McAllister/Anderson Christmas FHE

12/19/11 - This happened to be one of the busier days of the month starting with a doctor's appointment out in Peoria, taking the kids to Aunt Lindsay's so she could watch them while I went to Glendale to get my hair cut, coming back to Peoria to find Malcolm taking a 3-hour nap (Lindsay is a baby whisperer), hanging out at Lindsay's for several hours while she curled everyone's hair (she had already done Stella and was finishing Hannah) including mine which does not hold a curl and became very flat and ugly by the end of the day before we saw everyone, driving all the way back into Tempe to pick up dinner at Chick-fil-A and eat it before driving out to Mesa to Uncle David and Aunt Lora's for our annual McAllister/Anderson Family Home Evening (which we were an hour late for). The only thing we didn't do was what we had planned all day . . . Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa. We satisfied the kids by telling them that we'd take them the next day. And then we dashed their hopes again by not taking them the next day either. We eventually got around to it.

(Bailee, Mylee, Hannah, Stella, Brynlee . . . just missing the baby boys Malcolm and Stockton)

Anyway, a great time was had at the FHE, totally disappointed that I missed Martin's lesson, so happy I captured some serious chime playing, relieved that the kids didn't break anything, and stuffed to the gills with all of the delicious dessert and appetizers that were spread across the freshly polished countertops.

I missed his lesson, but I didn't miss this photo op. You can almost see his laser vision.

The Random

We took Malcolm to his first theater movie. We saw Arthur Christmas, which answers all of the questions about how Santa can deliver so many presents on Christmas. Stella was super excited that the current Santa's real name is Malcolm. Malcolm was pretty excited too. He slept through the whole thing.

Christmas cards: I don't send them, but I LOVE THEM! Thank you!

I was having a bad Mommy day (those seem to be happening more frequently lately . . . let's change that up in 2012) and sent Stella to bed without finishing her Christmas present to her classmates. I felt bad, so I stayed up until midnight finishing them for her. They look easy, but holy crap, Pinterest is the worst thing that ever happened to me.

I love this warning to "new users" on the Kellogg's Fiber bar.

Just when we thought there were no more shenanigans up her sleeve, she learned how to climb walls.

Singing In The Rain

Stella was sick for 3 days of the week before school got out for Christmas break (which is why she feels like she's had 3 weeks off . . . as do I). Anyway, the day I had to pick her up from school, I had already arranged for Grandma to watch Malcolm so I could do some Christmas errands and since Stella is the kind of kid that doesn't know she's supposed to act sick when she's sick, we went to Target instead of going straight home to bed. I'm on the crooked path to Mother of the Year.

It had been raining on and off all day long and Stella couldn't resist stepping in the puddles. She did ask first (uncommon) if she could splash in the puddles while I put the bags in the car (we were in the back parking lot, not any through traffic). It had been sprinkling when we got to the car and by the time I was done with the bags, it was pouring! Like Little House on the Prairie kind of rain.

So we went home and watched Singing In The Rain. Stella loved it. And she still got over her cold.

Getting Ready For Christmas

Ball Challenge and Kabobs

We may have to come up with a new game since everyone seems to be mastering the art of balancing on the ball prior to their invite to our home. There weren't many completely ungraceful dismounts besides Heath's who took the "don't break your fall" rule extremely seriously, but the company was fantastic and the food was beautiful . . . and delish!

Emily Wilcock

Heath Wilcock

Juniper Wilcock

Jess Horton (Drew didn't participate . . . claimed injury)

Our Friend Curtis and His Jeep Named Lolly

Our friend, Elliot's coworker, Curtis has this crazy Jeep that he's named LOLLY. Lolly has a bunch of gifts and knick-knacks siliconed to her including the Rubix Cube we gave him a couple of years ago (see if you can see it on the newscast) and she's quite the site. Curtis entered a contest that ended last night to win a new jeep and was on Fox 10 News as one of the finalists. I hope he wins!

Lolly always draws a crowd.

My Little Elves

. . . seriously, Malcolm has elf ears.

There's a Mess

Brynnie Boo's fudgesicle face. Girl loves her some chocolate.

Happy Thanksgiving

"What is this thing?"

Elliot took a whole nap with the boppy and then woke up, took a look at it, and said, "What is this thing?"

I think he was concerned that it might have something to do with hemorrhoids. Didn't stop him from drooling on it.

Girl Likes a Little Sparkle . . . Even When She's Sleeping

Stella wore a new shirt to bed the other night. The sparkles on the shirt were, in fact, actual glitter. Not sparkles that are on some shirts, but I'm pretty sure someone just smeared some Elmer's and then sprinkled turquoise glitter on it.

Stella woke up with glitter ALL OVER her face and arms and it was even worse on her bed and pillow. Glitter is like sand . . . it's impossible to wash off. We were already getting a late start for school, so I did what I could, but Stella had to go to school with glitter on herself. I just found another dot of glitter on her forehead yesterday.

That's the end of that shirt.

P.S. Growing out some bangs.

Malcolm is 3 Months Old!

- Malcolm started the month off at 12 pounds 4 1/2 ounces (60%) and was 23 1/4 inches long (50%) and his head was 15 3/4 inches (50%).
- By the end of the month, Malcolm weighed about 15 pounds (i just sat him on the scale).

