The Stewarts

Introducing Kellen Riley Stewart!

2012-01-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here he is, our new baby boy! Kellen Riley Stewart, born January 11, 2012 at 3:29 am. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 inches long. (I was going to post more, but now he is awake and crying for his Mama to feed him! Hopefully I will get back to this later!)

Asher's 2nd Birthday

2011-06-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

So the title of this post was Asher's Birthday, but the first picture turned out to be the beautiful Ayana Grace. She is such an amazingly wonderful little girl. She is very smart and loves to help her Mom, Dad, and Brother. She loves any kind of art project as well as books and pretend play. She is a great example to our family, and is always super excited for prayers and going to church.
Our little two year old, Asher, continues to be a light in our lives. He is hilarious and loves to make people laugh and smile. He likes to make silly faces and to be sneaky. He has the cutest little giggle and smiles. I continue to believe that Heavenly Father gave him the cutest smile he could com up with because he knew Asher would need a way to compensate for his mischievious nature. He attends toddler lab on campus and greatly enjoys his class. He also loves to go to his nursery class at church and say his prayers, but he could do with out the sitting still for an hour in Sacrament.

He loves Mickey Mouse, so he had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme for his birthday party. We had a small group of friends gather at the park for a barbecue and cake/presents I attempted my first real decorated cake and was quite pleased with my results.
He received a lot of wonderful gifts but some of his favorites were these dress up sets from his sister. They both love to get on costumes and pretend.

It is hard to believe that he is two years old already, time sure flys by! What a wonderful little boy, we are so blessed to have him in our family!

My Star Bellied Sneetches

2011-06-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

As I was typing the last post about Asher's birthday the kids reminded me of their star bellied sneetch costumes. Several months ago they had a family activity on campus called Dinner with Dr. Seuss. There was a costume contest, and I wanted the kids to be unique, so I made them Sneetch costumes. They were so adorable I wanted to post a picture for all of you to see.

Christmas Time!

2010-12-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

As usual Christmas was busy and wonderful at our house. Ayana is old enough this year to understand about Santa Claus this year, so it was fun to see her get so excited about meeting him and telling him her gift request (5 trains, some train track and a train table). Our Christmas season officially started at our church Christmas party where Santa claus made an appearance. Asher was not fond of him at all and decided he would fill the role of the screaming kid on Santa's lap, though he cheered up pretty quick when he got that candy cane!

Of course we got a real Christmas tree, we found a real pretty Frasier Fir and Trever got some large LED lights for it. I just love Christmas trees, they are so fun! The kids had a blast decorating, though I now understand why Mom had to "redecorate" every year after we went to bed when we were young. The kids sure liked to hang all the ornaments in one spot.

Christmas morning was it's usual mix of chaos, excitement and happiness, here are a couple of pictures of the kids in their new Christmas pjs before all the craziness began. Ayana got so excited to see that Santa had come and filler her stocking and left her some gifts.

They got many wonderful and well-loved gifts, but their favorite was their gift from Santa of a new train set. They could hardly contain themselves as they climbed all around that big box trying to get all the wrapping paper off. Trever got to spend most of his morning playing the typical Christmas morning Dad and putting it all together, but the kids have already spent many fun hours playing with them, so it was well worth it.
No Christmas would be complete if the kids didn't have at least as much fun with the packaging as with the presents, and Ayana and Asher were no exception. Here they are trying to pop some of the air pillows.

All in all, a wonderful Christmas season. I got a really nice, new viking sewing machine for Christmas and I can hardly wait to start my creating. I think my first project will be new aprons for the family along with Chef hats for the kids. Trever got mostly practical things, which is a switch for my kid-like husband, but he is excited to have a new backpack and shoes as well as a few video games.

I hope that all of you had a joyous season as well and that you took the chance to remember the Savior's birth along with all the other things that fight for your attention. Hope your new year is filled with adventure, fun and success in all you undertake!

Halloween Fun

2010-10-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween! On Tuesday our ward youth hosted an awesome kids carnival, Ayana and Asher had a lot of fun playing the games and seeing their friends. Then on Friday we went to a place called Trick or Treat Street in Idaho Falls. It is an event where some of the local RV dealers loan the use of their RVs for local businesses to decorate and pass out candy from. We went with our friends the Lewises, they have 2 kids close to Ayana's age so they have a lot of fun together. After the trick or treating we all went out for dinner and had a great time. Then on Saturday night our complex had a dinner/Trunk or Treat. I made some peanut butter balls that looked like eye balls and won the award for best presentation, so that was pretty fun. The kids got so much candy at the Trunk or Treat that Asher couldn't even carry his bucket anymore because it was too heavy! All in all it was a great time. Trever and I did decide that we need to dress up next year, we felt lame at all the events in no costume. I made Ayana's with costume, and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. It is the first time I have ever done sleeves or a zipper in clothing. It was far from perfect, but she was the cutest witch ever. We bought Asher a hamburger costume at Old Navy and it was sure a hit, everyone commented on it and thought he was so adorable. Hope all of your Halloween's were as wonderful as ours! Here are some pictures of our little monsters!

5 Silly Monkeys

2010-10-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Someday soon I am going to take the time to put a real post on here again...until then enjoy this adorable video of our little angel Ayana singing her new favorite song!

