these are a few of our favorite things!

The kids got SOOOO many Christmas gifts this year....you should see our house....I feel like toys are every where. They loved all of their presents, but there have been a few that I would have to say are their favorites!
Emma Claire and Ella Cate love their Bitty Baby (from Dad, Julie, and Cy) and their Bitty Baby stroller (from Nana and Papa).

Ella Cate and her Bitty Baby.

Emma Claire and her Bitty Baby.

Cade LOVES his PSP (Play Station Portable).

Car loves it all....I guess his fave is his Spiderman scooter, but since I don't yet have a picture of him on it I'll post this one of him and his whale figure.

a Crazy but Cool Christmas...

I cannot believe that I am sitting here typing, and 2 days have passed since Christmas. Our whirlwind experience began last Friday evening, and things have finally settled down. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed every minute of our fun filled holiday, but I have to admit that I am a bit tired! Caden said that this was the best Christmas that he has ever had, and I know that Carson and the girls would agree. Here are all the things we got to do (in order) since last Friday 12-21.

1.Fri. night...Frosty play at Casa Manana with Brenda, Chels, Colt, and Carter
2.Sat. at noon...Christmas lunch and gift exchange at Nana and Papa's house
3.Sun. at noon...Christmas lunch and gift exchange at Mo and Wiss's house
4.Mon. evening...Christmas dinner and gift exchange with Sam's side of the fam at John and Madonna's
5. Tues. morning...Santa at our house
6. Tues. at 11:00...Christmas at Grancie's house
7. Tues. at 3:00...Christmas dinner and gift exchange at Zach and Pebble's house

Whewwww! See what I mean we have been going nonstop. Sam always tells me that we need to have only a few places to go, and that we need to slow down, but then we would miss something! How blessed we are to have so many people that want us to spend the holidays with them! : )

WARNING.....MANY pictures (that are VERY out of order) will follow...
The gang at Casa to watch the Frosty play.

Colt, Cade, and Car eating at Chili's before the play (which by the way is a tradition that has been going 4 years strong).

Chels, Carter, and me after the play.

The boys with an actor from the play.

Cy and Emma Claire at Nana's Christmas gathering.

Nana and Ella Cate.

Ella Cate with her Bitty Baby from Dad, Julie, and Cy.

Carson seeing Santa during Santa's surprise visit to MoJo's house.

Cade and Santa at Mo's.

Car eating a Christmas cookie wearing Mo's bling.

Emma Claire being kissed by her great-great grandmother "Granny" at Nana's house.

One of Carson's gifts at Nana's house.

Ella Cate eating at Zach and Pebble's.

Emma Claire and Daddy eating at Zach and Pebble's.

Me, Caleb, and Ella Cate with Santa at Mo's.

Mo and Wiss Christmas 2007.

This is what Ella Cate did when Santa arrived at Mo's...she was not thrilled to see him!

The Stewart kids at John and Madonna's...noone wanted to sit still for a picture!

A few of the favorites on Christmas morning....you can tell we needed our hair brushed and noses wiped!

Grancie and Emma Claire in her new coat from Grancie.

Emma Claire (after a short nap) and Scamper at Grancie's house.

The Stewarts See Santa

Today we visited Santa at Willow Bend. As you can tell, I had 2 happy campers and 2 not so happy campers! The girls wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. Thank goodness Carson and Caden let Santa know what they wanted for Christmas before we sat the girls down on Santa's lap!
We made a whole day of our trip to visit Santa...
1st we visited Grancie at her school Peter's Colony. Since Chels works there we got to hang out with her, and as an added bonus Brenda and Carter were up at the school for Colt's party.
2nd we headed to Willow Bend to see Santa. Chelsi and Carter came along (we were going to get a picture of my 4 kids and Carter with Santa, but the photographers were being snobby and they wouldn't let Chels take a picture with her own camera). When Chelsi and I were walking in she said that she saw a Dallas Cowboy, but she couldn't remember his name...this really excited Cade! We didn't have to wait long in line because Grancie had gotten there before us, and she saved us a spot in line. The kids were pretty good in line. Carson made a friend that was as rowdy as him, and in one part of the line you walked through a gigantic snow globe that actually "snowed". Everyone was happy until the actual Santa experience. Chels got many pictures to document our time in line, but of all days I forgot my camera today!!! : (
3rd we headed to the indoor playground at Willow Bend. The kids had a great time, aside from the boys being rowdy (and Carson serving 2 time-outs).
4th we went to the food court and we ate Chik-fil-A.
5th Chels and I packed up the kids and we took them to Stonebriar (Grancie had a school function). You might ask why we went through all that trouble of going to another mall...well WillowBend is a mall for the wealthy...they don't even have a Gap!!! ; ) We had a snack, and Carter ate his baby food. We walked around to our faves....Pottery Barn, Gymboree, and Gap...we missed a few because Carson was walking the whole way! Overall everyone was well behaved, and we really enjoyed hanging out with Chels and Carter!!

