Christmas Festivities

Mimi & Grandpa arrived on Christmas Eve in a Uhaul with a grand piano.  So the afternoon was a bit crazy trying to figure out how to get the piano in the house which included shoveling snow off of our yard--after the uhaul got high centered once. ;)  Then actually moving it, we have great neighbors who were very kind to come over on a holiday and help.  Have to admit I was a bit nervous during the moving process and worried how it would fit in the room and how to take care of it with little kids, but it is a nice addition and we will enjoy it. Thank you!

During the moving process, Mimi and I were working on getting dinner in the oven.  Venessa and crew showed up in time for Nate to help move the piano then we had dinner, opened a few presents, and let the girls watch Prep & Landing.

On Sunday the girls and I decided they could make gifts for everyone, so they weaved the aunts and Mimi pot holders, made bracelets for Izzy, Siena, and Uncle Jakey (since he was the one who started making bracelets with them), and Grandpa got Monster Corner bookmarks to go with his birthday books that he got early to enjoy on his upcoming vacation.

Traditional Christmas Eve pajamas from Mimi. :)

That evening before bed we watched a couple of Mormon Messages titled What Shall We Give and The Reason Behind the Season. We talked with the girls about how the best thing we can do for the Savior is to try to be like him, to be kind to others, be obedient, and how prayer is the way we communicate with Heavenly Father and know the things he would have us do. It was a nice discussion and I am so proud of my girls.

Christmas morning Lila awoke a little early because she needed to use the restroom (she was fighting her 4th UTI--more on that later). I told her she couldn't come downstairs until we were all ready and to go back to bed and if she got up again to get Mimi and Grandpa. About 30 minutes later I see her looking over the little balcony area and then she goes running to Ellie's room screaming, "Ellie, Ellie Santa came, Santa came."  :)  Ellie wanted to use the restroom before coming down so on the way there they noticed that Santa had left their stockings and a few bonus items of Frozen sister bowls and barrettes by their tree in the toy room--they were so excited because that is what they had wished for that Santa would leave stuff by their tree. Lila would not let go of the Frozen items and after every gift she opened she would go back and hold it or say something like, "Oh I just love the Frozen barrettes." Once again simple things making the difference.

Isn't he a cutie in his Christmas outfit. He is such a smiley boy now and sometimes doesn't know what to do when his sisters aren't gathered around him talking to him. His presents are pictured below on the right: a fancy playmat and some squeezable cars that wind up and go.

I found cute ideas for the girls to make presents for each other too. It was so fun to have some one-on-one time with them and to see the excitement as they made the gifts for each other. At first I wished I had started earlier than 2 days before Christmas, but they were having a hard time keeping it a secret, asking me every hour if they could give each other a hint or show the size of the present. They each loved their gift: Lila made Ellie a tie snake because she loves to read about snakes--much to Mommies dismay and it was a perfect craft for her requiring only stuffing, gluing on eyes and a tongue. Ellie mad Lila a butterfly mask because Lila loves to dress-up, loves butterflies, and has been on this kick making paper masks.

They received several presents from friends this year and we had them put them under the tree and wait until Christmas.

Daddy recording and opening his stocking. :)

Great Grandpa & Grandma Merrell (my Dad's Mom Dorothy) sent the girls a cute card with $2 to spend. They love getting money and were so excited. Grandpa Buckley even tried to help Lila put her bill back in the envelope, but she would not let go of it--it was quite a funny exchange. They were also generous with sending something for Andrew's gift.

Thursday, Jake and Marcee came up and we continued the festivities at Venessa's home. We opened presents, ate lunch, toured a home, and just visited.

 












Friday my Mom and I did a little shopping and then we went to Surf-n-Swim after which we drove through the lights again. :)

It was a wonderful celebration filled with love.  I am so grateful for the testimony I have of Jesus Christ and the opportunity that I have every year to focus on his birth and life. This season was especially filled with his love and peace as we welcomed Andrew into our family. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27). Merry Christmas!