2010-06-30T19:14:00.001-07:00

So summer finally arrived in full here in Rexburg. Less than a month ago we were still having weird snow flurries, but now we are in the 80s everyday. It is hot, but fun. We are definitely missing our old apartment with the air conditioning. Right now in our apartment it is 84 degrees, that is with the windows open and the fans running 24-7. Oh well though, we'll survive. We have been enjoying the summer sunshine and having lots of fun. There is a program that provides free lunch for kids at a couple of the local parks 5 days a week. So almost every day we either walk or ride the bike to the park for the lunch and to play for a while. At Porter Park there is the splash park that some of you played at with us last summer. The kids love it. There are a lot of different size fountains and a few water slides. Ayana finally got brave and now goes down the water slides on here own. Ayana is still in toddler lab at the University and she enjoys all the different activities they have there. The teachers are very creative and there is always something new to try. Her favorites are playing at the sensory table (usually has water or rice in it), playing outside, and the role play area (mini grocery stores, etc.). Today while Ayana was at class we brought Asher's little push toy that helps him walk and he LOVED having long hallways to walk down instead of crashing into the walls all the time like at home. Our other summer activity is the library reading programs. We go to story time every week and Ayana loves to get stickers in her program book for being read to every day and get her prizes like passes for the carousel at the park, etc. I am in a reading program too and have been able to earn some fun certificates like free ice cream and a swimming pass. We are excited for when Trever is done with school in another month so he can join in more of the fun with us. Other than that we just hang out at home and try not to melt. Last Saturday we went with some friends to some local caves and had fun walking through them. Asher got a little bothered by the dark toward the end, but Ayana loved using a flashlight and did really well walking on the uneven ground and scrambling over the rocks. Anyway, here are some pictures of our latest adventures. Love you all!

Ayana and Asher with their friends at the caves

Splash park fun

Ayana enjoying the country girl lifestyle at a local stores anniversary celebration

Lesson of the day

2010-06-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today at church a man told a story that really struck me. I though I would share it on here, both so I can remember it for the next time I need reminding and also just in case it help any of you. Here it is:

There was a man who desperately wanted a nice lawn. He spent all his time out in his yard trying to get rid of the weeds that were growing among his grass. Every Saturday he would go to the local nursery and buy another product to try to kill those weeds. When a week passed and he didn't see a noticeable difference he would go back to the nursery again and get another product to try. He did this for a couple months with little success in killing all those weed for good. At the nursery there was an old man who had been a landscaper for many years and was an expert in lawn care. After several months of watch the young man come in and buy weed killers he finally approached him and gave him some advice. He told the young man to forget the weeds and spend his efforts fertilizing and nourishing the grass. Then with only the exception of a few necessary pluckings now and then he would no longer have the weeds. Instead he would have a beautiful lush lawn that kept the weeds from growing in the first place.

The speaker then compared this story to us as parents. How often we spend our energy on the things we see as faults in our children. We put so much effort into plucking out and killing the weeds in their lives that we are out of energy to do the fertilizing. Sometimes we even do the same thing in our own lives. If we focus on encouraging and nurturing the good things we see in our children and ourselves then we will discover that those things will blossom until there is no more room for the bad. So save your plucking for the really big things and otherwise just spend lots of time fertilizing and enjoying the wonderful lawn it produces in our lives.

The Kids' Dance Party

2010-05-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

I (Trever) took this video a while back and thought it was a lot of fun to watch the kids get down. Enjoy!

Asher is 1!

2010-05-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

So,our little man is growing up, on Tuesday he turned one! He is such a joy to have in our family. His favorite things at the moment are standing up (still holding on though), filling and emptying containers, and anything involving him getting attention from Mommy, Ayana, or Daddy. He finally decided it was okay to crawl on his hands and knees, but still army crawls when he wants to get somewhere fast. He will walk with help and is beginning to cruise along the furniture, but I think it will be a little while before he really walks. No words yet, so maybe he will be a late talker like Ayana, we'll see. He is definitely a Momma's boy, he prefers Mom to anyone else, but will settle for Dad when he has to. I am sure that if Ayana was able to carry him around he would like her best though, he always wants to be where she is and do what she is doing. He is a very happy little boy quick to smile for his family, but a little shy around strangers. He loves to eat cheerios and kix and just about anything else he can get his hands on. He is still my little snatcher who will grab a hold of anything and everything, even when you are sure it is out of his reach. He is a wonderful addition to our family and we feel so blessed to have him!

Here are his one year old stats:

weight: 21 lbs (20th percentile)

height: 28 inches (3rd percentile)

5 teeth

and

The cutest little smile ever seen!

Asher's first picture

Asher at 5 months

Asher at 10 months

Asher as a One Year Old!

2010-05-16T06:29:00.001-07:00

So last week we had Weinhard's Root Beer with our dinner. THe kids were enthralled with the bottles. Trever saved the last few sips of his for Asher and gave him the bottle. He couldn't quite figure out how to drink from the bottle, but he sure loved playing with it. So here's some cute pictures of my two crazy kiddos. We are excited for Asher's birthday in a couple of days, and I will be sure to post some pictures of him enjoying his birthday cake.

Ayana trying to play her bottle like a flute

Dad, this bottle is just too tall!

The Mouse House!

2010-05-09T18:58:00.001-07:00

So I am finally getting a time when the computer is available and I am awake and the kids are not needing my attention for a moment, it is a miracle! Life around here is jam packed and wonderful as usual.

A couple weeks ago between semesters we went on a whirlwind vacation to Disneyland, or as Ayana likes to call it "The Mouse House." It was a belated 5th anniversary trip and just an opportunity to do something besides the same old same old in Rexburg. After the LONG drive to California we spent the first night at my sister Shannon's house. The kids did amazingly well on the drives. Asher decided to get 2 new teeth just before the trip and had been super fussy so I was worried, but it turned out to be a blessing because he slept much more than he normally does during the drive. Shannon was kind enough to add my two crazy kids to her brood for a couple of days, so the next morning Trever and I (sans kids) left and headed to Anaheim.

