Decorating and blessings

Last Sunday was a great day. Zach gave Blaze a beautiful blessing at church and then we decorated our Christmas tree that night. We had a great time as a family and it really finished off a special day. Blaze was a great boy and didn't cry or make a peep the whole blessing even though he was awake through the entire thing. I was a proud mama. I am glad to have a husband to be able to give my children blessings when they need them. The tree decorating was fun and we got to put on a couple new ornaments this year. See the pictures below:

It was cold outside so I put this blanket on Blaze while I watched Zach put up our Christmas lights. I thought it was cute that he looked like a shepherd at Christmas time.

Aynslee letting us all know where we should put things on the tree

Adding my new ornament. A close up picture down below.

Decorating

Zach got me this Kasey Kahne (nascar) ornament last year for Christmas. I had mentioned that I thought he was cute and so he gave me this to have on the tree. I think it was a joke but I put it on anyway!

We took our family picture. We only had to take 3 this year. I couldn't believe we were all (almost minus Blaze but babys don't count) looking at the same time.

Blaze in his ugly blessing outfit. I have hated this outfit since I got it for Jax. They don't have anything down here for blessings so I found this one almost 7 years ago and used it for all 3 boys. I couldn't buy Blaze a new one when the other boys used it. I am all about equality even if it was ugly.

Our family picture before the blessing. I love how Aynslee is throwing a fit and Zach looks like "why even try?" The 3 boys are good with whatever and I just laugh thinking "it WILL get better eventually" It truly shows our family right now!

Blaze at 2 months

Two posts in one week. I know, I am out of control. I took Blaze to his 2 month appointment on Monday and got his 2 month pictures taken today so I thought I would dedicate this post to him. Blaze at 2 months:
Still loves to eat!
Still does not sleep longer than 3 hours in the night and 1 hour at a time in the day (I still love him though)
Has THE CUTEST smile ever
Hates his bath
Smells SO GOOD
Loves his "chair"
Hates his bed
LOVES his brothers and sister
Loves to be held ALL the time
Is loved SO MUCH by his family

STATS:
13 lbs
22 inches long
He is quite the chunk and we love it. I can't tell you how many people ask to touch his cheeks and are amazed at his hair. For some reason all my babies have crazy hair. I love it and I love him. He is a sweet baby. I love looking in his eyes and having him smile at me. There is nothing like having your baby tell you he loves you through his eyes and smile. Almost as good as hearing them say it the first time. He is growing up so fast. I wish I could keep him small and cuddle him forever. I am also excited to see what the next few months bring. The JOYS of being a mother. LOVE you Blaze!! Happy 2 months

My Thankful Post

This post is a little late but I can't let this one go and not let you all know the things I have been thankful for this past month. I have decided to let you all know by a long picture post.

All the great family we had come to our home for Thanksgiving. Zach's parents are on a mission only 3 hours from us so they got to come. My sister Courtney and her family are living in Missouri while Dan is in Medical School. They made the long 10+ hour drive. Thanks guys. We had tons of fun with all of you.

I love cousins. They all had a great time together.

Finally Aynslee got to play with a girl cousin. There are not many girls on either side of the family so this was extra special to have Ryanne sleep over.

My sweet husband for taking care of Blaze while I made Thanksgiving dinner.
Love you Zach

I love Blaze after his bath. How cute is he? I can smell how good he smells by just looking at this picture.

I love that my kids love each other. I found them like this one morning watching cartoons before Jax had to go to school.

Aynslee is really into getting her own outfits. Most days she is really good and has great fashion sense. This day, not so much.

As overwhelming as it can be, I LOVE my four babies. I love that they are all such great kids. They are far better then I deserve as a mother. I am thankful that I get to be a mom and that I can stay home with them and watch all the great things they do and say everyday and not miss out on that. I LOVE MY BABIES!

At first I didn't like this, but now I love that my kids love to sleep together. Almost every night you will find two of my kids sleeping together. Sweet.

Our Thanksgiving crowd. Thanks for sharing that day with us.

I love Thanksgiving and all the great food. I love that I can eat as much as I want and it is ok. Great day!

Halloween

This years Halloween was a little different. We have a few extra things going on so we didn't get to carve the pumpkins or have any yummy treats, but we did dress up and go trick-or-treating. We went to the church party for a while and then decided to ditch that and go on base for some trick-or-treating. We saw some fun costumes and friends and the kids got a ton of candy. Even though it was different, we still had a good time. The kids looked great and had fun that's all that matters right? Here are some pictures of the kids all dressed up.

The 3 kids ready to go

Blaze didn't really dress up, just hung out with us wearing orange

Aynslee (Wonder Woman)

Shade the Pirate

Jax as Batman

crazy!

I know it has been 3 weeks! I promise one day I will post again with cute pictures of Blaze, the boys playing soccer and Halloween. One day I will have enough time to do anything but feed Blaze and wish for a nap. One day I will be able to eat something without someone screaming for something or try and decide if I have time (if I hurry fast) to take a shower before someone comes in asking for something. Am I complaining??? Nope, I wouldn't change it for the world. I love my 4 babies and would give up anything right now to make them happy. One day I will have all the time in the world, and then I will be wishing my babies are all at home again and I am taking care of them. So, for now I will go 3 weeks without a post and enjoy my life as it is right now.

