Happy Birthday London!

I can't believe my little girl is four now! She's been asking when her birthday is for months. This morning she woke up Tyler by whispering, "Daaad...Daaad....You didn't even wish me 'Happy Birthday'". I'm pretty sure she didn't sleep last night. We have a fun-filled day and I will post about the festivities later. I just wanted to give a shout out to my little helper. I love you Lou! Here's a little video of the day she was born...wow, this takes me back.

A Diagnosis and A Handsome Boy.

I'll begin this post with the conclusion of London's hair issue and pictures of Madden in his new suit. We took her to a specialist last week and he confirmed that she has Alopecia Areata. Her blood was tested for Lupus (Apparently Lupus patients lose their hair in her same pattern) and her antibodies will show whether or not she will lose ALL of the hair on her head. The doctor didn't think it would be Lupus or that it would be Alopecia Totalis (Which is the entire head and face hair loss). So, for now we are grateful that it is what it is and not worse. London was so great. She didn't even cry when they took her blood. Afterwards I asked her what I could get for her and she wanted a bagel from Albertson's and a special drink from the gas station. (That's a fountain drink) She's handled it all really well but, is basically clueless as to what's been going on. She has a steroid foam we put on the bald spots and that should stimulate some hair loss. On a happier note, our family went to the BYU basketball game last Saturday. It was so fun! Madden actually fell asleep in my arms. He's such an angel. London was up and down the bleachers with Mia, only coming to me for M & M's. It was fun to be with the family and I had a great time. It was impossible to get a great picture however. I will close this post with a fun video of the kiddos. I was in the study and I heard them laughing hysterically. I grabbed the camera and caught Madden in his teasing moment! He's such a goof!

Do you love my princesses?

Me too. Madden has an obsession with shoes now....and apparently barrettes.

What a pretty boy. Ty's going to kill me.....

London Update.

London went to the pediatrician yesterday. She has had her blood drawn and they're checking for thyroid problems. He said it was unlikely that she had thyroid issues because her remaining hair would be brittle and it's not. We have an appointment with a dermatologist in a couple of weeks to see what he says. The pediatrician said it very well could be a form of Alopecia that he's not familiar with. London was such a good sport having her blood drawn. On the way home I asked her if she'd like an ice cream cone or a kids meal for being so good. She said, "No, I just would like a tortilla with cheese when we get home." What a funny gal. Wish us luck for the next appt. and I'll keep you posted!

Bowling Night!

Friday night, Ty and I decided we really need to take the kids out and have some fun. London has had a hard week and we wanted to have the least stressful time we could think of for her. London has been losing her hair in some spots for a while now and we've been VERY worried about her. She has every sign of Alopecia but, until we get in to her pediatrician, we won't know for sure. It's been a lot of sleepless nights for me worrying over her vanity. I don't think she's quite caught on to how much hair she has lost but, until then, we're going to try and distract her from her hair. So, bowling was a great solution! We walked into Boondocks and the kids' eyes just lit up. London ran around saying, "I want to play that...and THAT!" Madden immediately ran down the lane and we had to go chase after him. He fell promptly on his padded bum. A worker ran over and said, "I'm SO sorry!!! Does he need ice?" Uh....no..he's a one year old. All he does is fall on his butt. London was beside herself with how much fun she had. Every time somebody would bowl, Madden screamed so loud and long. Ty and I couldn't quit laughing at him. He did run away the whole time and would press other people buttons on their monitors. Some days Madden is just more than I can handle! After bowling, we let the kids go on a tiny carousel. London thought it was fun at first, but then I'm pretty sure she got bored. Madden was unsure of the thing the whole ride. He had a death grip on me and kept looking at me like, "Get me down, Mom!" It was a good night and we'll have good memories from it. Please say a prayer for my little London and her hair. She loves her hair and I can only imagine her despair if it all falls out.

Wanna See My New Table?

Isn't she cute? Thanks Mom. Update for the family: Madden has found his belly button. He's in to everything and drives me nuts. He loves anything with buttons and still obsesses over the vacuum and brooms. Instead of calling my parents' "Mimi and Papa" he says, "Mimi and Peepee". London is a 30 year old going on 4. She constantly wants sparklies on her eyes and loves any make up. She's pretty obedient and does her chores so she can watch a movie. Love those kids!

Week AFTER Christmas Recap!

Okay, this is post numero 2 for the day because I have so much stuff to write about. The week after Christmas Monica and Brad came out to visit. I love it when they're in town because every night is a party. Unfortunately Bradley was sick the whole time. But, good news was that they were our Pixie's and sent mom a box of gifts to give us during the month of December. I had no idea it was them! The day before Christmas Eve I got rear-ended and realized that my license was expired! Ty and I both decided to go renew our licenses the next week. While we were gone doing that the whole family went sledding. I guess Madden screamed the whole way down the hill. We finally got him to lay around in the sled and he let us drag him around. For some reason, I think he became scared of Dean because he's the one that took him down the hill! London, on the other hand, had such a grand time that she refused to come in with everybody else. Dean ended up staying outside with her for an extended sledding session. She finally came in when it was dark outside and she was freezing cold. I'm sure Dean was just as cold! My mom was kind enough to buy both of our kids snowsuits and boots after this excursion! We all went in to eat dinner after freezing our tushies off outside. Good thing Tyler called my dad to buy two extra pizzas just in case there wasn't enough to go around. Guess what, they're were two entire pizzas left over. I'm sure that's the last time my dad's going to listen to Tyler's frantic suggestions over food. I think the very next night my parent's watched all the grandkids so that all of their kids and their spouses could see "True Grit." It was so fun to be out with the siblings without the stress of children. Fortunately since half the women are pregnant in our family, (Not me, don't even ask.) they were all feeling well enough to go! New Year's Eve was spent at my parent's with London, my mom, and dad asleep in the same bed by 10:00 p.m.. The only people left awake were Tyler, Brad, and myself. We ended up playing Texas Hold 'em until midnight and missed the ball drop entirely! I've realized that I'm a terrible poker player. That was the last time I play that game with fruit loops! New Year's Day we went to a hotel where Ty's mom had gotten a room. I guess you could get a conference room only if you rented a room for the night. So, we had a birthday breakfast for Grandma Benard, and Ty took the kids swimming. Madden was so exhausted that I finally just held him in my lap while the Ty and Lew swam. Bad idea, he peed all over me. But, at least he was comforted. I finally rocked him to sleep and he slept in his stroller in the conference room whilst the rest of us played games. What good kids we have. After two weeks of staying up late, missing naps, gorging on goodies, and lots of family time, our kids were in reasonably good spirits. They're still recovering from all of the activities. Madden has been so beat that yesterday he totally zonked out in his high chair during lunch! London used to do this daily! Here's a picture of her so long ago! Well, today before church I decided to put good use to those snow suits my mom bought the kids while I shoveled. They were hilarious. Madden looked like Randy from "The Christmas Story." He could not walk at all in those boots. London was thrilled to be outside. I think they've been pretty cooped up lately. They even got rakes to help me out. But, now, both kids are asleep, London got a fever and Madden isn't feeling so hot either. Now I'm wondering if our morning shoveling was a good idea! I'll learn one of these days! I'll just say, that I was ready for the festivities to be over and get back to a normal schedule!