We spent two blissful days just he and I and it was fabulous. This is the first time since Ayana was born that we have been on a date longer than about 8 hours and certainly the first nights without any kids around. It sure was a nice break and made me appreciate them more when they came back. We had a ton of fun riding the rides and enjoying all the fun. We enjoyed a number of the rides, but I think our favorites were Indiana Jones and Toy Story Midway Mania where you ride through and play a bunch of midway games in a video game type format. We thought it was a blast. We also went and saw the Aladdin show that is a live musical theater presentation. It was cool to see and made us excited for the day in the future when we can afford and have time to go t regular theater events. We also swam in our hotel pool, ate at some yummy restaurants and I got to sleep for 8 whole hours 2 nights in a row. All in all it was a great two days.

The third day we met up with Shannon to get the kids back and took them with us to Disneyland. It was sure a different place when you experience it with 2 small children. Asher was too young to do much, but I think he still enjoyed himself. Ayana was a little overwhelmed at first, but once we got in the swing of things she really enjoyed herself. She LOVED meeting Mickey Mouse and going through his house. Her favorite ride was Autopia where she got to drive a car around the track with a little help from her Dad. She also always talks about "going on the boat to see sharks" For some reason she loves sharks and remembers vividly the nemo ride where you go on a submarine and see clips from Nemo as well as some underwater scenes. At the time the ride scared her a bit, but now she talks about it constantly. Asher was a great kid who just enjoyed hanging with his mom a lot and the few rides he was able to go on. Now every day Ayana asks "to go to the Mouse House."

It was a wonderful vacation and we had a great time. Now we are counting down till the end of July when we get to go camping in Utah for a week. Vacations are always the best, especially with Trever who can make anything fun and enjoyable.

Other than that, life is the same as always. As you saw, I cut my hair pretty short, I don't think it looks very good in the picture below, but I've figured out some other ways to do it that look better. All in all though, I have now had short hair and know for sure that it is not the look for me. Though short hair is amazingly convenient, and to never have it in your face is great!

My very smart husband finished another semester with straight A's and only has another year and half to go. Now we are beginning to look into Grad school and taking the GRE and all that fun stuff. Right now he is thinking about either MIT or BYU in Provo. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, after all my jabbering here are some pictures from the mouse house...

My Wonderful Life

2010-04-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

Today I just feel blessed, I am not sure if it is because of conference reminding me of what's important, or why I feel it so strongly right now, I just know that I do. I have the most amazing husband. He takes such good care of me and the kids. He doesn't fill the traditional breadwinner role right now, but he does so much more. He cooks dinner almost every night and breakfast on the weekends. He is so great with the kiddos, even doing things he doesn't want to (like reading Dora books to Ayana). He is the glue that holds our family together. Whenever I am in a bad mood or something he is always understanding and when there is even the tiniest bit of fault in his corner he is always the first to apologize. My favorite thing about Trever is how he can always make us smile. It is such a blessing in my life to have a fun-loving husband. We don't get to spend more than an hour or so a day together right now, but he always makes it count. We are so looking forward to the time when school is done and I don't work overnight and we can see each other more. He is my greatest blessing and I am so grateful to have his love in my life.

I am also blessed to have two of the cutest kids that ever existed. Ayana is so sweet and is always telling me that she loves me and giving me kisses. It is so much fun to watch her learn and grow, and always exciting to see what she'll come up with next. Asher is so quick to smile and always makes you feel special when you do the littlest things for him.

My life is far from where I dreamed it would be at 28 years old. However, it is more full of happiness and blessings than I ever imagined it could be.

Anyway, just wanted to post my happy thoughts of the day; hope all of you are feeling much the same!

We found one!

2010-03-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

Well, we are officially van owners. I am a little sad about not having my car, it was the first vehicle I ever owned that I really loved and it was very reliable and great mileage. However, I am very excited about the van that we got. It is a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country Limited. It is really in great shape with only a few small scratches, and no stains or anything. It has lots of fancy extras like memory seat positioning, heated seats, DVD player for the kids, etc. I would probably never pay for those things if I was picking all the features myself (especially the DVD player) but when you buy used you just get what you get as far as that stuff goes. We feel really good about the deal we got. They took $3000 off the original asking price (which was the blue book value) and gave us $1500 more than what blue book said to expect for our trade in. In the end we got a much nicer van than we were expecting to be able to get and we are very excited about it. I already love how much space we have. It does feel really strange to be way up high in the van instead of really low like my car. We will probably take a picture or two this weekend and I will post one for you all to see

2010-03-16T06:06:00.001-07:00

Well, it seems like it has been forever since I posted on here. Not much is going on in our lives, The kids are growing like crazy and are more fun every day. Asher is still working on the crawling, but I know it will be any day now that he is an expert at it; he is so close! He started waving a few weeks back but now he just loves to wave at you, especially if you wave at him first, then he tries to copy the way you waved at him. He loves to be held, and gets mad if you ever put him down, though the other day at church he thought being down was alright when there were two little girls on the floor to watch and steal toys from. Ayana is turning out to be a real character. She loves to play the xylophone that Dad made for Christmas and sing at the top of her lungs "La, La, La" Her latest thing is whenever Dad asks if she wants a piggy back ride, or to ask for a ride she starts oinking like a pig, it is pretty funny. She loves to play ghost, and to be outside, luckily the weather has finally started to warm up. She likes to crawl around the house to try to show Asher how, or to push on his bum to try to get him to crawl. She is not good at sharing toys, but in every other way is a wonderful and helpful big sister. Trever and I have just been doing the same old thing. He is doing well as always in his classes. He is also getting very excited for the warmer weather because that means it is almost time to get his RC truck out again! We spent a good few hours yesterday getting our car all cleaned and ready to sell. Hopefully by this weekend we will be able to trade it in, and between that and some cash we have end up with a van. I always said I never wanted a van, but now I can't wait to own one! If any one has any recommendations for a good type of van let me know.