All I Want for Christmas is My 4 Front Teeth

Well, technically only 3 since one of the teeth had already started to come in (if you remember August).  What causes this need for front teeth you ask, well after Ellie's cleaning in October the dentist noticed not only the prominent tooth coming in, but that the tooth next to it was trying to come in and the baby teeth just weren't budging so he recommended we pull the 4 front bottom teeth.  It took a bit of scheduling because we couldn't do it right before Halloween that would have been just cruel, then the baby, Thanksgiving and well we thought it might be nice for her to have the time off of school to recover so we scheduled it for this afternoon and didn't tell her until after school today.  As I explained she was going to have 4 teeth pulled she flinched and then I quickly followed with the fact that the tooth fairy would come and the flinching stopped.  She then opened a gift from Mimi & Grandpa that was so cute and thoughtful, a special pillow to hold her teeth and a sweet note with memories from my dental work (I had 8 teeth pulled 4 baby and 4 permanent teeth when I was about her age).

 

We asked her who she wanted to go to the dentist with her and she asked if Daddy would go so I sent them off.  Steve was good to text me updates which I greatly appreciated:

Stephen Moore: 2 shots down. She had been great so far. 3:44 PM Me: What a brave girl! Tell her I'm proud 3:44 PM Stephen Moore: Done 4:26 PM Me: She ok? Can I have anything ready for her when she gets home? 4:27 PM Stephen Moore: she's good. Be there soon. 4:33 PM

We had talked about possibly using the gas because she kind of freaked out with the flu shot, but she handled all 5 shots in her mouth wonderfully.  Steve said he noticed her hands were tense, but she didn't panic or cry.  They first sealed her four permanent molars.  Steve said they did a bit of drilling because a cavity was starting to form (she has never had a cavity before so I'm glad we got those teeth sealed).  As they were preparing to pull the teeth they talked about only pulling two teeth and Ellie said, "I thought you were going to pull 4."  Which in the end was determined to be for the best.  So they pulled out 4 teeth and one of them still had all of the roots and the dentist said that one he would have had to pull no matter what.  She came home and we visited for a bit while I changed her gauze and then we all snuggled in to watch a classic movie I recorded off of BYU TV called Snowball Express.  It was fun and we all laughed a lot.  I had put a Pozole (soup like dish) in the crockpot in anticipation of Ellie's condition and she was starving and gobbled it up with some applesauce and homemade chocolate mousse for dessert.  It was pretty funny because she still couldn't feel much of her lip so some of the food kept running down her chin.  Then at one point she started feeling more there and kept slapping her chin until I told her to stop.  She is a brave and strong girl!!

Left: Slight smile (still pretty numb), but you can't really see the gums.

Right: You can better see the gum and her one permanent tooth sticking up in the back.

 
I took this picture of Andrew and Lila sleeping while Ellie was at the dentist.

I found it a bit ironic since this morning we had just read about the Garden of Gethsamene and how Peter, James and John kept falling asleep while Jesus was suffering.

The dentist just called to check on us and all seems to be going well.  Can't wait to see what the tooth fairy brings.  Mom & Dad wrote a special note to her explaining the situation and requesting a special gift for Ellie. :)

Grandpa & Grandma Moore Visit

Thursday the girls were so excited to come home from school and find Grandpa & Grandma here.  Ellie pulled out her new library book to show them and then the girls both sat on Grandpa's lap looking at the book (it was an I Spy so they had fun hunting for things together).

When I asked Lila to get ready for her dance class she said, "I really just want to stay and visit with Grandpa and Grandma." Grandma even offered to go to class with her, but she didn't want to go--I thought it was a good reason so we let her stay.  Carole and I went shopping for a new dress for me that evening and scored one. :)  Then we visited and caught up.  They of course had lots of treasures for the kids including, a 13 days of Christmas countdown that they made at Thanksgiving with all of the other grandkids (since we were the only ones who were unable to make it).

Friday Steve had a presentation at work so we just hung around the house during the day letting Grandpa and Grandma love on Andrew and of course Lila, who was not afraid to tell Grandma that she should put Andrew in his bed (so that Grandma would be free to play with her).  When Ellie got home from school we made our annual ginger bread houses.  This year we got a little village set that was fun and used most of our leftover Halloween candy. ;)

I made a quick run to Walmart to get the grape flavored Ibuprofen since Lila started running a fever and refused to drink the Berry flavored we had.  Steve & Russ built some benches out of scrap wood we had for our Sunday gathering.  And then the day was gone (really the more sleep deprived I get the faster the days seem to go and the less I can remember--but I know we had fun).

