.:Christmastime:.

We had a lovely Christmas here in Utah this year. It has been really fun leading up to it because Reece mostly gets what's going on, and her excitement made it even better! Everything she saw at the store, she would tell me, "Mom, Santa wants to bring me this." She must be tight with Santa!

We started out our festivities in Grantsville at Granny and Grandpa Ken's house. The girls dove right in, helping Auntie Em make some cookies.

We had fun watching Christmas movies and playing dress up while we waited to get things going.

Annie Oakley anyone?

Granny and Grandpa Ken had a pinata for the kids. Basically, Reece swings the bat like a total girl. As Josh said, "We've got a lot of work to do this summer." I just figure it means she's going to be an awesome soccer player, it's way better than baseball anyway! Millie and Ty were champ hitters, and eventually we got all the candy out!

Next it was time for the white elephant gift exchange. We let the kids open all of the gifts, and then drew numbers to choose our gifts. Everyone went home happy, and the kids loved being in charge of the un-wrapping.

We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner (my favorite!) and then it was time for more presents! The kids were in heaven.

This is what Rem did most of the time we were out there; she was not feeling well, and didn't take much part in the festivities.

Harper with cousin Brooks; they are a week apart in age!

Harper with her aunties.

Our attempt at a picture of all the kids in their Christmas jammies.

Rem found her happy pants later in the evening...because of the huge tin of popcorn.

And we capped off the nite with some wrestling with Grandpa Ken.

Christmas morning, we woke up to get to church, and only got to look at the loot Santa had left.

When we told Reece that Santa had come, she said, "But I wanted to talk to him." Yeah. Not quite how it works!

We came home after a lovely sacrament meeting to do our stockings and open presents.

Remi wasn't really getting into it too much; she still wasn't feeling great, and Josh was sick as well. But Reece went to town, opening just about every single present in our house! I think next year I'll just wrap a bunch of empty boxes; she just wanted to un-wrap and un-wrap.

The girls had some fun playing with their new things before we all settled down for a nap.

Later that evening, we headed over to Ryan and Leslie's to have brunch for dinner, spend some time with Grandpa Gary, and deliver gifts to Grandpa Gary.

We had a great Christmas, and were all spoiled rotten! I can't wait for next year with the girls, it just keeps getting more fun!

.:December Fun:.

We had a super fun month in December!

It started off with a visit from Gramzee, or Gramz as Reece affectionately calls her. I was supposed to have a brand new baby for my mom's trip down, but instead had an almost one month old. Harper loved meeting her Gramzee for the first time.

We spent a lot of time at Target, and just running errands and eating out. Doesn't get much better, does it? My mom and I even managed to sneak a trip to Hobby Lobby and some sewing in! Later in the week, my dad flew in and my sister and her fam came on down for cousin Evie's baby blessing that was on Sunday.

Saturday nite of that weekend we headed downtown to see the lights at temple square. Harper stayed warm in her adorable new hat from Gramz and Grandpa Paul.

Remi basically was like the kid in Christmas Story; I'm pretty sure she couldn't move her limbs!

It was cold and crowded, but always an amazing sight to see!

We also spent some time with friends doing some fun activities. We went to the Christmas story time at the library, and Reece got to sit on Santa's lap. She informed Santa that she had Rapunzel hair and she wanted princess dolls for Christmas. It was her first year not being scared of him, which was nice! Remi wasn't quite sure what to think, but I didn't force her because it never ends well trying to force Rem to do anything.

We also had a fun cookie decorating party with our closest neighborhood buddies. It was a great time for the kiddos to load up on sugar and then burn it all off while the mommies had some nice chatting time.

And just for fun, some pictures of Miss H.

.:Harper - One Month:.

How can this sweet little lady already be one month old? This month has absolutely flown, even through the fog of not sleeping and taking care of three kids. I have to say, the adjustment hasn't been too bad at all for any of us!

Harper is just as cute as can be. She has always been super alert since the day she was born, and it's fun to see her focusing on things. I feel like she is pretty close to smiling; I can't wait until that happens! She doesn't hold eye contact for a long time, but she's making it more and you can tell she is trying to make sense of what she is seeing. She really enjoys looking at the Christmas tree.

We've been working to get Harper to take a binky. There have been a few times where she's had to cry really hard because I had to put her down to help the other girls with something (i.e. a meal, getting dressed, bath, etc.) It was so sad to hear her cry, but I can't neglect the other two either! Now that she is starting to figure out that the binky is not such a bad thing, it has made it a bit easier to get things done around the house. We still get in plenty of snuggles, but now she's able to be more content if I need her to be.

Harper actually kind of likes the swing! Neither Reece or Remi was a fan of it, so this is an improvement for us. We inherited a bouncer from the doctor Josh works for, so we've been making good use of both of them.