2010-02-18T07:16:00.001-08:00

So Asher had his 9 month checkup yesterday, and he is doing great, he weighed in at just over 16 lbs. Still very small for his age, but he is finally actually on the charts. I am amazed that the kid is not huge, he will eat anything we are willing to give him and if Ayana leaves her snacks in his reach for even a few seconds he is doing everything he can to get them He gets more and more active every day and is turning out to be a real crack-up. He is a total Momma's boy, he wants very little to do with anyone other than me. Even when Trever is holding or playing with him he spends most of his time watching me to make sure I don't get too far away. He is still doing his Army crawl, but occasionally lifts up on his knees when he is really mad at me for walking away from him.

Ayana is doing great, she is finally starting to really get the talking thing. Still not many real sentences and still a few of her own invented words, but there seems to be at least one new word in her vocabulary every day. She is definitely a kid who likes to do things at her own pace and I guess talking just wasn't appealing before. Lately she loves to have stories read to her, luckily, I also love to read stories so sometimes we will sit and read books for an hour or more at a time. She loves the library, and almost any book is a hit, but she especially loves those with bears and "Boots" (the monkey from Dora the Explorer) She had her first real primary activity day on Saturday, and won her first black eye in a game of tag with the big kids. She took it pretty well all things considered.

Trever is doing well in school as usual. We decided to have him quit his job because to tiny amount of money was not worth the amount of time he missed with the family and the time I missed sleeping, etc. It has worked out well because now most days I am able to get about 5 hours of sleep, and still see him for at least a while during my waking hours. He is very good to me and cooks dinner almost every evening while I am asleep so I don't have to wake up early. That's about it for us.

2010-01-18T05:58:00.001-08:00

So, I finally have some time at the same time as the computer is available to get a post on here. Life here is going great. Since my last post we had a wonderful Thanksgiving (If you ever want a really good turkey recipe try Emeril's Funky Bird, delicious). The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to Salt Lake to have a mini vacation and to do some Christmas shopping. We got a lot done and had fun as well, Ayana loved staying in the hotel and the pool was as warm as a bath tub, it was great. We also stopped by Temple Square and enjoyed a few hours there. Christmas was great as well. Our tree and all the presents pretty much took up our whole tiny living room, but that's okay. We missed all of you on Christmas especially, but we had a nice quiet family Christmas just the same. Since then Trever is back in school and I am back to the regular schedule, but that's okay, only 2 years to go!

Ayana seems to be learning more everyday. She talks a lot, and though we still can't understand a lot of it there is at least one or two new words every day. Some of the words seem to be her own made up words, but we at least know what they mean now. She still adores her brother, and always wants to give him hugs and kisses and get him toys, though she gets mad at him if he takes a toy she was playing with (even if she hasn't played with it for the last 10 minutes). She is just about the silliest girl in the world and now refers to herself as "the me" As in "the me's toys, theme's juice, the me's beep beep (nose). She loves cheese, so anything that she eats that she likes automatically gets called cheese. She definitely has a two year old mind of her own, but is still a great kid, who listens very well to the things we ask her to do.

The Asher man is growing like crazy, he is still tiny for his age, under the 5th percentile on the growth charts, but he's getting there. He's got one tooth with a second just starting to break through and can now sit up by himself. He hasn't really showed any interest in crawling yet, but can get just about anywhere he wants by rolling there. He loves his food and when you are feeding him if you take too long between bites he wrinkles up his nose and pokes out his lips and huffs and puffs at you through his nose, it cracks us up every time. He still gets mad if he is not being held or played with every waking moment, but that's okay. He is much more active and curious than Ayana was at this age. His nickname is Asher the snatcher, because anything with in his reach he snatches. For example when we go to the store I have to be careful not to get him too close to the shelves or he knocks everything off them trying to getahold of it. He babbles quite a bit and I think that he will probably be an earlier talker than his sister has been, but we'll see. They are a lot a like, but so different at the same time. I think he is going to give us a run for our money once he starts walking.

Trever got straight A's again in his classes and is generally enjoying what he is learning. This semester should be nice because his schedule is less spread out than it was last semester so he is able to be home more which means more family time and more sleep time for me. Trever got some new parts for his monster truck (remote control) forChristmas so he is super excited for it to warm up enough that he can get out an drive it again. I got a couple new games that I am excited to play too, though they are all more than 2 player so we need to get some friends over so we can play them. Anyway, sorry about such a long post, but I guess that's what happens when there is so long in between. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy. We love you! Amber

This was one of Ayana's favorite Christmas presents this year, we found it for a great price at Ikea, and she loves it, this was her attempt to copy what I drew on the board for her.
Here's Asher the reindeer on Christmas Eve, I think these pajamas are just adorable, Ayana didn't want to cooperate to get her picture taken in her Christmas PJs
Ayana loves to wear her Daddy's headphones, but this time she insisted that Asher get a turn too.
Grinning away in his sister's chair
Look at me, I can sit up all by myself!
Ayana loves to eat sour cream, just hand her the spoon to lick after you are done with it and you have made her the happiest girl in the world
We stopped at Temple Square on our trip to Salt Lake,Ayana was very cute here, she was full of energy and very noisy the rest of the time, but when we got here she got quiet and just kept whispering "Jesus" over and over again.
Ayana loves her bubble baths, though she still hates to get her hair washed

Family photo Shoot

2009-11-23T05:15:00.001-08:00

So we had some family photos done about a month ago, they didn't turn out as good as I was hoping, but they are not too bad. Between the infamous Rexburg wind, and 2 cranky kids the photographer was in for a challenge. She did well though and since we got them done for free we really can't complain! Here are some of the shots, sorry there are so many, I had a hard time choosing!

