He's 9 months!

I'm going to start out by officially declaring Xander better! He hasn't thrown up in 3 days and his diapers are back to normal. :) This is definitely happy news. The poor thing threw up at least twice almost everyday last week and Monday it was 4 times! You can totally tell he's lost weight.

On the right is Xander a week ago. On the left is Xander last night. Poor guy. :( Look at his skinny neck.


We've reached another milestone. Xander is now 9 months old. (Aliyah is 20 months!) He had his wellness check-up today and here are the stats for all interested...

WEIGHT 21.4 lbs (53%)

HEIGHT 30 1/4 inches tall (96%)

Everything seems to be going well and we are certainly glad he is feeling better. We love you Xander!




While we were there Dr. Thompson even wrote Jace an RX. I thought it was a terrific reliever for the stress of last week. Those doctors know what they're talking about. :)



As soon as we came home from the doctor he crawled into Aliyah's room and started reading about the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Our Outing

So my friend, Jess, totally has the best timing in the world! I was so bored at home, the kids were napping, and Jace totally said I could leave and do whatever I wanted. SCORE! Not more than 5 minutes after I left my house I got a call from Jess saying she was bored and didn't want to be at work anymore. So we made plans to meet at Cafe Rio for lunch. We had the best time! I love talking to her. It was so nice to just be with a friend and not have kids to worry about...just let our hair down and be who we are. It was the break I needed to go back to the kids (who are still sick, by the way) and be a better mom. Thanks Jess!

4 Things...

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago...
10 years ago I was 13...what is that? 8th grade?

• I was getting ready to end my 8th grade year...the worst in all the grades in my opinion...at good old Fairfield Junior High.
  
• I made the cheer squad again so we were practicing like crazy. And we were getting ready for the end of year assembly.
  
• I had a major crush on Adam Stevens...he had a girlfriend though. Too bad for him.
• Mostly I just hung out with my peeps...Ali Hardy, Laura Mellor, Bethany Torbensen, Kirsten Hoenes, and Janelle Shelby.
  

4 Things I was doing 5 years ago...
5 years ago I was 18.

• Well, I had been graduated from Davis High for about a year. So I was attending Weber State with my boyfriend, Josh, and his friend Ikey.
• Pretty much it was about Josh. Sad, I know. We were probably swimming a lot in his pool.
• I guess I did have a job. I worked at Pediatric Dental in Farmington.
• O - I had 2 jobs. I also worked at Staples in Layton. (Don't ever work there. So dull.)
  

4 Things I'm doing this year...

• Well, I'm not having a baby if any of you were wondering.
• Just being a mom and loving it
• Jace and I want to go on a kid free vacation.
• In November we are taking the kids on a Disney Cruise. I hope they like it.

4 Things I did yesterday...

• Laundry
• Went to the gym
• Grocery Store
• Played with the kids
  

4 Shows I like...

• Biggest Loser (sad it's over...glad for Ali)
• Prison Break (when is it coming back?)
• The Hills (Don't know why I'm hooked on all that drama)
• Anything on the Food Network, HGTV, or TLC
  

4 Biggest joys of the moment...

• My hubby and everything about him. He's a go-getter with a positive attitude, a great father, and a terrific husband.
  
• My kids. I love it when Aliyah and Xander play together. Mostly I love it when Aliyah doesn't take toys from Xander. She will give him his binki when he's crying, or pat him on the back. She'll even try to feed him. She is the best big sister to him. And Xander just learned to clap. He claps at everything now. It's so cute. It's the little things I love.
  
• Shopping...I was just looking online :D
• Probably where we live. I love the nice weather and our new home. Well, I guess it's not so new...well, 9 months. And I love decorating our new home. I can't wait to go buy more stuff!

Now I tag...Jessica, Crystal, Tyra, and Brittany

Good Morning

Once again, my poor little man is sick. I swear this kid can never get healthy. :( Yesterday he threw up 4 times (and cried every time...so sad) and also has...you know...out the other end. He just wanted to be held all day, which I was certainly glad to do. His cuddle faze ended too soon it seems like. But that can make things a bit challenging with 2. Especially when Aliyah saw that her brother was being held so she wanted to be held too. (Sometimes I wish I had 8 arms so I could do everything.)
Anyway, let's just say yesterday was a bit challenging, but I am so thankful for Jace who came home early from work to help. (Thanks, hun.)
This morning Xander got up extra early, Jace fed him and changed him before I got up (extra gold star for him!). He still isn't feeling well, but at least no more throw up. He was only awake for about an hour and he was spent. He crashed in his crib before Aliyah even woke up. (Yay for me.)