Saturday Steve and I drove down to Salt Lake to pick-up his Christmas present.  I had ordered it and hoped that his sister Stephanie would pick it up and bring it when she came up on Sunday, but it turns out the machine was bigger than I had known so we drove down to get it.  Then we did a little shopping--mainly me dragging Steve around and then we got lunch to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary, which is on Wed. the 18th, since Steve allowed his work to schedule the office Christmas party for that evening (I really don't mind, but I sure like to give him a hard time about it).

Jake and Marcee stopped by for a quick visit since Marcee hadn't met Andrew yet.  They also got to see their dog, General who has been spending a lot of time at our house--long story--that involves my parents dog sitting and thus General being here anytime they come to visit.  We love him and the girls love to play with him and make him shake, but this time he dug a hole in our yard.  I'm pretty sure he was chasing a vole because that is where we saw a vole hole so as long as he caught the vole I'm ok with it, but how do you prove anything. ;)

That evening we decided to make hot cocoa, get Krispy Kremes, and drive around the Layton City lights with Grandpa and Grandma.  It took us longer than anticipated both at the Krispy Kreme drive through and the lights, but it was fun.  Lila continued to run a fever and complain of a stomach ache--she even turned down a donut not eating any.

Sunday morning we blessed Andrew (details in earlier post).  After the guests left we relaxed and had a short family home evening and then Grandpa and Grandma let the girls open their presents from them.  Grandma knew exactly what the girls would enjoy, crafting toys--a weaving loom and knitting kit (which didn't work, but we returned and got a bottle cap necklace kit they are so excited about).

That evening Grandma read them some bedtime stories which the girls loved!  We are so glad they came to visit--it was nice for them to meet Andrew and spoil the girls a bit. This morning as they were leaving both the girls asked, "why do you have to go?"  Hugs and kisses to them as they travel.

Andrew's Blessing

We decided to bless Andrew while Steve's parents were in town.  My family also said they would be available to come so we had a full house.  With both grandparents, 3 sets of aunts and unlces and two of my cousins and families, we've never had so much family--it was fun and crazy and so wonderful!  Andrew was a little stinker the night before keeping me up from 2-5 am.  Luckily I sent Steve to sleep in the bonus room so he could get a good night sleep before the blessing.  I was feeding Andrew at 7 am realizing nobody else was up yet so I at 7:30 I began to wake the group.  At 8:30 am we sent Steve and the girls with some of the family to save seats and for the girls to practice a musical number they were participating in.  I fed Andrew a bit again before I left with the Grandma's and Grandpa Stan who was taking pictures.  Andrew slept all through sacrament meeting and only began to fuss a bit as we were taking pictures at the house afterwards.

Not in group picture is Jake and Marcee who left very quickly so that Jake could ordain a member of his priest quorum (he is serving as the Young Men's President in his ward) and my cousin Matt Olenslager and his family and Mimi who took the picture. :)

We didn't get a picture of just our little family, but I'm sure we'll get lots of those later.  Sleep deprivation is really doing a number on me and I cannot remember or get to these details.  I even managed to mail the wrong thank you cards to people this week--that's what I get for writing a dozen or so while nursing at 11pm.

We all enjoyed each others company and some authentic Mexican food prepared by some sisters from the Spanish Branch my Dad serves in.

Also want to note the girls sang beautifully with a small children's choir and these are the words to the song:
Heavenly choirs must have had children
Singing along when they came to the earth
Jesus, I know, loves little children
So I imagine they sang at his birth
Halleluia, Halleluia
Had I been there, I would have sung
Halleluia, Halleluia
Praise to the Lord, praise to His Son
Praise to the Lord , praise to His Son

Christmas Wishes Coming True

Steve has always wanted a fresh Christmas tress so Saturday we went to a tree lot and picked out a Christmas tree. The girls thought it was great and stood watch by the tree we picked out until the lot manager came to get it for us--they didn't want anyone else thinking they could have that tree.

