Christmas and our ultrasound

Well, Christmas was a BLAST! Gracie is just at the right age where the magic of Christmas is all consuming. It was all she talked about for weeks. It was amazing to see the light in her eyes when she'd talk about Santa and the presents and our "magic chimney". She came up with that all on her own. We'd told her all about how Santa comes down the chimney and of course she wanted to see it. We explained that we didn't actually have a chimney but that Santa would figure it out. He's a pretty smart guy after all. The next day she started telling everybody about our "magic chimney" that Santa would come down. And even showed Monti and I where it was in our living room. Right next to the stockings. Nobody could ever accuse her of not having a vivid imagination. I LOVE IT!

Christmas Eve we got up and got dressed and she could hardly contain herself waiting for Monti to get home from work. He only worked half day, and so when noon finally rolled around she was dancing a jig. We loaded up and headed over to grandma and grandpa Stewart's house for the festivities there. First it was the big dinner. Gracie has determined that turkey is the best food in the world. She ate and ate and ate it.

Then it was time for the annual Stewart Nativity. Gracie was an angel. She had begged and begged for that part all week. It was pretty much a shoo in since all little girls who aren't playing Mary are part of the heavenly host. She did such a good job standing there with her little hands together in front of her. She was so excited to be part of it.

She makes a pretty cute angel!

Then we had a visit from the big guy in the red suit! She had talked about that all week too, but then when it came time to sit on his lap, we got the breakdown that we'd avoided with the mall Santa. Having cousin Max sit next to her relieved it enough to snap a quick picture. But you can see the drama.

Somewhere along the way she heard Santa speak. Our Santa that visited happens to be my brother in law Rob. He's got a super special job being one of Santa's helpers. When she heard his voice she suddenly stopped crying and stared and stared at him. Then she turned to me and said, "Mama, that's Robbie!"

This is her checking him out to see if she's right. When it got time to leave I told her to say goodbye and Merry Christmas to Robbie (who had changed back into his regular clothes) and Tracie. She said, "Bye Santa! Merry Christmas! You come down my magic chimney." I thought it was pretty funny.

After our visit from Santa it was time to open a gift. She got to open a nightgown from mommy and daddy. It was a Princess Tiana nightgown. She thought that was pretty fantastic. Soon after it was time to head home and she was sound asleep before we made it home. Can you believe it? My daughter, asleep by 8 pm on Christmas Eve? Wonders never cease.

Christmas morning was so much fun too!! She tore into those presents with wild abandon!! She's an old pro now. She loved everything and couldn't wait to help us open our presents. She'd gotten Monti a tie and handed him the package and said, "Open it daddy!! It's your tie!!"

Christmas afternoon we stopped by the cemetery to wish Harry a Merry Christmas on our way over to Monti's sister Maria's house. We had dinner and presents with the Randall cousins!! They have a way cool slide inside the house that goes from the main floor to the basement and she had a terrific time going down that over and over again. Overall, it was a really fantastic Christmas!!

Yesterday afternoon we had our ultrasound. The baby is perfect and healthy! Ten fingers, ten toes and a stubborn streak as wide as Gracie's was at this point. I knew from that what gender it was. But waited patiently til the end when the ultrasound tech announced it...It's a girl! She had her little foot curled up under her and right over all the parts we wanted to get a good look at. We finally got the view we were hoping for though. We're going to name her Rosalie Joy. She truly has brought so much joy into a very difficult year. We love her so much already and can't wait to meet this beautiful little princess!

Santa and the snow...

Last week we took Gracie to the mall to Santa Claus. She was SOOO excited. She was dancing all the way in from the parking lot. Of course there was a line but, in all fairness, it wasn't that long. We only had to wait for maybe 15 minutes. She loved looking at the little North Pole City they had set up, but kept saying "It's my turn? I get to sit on Santa's lap?" Monti and I "patiently" continued to tell her it was almost time. Finally the big moment arrived and I was certain that she'd change her mind and freak out. I am pleased to say that I was wrong. She was a little timid, but walked right up to him, climbed up and said "Cheese" for the camera.
And boy is that CHEESY! You can see that she's not quite comfortable enough to snuggle down in. But she loved it. For months she's been telling everyone who would listen that she wants, "Boody and Buzz Lighthere" for Christmas from Santa. So it kinda threw Monti and I for a loop when Santa asked her what she wanted and she replied, "a puzzle". WOW!! Information that the elves might have found useful a couple of weeks ago. :)

On Saturday we got to go up to Flagstaff with my sisters and their families and play in the snow! Gracie's first time seeing it. (Unless you count the mound of crusty black crap they'd scraped off the road when we went to the Polar Express last year.) She was so excited to build a snow man and it was all we heard about on the way up. When we spotted the first little patches of snow she started saying, "Stop daddy! Stop! We build a snow man! Stop!" We finally got to the hill where we always go and after the trek in through knee deep snow (waist deep on her) her first order of business was to...eat it of course!