As soon as I put Xander to bed I heard Aliyah waking up. I opened the door and found this:


I laughed so hard. She must've had a pretty rough night to wake up with hair like that. But in all fairness to her, I did her hair curly yesterday so there was gel. But still, is that not hilarious?

Little Diva

Natalie and Ryan watched the kids for us on Saturday so Jace and I could go to the temple. Natalie must've forgotten her sunglasses. We found this on Sunday:

Look at the Birds!

Today the kids were so whiny, I think we were all just sick of being in the house. So, even though the wind was blowing at mach 2 outside we went to Bloomington where all the ducks like to swim. I thought the kids would like to see the animals.

Aliyah liked looking at the swans. I even remembered to bring bread so we could feed them. :)

But, Xander had a hard time letting it go. He also enjoyed watching the ducks.

Aliyah kept getting closer and closer to the edge. I know how mean swans can get...and they were in water...so Aliyah couldn't get as close as she wanted.

Aliyah just threw the swan some bread. The wind would carry it far so even her little throw would make it to the water.

Once the feeding began I guess word got out and every duck on the lake came over to investigate. There was a fight with every piece of bread thrown. After I took this picture even more came over. They all wanted food. Too bad I only brought 3 pieces. I thought there was more in the bag than there really was.

Good thing all the ducks were in the water because I think they would have attacked Xander for eating their bread.

Stickers

I was at Costco the other day and Aliyah had to have a huge giant coloring book of Dora. This book is about as big as she is and had a page full of stickers. Today, Aliyah and Xander found the book when I was in the other room. Here's what I found when I came back:


Good times.

So Hard

Ever since Aliyah could open doors she's been getting into the pantry and pulling out food she wants to eat. Usually this is food that I don't want her to eat because it was more work on my part. I would have to break it apart into a million pieces so she wouldn't choke on it. So, I came up with an ingenious way to let her down gently that she couldn't have any...I would fake that I couldn't open the food. I would pull funny faces, make grunting noises, and [pretend to] pull with all my might. Then I would tell her it was stuck and I couldn't get it open. Now, some of you out there might think this is mean, but she would usually do this around bed time and 99% of the time it would be something with TONS of sugar. You know those 2 don't go together.
Well, I guess that rubbed off on her because lately she'll pull some type of food out (in this picture it was fruit snacks) and now she'll try to open it. She makes the faces and grunting noises too. This girl is constantly making me smile.

Here she is studying the package to find a good place to pull.

Making the biggest grunting noise possible...most of the time that helps. :) You can't tell from the picture, but she pulls so hard she shakes...so funny. (She's doing it for laughs.)

It just won't open. Darn it.

(Don't worry...after I had a few laughs I opened it for her and she enjoyed every one.)

Where Do You Belong?

You Belong in 1957

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Jump, Jump

Xander has a new toy and he is in love with it! We borrowed this jumper from one of our friends (thanks Josh and Brit) because the kid just loves to jump. If you're holding him on your lap he'll just jump up and down. He's not that coordinated with it, but he gets the job done. Here's some photos of him. I did record it and that's funnier to watch, but I lost the cd to load our camera on our computer. :( So the pics will have to do.


When he jumps it plays music, which makes him jump even more. He'll even start dancing and then his legs sway side to side cuz they can't really touch. It is hysterical.

And this is what Aliyah does when Xander is in the jumper. She steals the walker. :) Silly girl.

Murder Mystery Night

Who killed the mob boss "Hal" Coppone? It was up to us to figure out who did it...no matter how long it took. :)
Last night was pretty fun. Instead of doing the normal dinner and a movie...actually, just dinner now we have kids that won't sit still, we decided (well, more me than Jace) that we would host a murder party. We chose "The Chicago Caper." It's about mobsters in the 1920's. We got some pretty good costumes too. Let me introduce you to everyone...