Other than that, not much going on here, Same old thing. I took Asher to his regular 6 month well child check and he gained a pound and a half in 10 days. I guess the formula is doing the trick. He also just started eating his baby food and he is loving the kinds he has had so far. Ayana is fun and wonderful as always, I am always amazed at what a good kid she is. Yes she has her 2 year old tantrums from time to time and she doesn't always listen as quickly as I would like her to, but she is a very wonderful and obedient child. She is also a lot of fun. She recently learned what Sharks are and now she loves to look at me from across the room and yell "SHARK" before running at me at full sped and biting my leg (playfully of course). Yesterday we got our first good snow and we took her out sledding and she had a blast. Even when she would trip or fall off the sled and get a face full of snow she would just jump up yell out that she is okay and keep on going. Asher is starting to love playing with toys and things, he is always grabbing everything he can reach and that kid has a grip you can hardly believe. Sometimes I have to really work to get things out of his grip once he has them. We are having a bit of a tough time trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas, so any suggestions would be great. Trever is off school for the week so I am excited to spend lots of time with him and get some extra sleep. This is the crazy week at work with Black Friday coming up we have loads to do, and then on Friday morning I will be there to see all the insanity first hand. It is really crazy to me how people act just for a sale. I love a good deal too, but I am not ready to sit outside a store for 5-6 hours and then practically beat down a door, then run screaming to the part of the store where my item is, just a little too much for my taste. Watching as a store employee is both scary and funny all at the same time. We are just going to have quiet thanksgiving at home with our little family (and WAY too much food). Then Saturday morning we are off on a mini vacation to Salt Lake to do some Christmas shopping and see the lights at temple square. It will be a short trip but we found a cheap hotel room, so we are excited for a little break form the hum drum of every day life. Anyway, that's all for now, love you guys!

Our teeny tiny little guy

2009-11-11T15:58:00.001-08:00

So, I had a Wic appointment on Monday and after they weighed Asher the lady expressed a pretty big concern about his weight and suggested that we take him to the doctor. So after we left there we went to the doctor's office and they squeezed us in for an appt. Turns out that he weighs less now than he weighed at his appt in July, he is only 10 and a half pounds! I knew he was skinny and at his 4 month appt he had lost weight, but the doctor said not to worry about it at that point. However, now they are very worried about it. The Doctor ordered some blood work done to check for any issues there, but I haven't heard any results on that yet. Also I have to start feeding him formula after I nurse him. I really did not want to do the formula thing, but I guess that nursing just isn't enough for this little guy. I started him on supplemental formula right after his appt on Monday, and the kid loves it and is much happier know even than before. I feel a little bad, because now I feel like I have been starving my son for the last 6 months, but I'm sure he won't hold it against me. All the rest of us are doing great, happy and healthy. Trever is busy with school and I am busy with the kids and work, but all in all life is grand!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

So for Halloween our apartment complex did a little dinner and trunk or treat thing out in the parking lot. It was actually really nice and we had a lot of fun seeing all the kiddos, and a lot of the parents dressed up. Ayana was a blue Care Bear and Asher was a green dinosaur/dragon (we never did decide for sure what he was) Thanks to Aunt Shannon and Grandma Linda, we even got both the costumes for free, yeah! The only thing better than having fun is having free fun! Ayana did not feel like cooperating for pics, but here is some cute ones of Asher. As part of the halloween party they took pictures of all the kids so hopefully one of those of Ayana will be better, if so I will post it when I get it. Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

straw maze

2009-10-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

Broulims, our local grocery store, set up a little straw maze in the edge of their parking lot, so last night we went over there to take some fall pics of the kids. Turns out Ayana is kind of a wimp and is scared of almost all the halloween decorations, but that is okay. She seemed to think it was pretty cool anyway and it was a fun little activity. We also got some family pictures taken yesterday, but both kids were pretty fussy, so we will see if they turn out. Luckily we found a photographer who charges only $5 so even if they don't turn out we won't be out much. I should have them back in about a week and will post any good pics when I get them. I also got a new haircut this week, I like it, but think that in a month or two I will go back and get it shorter. It was kind of an ordeal, first I went to the beauty school and hated the haircut they gave me, so after 2 days of trying to convince myself that it was alright I finally gave up and went to a different salon. She didn't really cut it how I wanted either, but it is much, much better and she gave me some nice highlights. I am sure when I get the family pics back you will be able to see the cut better. Here are some pics of our straw maze adventure!

Creations

2009-10-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

So I am so pleased with myself because I recently undertook my first attempt at reupholstery and I think it was a success! Nothing terribly difficult, and I am sure that many of you could have done a better job, but it makes me feel so accomplished, here are some pics

They used to have off white cushions and while they were nice when we first got them 4 years ago they were definitely showing wear and tear, especially from our crazy 2 year old. Reupholstering them almost makes me feel like I have whole new chairs!

While I am at it, here are some pictures of a bow holder I made for all Ayana's hair bows a couple months ago. Again, it was super easy but I think it turned out really cute and it is so nice to have them organized and all in the same place. My current project is a Minkee quilt for Asher (first attempt at machine quilting-wish me luck) then on to his Christmas Stocking!

Elder Oaks on Religious Freedom and Mormon Messages

2009-10-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

Elder Dallin H Oaks recently spoke at a BYU-Idaho devotional. I have read his talk several times now and think that what he has is very important and can help each us figure out what our role is in protecting our religious freedoms. If you are interested in reading this talk, you can find it here this is a news briefing about the talk that you can link to the entire talk from. Hope it gives you some food for thought!

While I am on that vein, have all of you seen the Mormon Messages channel on youtube? I hope so, I just love it. It is a site with a number of short video clips produced by the church. They are so uplifting and inspiring, taking the few minutes to watch one every now and then always puts my life back in perspective and makes my vision a little clearer. If you would like to check them out, click here.

Reunion Pics at long last

2009-10-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

So it's been a couple months, but I finally got a copy of all the reunion pictures on CD and had a chance to put some up here. It was so much fun to see all the family. As you can see there were a LOT of kids, a little crazy but a lot of fun. Enjoy the pics.

Way to go Idaho!

2009-10-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom, I think this bib is a little big!