Then Ellie made a small Christmas wish list and one of the two items was a kid Christmas tree for upstairs. I remembered we had a little pencil tree I used during college years and so we brought it down tonight plugged it in and they were so excited. Ellie kept saying, "My Christmas wish came true." I bought a few small shatterproof ornaments they decorated it with (I know I have more ornaments they can put on the tree, but I haven't gotten to that box of Christmas stuff yet) and they were in heaven. After we took it upstairs to the toy room they decided to turn the room lights off and read books by the Christmas tree--they enjoyed that for 20 minutes before bed time. :) I'm so grateful for the small victories.

We started our traditional Christmas reading with the Gospel Art Pictures and I love it. I learn something every year by the questions my girls ask. The first picture was about the prophet Isaiah and how he prophesied of Christ's birth and told that he would be called Immanuel. The girls wanted to know what Immanuel meant so we looked it up and it means "God with us". I love Handel's Messiah and every time we read about the prophet Isaiah I can't help, but want to burst out into song, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Our Savior is truly the most precious gift of all!

Breaking Point

I called Steve last Friday, November 22 around 4:30 pm and asked him to come home because I had a fever of 102.3 and was shaking pretty bad with hot & cold flashes. I had another breast infection on the other side. We managed through the weekend fine--Lila got a cough and a runny nose so she had a few rough nights too, but Steve is a trooper, holding the baby and bringing him in for me to nurse, letting me rest, cooking meals for the girls (I complemented him on it and he said yeah I heated up chicken nuggets and some frozen vegetables--but I told him it counts for a lot right now). I was excited that we only had two days of school and then Thanksgiving break. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I have so much to be grateful for! That evening Steve jokingly said, "it's almost the weekend hunny are you gonna get sick again." Well I ended up in the ER Friday morning with some complications and that was my breaking point--I was embarrassed and emotional. I am extremely grateful that my parents were here to watch the kids and that Steve was so supportive and insistent that we go. The doctor helped with the immediate issue, but I will probably need to follow-up with a specialist to make sure things are resolved properly. It also happened that Lila started having the tell-tell signs of another UTI. I asked that while my Dad was here Steve and him give us special blessings of healing and that we go ahead and give Ellie a blessing too. Steve pulled a chair into the front room and Lila said, "What's that for? Oh, are you going to do the special prayers on our heads?" I'm so grateful for the priesthood and for a worthy husband and father who are willing to exercise it's power and bless us when we need. They were wonderful blessings full of our Father in Heaven's love and intimate knowledge of all that is going on in our lives now. I don't want to sound sorry for myself because I am so grateful for our new baby and I have friends who are experiences very difficult trials right now. So we will continue to count our blessings and pray for our Father in Heaven's mercy and love for all.

Our Little-Big Feast

With a new baby we knew we wanted to stay home for Thanksgiving and it so happened that my siblings had plans to be with the in-laws, so my parents came down and we had a simple sweet Thanksgiving.

Andrew had a rough night Wednesday so Steve & I were pretty tired. I let Steve sleep in while I fed Andrew and got breakfast going. My Mom got the turkey and stuffing in the oven and then I made roll dough so it could be rising. I saw this cute idea how to make the rolls look like turkeys and I knew my girls would love it. I gave them a quick demonstration and some instructions and decided they could use food coloring markers to decorate them with and they loved it. I think this will have to be a new tradition for us.

We also had mashed potatoes & gravy (Steve's favorite), candied yams (so delicious), and there was supposed to be a salad, but I was feeding Andrew when dinner was being set and didn't get the salad made nor did I make the fresh cranberry sauce like I had planned (I'll have to use them with the leftovers somehow). Anyway, the girls tried everything and we had a simple, but delicious meal and the company was GREAT!

Sorry, Mimi I didn't mean to cut your head out of the picture and Grandpa is blinking, but it is the only picture we took--memories. ;)

The girls were in charge of coloring the place-mats for everyone. We were going to write why we were grateful for that person on the back, but we ran out of time so we went around the table and said one thing we were grateful for and then said why we were grateful for each person. The girls loved it and kept us going and kept coming up with new things they loved about everyone.