I've got Harper sleeping in her own little bed for the most part now. She still almost always ends up in our bed towards when it starts getting light outside, but half of the time it's because I'm so tired and too lazy to get out of bed and put her back down. She will sleep in our bed while I get ready for the day, which is kind of nice. She is sleeping okay at nite. She is starting to get more consistent with 3 hour stretches, sometimes 4, but still has nites (like last nite!) where she thinks she needs to eat every 2 hours! I can handle that during the day, but not at nite!

Speaking of eating, Harper is still generally every two hours during the day, but is starting to move more towards two and a half to three hours. If we are out and about and she's in her car seat, she will definitely go longer. She is a very spitty baby. Sometimes it doesn't seem to bother her, but other times she gets really mad. I still suspect reflux, but we'll see how things go over the next month before we consider medication for it.

(With cousin Evie)

Harper is just such a sweet little baby, and the girls are loving her. We are so blessed!

At one month, Harper likes:

- being held

- being swaddled

- binky (kind of)

- staring at the Christmas tree

- eating

- sleeping in her car seat

- sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed

- looking around

At one month, Harper does not like:

- baths

- diaper changes

- getting dressed

- having lotion put on

- being set down/alone for too long

Love this little gal!

.:Reece's First Dance Recital:.

This fall/winter, Reece started dance for the first time. We have a lady in our ward who was in ballet for a long time, and she offered to teach classes for free to ward members, along with some other ladies. For 'payment', we all had to put in time helping in the nursery while moms were helping with dance classes, as well as helping with costumes (which I was in charge of and I totally blame for putting me into labor early!)

It was the perfect situation for Reece. She is just barely three, and I didn't really want to pay for her to take dance at her age. This is a great way to get her involved and learning how to interact with other kids and listen to a teacher, as well as do something she loves: dance!

Her little class was aged 2-4 year olds, and they did a little mouse dance from the Nutcracker. Miss Natalie was the King mouse, and it was so cute to watch all of them.

Reece was certainly the star of the show! She had everyone laughing before we even started, while taking pictures. She just kept saying 'cheese' and holding it forever while we tried to get all three classes situated for pictures. I guess you can tell that we like to take pictures around these parts!

She knew her dance really well! I was a little worried her back would be to use the entire time, because during her dress rehearsal, she just looked up at her teacher and didn't look out at the audience at all. But she had no trouble doing her dance, and was super excited to do it! When it was over, all of the mice were supposed to go off stage, but Reece stayed up there by herself to take a few extra bows alone. It was hilarious! She is a natural born performer - a true Stewart trait!

It was a great experience for her, and we're excited for her to do it again in the spring!

With Mommy before the show - she thought she was pretty special putting makeup on!

With the other baby mice

All of the girls in the three classes (I cut out and individually bagged almost all of those costumes! Note to self: big projects = labor!)

Reece with her flowers after her performance

.:Thanksgiving 2011:.

We were supposed to head up to Oregon this year for Thanksgiving, but we knew beforehand that that wouldn't be happening. Originally, I would have been a week out from my due date and too pregnant to travel. Turns out we just had a brand new baby instead!

Josh worked at Macey's that morning, and then we had a nice dinner with Grandpa Gary and Auntie Em. The girls loved having company over, and all of the attention. They brought most of the food, and we feasted well! We're glad that we've got family close by to help us celebrate!

Here are a few pictures I took; I was a horrible picture taker that day!

Three beauties

The girls love their Auntie Em!

.:Harper - 3 Weeks:.

This sweet babe is three weeks old today! I can't believe my due date was just this past Friday. It's much better having a three week old instead of a three day old!

Harper had her two week appointment last week. She tipped the scales at 6 lbs 9 oz (6th percentile) and was 20.25 in long (43rd percentile). Her pediatrician was very impressed with her weight gain, as was I! But I guess that's what happens when you want to eat every two hours! She checked out perfectly, though, which is such a blessing since she did come so early.

I suspect that she has a bit of reflux. She fusses and arches her back after eating, and seems to prefer being in an inclined position or laying on my chest. Her pediatrician said we'd look into it more at her two month appointment since it could possibly still just be her body getting used to life in the outside world. She's a far cry from the fussy baby that Reece was, but she is still leaning more towards Reece's temperment than Remi's as a baby. But really, I can't say that I'm minding sitting around holding my snuggly little baby for a lot of the day.

Reece and Remi are doing awesome with Harper, they both seem to love her a lot. They have done a great job playing with each other and keeping each other entertained, which has been so nice for me since I'm stuck on the couch a lot with a nursing baby.

We're just loving this little gal, and can't wait for her to start interacting with us more. She's always been pretty alert when she's awake, but it seems like she's starting to focus in on our faces more now. I'm hoping for some smiles in the next few weeks!

And of course, a couple of pictures of these two beauties! Love all my girls!