Friends are Fun!

A few weeks ago, our friends Lee and Katie Caldwell and their precious boys, Weaver and Will Garrison, came for dinner and play time. We had such a good time catching up with them and Ellison and Weaver loved playing together. I think Will Garrison and William had a good time, too. Lee and Katie live in Birmingham and we don't get to see them nearly enough! Katie and I joke all the time that if we lived in the same town we would never get anything accomplished because we would always be over at each others houses for play dates and coffee. We would probably have dinner at each others houses, too!

It's Been a While....

Wow! I am really behind on this blog. I promise, I have the best intentions but by the end of the day the last thing I want to do is blog. I have been so tired lately. William is a VERY early riser. He likes to start his day at 5am and Ellison is usually not too far behind him. So, I am actually going to try to catch up on blogs this morning while William is napping and Ellison is occupied playing. We'll see how it goes ;)....

Family weekend at the lake...

We had our annual Brashier family fun weekend at the lake a few weeks ago. I always look forward to this weekend. Unfortunately, we only get to see Will's extended family about twice a year and every time we have a blast. There is always great food and great fun! We play on the lake, eat, stay up late, eat, play games, eat...we really like to eat! Here are some photos from that fun weekend!

Is she really old enough for this?...

Ellison had her first day of school this morning! She is in the 2K program at First United Methodist Church Early Learning Center. She was so excited! We took her to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then headed to school. I thought I was doing okay until we started driving toward the ELC. All of the sudden I was hit with images of her as a baby. I can't believe she is old enough for a preschool program! I felt the tears start to come but was able to swallow them before they became unstoppable. She was such a big girl! She walked in all by herself, gave her bag and her lunch to her teachers and started playing with her new friends. Will and I were both so proud! It was hard to be sad when she had such a big smile on her face. Here of a few pics from this morning...
So excited!

Giving Mrs. Laura her bag

Playing with puzzles

Her teachers: Mrs. Erika and Mrs. Laura

Daddy and Ellison before we left our girl for the day

Mommy and Ellison on her first day of preschool

Big Boy Bath...

William has officially outgrown the sink bath. We out him in the big bathtub the other night and he LOVED it. It reminded me a lot of the first time we put Ellison in the big bathtub. Both of my babies love the water!

Did she really just say that to me?...

A couple of weeks ago, I was in our bathroom getting ready for the day. Ellison came into our room and starting rummaging through our desk drawers (my guess is she was trying to find a pen). I told her to close the drawer and stay out of the desk. She then comes to the bathroom door where I am sitting doing my make-up and tries to close it. This is what she does when she wants to do something and doesn't want me to see. I told her No and she tried to do it again. I then got down to level, looked her in the eye and said "Mommy said NO" and do you know what the stinker said back to me?....

" I ELLISON AND I SAID YES!"

True story. She is ONLY 2. Wonder what she will be like at 16?

3 Months Old!

William is now three months old. It seems like I just wrote the entry for his 2 month birthday! A few things have changed during this month. He is really showing us his personality and beginning to interact more with us. Here are few new things:

1. You are no longer nursing :(....My milk just wasn't cutting it for you so you are now on formula. You take four 5 oz bottles a day. I am pretty sure that you will start taking more in the coming days.

2. You weigh 8 lbs 13 oz....yes, only up 2 oz from last month....see, I told you my milk wasn't cutting it.

3. You now sleep soundly through the night! YAY!!

4. You still HATE the car....but you Love when I ride in the back with you!

5. You laughed for the first time on July 30th! So sweet!

6. You have stated "talking" to us...

7. When you are eating and we take the bottle away from your mouth, you "yelp" at us! It is hilarious!

I can't believe my baby boy is changing so much! I love watching you grow and discover new things. I can't wait to see what this month will bring! :)

Happy Birthday America....and DOC!

Every year we celebrate my father-in-law's birthday at the lake house. His birthday happens to fall on July 2nd so we are able to also celebrate America's birthday! Gigi, Doc, Uncle Scott and Aunt Jennifer were all there. Ellison was especially excited to spend the weekend with her Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Scott....oh, and she was REALLY excited about the birthday cake!

Cute Toes!

Ellison had her first "pedicure" with her Gigi. She got to pick the color. She likes them all!

2 Months Old....

I cannot believe William is already 2 months old. It is going by way too fast! Here are some things William is now doing...

1. You are now grinning! You love to grin at me first thing in the morning. I will walk into your room and say "good morning, William" and you light up! It makes my day!

2. You have started to stretch out your feedings from 3 hours to 4. I cannot complain about this. You have even gone longer at night! YAY!

3. You love to sleep and snuggle, but you HATE your bed! You sleep in an incline rocker.

4. You love to be held and love to snuggle on my chest.

5. You search for Ellison when you hear her and when you finally spot her, you just stare. You find her fascinating. We will see is this is still true in a few years!

6. You weigh 8 lbs 11 oz and are 22 in long. People still like to say you are little, but to me you are such a big boy. You only weighed 6 lbs 1 0z when you left the NICU. So, we see how much you've grown!