Blaze H Stewart

For those of you who are saying "Blaze H, what kind of name is that?" Here is your answer. I like the name Blaze, I think it is a cool name that fits in with the other kids."H" stands for two great men in our lives. My grandpa Leaks name was James Hosmer and Zach's grandpa was Boyd Helaman. They were both wonderful men that played a great part in both our lives so we combined the two middle names and just used the H so we could name him after both. Here are a few pictures of my sweet Blaze, at the bottom is the story. Get ready!

I am so in love with him already! He is so sweet and LOVES to cuddle.

On the way to the hospital

All my sweet babies together

It is crazy that we have 4 kids now!

Daddy loving him

My turn

TIMELINE

Sunday night

9:00- I think my water breaks

10:00- Call my awesome friend Angela to come stay with the kids while we go to the hospital

11:00- Get to the hospital, my water did break, now we wait

11:30-6:00 Monday morning- MAD that nothing is happening and wishing I was at home in bed

Monday morning-

6:00- Pitocin

7:00 Lots of contractions, asked for my epidural

7:15- No epidural yet- half way there.

7:16- I told Zach to get a nurse, I need to push

7:17- Nurses laugh at Zach and say there is no way, I am only half way

7:18- Pushing where are the nurses

7:20- STILL no epidural- pushing

7:25- STILL no epidural- doctor comes in to see me- PUSHING

7:30- STILL NO EPIDURAL!!!- Blaze is born.

7:40- They came to give me my epidural. VERY MAD- But in love with my baby boy!!!!

P.S. He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. Monday, October 5, 2009 at 0730.

September Update

We are still here! I have had a ton of people tell me it is time to update, so here you go. It is not that I don't like to post, I actually think of blogging A LOT it is the downloading pictures on the computer that I hate! Most of you know how I am about pictures. It is amazing that I take any at all, and then to actually do something with them is a feat within itself. Anyway, we have had a pretty good September. Zach has been gone a lot which is not good, but when he is home we have taken advantage of it and done a lot of great things. We finally got the baby's room done. It is more like the baby's corner, but still a place for him to sleep. We went on vacation to Dauphin Island in Alabama and had a great time. There were not very many people at the beach, just the way we like it. We spent some very much needed time together.
Also, it rained here for 12 or 13 days straight and I was about to go CRAZY. But in the pictures below you will see what surprise we found other than the jungle grass. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I hope will tide you over until (Hopefully) the baby comes early and I post pictures of him. Cross your fingers!!!

The kids have decided to become monkeys

Sight seeing at Dauphin Island

The boys playing in the sand at the beach. Notice that no one was there. It was a great beach that we will be going back to. Anyone is welcome to join us!

Trying not to get sucked under

Baby girl didn't love the water and sat by me and played in the sand most of the time.

Such a beautiful day. It rained HARD the day before and as we left. Still a great day.

A weird way to sleep comfortably, but Jax didn't have a problem

This "little" guy was in our backyard one day. He was huge and looked mean. This is what all the rain brought.

A conversation with Shade

I am a little slow posting about Shade starting pre-school again. This is his second year and he is mad that it is pre-school again. He thought we was going into Kindergarten for sure this year. I am ok with him home a little longer though.
Today on our way home from picking him up I was asking him about his day. This is what I got:

Me: How was school today Shady?
Shade: Good, I found a really pretty mom.
Me: Oh ya, prettier then me?
Shade: Oh ya
Me: What did she look like?
Shade: She had on a dress with sparkles all over it.
Me: Very pretty
Shade: Ya, I kept saying "snap out of it head, snap out of it" but I couldn't stop looking at her.
Me: (Trying hard not to laugh) She must be really pretty, I better look for her next time.
Shade: Ya, but I still love you mom, Don't worry.
Me: Thanks Shady I still love you too.

How funny are 4 year olds. They speak the total truth and are so innocent. I think I better check this mom out next time and see what is causing him to check out moms instead of learning his letters. Love you Shady!!!! The first day of school

My cute Shade. You can't help but love him.

Dance Class

Monday was Aynslees first day of dance class. She was so cute and it was about the cutest thing I have ever seen watching a bunch of two year old point their toes and do their stretches. She did so well and was the only one that didn't cry and actually listened to the teacher. I was one proud mama. I was a little nervous about how she would do and if she even wanted to dance, but she surprised me and loved it. I think she felt like a big girl and finally got to do something herself. When the class started they took all the kids into the dance room and the moms had to wait in the hall. I was not prepared for that. They did have a a window we could check on them through so I didn't get any good pictures but I got some before we left so enjoy my pretty ballerina.

In her outfit ready to go

Waiting for dad to come home so he could see her before we left

My mom sent me this bag to hold her shoes in. This was my bag when I started dance 25 years ago.

Some stretching

and checking out the whole outfit

at class through the window

starting the warm ups and flag waving to music

First day of First grade!

First Grade!! Not as hard sending him off this year as it was last year, but still not fun. I had to drag him out of his classroom by his book bag for a hug this year when I dropped him off. Jax was ready to go and not nervous at all. It is crazy how much he has changed in one year. This year he has Mrs. Johnson as a teacher and says she is a little "pushy". (He heard his kindergarten teacher tell me she would push him to excel.) She seems great so far. He has 5 or 6 kids in his class that were in his kindergarten class so he was happy about that but sad his best friend is in a different one. They still play at recess though. I love to see him get off of the bus and tell me all about his day. Totally worth waking up early with him. We love you Jax and can't wait to see how "pushy" your teacher will be. Ready to go

Dad and kids before school

Mom and Jax before school
(7 mo pregnant)

My cute babies