Here is Malissa F. Orrthot and S. Treighton Harrow (a.k.a. Sara and Ryan Stubbs)

Anna Maria Carlotta and Ernie G. Ambler (a.k.a. Jessica and Michael Alger)

Billy "the kid" Thrower and Molly M. Awbster (a.k.a. my hottie hubby Jace and me)

Eddie "socks" R. Gyle and Silky M. Adam (a.k.a. Tom and Jody Tueller)

It was a lot of fun discussing all the clues and figuring it out "who done it." In the end only 2 people guessed right.

Here we all are after a long night of intense interrogation. But we all made it through with smiles.
(Sorry about the red eye. I don't have photoshop. hint hint Jace)

Piano Man

Our piano has a disk lavier, which means it can play songs by itself. Xander thinks this is the absolute most awesome thing ever. He would stare at the piano for hours if I would let him. The other day Jace came home and took him into the den to watch the piano. He loved it.

Little Mommy

On Monday night I was home alone with the kids. While attending to Xander I noticed Aliyah was being unusally quite which can only mean trouble. So, I went around the house looking for her. When I was getting near her door I saw her pulling a blanket behind her (one she has never used before) and she was making her usual noises of "eh, eh." She didn't see me so I followed her to Xander's room where she had put her Puppy in the car seat, strapped him in, and was now going to cover him up with the blankie. It was so adorable. I ran to get the video camera, but by the time I got it she was done and headed out the door. (I thought I had a little time because she was trying to lay the blanket out first and get it nice and big instead of folded up.) She signed that the Puppy was sleeping.
Then, yesterday, I came home for a "potty break" with the missionaries and I saw this...

I had to take a picture. Isn't my little girl the most darling thing ever!!!?!!! I guess maybe she's thinking her baby's carseat isn't safe because it doesn't have the straps. Xander's is much safer! What a good mommy.

Terrific Conference Weekend

Well, I hope everyone watched conference yesterday and Saturday. It was a great experience for me. As I have gotten older I have come to enjoy it more and more. I think having a spiritual giant as a husband has helped too. I remember having my parents make me watch it growing up and I wouldn't really pay attention. Now I realize that these talks are for me and can be applied to every aspect of my life. I love the spiritual rejuvination you feel after they are over and the wanting to be a better person. I hope we can all apply these lessons in our lives.
To continue on with the spiritual high...Jace is our ward mission leader and this week it was his job to find a sister to go on splits with the sister missionaries. Well, I don't know if he even really tried, but he told me yesterday at like 5:00 that it was going to be me. I won't lie, I did not want to do it. I was worried about conversation driving them places and do I go with them or sit in the car...blah, blah. Stupid things, but I was just trying to get out of it. I am so glad I didn't. It was a lot of fun to see what the missionaries go through. We tracted a little and then I went to a discussion with them. They are teaching an 18 year old boy, Jesse, who has had a pretty rough life. He is living with a friend's family who are Spanish...they are members. As I was sitting there a thought came to me...Jesse's friend, Johnathan, was there for him and was willing to help Jesse find the gospel...it was that important to him. Am I that good of a friend? All my friends are LDS, but if I met someone who wasn't would I be willing to put myself out there and share it with them? I truely don't know if I am brave enough and that was a bit of a wake up call to me. I need to be a better person in that regard. I really appreciated the opportunity to go out with the sisters, even though it was out of my comfort zone, I think it helped me to look at myself and realize I can be better.

Viral Bronchitis....and Colbie Caillat

For about a week and a half now Xander has had a pretty bad cough, runny/stuffy nose, and hard time breathing. I knew it wasn't croup, (no barking like a seal) but I didn't know what else would cause the wheezing. I finally took him to the doctor yesterday because it just wasn't getting better. (I kind of hesitated because he had all cold symptoms and I didn't want to take him and then the doctors tells me it's just a cold and now my insurance gets billed.) But something told me it was a little more because his cough was so phlegmmy and deep in the lungs. So I took him and it turns out he has viral bronchitis. At least I took him before it got worse than that. So we gave him a treatment of Albuterol (spelling?) and the wheezing got better after that.