Her hat was not very cooperative. It kept falling down over her eyes. But she was glad to have it on. It was a chilly 32 degrees while we were there and it started to snow. AWESOME!!

She finally got to build her snow man and quickly named him Frosty. Original huh? She kept hugging him and telling him how much she loved him. When it came time to go, through chattering teeth and a tear stained face she cried, "I take him home with me!! I don't want to leave my snow man!" I finally talked her into the fact that he'd be much happier there in the snow than if we took him home to melt. But as we were loading into the car she had to watch some jerky teenagers kick him over. She was in hysterics and said, "Mommy, they're hurting him!! Stop them!! Please mommy!" It broke my heart.

After the snowman, we made snow angels. She does a pretty good job. But then, in my opinion it's pretty easy for someone who's an angel to make one!! Ok, maybe her halo is a little askew sometimes, but we sure are glad to have her in our lives. What a sweet blessing!

Then it was sledding with Auntie Vicki and we headed out. She was freezing and her daddy was getting an ulcer over the idea of driving home in a snowstorm. So, we tearfully waved goodbye to Frosty and headed home. It was ALOT of fun. She's already talking about "next time" we go. I'm pretty excited about it too!!

Holiday Fun

Ok, so I know I missed Halloween and touched on it in my last post. But I finally downloaded my pictures off my camera and couldn't resist posting these. Again, I know I'm partial, but I think she's just the cutest darn thing!! So...without further ado...here's Dorothy!

Last weekend we went to ZooLights. It was really cool and Gracie loved it. To anyone considering going, wait til after Christmas. I'm told it's free then. It's $10 a person now...OUCH! But we had a buy one admission, get one free coupon from SRP and Gracie is still free. So $10 for a family outing was worth it to us.

She absolutely loves penguins and is thrilled that they are all over the place at Christmas!! So when she spotted this one, she had to pose with him.

Then she spotted the carousel. Her FAVORITE thing in the world and begged until I gave in. She was kinda freaked out by all the endangered animals. Lions, Tigers, Dragons etc. are not exactly up her alley. So she finally found a "dolphin". I couldn't bring myself to tell her it was actually a shark. So she rode the nice "dolphin" and had a blast.

And when she got off she turned all her charms on her daddy and convinced him it was worth another $2 to go again with him. This time the slightly less frightening hummingbird was available and she spent the entire trip yelling YEE HAW at the top of her lungs. The girl can attract quite a bit of attention, let me tall ya.

This week we did a gingerbread house for Family Home Evening. Gracie wasn't sure if it was more fun to eat the candy or decorate the house. I let her have creative freedom and she didn't do half bad. The obsessive/compulsive in me really struggled to not "fix" it and make it a little prettier. But she was determined it looked great. So I took a lot of deep breaths and let her go at it.

And here it is, the finished product. Not bad for a 2 year old being helped along by her father. :) And yes, that is a poor headless gingerbread man laying in front. You might not want to expose your children to this kind of carnage. Sorry.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Didn't get to posting our Halloween pics, but Gracie was absolutely the cutest Dorothy you've ever seen. Of course, I may be a little biased. We had a lot of fun trick or treating. I especially loved how Gracie was wandering the streets singing Christmas carols and stopping only long enough to say Trick or Treat. I guess she takes after me a little. :) And I would be a terrible person if I didn't acknowledge that Monti and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in October as well!! Yay us! We haven't killed each other yet, that's a good thing. Actually, at the risk of sounding pretty cheesy, we're still really in love. I love being with him. He still makes me laugh and I am thankful everyday for what a wonderful father and husband he is. Ok, moving on before I make everyone sick...

Thanksgiving was...good. I'm afraid that I'm a bit of a stresser. We had planned to eat at my parents house at 1 and spend a little time, then head over to the Randall's for their dinner at 5. Well, as seems to be our lot in life, things did not go as planned. As 1:00 came and went and 2:00 came and went, this hungry pregnant woman started to get kinda...grumpy. I started to stress about eating too close to 5 and seeming rude if we didn't eat at the Randall's, and about whether or not we'd have time to take part in my favorite Stewart family Thanksgiving tradition, the Thankful Turkey. Finally, Monti took me by the shoulders and said, "Relax, everything will be fine. We're here with family and we have so much to be thankful for. Just get a snack and enjoy the time." So I took his advice and the day improved substantially. We had dinner and enjoyed ourselves fully.


