "decking the halls." Merry Christmas everyone!

Fun Times....

I have been trying really hard lately to come up with some fun things for the girls. (Any ideas?) I think they are getting a little bit of cabin fever. Today we made Cheerio necklaces and had a muffin tin lunch (which they love). The other day we did shaving cream pictures on cookie sheets- any education majors are probably familiar with this. It is pretty fun- it is a great way to study spelling words or ABC's. That is what Amberlee is into lately. Anyway- we're doing our best and having fun, but any suggestions are welcome!

"Prego" Profile at about 5 1/2 Months

Someone asked for a profile picture a while back and I finally got around to it... now that I'm seeing myself (you can tell we don't own any full mirrors) I am feeling huge! I guess this is kind of a rip off picture, because this was right after Thanksgiving dinner and I was stuffed to the gils (literally)! Anyway- there you have it- a very pregnant me- already! He moves like crazy- it is so fun! I just feel like we are going to be good friends, he and I! I am wondering if he is going to be huge though- Autumn was 9 lbs 1 oz and almost a pound bigger than Amberlee. If they get any bigger... boy- I just don't know about that... we'll just take it in stride I guess, (or in "waddle"- seeing as how I don't really "stride" anymore.) :)

I'll Be Bubblin' I'll Be Brewin'...

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast complete with Lemon Roasted Turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, ham, and three pies(I posted a lot of the recipes on my cooking blog)! (We will probably have left overs for the next two weeks!) It was a lot of work, but Doug was a big help (he did all the grunt work for me- like all the grating and pealing and carving- ok basically half the work. He is awesome!) We had a fun time together though. It wasn't quite the same as being with the whole family (and them doing most of the work :)- we have been spoiled a few times to enjoy Thanksgiving with both our families, but it was still special with our little one. :) It was interesting with the girls- they were both so hungry- they sat at the table for about 20 minutes before everything was ready and told us how hungry they were (it will be nice when they can pitch in a bit. :) Then as we knelt to pray, Autumn basically descided to talk during thw whole prayer- I kept tryng to stuff turkey in her mouth to keep her quiet, and then she started saying, "Jesus, Amen... Amen Amen Amen!!!" And she got both Doug and I laughing- it probably wasn't quite like the orginal "first" thanksgiving, but it was a fun first thanksgiving for us with happy, cheerful, grateful hearts, and full tummies!

"Ice cream"... you scream!

We had a fun day today in Pullman, Washington visiting "Ferdinand's Ice Cream Shoppe" and checking out the WSU Creamery. We got to watch them making cheese, and even sample some. It was very tasty- as was the amazing ice cream! Autumn chose cookie dough, Amberlee picked peppermint, I had to have eggnog, of course, and Doug can keep his black licorice. :) It was a fun day. We finished it all off with the Christmas shopping. Doug and I decided this would probably be the last year we could do our Christmas shopping with the girls. We should probably try a little harder next year to be discreet- but it worked out ok today, and I think the girls will like what we got. All in all, a happy day!

It's that Time of Year...

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Out of the Blue...

So out of the blue, Autumn decided she wanted to use the big girl potty and be in big girl panties. I will spare you the details, but she definitely "went" in ever possible way :)- I was pretty shocked and proud of her! We gave her lots of high-fives and stickers and I think she was pretty tickled with herself too. This is going to be a confusing post though, because although she is starting to show some interest in potty training... I just don't think I am ready to take that step. :) Any tips? I feel like I pushed Amberlee way too early, and when I took a quiz online, she shows a lot of the signs, but there are still some big things she is missing. I don't know... I really wasn't even going to think about any of this until she was three... and then out of the blue.... What would you do? (Funny how potty training is like the biggest deal ever!!!)

Let them eat cake...

Amberlee got to go to a birthday party of a preschool friend named Luz. She was SO excited to go, and I think she had a fun time. It was kind of interesting, because they were a nice Mexican family (that didn't speak hardly any English), and we started out with this amazing Mexican soup with humus and chunks of pork in it (I asked about three times for the recipe and they just kept smiling at me- language barrier, either that or it is some special secret soup. :), and they did pinatas and the whole nine yards. They sure had a variety of kids there- all ages and backgrounds- some a little crazy... so I stuck around just to make sure things were "ok". :) It was fun though. Amberlee got a piece of cake with a ton of amazing icing on it, and she ate all the icing off and make herself sick and she didn't even get to the cake. :) Party on... :)

Jesus Said Love Everyone....

This is my favorites! Pretty much we sing these three songs (by request) in a row every night. (Doug and I have them down pat- but so do the girls as you can see. :) My mom and dad used to sing them with me, and when I was little I used to think they were all one song- you just can't sing one without the other in my mind. Now that is the way Amberlee sings it- keeping with tradition. :) My favorite is the last one. :) I just love how fast she goes. Hope you enjoy as much as I do- she was in a real singing mood the other night when I caught all of these. :)

ABC... it's easy as 123...

Joy School...

Some Gals in my ward and I started a little Joy School. It has been really fun! Some of the kids had gone home when I took these pictures, but I sure thought they were a cute bunch of kids!

Phew..... Doug gets his baby BOY!!!!

You should have heard Doug's cheer when the nurse said this was definitely a baby boy! He just about did a flip and gave us all high fives! He is one excited Daddy! In fact, we all are (not daddy's of course, but very excited!). Amberlee has been telling us about her baby brother for months now- I guess we should have just taken a hint! I have to admit I am feeling some big relief- I would have loved another little girl, but I knew Doug wanted a boy SO BAD! I was beginning to feel like one of the historical English Queens, and that I might be facing the giateen if I didn't produce a male heir to the "Stewart Throne." So, happy day... we're having a man cub, and I get to keep my head! Sort of... :) I thought they got some cute pictures of the little guy! He was very cooperative and photogenic! By the way- it is one healthy baby- all those vitamins and prenatals are kicking in! :)

Peek-a-boo Baby Stewart

Meal in a muffin tin...

My friend gave me the good idea of feeding your toddlers lunch in a muffin tin. They were so excited and they ate everything! I though it was a fun idea! (I just had to keep Autumn from eating all of it. :)

I'm Wishing... for the One I Love...

This is posted by my Grandma Alma's request. These girls are so silly! I Love Autumn's version, and Amberlee's Snow White vibrato.

Two Days in a Row... Third Time's a Charm?

Ok- so the first episode pales in comparison! I'm not sure what to do with this gal! I was on the phone for two minutes and went upstairs to find this! I was so mad, but I took one look at her face and I had to laugh. Face mask was smeared all over everything, along with bronzing powder, toothpaste, and just about anything else she could find in the drawer. What a girl! Cute... But THIS BETTER BE THE LAST TIME!

Our Peter Pan Theme...

I thought Doug was an awesome pirate- he is always such a good sport. Pretty much he was just excited about his 5 inch sword. (It was pretty awesome.)

I felt pretty safe as long as I had the girls with me... I think when they weren't, people were just kind wondering why I was walking around in a night gown. Amberlee said, "You don't really look like Wendy." Then when she saw my sad face, she said, "Well, actually you look a little bit like Wendy, you just need to brush your teeth." (?) But I did my best.

This was at our fun Stake Halloween Party. There were some amazing costume ideas! People are so creative and talented! It was sure fun!

And just a bit of Fairy Dust...

My cute sister in law recommended this easy cute pattern for tu tu's. They would make aweome gifts. Here is a link to her sister's blog, who gives really good instructions! http://treyandlucy.blogspot.com/2008/10/dust-of-those-sewing-machines.html