Birthday Boy 4/22/10

First Day at Home


One Month

Two Months!

Three Generations of Stewarts...

William Robert Stewart, William Shaw Stewart, and William Davis Stewart (my sons ears are not that large. It's Will's hands that are making it look like part of his ears ;) )...

Father's Day....

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy! I am so much like him it is scary! Because he has to work on the weekends, I decided to cook him dinner the Wednesday night before actual Father's Day. The day was horrible and Dad had to listen to me crying on the phone all day, but I did actually get the dinner cooked (a little late) and I think he enjoyed it. I wasn't able to get any pictures that night because I was just trying to stay sane and awake, but I am posting a picture of my Dad...I love you , Daddy!

My Father-in-law, Bill Stewart, is also a wonderful Dad! He is the sweetest man and would do anything for anyone! I am so lucky to have him in my life!

My husband is the most amazing man ever! He loves me and our children with all of his heart. He is a wonderful husband, father and provider. I am so proud of him and proud to be his wife. I am very lucky. Ellison lights up when he walks into the room and William now searches for him when he hears his voice. They adore him and so do I! Happy Father's Day, Will!

Cupcakes for Daddy...

I asked Ellison what she wanted to give her Daddy for Father's Day. She thought for a minute and said "CUPCAKES"! I'm thinking she wanted them for herself as well. So, I went to the grocery store and bought yellow cake mix with Chocolate Fudge icing because it is Will's favorite. After dinner Saturday night, we baked the cupcakes. Ellison was very excited! She helped ice them and put sprinkles on ONE. The sprinkles were supposed to go on all of the cupcakes, but seeing the pictures I am sure one will understand why only one cupcake had the sprinkles! She had a ton of fun baking for her Daddy and I am pretty sure Will liked eating them as well!

Georgia (and Uncle Eric) On My Mind...

Laughing with Uncle Eric

Throwing "diamonds" in the water

Ellison thinks her Uncle Eric is hilarious!

So Cute!


This past Sunday, my mom and I decided to visit Eric and Adrienne in Georgia. They recently moved to a new house in a really cute subdivision and we wanted to see it. Plus, Adrienne is 5 months pregnant with my nephew, Luke, so we wanted to see her as well! The drive took about 3 hours and both Ellison and William did so well! It was really an easy trip.

Ellison was most excited to meet Adrienne's cat. She kept calling the cat Lucifer (after the cat in Cinderella) but I think the cat thought she was the devil. She loved on the kitty a little too much and has a scratch across her cheek to prove it! She spent most of the afternoon playing with her toys and playing outside with her Uncle Eric. She loved throwing the "diamonds" ( blue marbles) in the pond. It was so HOT but it didn't bother her. She was having fun!

William decided to stay inside in the cool house while we were outside. He slept most of the day and enjoyed being held by his Aunt Adrienne. Eric held him too and even tried on the Baby Bjorn! Wish I had gotten a picture of that! We really enjoyed spending the day with them and hope we can see them again soon!

Lazy day at the Lake...

This past Sunday, we decided to take Ellison to the lake house for some fun. She loves the water and played in it all afternoon. We even let her skip her nap. Needless to say, she was exhausted that night! She has no fear of the water and loved playing in it with her Daddy. Her favorite part was swimming between the buoys and "slapping" them. This is going to be a fun summer at the lake!

Our Newest Addition....

Our family of 3 became a family of 4 on April 22, 2010. William Davis Stewart decided to make his debut 3 weeks early. I was at a Barons baseball game with my Dad, Ellison and my nephew, Jacob when I started having contractions. After going back to my parents house to wait it out, I decided to head to the doctor late that afternoon. Dr. Kennedy decided to keep me overnight to see if it was true labor. I was still progressing the next morning and by lunch I was 4 cm. I was definitely in labor.
William came into the world at 6:20 pm. He weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 19 1/4 in long. He was perfect and beautiful. He had some trouble breathing when he was born and he was in the NICU for 6 days. He was on oxygen and had to have all of these tubes in him. He was so little in that big bed. Thankfully, he was able to come off of the oxygen after 3 days and they were able to monitor him until it was determined he was healthy enough to be discharged.
We brought him home on April 28 and began life as a family of 4. Going from one baby to two has been interesting, but not as hard as everyone said it would be. William is a very good baby and extremely laid back. He likes to just look around and loves to try and find Ellison. Anytime she laughs or squeals, he starts searching. My hope is that they will be close when they are older. Ellison adores him and loves to "help" Mommy! Above are some pictures from William in the hospital....

Trying Something New...

I have many friends that are part of the blogging world. I have often wondered if I would enjoy having a blog. I tend to start new things and then not quite finish them. I get bored easily. However, I decided to give this a try and actually try to stick to it. I think it is a great way for family and friends to see all that is happening with our family. I also want to use it as a "diary" for my children. I think it will be neat way to record all that is happening with them. I tried scrapbooking once and HATED it! I just do not have the patience for it. So, I am going to give this a shot. Hopefully, it won't take me long to catch on......