Gracie LOVES turkey!! Begged and begged for more!! She actually loves food in general, I'm pretty sure she gets a healthy dose of that from both parents. :)

We shared Thanksgiving with 39 people at my mom and dad's house. My brother and sisters and their spouses who live here and all their families came. This is the "married adult" table. Mom and dad still hadn't sat down yet. But this is just a tiny bit of the beautiful chaos we had. Yes, the adults were far outnumbered by all the rug rats running around. That's the way we like it!!
After dinner we sat down to do the thankful turkey. We have a turkey made from a milk jug. Every year mom puts it out at the beginning of November and everybody in the family has the opportunity to add a slip of paper with things we're thankful for. Then on Thanksgiving day we all sit down and take turns taking them out and reading them. It's really an awesome experience. This year my sister Tracie and her husband announced via the Thankful Turkey that they're expecting another baby!! I am so excited for them! And me...we get to be big fat preggers together!!

After the Thankful Turkey, we hurried out and made it to the Randall's just in time for prayer. We only had dessert there and it worked out fine! It turns out, if I can turn down the stress level and just let things happen, they turn out pretty nice!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by all the people we love!

Again, at the risk of sounding cheesy and sappy, I want to take a moment to say how blessed we are. Bear with the hormonal, emotional side of me. I am thankful for so much this year. I think in years past I've taken things more for granted than I should. This year has been a real eye opener for us. I am so thankful for my beautiful little family. For a beautiful daughter and a perfect son. I am grateful for a loving husband and wonderful father. I'm grateful that he is a worthy priesthood holder and can bless our family. I'm thankful for our larger families, the ones we came from, for how close we are to our brothers and sisters and how much love and support they are. I think we really learned this year just how much they love us and how much they'd do for us. I'm thankful for our parents. They are all 4 amazing people. I'm thankful for our good friends. They too have truly shown us how loved we are. And I'm thankful for the knowledge we have of a plan that will make our family complete again someday. I am thankful for so much that it would be virtually impossible to list it all here. Let's just suffice it to say that my heart is filled to the brim with gratitude.

It's a Miracle!

Well, Monti and I found out yesterday that we are expecting another baby! We are overwhemingly happy!! After we lost Harry, our first thought was that we weren't sure we ever wanted to try that again. Then as time passed, and our wounds healed a little, we decided that of course we wanted more kids. But were still terrified of what results we might end up with.
Ultimately, we decided that we needed to put it in the Lord's hands and have faith that he wouldn't lead us astray, whatever path He led us down. We figured that with the extreme effort it took to get pregnant with Gracie and Harry, if the Lord saw fit to send us another baby without all the help, it would be a true miracle! And He has sent us another little miracle!!
I had a sneaking suspicion that something might be up last week when I was sick for several days in a row. I decided that if things stayed the same, I'd test on Monday. Friday night Monti and I were able to go to our ward temple night and we had a really amazing session. Hot and full, but also filled with the Spirit. So we stopped by Walmart on Friday night and picked up a test. Then Saturday morning, on Harry's 5 month birthday, I tested and got two beautiful little blue lines.
We enter this next adventure with trepidation and just a bit of outright fear. But we also have faith that the Lord knows best! And if He saw fit to send us this miracle, He can also take our fears and turn them into a faith inspiring experience. We just have to provide a little faith and He'll do the rest! So...keep us in your prayers...we can use all that we can get!!

A cabin in the pines...

So, we had the opportunity last weekend to go up to Prescott with some very good friends of ours, Dan and Wendi Roberts. And yes, we took kids! Monti and I couldn't stand the thought of leaving Gracie and, believe it or not, the Roberts really like to have their kids along too. So it worked out perfect! We had so much fun!!

Our trip started out a little rocky. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown the night before. I called my mom at 1 in the morning and told her I'd changed my mind and didn't want to go anymore. But how was I going to tell Dan and Wendi? Well, being the wise and gentle mother, she calmed my nerves and told me to get some rest and I'd feel better in the morning. She was right.


We had a few errands to run and so got an early start on the day. We had to drop off our dog at my sister's house and since we were in Mesa anyway, decided to make a stop at the cemetery since we would miss our weekly Sunday visit. This is so off topic, but I know there are some of you who haven't had the chance to see Harry's head stone yet so I thought I'd post some pics. of it. We were so happy with how it turned out.









Anyway, after our errands were done we hurried home to load up and headed over to the Robert's. The drive up was easy going and fun. When we got into Prescott Valley, we were a little disappointed in how warm it still was. But we made the turn off onto Walker Rd. and the temperature started dropping significantly as we got closer to the cabin. Surprisingly it dropped almost a full 10 degrees in the few miles between town and the cabin. We met Larry, the owner of the cabin and one of the nicest guys you'll meet, and he told us to follow him on up the road. It's a bit of a ways off the main road and had a few turn offs so he wanted to make sure we could find it alright.