All is well here, glad it is the weekend and I can get sleep and spend some time with my husband again. This week was spud harvest, which means they give all the kids a break from school so they can help harvest potatoes. Obviously it doesn't affect me much, but it makes me chuckle every time I think about it. Idaho, and particularly Rexburg, is such a farm town. I remember in the fourth of July parade there was choreographed Tractor and lawn mower driving. Sure is an interesting place. But I actually really like it here, it is a very family oriented place where they always welcome kids and have lots of fun places and activities for them. Ayana is finally starting to put words together. We still don't understand 85% of what comes out of her mouth, but she's getting there. She is such a sweet girl, the other day I swallowed wrong and started coughing, and she kept saying "you okay?" over and over while looking at me with those big eyes of hers. Also for the first time a few weeks ago, she said "I love you too" I am sure that you guys probably remember when that happened with your kids, it definitely melts your heart. Asher is getting happier every day. He loves to smile and laugh. He especially loves when Trever sings to him. We recently got the jumperoo out of storage and he seems to really enjoy that, as long as we stay close and help him jump in it. I sure am a lucky person, I have a great family and life. I look forward to the day when I average more than 3 hours of sleep a day, but other than that, my life couldn't be much better!

A couple new pics of our adorable Asher man

2009-09-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

I am still working on getting some pictures from the photographer at the reunion up on here, but here are a couple of pictures of our adorable little man to hold you over until I do.

Update on the Stewart Family life

2009-09-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Hello all, Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. Life has been busy for us here in little Rexburg. Since the last post we had a wonderful visit from Trever's Dad and his wife, it was so fun to spend time with them. Also we moved to a new apartment, it is tiny, but nice. Also it is A LOT cheaper than the last place so that will be nice. Our goal is to graduate from college debt free, which means paying off our current debt as well as not getting any student loans or anything, so cheaper rent will make that easier to accomplish. I am always shocked when people graduate with 10 or 20 thousand dollars of debt. Although, Trever's books for this semester cost $680, so maybe it is understandable after all. The kiddos are doing fabulous. We are lucky to have such good kids that adjust well to change. Ayana is so fun and adorable, she is always coming up with new things to do and ways to entertain her parents. She is still pretty slow in talking, but I can hardly wait to hear what pearls of wisdom she will share when she starts using real words we can understand. She is a shoe fanatic, she loves putting on her shoes and wearing them around and anytime we go to a store with shoes she gets so excited and you literally have to drag her away from the shoe section! We just found out that she is like her dad and is missing her later incisor teeth, I have been wondering why she has so many fewer teeth than her peers, but that explains it. It is not something to worry about now, but guarantees us a future of expensive dental work, and it is likely the other kids will be missing the same teeth as well. Oh well, that's life. Asher is growing like crazy as babies do, we got him one of those bumbo chairs that helps young babies like him sit up and he seems to enjoy that. He is also pretty good now at rolling over. He is a very smiley baby, and very cuddly, he wants to be held all the time (which makes it hard to cook and clean, but that's okay) He always seems to save his biggest smiles for Ayana and she always has a kiss for Asher and loves to share her toys with him. He especially loves when we sing to him. Trever is back in school again and so far things are going well. It is going to be a tough semester with lots of hard classes, but he is smart and I am sure he will do well. He just had an eye surgery this week to help with his glaucoma, hopefully it will keep the pressures down for a year or two anyway, we'll see. For me it is pretty much same old, same old, just working and hanging out with the family and trying to squeeze in the sleep where I can. I had another one of those moments where you wonder when you became who you are today. We just bought a washer and dryer that will be delivered today and I am so excited to get them and to own my own washer and dryer. I remember when I told Trever that I would never ever be excited about an appliance or anything that represented housework. Funny how we change and grow. I had a wonderful birthday, I asked for only money so I could get some new clothes and Trever found a babysitter for the kids and just the two of us spent a day shopping and went out to dinner, it was a lot of fun and I got some new cute clothes too. In other exciting news, since my last post I have 2 new nephews! Congrats to Shannon and Yvonne. That's life in the Stewart house!

Another birthday and a reunion

2009-08-02T15:20:00.001-07:00

So now it's time to post some pictures of Ayana's birthday, She is such a sweet girl, and I can hardly believe she is already 2 years old! Her birthday was while we were at a family reunion, so she shared her cake with her aunt Cassie and opened her presents a little late, but it was still a great birthday. The reunion was wonderful. My mom put a lot of work into plannning it and we all went to Island Park, it was so great to see all my siblings (except Shannon) and their families, and we had so much fun. We had a great photographer come and take pictures of everyone so when we get them back I will post a few of those as well. All in all a great few weeks in the Stewart family. I love my kids and husband so much, I am constantly reminded how lucky I am and how grea tmy life is. On other notes, I finally got a picture of my little Asher man smiling, so check out his new pic over on the left side bar. Also Trever, the genius, got straight A's again this semester, which means he was awarded a full tuition scholarship for next semester, we are so proud of him! Asher was blessed in church as well last week, his Father gave him a beutiful blessing, and he looked so handsome in his tie. Ayana on her new bike, a little big, but she'll grow

Ayana's favorite gifts were this ball from Grandpa Stewart

And this care bear from Grandma Linda

And of course she loved her cake!