So, this is Xander getting his first treatment. He was so good and just put the tube right in his mouth...which is the ideal thing I guess. But, then again he's at the stage where everything goes in the mouth. Dr. Thompson gave me a nebulizer and some more medicine for this weekend to help him out. Then hopefully by Monday he'll be as good as new. I sure hope so. Sick kids are no fun!

We were at the doc's office for a LONG time, so by the time I got home we had to pack up the kids and take them to the lucky baby sitter's house. (Tara...Jace's cousin.) My wonderful hubby knew that I am in love with Colbie Caillat and bought tickets months ago to see her. So that's where we were headed with our friends! We ate at Ruby Tuesday's and then headed off to Tuacahn.

Us and the Stubbs' in the car. Jace was in the picture until he decided to turn the corner.

The rest of the gang waiting for the concert to start. Jeff and Kayla, Josh and Britnee, me and Jace.

I had to get a picture of just us. It was going to be a make-out picture (the couple 2 rows down from us was going at it) but we decided that holding hands was good enough.
The opener for Colbie came out and he is actually a guitar player in her band...his name is Tim Faygon (don't know if I spelled that right). He had a good voice, Jace really liked him. I, on the other hand, was just excited about Colbie, so his songs seemed to last forever. After the "brief" intermission Colbie came out! (O, and Miss Teresa...you were sitting 2 rows down from me and completely ignored me when I called to you. So, it made me feel really good inside. :( Don't worry, I'm over it now.)

So, our seats weren't as bad as the picture makes it look. (I hate how looking through a camera you look 20 feet away even if your only 5.) The concert was awesome. She sounded just like her CD too. She's a good performer. The only thing I would have changed would be that she interacted with the crowd more. She hardly said anything...but I guess it's all about the singing.

I really like that they allow you to take pictures during the concert. There were so many cameras flashing during every song. During "Bubbly" I looked out in the crowd and almost every person had their cell phone out recording it. It was pretty funny.
After she sang most of her songs everyone thought the concert was over because they all walked off stage. So immediately everyone started leaving. Then Britnee leaned over to me and mentioned that the lights were still off. So we waited like 45 seconds and the band started walking back on stage. Everyone went crazy and Jace and I ran down closer to the stage to take seats of all the people who left. Haha...suckas! So, we were able to take better pictures!

I would just like to say Thank you to my husband for being so thoughtful and buying us all tickets. It was a fabulous concert. Also, thank you for sneaking closer to the stage and taking these pictures...even though you didn't want to. :)

Boys Basketball Night

So my husband always feels the need to play a sport. Whether it's softball, flag football, or basketball...he doesn't care. He does them all. St. George is really great because they have city leagues for all these old timers. A lot of the time it's really fun because all the girls get together and have playtime with the kids at the games and the husbands can have their time too. Well, it seems that the seasons of the sports are ALWAYS overlapping. Right now Jace plays softball on Tuesday nights and basketball on Thursdays. Thankfully, he only has one more b-ball game to either win it all...or come home in second. Last night I took some shots of my surroundings while at the game.

Here's Team Lucid dinkin' around during half time

I actually got an action shot! He got the ball and then made a 3! Good job, honey!

Another action shot. Jace just shot this one too. I didn't see if it made it or not. I mean...of course he made it! :)

Aliyah had a fun time feeding Avery all of her Fruit Loops. She just kept giving them to her even if her mouth was completely full. Avery returned the favor and fed some to Aliyah too. It was so cute.

Here's 3 of the kids. Cru, Xander, and Aliyah. They mostly just ran around in the hallway, but at least they weren't running onto the court. This is one of their "resting" moments before they all took off again. It was worth it because it totally wore out Aliyah. She was fighting off sleep the entire way home.

Who Needs Lagoon?

We took the walker outside the other day so we could all enjoy the warmth and Xander could move around. He loved it. He has gotten so good at maneuvering it around to where he wants to go. So he got all positioned at the top of the driveway and then turned the walker and coasted all the way to the sidewalk. It was so funny. We would pull him back to the top and he would keep going down. He had the best time.


I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of him coasting, but he would lift his feet up and just go.

Of course, Aliyah had to be in the stroller. Here's a shot of them together.

Here's a better one of him going down the driveway. He absolutely loved it.