Well, as it turned out Wendi and Dan didn't see us make one of the turn offs. So as we were driving along we watched them go straight along the road we had just left. Monti and I weren't sure what to do. Should we stop and try to catch them? (BTW, no cell phone service up there) Or should we keep following Larry so that at least one of us knew how to get there and then go try to find the Roberts? We decided to keep following. Then, came the next little hiccup. The last, oh maybe, 100 feet of the road up is a very, VERY steep hill. And we didn't get a running start. So...our car stalled half way up...meaning we lost steering...and full use of the brakes...and we started rolling backward down a pretty steep incline. At this point I will not go into some of the things that may or may not have been said inside our little car. But one thing that was said was me yelling, "Stop Monti!! STOP! You have to stop!! We're about to go over!! STOP!" Well, we did stop. And just in time. I'm quite confident that it was more than luck that we stopped where we did. Our back tires were literally hanging over an edge. I got Gracie out and we stood there just gaping at how close to danger we'd come. All I could think was, "I knew we shouldn't have come!! I knew we shouldn't have come!!

The pictures don't do justice to how steep the drop off behind us was. It is definitely NOT level ground you see behind us. It's the hilll goinjg back up on the other side. Quite a drop!

Gratefully, Larry came back down with some chain and towed us up onto safer ground, where we could restart the car and carefully back down the hill to give it a running start. While they were hooking up the chains, Gracie and I walked back down to the place we'd last seen Wendi and Dan and were able to get just enough reception on the cell phone to tell them to come back. They found us and we headed back to the stuck Saturn. I was unable to get to my camera, as it was in the back hatch of our car and I wasn't about to go digging around in there, so Wendi grabbed her camera and snapped a few shots of our "near death experience". We were SO lucky that Dan and Wendi hadn't made that turn off. Heaven only knows what would have happened if they'd been right behind us when we stalled.

Well, thankfully, I was wrong. We should have gone and the rest of the weekend was a total BLAST!! We got on up to the cabin and got unloaded, then decided to check everything out. It was awesome! Everything was exactly how I had hoped. Monti and I stayed in the little loft bedroom and there was a porch right off of it. With a swing!! Ah, so relaxing!

Yes, that is Wendi leaning way over and trying to hide from the camera! I guess it didn't work. :) Sooner or later the bugs started coming out, and soon thereafter the bats, which quickly drove me inside. The kids watched TV for a while and the grown ups sat and talked.

Then it was bed time for the kids and game time for the adults!! WOO HOO! We played a really fun game called Things and got some pretty big laughs out of it!! Anyone who may believe Dan to be a mild mannered, quiet guy...play this game with him!!! You will quickly be relieved of that misconception. We stayed up until almost 4 in the morning, playing and laughing and talking. It was AWESOME! We thought we knew each other pretty well, but we still learned alot about each other.

The next day the kids spent almost the ENTIRE day outside playing in the dirt and having a total blast!!! They got filthy dirty and it was so good for them.

Us big people spent some time outside and some in playing the Wii. Whatever you do, do NOT listen to Dan and Monti's fish stories about how they won in golf. Just nod and allow them to boost their self esteem and then go back to the truth. Wendi and I NEVER lose. ;) Then Monti and Dan went out to grill.

Yes, that is Dan leaning way over and trying to hide from the camera!! I guess it runs in the family!! After dinner, the kids all got desperately needed baths. Gracie was one filthy girl!! She looks like Pig Pen from Peanuts. And if you'd seen her in person, you could've witnessed the actual cloud of dirt following her everywhere.

Then, after a long day of playing hard EVERYBODY crashed. We put the kids to bed and stayed up late again playing cards and talking. What fun we had mocking Dan's card playing abilities!! He's a good sport and we had a BLAST!

On Sunday the Robert's had to head for home. We were sad to see them go. We'd enjoyed spending the weekend with them, but Dan had to get back for work and the kids had school on Monday morning. So we waved goodbye to them and hello to Tracie and Rob and their family and my parents and Ali and Vicki. Mom and dad had rented a room in a hotel in Prescott, but Tracie and family got to stay with us there at the cabin!! We had another fun filled day of playing outside and just having a really good time.

Monday morning we packed up and got ready to leave. Gracie spent the morning searching for a "magic skick". She finally found one and was so proud of her discovery.

We dreaded going home and instead went into Prescott and spent an hour or so at a museum there. The Sharlot Hall museum. It was really neat! Then trekked over to a park for a picnic, where it proceeded to pour rain. Believe it or not it was kinda fun. Then we loaded up one last time and set our sights on home. It was a really amazing weekend spent with alot of the people we love the most!! Couldn't ask for much more. We can't wait to do it again!