On Tuesday the girls both came home from school with festive headbands so for a bit we had a turkey and an Indian running around our house. ;)

 

It was really nice to be able to chill in our home and enjoy each other. We let the girls watch a movie upstairs while the adults watched a movie downstairs and then we had apple pie and pumpkin streusel for dessert. Then we played Just Dance. The girls are getting so good at that game and it is fun as adults to get a workout and laugh at our good moves. ;)

We finally got a picture of Grandpa and Grandson. Aren't they handsome!

Lila's Ultrasound

Since Lila has had 3 UTIs in the last 6 months the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the kidneys weren't affected and that there is nothing physically wrong with the bladder. So we told Lila last night she couldn't eat or drink anything after going to bed. She asked why and we told her the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound and she said, "Oh to see the baby." Steve explained that it was the same tool used to see the baby inside me, but that the doctor wanted pictures of her belly and stuff. She was a trooper this morning only complaining a little of being hungry. She talked the admitting nurses ear off and asked the ultrasound technician questions like, "why is there red and blue in that picture?" The tech explained that it showed movement. Then as we were leaving she asked me what they are doing with the pictures. I told her the doctor would look at them and then call us to let us know what he finds. "Oh, then we can go pick up my pictures?" she asked. "I really want to see the pictures. That was fun. We should do that again." I'm glad it wasn't traumatizing now hopefully the results are normal and we can put UTIs behind us.

She's turned in to quite the little helper. Always willing to give Andrew his binky, sing to him, and just be patient while Mommy feeds him. :)

CRAZY!

It's crazy to think that Andrew is 2 weeks old. Our first week home was a bit crazy--remember how we thought we had avoided spreading the stomach flu . . . well Steve and I got hit hard last Monday night (Nov 11) and barely muddle through the day on Tuesday (Nov 12). Steve had to cancel a meeting he had down in Draper and we weakly made it through the day. Andrew was pretty fussy on Monday, like screaming in between feedings and Steve worked late and my Mom had left on Sunday and I was on my own and thinking, oh dear. When Steve got home and saw what was going on he felt bad and thought maybe Andrew might have some colic, but then when we got sick he was a perfect angel--eating and then happily cooing to himself until he fell asleep. We realized he probably wasn't feeling too well the day before which is what caused the screaming. To top off Tuesday we came to realize Lila probably had another urinary tract infection and her doctor isn't in on Wednesdays so I made her an appointment for after school and was grateful I was feeling well enough to take her. The next morning I went to get her antibiotic and they wanted $800 so I had to call the doctor's office and talk to the Physician's Assistance who called the pharmacy to change the prescription so what should have been a 20 minute outing turned into 65 minutes and Andrew's patience were wearing thin.

To be honest through it all I was still just so happy to be home with our new baby that I truly didn't mind surviving all that was happening. I found it nice to have time with Lila while I nursed in the mornings, we read books together, did puzzles and I think she enjoyed the time together too. We played a card game with the girls before bed on Thursday and I was feeling pretty good. Then on Friday I felt really tired and thought life was just catching up with me, then a fever and aches and pains came on and I realized that I had mastitis. So I called the doctor and he called in a prescription for me that I had Steve pick-up on his way home from work. 

We spent the weekend relaxing and playing as a family and catching-up on sleep. Late Saturday we went to Shopko so I could buy a couple of shirts with a coupon we had (my birthday present) and took the girls to get Krispy Kreme donuts with Ellie's report card--yay for Ellie! Yesterday was my birthday and Steve really wanted to do something for me, but all I really wanted to do was relax at home, so I did! I told him he could pick-up dinner one night this week when I wasn't up to cooking. 