Here is what my gang is asking for this year for Christmas...
Cade- a PSP (PlayStation Portable), games for the PSP, and a Devon Hester jersey
Carson-a race trac for his cars, a Transformer, and a Woody doll
Emma Claire and Ella Cate- a carseat carrier for their dolls, and tap shoes like Dee-Dee Doodle on The DoodleBops

Congratulations Julie!!

Julie, my teammate of 4 years and good friend since Caden was a baby, graduated Friday morning from DBU with a master's degree in counseling. The whole process took her less than 2 years, and she is truly cut out to be a counselor! However, the rest of my team and I would like to keep her around as long as we can. Julie says that she is going to be picky about the job that she takes, so maybe that means that she has several more years left on our team. : ) On Friday night she had a graduation party at J. Gilligan's in Arlington. It was a lot of fun! They had a private room and they hired a guy that they found on MySpace to come and play guitar and sing. He was very good, and they picked out all of the songs taht he sang, so it was really enjoyable! The guests even got a few fun surprises....see below...

The Key 4th grade team...me, Carrie, Julie, and Kathy

Brian played guitar with the singer (Casey) during a song that he dedicated to Julie...( I don't know the name of the song, but it was sweet).

Sam and I...it was nice to be out and about for the night while Tyfanie (our wonderful sitter) stayed with the kiddos.

A mens' group from a local church came to the bar to sing Christmas carols. : )

Proud Parent of Preschool Performers

Dear Carson, Ella Cate, and Emma Claire,
I really enjoyed watching the 3 of you sing at your school musical tonight! My friend Brandy saved us a really good seat, thank goodness! I was able to see all of the action. Carson, I felt really special when you shouted "Mommy" and gave me a huge smile as your class entered the sanctuary. Mr. Carson, I was a very PROUD Mommy when the music teacher (Ms. Aimee) called your name to get your class started off in the singing of "Jingle Bells". You sang out loud and clear, and the rest of your class followed along. Emma Claire I was super relieved that even though you caught my stare as you entered the sanctuary, you were a big girl and you kept walking (a couple of other little souls in your class let out wails when they saw their parents). Ellie you didn't see us, but you walked into that sanctuary like you had done it a MILLION times before! I loved seeing you girls sing and boogie to "Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star" and "Feliz Navidad". Y'all really got down. I tried to get video, but I didn't really have a good angle with all of the other little ones jamming in the "mini mosh pit" : ). I guess the cool moves y'all know are coming from all the times that we have danced to The DoodleBops! After y'all sang you were very patient and I captured a few good pictures. Since you all were patient picture participants we got to go and have cookies in the foyer. I think the four of you (Cade included) ate at least a dozen cookies between you. Ella, Grancie said that you loved your cookies so much that you didn't want to share with her...we will work on that! I really enjoyed the show that the three of you put on tonight! What a joy it is to be y'all's mommy!
I love you!!!! xoxoxo Mommy
p.s. Cade you were a big help tonight. I loved how you knew on your own to get dressed in a collared shirt and put your cologne on before we left. You knew it was a special night! I love you!!

Our family after the big show

Ella Cate and Emma Claire with their teachers Ms. Alicia and Ms. Cindy

Grancie and Robin came to see the big show.

Nana and Grandad came to see the show too. In this picture Emma Claire is munching on her cookie, and Ella Cate is stressed out because she has finished her cookie and she needs another one. ; )

Sam is still celebrating 34!!

Tonight we celebrated Sam's birthday (a little late) with Grancie, Robin, Caleb, and Lindz. We all ate at Chuy's (Sam's favorite). We sat by the Elvis fountain which the kids loved. Here they are sitting in front of Elvis's garden decorated for Christmas.

Daddy and Ella Cate dining at Chuy's.

Carson

Caleb and Lindz...she reminded me that the last time we saw her Caden was 5!!! At that time he was our only child and Carson and the girls were pretty far in the distance. How overwhelming it must of been for Lindz to walk up and see our little fam of 3 had multiplied x2! It was great to see Lindz...it was just like old times.

