Tuesday, February 5, 2013

100 Days!

Julia celebrated 100 days at school today. We had the homework assignment of attaching 100 items to a vest we made out of a brown paper sack. (Some of the vests were very pretty and well planned out. Our vest was not. It was still pretty, but it was obviously done by the hands of a sweet little kindergartner. The stickers, pasta, and beans were attached in no particular order although carefully counted.) The kindergartners then had the pleasure of having a parade. They walked around the halls and gym saying "hooray, hooray today's 100 days!" Dave and I both got to go to the celebration with our little Lyddie and Saigie in tow. It was a lot of fun.
However, it wasn't without the usual craziness of our Stewart bunch. I brought the younger girls with me to the school because Dave had taken Julia to already and planned to meet us there. The girks and I were running late (as usual) and probably looked crazy running in to the school to watch the parade. Saige got to sit in a stinky diaper the whole time we were at the school because she did her business on the way to the school and I didn't have time to change her. I also didn't realize that she was stinky at first, and didn't bring in the stroller because of our lack of time. Holding her and smelling her stink the whole parade was undesirable for Dave and I, but I think we are getting pretty used to inconveniences. All of these little happenings are what keep life exciting, right? Regardless, I hope we are making the kind of memories that last. God willing! -Amber






Monday, February 4, 2013

Y'all

When Dave and I moved to Houston, we noticed that people say y'all even more than the people we knew in Oklahoma did. It seemed so foreign to me. I thought it was cute, but so hick. Then, Dave did something that sealed our fate forever. He vowed he'd never say it. No matter how long we live in this crazy, huge city, he said we would never say that word. Well...the vow has been broken. And, can I just tell y'all something? I love saying it now. It's so much easier than you guys, all of you or the group of you. It rolls off the honky tongue, and tells people where you live. So, here we go, one step closer to full fledged Houstonian. 
Good night y'all. -Amber

A New Year!

I've obviously fallen behind on blogging...but I have a goal to do better the rest of 2013!
Our year started out with a bang! We came back from Wyoming, then traveled to Muskogee for Stewart Christmas. We had a wonderful and very quick visit.
Dave and Saige at Stewart Christmas

Julia eating just crackers when there is a vast array of delicious foods = her new norm.

Lydia opening her new bowling ball and pins at Stewart Christmas. She plays with it all the time.

Also in January, Ruth and Don came for a short visit and Dan and Christie also stopped by for a weekend. All 5 of us love having family in town. Thank you all for coming.

Saige is amazing us as she is only 9 months old but is practicing walking. She pulls up on everything she can. She loves applesauce and smashed bananas. She can wave, and she just started clapping yesterday. She says "Momma, Dada, Bye-bye, uh-oh, baby and ba-ba (for bottle). She is a lover of people- just like her sisters. She loves to suck her little thumb at bed times, and the way she pulls her little blanket to her face while sucking her thumb is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Lydia is getting to be such a big kid and is so anxious to start school. Having Saige around makes me remember how little Lydia still was when we moved to Houston. She was only 13 months old at the time! She had the cutest little natural bob then. Now she has pretty much dropped her naps and keeps asking me when summer is because she can't wait for her birthday, swimming and summertime. You never know what hilarious random thing she'll say or do next. Keeping up with her wears me plumb out.

Julia is having tons of fun at school. I still think 5 days a week for a kinder is too much, but she is adjusting well. She loves when I come volunteer at her at school so I do that as often as I can. I got to go with her class to the zoo this last Friday. What fun! I loved seeing her with her classmates. She is so outgoing, energetic and overly-confident. She is also very helpful at home these days.

Dave and are still hanging in there. We love our crazy, hectic, and fun-filled lives. We are planning a getaway to Maine this summer. It's an eleven-year anniversary trip because we celebrated our tenth anniversary just 3 days after having Saige was born. I am so excited to go on a vacation with my hubby, but already a little sad to leave my girls. It's the great dichotomy of motherhood! I can't live with my kids, but I most definitely can't live without them!


Viewing the seals at the Houston Zoo

The cutest little prairie dog ever
Petting Zoo

The lovely Stewart girls in mid January
Thanks for reading y'all! Love, Amber