- Malcolm still despises his carseat and the swing and hates to be on his back, but he LOVES to be propped up on the couch or bouncy seat. He likes to show off his strong neck muscles.
- We figured out that Malcolm can tolerate his carseat if he can see Mommy. Both kids happened to be having a meltdown one night as we were leaving Grandma's house, so Mommy sat back with both of them to cuddle and hold hands and sing. Both kids were very happy and Daddy didn't have to drive us into a ravine with all of the screaming going on.

- Malcolm loves Stella.

- One of Malcolm's favorites is when Stella drags him by his legs across the floor. I just heard all of you gasp. No worries, it's a very short distance and he's on a soft blanket. Most of the time anyway.

- Malcolm loves it when Stella sings "Book of Mormon Stories" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" with the hand gestures. Sometimes they're a little not soft gestures, but he loves it.
- Malcolm giggled for the first time when Stella was singing these songs.
- Malcolm still likes his binki, but he doesn't have to have it all the time so he spits it out quite a bit. I'm not going to hook it to him though. I'd rather ween him of it.

- Malcolm drools a lot.
- Malcolm had his first cold.
- No more sleeping through the night. Malcolm started waking up every 2 hours to eat. Mommy's explanations to Malcolm that this is newborn behavior not the behavior of a young man his age haven't registered.

- Malcolm held his own bottle. Does he look blonde?
- Malcolm celebrated his first Thanksgiving. Though he behaved himself (not a lot of crying), he didn't like the noise and refused to take any significant naps or nurse properly. Ouch.
- Malcolm is ticklish, but doesn't quite know what to do with that information. He kind of has a pained look unless the tickle is accompanied by an absurd goo-goo noise from one who is tickling.

- Malcolm is finally letting other people hold him without becoming too cross. Sometimes he'll even fall asleep.
- When Malcolm wakes up from his naps, he'll push himself up on his hands so he can try to see over the bassinet side.
- Malcolm found his hands. I'm not saying he knows they are his hands yet, but they've made their way into his mouth . . . Mr. Drools.

- Malcolm gets upset really quickly. He could be making super happy sounds and then all of the sudden he will start screaming. When this happens and he is not soothed immediately, he gets red splotches all over his face and around his eyes.

- Cowlicks. Sorry son.
- He's officially nicknamed Mal. And sometimes I accidentally call him Sis.
- Malcolm finally let's Daddy hold him! Clap for him! He's accomplished a very big thing! Plus, he likes it when you clap.

We sure love this guy! Three months went by WAY too fast, but we couldn't imagine our family without him! He makes us laugh, gets us in trouble, makes us tired, adds a little extra volume to our noise level, makes us smile and we love every new thing he accomplishes each day! LOVE!

Update on Alivia

I've had lots of emails inquiring about Miss Livi's progress, so I guess I'll just update again here. I'm sure if you want a daily update, you could somehow become a part of "Livi's Liver" on Facebook.

Corey gave an update a few days ago and said that Livi is doing great and even opened her eyes. She is doing so well that they are having a hard time keeping up with her sedation medication. That little lady wants to move! Corey gave some ridiculous comparison in her bilirubin levels . . . before it was 36.8 and now with the new liver it's 3.5. I don't know what that means, but she's doing well so obviously it's a good thing. That comparison is insane!

Ryan gave an update yesterday and said that her skin is turning pink (instead of yellow) and though there are going to be set-backs and bumps in the road, she's doing really well. In fact, her liver is working so well that her other organs are having a hard time keeping up! So he asked that our prayers become specific for Little Livi's kidneys. Girl needs to pee.

I love praying for bodily functions. I never knew how much poop and pee could make me happy. Thank you, on behalf of Ryan & Corey, for praying for Alivia. What a miracle.

Pray for Miss Alivia Joy

Let's travel back 15 years ago when I was a student at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. I was so excited to be there and even more excited about having awesome roommates. Royal Crest #212 did not disappoint. I had great roommates! One a little stern, one air-headed, one absolutely crazy, one sweet, and one super quiet like me. We ended up being room-roommates and I knew we'd be friends for a very long time.

Corey was very nearly engaged to Ryan when I first met her and they were married before my first year at Ricks was over. Corey was the quiet roommate that would sneak in and make my bed or leave me a sweet note here and there to make my day brighter. And Ryan was hilarious. They were, and are, a cute couple.

When Elliot and I got married in 1999, Corey and Ryan unexpectedly showed up at our reception in Weiser . . . and she was 9 months pregnant! They now have 4 babies. One of their babies is sick.

Alivia Joy was born on January 20, 2011 and she is a miracle. Corey and Ryan update mostly through Facebook, but let me tell you that their updates have strengthened my testimony significantly. They are very strong people. It wasn't even 3 weeks ago that they thought they would be holding Alivia for the last time.

Miss Alivia is getting a LIVER TRANSPLANT today. Please, please, please say a prayer for her, for the surgeons, for her family, and for the donor's family.

Today is a very good day. :)

To read her whole story, click http://aliviaward.blogspot.com/. Chances are that if you are linked to my blog, Corey reads your blog and she loves you like I do. Her blog is http://cjward.blogspot.com/.

Lawn Mower

We have a new lawn mower!

I gave Elliot the out this year on planting Winter grass since we never go out there anyway. Looks pretty dead doesn't it? I'd rather spend the money on my quest to stop wearing maternity clothes.

He wanted to mow the lawn one more time and Stella happened to wake up in time to help him. She was so happy!