Ayana's favorite activity at the reunion was the paddle boat

And her favorite person was her cousin Courtney, her new hero

Asher just loved that there was always someone willing to hold him

Asher Man in his cute little tie

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

So in honor of Trever's 28^th birthday, here are 28 of the reasons we love our Husband and Daddy (I know I'm a day late, but these days only a day late is good)

He is soooooo handsome
He is fun

He is smart (always getting good grades, and hardly ever studies)
He is very patient
He always makes us laugh
He is a great wrestler
He is the world's best tickler (that is from the kids, NOT Amber)
He gives the best hugs
He can always make us smile
He helps around the house
He always shows his appreciation for everything
He is a hard worker
He is very thoughtful
He lets me sleep even when he is busy
He supports us in our interests
He is like a little kid himself
He is very loving
He is very good at forgiving me over and over and over again for all the dumb things I do
He is the best cuddler
He is an excellent story reader
He is always willing to play a game (even if he's not willing to let anyone else win)
He is silly
He always puts us first in his life
He is always willing to just about anything we want, even if he really doesn't want to
He is an excellent carpenter, handyman, and general Mr. Fix it
He helps me remember everyday what a good decision I made when I married him
He always shows us and tells us how much he loves us
And the 28^th reason we love him…He is quite simply the best Husband and father in the whole wide world!

We love you Trever!

Love,

Amber, Ayana, and Asher

Fabulous Birthday Weekend

2009-07-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend we have had. Sunday was Trever's 28th birthday (we are beginning to feel old). So on Saturday we got a couple of babysitters (thanks Alisha and Jerilyn) and actually went out just Trever and I. We had a picnic at Mesa Falls and went swimming at Monkey Rock and the St Anthony Sandbar. Such a fun day. On Sunday we had dinner with our friends Austin and Mindy and did the whole birthday thing. Trever had his dream come true when he opened his present from his dad, a gas powered remote control monster truck. He can hardly wait to get out to the sand dunes to give it a try. All in all we had a great weekend just enjoying each other and celebrating the wonderful man in our lives.

Trever and I at Mesa Falls

Our little Asher man has started smiling and it is so adorable, just melts your heart every time. We have been trying to get a picture, but no success yet, hopefully we'll get one soon and we'll post it when we do! Here's a picture of our little man, he's pretty cute even when he's not smiling.

Our handsome little man

Ayana being silly at the 4th of July parade

Blast Off!

2009-06-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Grandma Stewart came to visit for a week, and it was wonderful to have her, she was a huge help around the house and with the kids. While she was here we took the opportunity to go to this really neat indoor playground in Idaho Falls called Blast Off. It is really cheap and Ayana loves it, so we all love it. Asher of course is too little to play, but I'm sure we will be there again soon anyway. here are some pictures of Ayana having fun. Also a picture of Ayana at Porter Park, she loves riding on the carousel and her Daddy taught her how to shake the reins like she is trying to get her horse to go faster-so cute!

On the zip line, she holds on surprisingly well

Gotta love the ball pit, there are balls everywhere at this place

Peeking at Papa

Faster, Faster

The almost stay at home mom

2009-06-16T15:41:00.001-07:00

So let me just say that I have loved this last month of being a stay at home mom. I love my life now, and try to enjoy every minute, but am definitely looking forward to Trever's graduation in a few years. Even though I am home during the day with the kids when i am working, I take every spare minute to get sleep, so I am busy, busy, busy. This month though, I have actually been ale to clean the house (and keep it clean) keep up with laundry, cook for my family, spend time playing and relaxing with my family, and still have some extra time for me. I am even hoping to be able to complete a couple of crafts over the next few days. Fun, fun, fun. Plus I feel so much more accomplished when I am able to get things done at home then I do when I get them done at work. Lets pray that December 2011 (Trever's projected graduation date) comes quickly, and that the economy has improved enough that he will be able to find a job so this can be my new permanent lifestyle!

Some more pics of Asher

2009-06-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

We got the pics back from Asher's photo shoot, so here are some more that we liked

New Photo of Asher

2009-05-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago we had some pictures of Asher taken by a couple who is trying to start a photography business. Since they are trying to build their portfolio they took the pictures for free and we can use them as we want, so that was a pretty good deal for us! We have only got one back so far, but it turned out great, here it is, our handsome little man...

He's Here!!!

2009-05-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

At 7:15 Monday evening we welcomed into the world our new baby boy, Asher Bailey Stewart He weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz and 20.5 inches long.

The labor was very quick. I went to the doctor's Monday afternoon and at about 3:30 he stripped my membranes. I really didn't expect it to do much since it didn't the last 2 times. I took Trever to work and Ayana and I went home. Around 4:30 I started thinking that I might be having contractions but wasn't really certain. By 5:15 they were about 3 minutes apart and I was making arrangements for someone to babysit Ayana. At that point I though I still had a little bit of time to go and was making Ayana dinner. Within another 15 minutes my contractions were about a minute apart, so Ayana's dinner just went with her to the babysitter. I picked up Trever from work about 6:20 and we headed to the hospital. We got there and started registering (which seemed to be taking forever because I was in some serious pain by then) but a nice off duty nurse saw me and took me right up to labor and delivery while Trever finished up the registration stuff. Luckily the doctor was already at the hospital and came right away. He gave me my anesthesia about ten minutes after I got in the room and about another 10 minutes after that Asher was here. All in all I couldn't have really asked for an easier delivery.

Asher is a little angel. He started eating right away and hardly ever fusses. He sleeps really well, in fact I have to wake him up to make sure that he eats often enough. Ayana seems to be adjusting well. She loves to look at Asher and today at play group when another kid was touching him she came and stood watch over him like his little bodyguard until the other kid left. She seems to have the makings of an excellent big sister.

Basically, we are ecstatic. So excited to have our new little family member. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes. Enjoy the pictures!

Still Waiting

2009-05-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

So I know that I am not due until Monday, so I should be patient, but my doctor has been telling me for 3 and a half weeks now that he expects me to go into labor anytime, so I am getting anxious! We are so excited to meet this new little one and end the waiting game. The doctor has stripped my membranes both of the past 2 Mondays, and everyone I talk to says that put them into labor within 24 hours. I guess this baby is just happy where it is for now. I am scheduled to be induced on Thursday morning if I haven't gone into labor by then.

Other than being tired of the waiting all is well. Trever got a new planer, so hopefully that will help his progress on the crib at least a bit. Of course he is doing well in his classes and things are going well at work.

