Babes in Bloom

It is definately spring here!

The temperature has been warm and pleasant most days lately.

This field has thousands of jonquils and was in

full bloom the day we went to Greenville for

Jason's grandma's funeral.

Abby and Ella having fun.

Ella is 9 months now.

Lay Off the Bottle

The Super Bowl was an exciting game,

but the littlest fan could't make it until the end.

Doing Puzzles and Getting Stuck

Ella decided to help Abby and Katelyn with their game.

Abby likes to fit the pieces of Blokus together like a puzzle.

Doesn't she look like a big girl sitting in the chair!

We spent last Sunday at Josh and Laurie's house.

Abby got into her cousins' dolly high chair...

Getting out of it was another story.

Snow!

We had a light dusting yesterday.

Katelyn and Abby had a grand time playing in the half inch on the ground.

Of course, that means a snow day here in NC.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

We hope all is well for you this Christmas. We are blessed this year.
My parents came for a visit over Christmas and it was great having them...
and not having to travel ourselves! Here are a few shots of the fun.

Ella didn't really "get it" but had fun chewing on the toys and eating the paper.

Uncle Stephen was a popular playmate.
Yes, Jonathan has finally made it onto the blog!!!

First Haircut

Abby got her first haircut today.

Her hair has taken forever to grow, and

I've been afraid to cut it for fear of her looking like a boy.

Cookie Marathon

Laurie and I had a Christmas cookie marathon on Friday night.

Yep, more cooking than she's ever done before!

About 25 dozen cookies later, the kids had a great time decorating.

Anna, Katelyn and Ava trying to recycle the sprinkles

I guess they call sprinkles "hundreds and thousands" in Australia

because that's how many kids can fit on each cookie.

Abby and Ava rolling the snickerdoodles in red and green sugar

(No, they aren't wearing smocks, they had been playing dress-up.)

Abby got into the food coloring

Ava and Abby putting on the red hots

Mixing the butterscotch haystacks

Abby and Anna mounding haystacks

Katelyn making haymountains

Sweet Girls

Abby has been up to her usual antics and Ella loves to rough Abby up.
She will pull her hair and growl at her and then laugh.
Life is never dull.

Big Girl

Ella is 4 months and growing like a weed...almost 18 pounds now. She and Abby like to play - Abby tickles Ella and can make her belly laugh. Abby plays rough. Sometimes I'll go to protect Ella and find her cackling at Abby's antics instead of crying!

Katelyn got baptized a few weeks ago.
She was very excited when she came back from camp this summer and
decided to be baptized right after Vacation Bible School.
She is ready to do great things for God.

Abby and Ella got in some swimming time during the summer heat.
Abby isn't quite potty trained, but she is more than willing to strip down for any reason.

Ella at 3 Months

Ella is 3 months today!

...and teething already. Can you believe it?!

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was a joint birthday party for Katelyn (11) and Abigail (2).

They enjoyed the squirt guns and an inflatable waterslide loaned from a friend.

I made the girls a pool cake with a waterslide.

Abby got a "Princess" dress and loved showing it off.

Ohio Travels
Earlier in July, we headed to Ohio to see the fam. Ella got to meet her other great-grandparents. The kids got to enjoy Cedar Point with some of the cousins. Sammy and Livi were real troopers, enjoying anything we let them ride.

Proud sister

Abby is very loving toward Ella. She copies all our terms of endearment and calls her "sweetheart" and tells her she loves her on her own.

Ella is growing!

She weighed over 12 pounds on Monday at the Dr. and is starting to smile.

Bathing Beauty!

Ella had her first real bath now that her umbilical cord has fallen off.
(Or as Jon and Kate would say, her "unbiblical" cord.)
Abby enjoyed helping wash the baby.

Visit to the NC Great-Grandparents

We had a chance to visit with Jason's grandparents in Ayden, NC last week. It's always fun to show off a new baby to the proud great-grandparents.

Hello, all! Sorry this has taken so long. We came home from the hospital yesterday and things have calmed down now, so I actually have a minute of peace and quiet.
Now, for the story...
Wednesday morning, June 7th, I learned at my Dr. appointment that I was already 6 cm dilated. Fortunately, they agreed that there was no reason to keep waiting since I was already 2 days past the due date, so I headed over to the hospital to be induced. They broke my water around 11 or so and nothing happened. After several boring hours watching HGTV and Animal Planet, they finally gave me Pitocin to start contractions a little after 3:30. The pain didn't get bad until the end, and little Ella Jane was born at 5:17 pm, weighing 9 lbs. 15 oz! Her shoulders got stuck, so she has had some bruising, but she's a trooper. I didn't need any stitches, and I feel great. This time was much easier than Abby's delivery.

Ella is our little Indian Princess, with dark hair and dark/reddish skin. She must have inherited Jason's Cherokee blood as well as his hair!
Abby is enjoying being the little mommy and already loves to tell "Baby" what to do.
We'll post some more when we get a chance.

Ok, I'm finally able to post some pictures of Katelyn and Abby.

Our little princess!

Abby has already started borrowing Ella's clothes...she's wearing a newborn gown upside down like a tube top!

Katelyn just got her school pictures back.

Yes, I'm still pregnant! I'm still working, too. The toughest part of that is everyone looking surprised at me showing up each day. "Are you still here?" Obviously.

The Stewarts are ready to expand, once again! We are expecting another little girl sometime in early June. Fortunately, God knows the day and the hour for Ella's arrival, so we're just waiting (and trying to sleep comfortably).