Life is really good--can't complain that I get to spend most of my day nursing a cute little baby, even though it makes the days seem kind of short: nurse, get Ellie off to school, nurse, feed Lila lunch and get her off to school, nurse, then get ready to pick-up both the girls from school, nurse, dinner, nurse, bedtime. You get it, but really the weather is turning cold and I love staying bundled up inside with my new bundle! :)

Just realized I don't have any new pictures to post from last week so here are some mental pictures I want to remember:
*The Monday Andrew was so fussy Lila was not happy about all of the crying. I was trying to get her ready for preschool and she would just stand there with her fingers in her ears crying. I think there were still tears in her eyes when I dropped her off and at pick-up she was a little hesitant to get in the van afraid Andrew would still be screaming.  In contrast to yesterday's drop-off where she happily skips down the sidewalk and turns to wave good-bye and blow us kisses. She's adjusted to the crying that happens now and is very helpful.

*Ellie holding Andrew while Lila rubs his head so I can cook.  And how the girls always say, "Baby Andrew is so cute" with a sing songy voice or "baby Andrew we want to see your eyes, wake-up."

*Steve rocking Andrew so I can get a few extra zzzzzz's so nice!

*Andrew snuggled on my chest after eating. Love snuggling him like that! And how he holds his legs up and out like a frog--no wonder the doctor could tell he was a boy at 17 weeks, not afraid to let it all hangout. ;)

One picture since the title of this post was inspired by Lila's crazy hair day (they're working on the letter 'H' this week).

Picture doesn't do it justice she had 8 wild ponytails--she said it was a spider or alien look. :)

 

What a Weekend

You know how it is in a hospital, you can't really ever rest. So Steve & I are always ready to leave at the 24 hour mark after having a baby, but were not granted that privilege this time around. The on-call pediatrician wanted to keep Andrew around until 4pm on Thursday to monitor him so we waited . . .

When we arrived home the girls were ecstatic to have us home and kept saying, "oh he so cute and we get to keep him." Yes it's true it can be a little surreal, but he is a part of our family.

Friday morning there was a little knock on our bedroom door and when I opened it there stood Lila (which I found odd because she never knocks) and then she says, "Where's the baby?" The day continued pretty normal until Lila started throwing-up. Yep, she got a stomach bug that got her quarantined for 24 hours.  Poor critter. She watched movies upstairs and we all washed our hands a million times, did loads of laundry, opened windows for fresh air circulation and managed to not spread the bug although it did make for an extra sleepless night juggling a newborn and a sick little girl. Mimi was so nice to spend some extra time loving on her when I was busy feeding Andrew.

I also had to take Andrew to the pediatrician on Friday because his bilirubin levels were a bit high when we left the hospital on Thursday. Then got a call from the pediatrician that night that his levels rose again and he wanted me to take him to the hospital on Saturday to get his levels tested again and they rose again so we had to go to the hospital again today for another blood draw--poor kid has been poked so many times in his 4 days of life. The doctor just called to tell me that the test showed he only went up one point so he thinks he has peaked and will start to level out, but to call his office if we notice any changes in the next couple of days.

With this news my Mom decided to head home this afternoon, so now Steve and I are out numbered. ;) We are so grateful to Mimi for helping us out during this transition period and really making the weekend not seem as crazy. Life is wonderful and I am really just taking time to enjoy my newborn and family!

Left: the girls love playing the piano and singing for Andrew which he has loved since utero.  Right: Steve & Lila catching up on sleep.

My family was able to visit us in the hospital and meet Andrew. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of my Dad with the baby. He was so generous to spend the day with us on Saturday and take some family pictures that we used for our announcement above--thanks Dad/Grandpa!

Andrew Stephen Moore

Our little man arrived this morning at 10:27 am, weighing 7lbs 5oz with lots of black hair. I have to admit that I was nervous and a bit emotional about being induced, but with the doctor's guidance felt it was the best for us. At my appointment last week, I told the doctor I was nervous and he stepped me through the process and said it would be the easiest baby I've ever had, and he was. The labor and delivery almost erased the 9 months of pregnancy. 

Andrew spent his first 30 minutes screaming at the top of is lungs and still has this cute, high pitched pterodactyl like squeal when he gets hungry, but is mostly content and happy. He is adorable and we are enjoying every minute with him!

Lila is In

Steve went to tuck Lila in tonight and as he was tucking her in she said, "wait I have to move my arrows." She hopped out of bed and turned these stickers so they were pointing in towards her room. She then explained that she turns them out when she leaves the room so people know where she can be found. :)