Ayana is cute and sweet as always. She loves toddler lab on campus and is one of the more well behaved kids in the class which of course pleases her parents. She definitely does not suffer from separation anxiety, she runs right into the room the second they open the door. She is not very good at sharing yet, but hopefully that will come as she spends more time with other kids and when the baby is here. She goes to play group 3 times a week and toddler lab twice a week plus nursery on Sunday, so she is starting to get a lot of interaction.

We are participating in a community garden project this summer through the University. We went today and helped plant some seeds. Ayana and I helped with the children's garden we planted some sunflowers and sweet peas to be the outside walls of a house. Next week we will plant a pizza garden (a section of the garden that we will plant in the shape of pizza slices with the veggies, herbs and spices you use on a pizza). Ayana loved putting the sunflower seeds in the holes I made her and covering them up. She was pretty upset when we finished and there were no more for her to plant. We also helped plant some corn and beans. Other people planted carrots, lettuce, radishes, and a few other things. We are looking forward to lots of tasty fresh veggies as the summer progresses. As part of the project we are also supposed to have classes to learn how to can, so I am excited to gain a new skill and help build our food storage.

So as usual. life in the Stewart family is wonderful! We are happy, healthy and well. Hope you can all say the same!

2 weeks and counting...

2009-05-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

Well, as of today there is officially 2 weeks to go until my due date. I am so happy to have made it this far, though now I am ready for the baby to come! I really don't mind being pregnant. I am blessed to not have too many aches and pains, and when they come they are more like sharp twinges that go away quickly rather than constant aches. So I am just excited to meet my new little one and find out if it is a boy or girl. Trever is working on the crib for the new baby, but I have a feeling the baby will arrive before its completion. Oh well though, it can sleep in the bassinet for a few weeks without any harm. Trever is very busy with school and work and watching Ayana so I can get a little sleep here and there, so it's hard to find the time for the crib. After the baby is born though I will be home for about a month, so I can watch Ayana in the evenings while he build away!

Ayana seems to have decided that talking is fun, and she now says Uh Oh, and when she plays peek a boo she says "Where'd she go" and then "here she is" after she moves her hands. She says Da for Dad, but still no Mommy, oh well she'll say it when she's good and ready. She is starting a program called toddler lab next week. It is a program on campus to give the early childhood education majors real life experience. She will go for about 2 and a 1/2 hours a week and get to play with other toddlers and such. It seems like it will be more learning through play then formal teaching, but I think it will be really good for her. We met with the student assigned to her and the goal she is going to work on with Ayana is talking more. I am hoping that being around other kids that are talking will inspire her.

We took Ayana down to our local nature park yesterday to feed the ducks. I was worried that they might scare her, but it was quite the opposite. She didn't want to throw the popcorn to them, she wanted to walk right up and have them eat it out of her hand, but of course they just ran away from her. All in all she seemed to enjoy it. She loves animals, she will chase birds around the yard, and sit and watch bugs for as long as Mom and Dad will let her. She did get pretty traumatized when Trever picked up the earth worm she was watching and moved it to the grass. She was very upset that she couldn't watch it move across the sidewalk anymore.

So all in all life is grand here in the Stewart household. Trever is finding his courses a little more challenging this semester, but enjoyable. We are a very happy, and blessed family!

Easter and First Words

2009-04-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we decided to try something new this year and took Ayana to her first community Easter Egg hunt, it was a complete bust! They didn't have an actual hunt for the 0-2 age group, so we were going to have her try to hunt with the 3-4 year olds. However, the 3-4 year olds got too impatient and started themselves about 5 minutes early. The other bigger kids were so crazy that Ayana just kind of wandered on the outside of the circle and didn't get any eggs. After that we took her over to the 0-2 section where we waited in line to get an egg from the Easter Bunny, but the Easter Bunny gave her hard candy, which of course we wouldn't let her eat. Oh well, we got some cute pictures of her with her Easter basket at the park.

On Easter morning she did a little better and only needed a little help to find the Easter eggs and such hidden around the living room. She also loved coloring on the hard boiled eggs we decorated Saturday night. The Easter Bunny brought her a giant stuffed puppy as big as her that she absolutely loves and drags all around the house.

Ayana has taken her sweet time in deciding to talk, in fact she still has never really said Mommy or Daddy yet. However in the last week she has started saying "good girl" all the time. So I guess those are her official first words! I've never known another kid with those for first words, but it is certainly better than something like "no!"

Trever got his grades for the semester, and he received all A grades. The university is reviewing the possibility of allowing some more of his credits from school in Alaska to transfer after all, and if they accept them then he should qualify for a full tuition academic scholarship, so keep your fingers crossed that they will accept at least 10 of them.

Anyway, that's the latest with our little clan, will try to post again soon. Take Care!

It's a Wonderful Life

2009-04-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

So I am going to try to be better about keeping all our family and friends updated on our lives by actually using my blog. We'll see how that goes!

We are living in Rexburg, Idaho, where Trever is attending BYU-I. He is studying mechanical engineering, and although he is just starting, he is very excited about the prospects ahead. He is a great student who works hard and gets great grades as a result. He works a few hours a week on campus and manages to find lots of time to spend with his family, which we love!

Amber is working at Wal-Mart overnights stocking apparel. It means that I am tired a lot, but it also means that I don't have to send Ayana to daycare, and I get paid extra for working the overnight shift. I am expecting baby number 2 around May 18th. We are very excited to have a new addition to the family.

Ayana is an endless source of joy and entertainment to our family. She is such a good, happy child that we feel extremely blessed to be her parents. She just figured out how to give us kisses on the cheek and loves to do that. Her other favorite things are going to the park and playing with her hot wheels cars. She's growing so fast and it is amazing to see the changes and new learning everyday.

Well, I will try to post again soon. Hope you are all well!