One of the MOST Embarrassing Moments of My Life...

On Saturday afternoon I felt embarrassment like I have never felt. The most horrible breath taking embarrassment that one can feel.
It went like this....Sam and I had all of the kids at Foster Park on Saturday afternoon. Everyone was having a grand time. Caden was tossing the football with Sam, Carson made a couple of friends that he was running around with, and the girls were swinging, sliding, and having a great time! Two ladies were sitting on a bench, and they called Sam over. It turns out that they were sisters that Sam had gone to high school with. Sam was catching up with them, and we met their little boys. Carson seemed to hit it off with their boys right away. They were very nice, and the whole scenario was going really well. Then...all of a sudden a football thrown by Caden comes flying out of nowhere. It nailed one of the ladies right in the nose...REALLY hard! Immediately her face started to bruise, and she started bawling. Everyone was silent, and all we could say was sorry. The next minute was more than awkward, and it seemed to take forever to pass. We all sat there in silence while the lady bawled, and her sister consoled her. I had already asked if there was anything that I could do, and Caden had apologized. Finally I said "sorry it had to end this way", and we walked off. Writing this I am still mortified, and hopeful that the lady is not sitting somewhere tonight with a broken nose. I know her first name and where her kids go to school so I am thinking of having Caden write her an apology letter and somehow getting it to her. Or on second thought, maybe I will pray that I never see her again. Oh my goodness...what an experience!

The Stewart Six

Here is one of my favorites from our family picture session at Sears. This picture is our first family picture since the girls were born, and they are approaching 22 months old! I think the fact that Sam is having to hold Ellie's hands from going straight to her face gives this shot character! : ) I am so proud of myself for finally getting this done... last year at this time I knew that there was no hope that we would pull this off! Thank you kiddos for being on your best behavior, and thank you Sears for actually knowing something about photography (surprisingly there are several places out there that seem to know nothing!) !! : )

What a Weekend!

We began the month of December with a fun filled busy weekend. It seems like things never slow down in December, but I love this month! I look forward to it all year long! On Friday the girls' and Carson's church school had a Parents' Night Out from 6:30-10:30. It was only $20 for all 3 of them to go and have a blast! While the 3 little ones were staying entertained with games, crafts, movies, and sugary sweets Sam and I took Caden to downtown Fort Worth. Since Sam's b-day was Sunday we decided to celebrate early. We walked around downtown, got our picture with Santa, and ate at Mi Cocina. We all loved it! It was really nice to get to spend some alone time with Caden! I am sad that I was not able to post the picture of the 3 of us with the Sundance Square Santa. In a moment of desperation yesterday I handed Emma Claire my camera, and that was the one picture that she deleted. : ( Saturday morning started out bright and early for us! We had an appointment at 9:30 for our family pictures. We went to Sears for the 2nd time this year, and they did an outstanding job! It is not easy to take a picture of my busy children, so I was impressed that the nice girl was able to take some good pictures! The pictures were a little pricey since I am a cheapskate, but I told Sam that someday the kids will cherish those pictures...I already do! Saturday afternoon we went to cousin Nathan's flag football game. His team was in the YMCA's Superbowl, and they won. The kids had fun running all over the windy field and sprinting from Sam and me! Saturday evening I headed to Deep Ellum with Brenda and Chels. Austin's band was performing at The Door. His band is really good, and he is a natural onstage! By 10:00 we were leaving Deep Ellum and heading to Chuy's...yum! I had a great time being out and about with Brenda and Chels! Sunday we were shut in for most of the day! Sam had several leaf jobs that he needed to catch up on. Since, the gym is not open until noon on Sunday the kids and I were stuck inside. It was nice so at one point I decided to take everyone out on the deck. That was great until Emma ate dried bird poop ( which truly looked like little chocolate chips). It was so gross!! It smelled like something died in her mouth. I could not get rid of the smell!! After that we decided to go inside! The rest of our Sunday consisted of naps, grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning house. I know....what fun...but I am already dreaming of next weekend!Cade in Sundance Square-downtown Fort Worth.

All dressed in jammies and ready to go to CLC's parents' night out.

In front of a cool hot dog place on Knox Street (next door to Chuy's).

With Chels and Brenda at The Door in Deep Ellum.

Austin-lead singer-New City Horizon-The Door

Carson at Nathan's football game.

Cousin Nathan the football star and the girlies.