Finished Projects.

Well, let me do an update on the family first. London is getting so tall and thin! She wears size 5 or 6 in little girls and I'm amazed at how her pants keep shrinking in length! London is obsessed with babies. She loves her new neice, Ellie, and asks daily for a little sister...still. Poor child. She held Ellie for a long time during General Conference, and was so proud of herself! I finally finished the bathroom where London ripped the towel rack out of the wall. I put on a mesh patch, covered it in a joint compound, sanded, and repeated! I picked a blue-grey paint for the bathroom and love it! It was such a relief to get it done! Here's a before shot. And the after. That was my first project. My second project for the week was filling that urn I had painted and glazed. Wasn't it so ugly before? I filled it with styrofoam balls and squares. I then cut my faux flowers with wire cutters and packed them in the styrofoam. Voila! Not bad for about $10! That was my project numero 2 for the week. Saturday, Ty had to go to a court of honor, so I took the kids to my parents. They were babysitting Gabe so we all decided to go to the park. It was hilarious. London was in her own world and didn't really need any help or too much attention. Madden was dangerously fearless and launched himself down every slide before I could even get to him! Gabe was slower and more leisurely about the park. He was definitely a little nervous at the slides. Unlike Madden, Gabe actually would stop and take a picture. Madden wouldn't even stop for two seconds! Seriously that's the best he would do! We went to swing afterwards and Madden would squeal whenever I'd go up! He's become such a loud child. He says, "uh, DOO, AAAHHH!!!" for "one, two, three!" He knows that when you get to three something exciting happens. What a goof. London loves to comb Madden's hair. They frequently spend time in the bathroom for her to put barrettes in his hair and he gets to put his toothbrush under the water while she does it! They love each other. Nothings better when you have children whose best friend is each other.

Post Two for Today: Just Some Videos

What's New?

Yes, I'm really that behind...again. Lots has happened in the last month. Tyler had a fab birthday. We celebrated his birthday on Sunday but, then we had to do it again Tuesday just so we could eat another cake. Both of our kids fight over licking the bowl, but this time it was ridiculous. Every time I looked at Madden he was messier and messier. This is actually him trying to steal back the knife that I had cautiously taken away. Obviously, he doesn't get enough danger or chocolate at home. He has really come into his personality. Madden is loud. He's constantly yelling, singing, or speaking gibberish. He loves to grab his and London's bathroom stool or my little chest to reach things. In fact, Madden is regularly on the kitchen counter and scaring me to death! I've also caught him on top of the piano and sitting on the computer screen to name a few. Madden and London are still best friends for which I'm extremely grateful. They had a new game the other day of sitting on a snow shovel and Aunt Madeline was running with them. Madden thought it was the funniest thing ever. He laughed and laughed. Mom and I were just enjoying the sun for a short while. I really wish it would just get warm already! Madden is still getting into every drawer that he's not supposed to be in. Oh, and he's still obsessed with the vaccuum, broom, and mop. I totally forgot to post about my new little neice, Ellie! Danny and Emily had a beautiful (tiny) little girl! London has been begging me for days for a little sister. I said to her, "If Mommy and Daddy do decide to have another baby, we can't choose if it's a boy or a girl. We have to take whatever God gives us." She thought for a second and said, "God would give ME a girl!" Well, I tried to explain it to her. It seems like I'm always trying to explain so many things to her and so many times, she tells me the "truth". She is such a character. I think her lines make me laugh daily. I told her that Ty and I were going on a date last night and she said, "HOW DRAMANTIC!" I said, "You mean romantic?" She said, "No mom, I said dramantic, OK?" Okay then. London is my biggest helper. She really does do her chores and makes her bed without me asking. I think this is partly because she's OCD and the other part is that she takes pride in being a hard worker. I don't think I could have any more children if it weren't for another little Mother around to help. London's hair is getting better in some areas and thinning in others. She's a very high strung child and I work hard at keeping her stress levels down. The smallest thing can cause her to panic. For example: If she sees a spider, she screams as if it's her life in danger. Then she sobs uncontrollably and will not touch the ground. In fact, I picked her up one time and I tried to put her back down. No can do. She wrapped her legs around me and slid all the way down to my feet so that she wouldn't touch the ground. I feel bad for my little angel. She made a huge hole in the wall while swinging on the towel rack. I heard a little voice from the other room calling, "mooom,.....Moooomm....I broke something." And yes she did. London felt so horrible. Like a typical child, she wasn't worried about the wall, she was afraid whether I was still mad at her or not. Now the towels are residing in the bathtub and we are trying to wait for the patch in the wall to dry. At least I get to paint my bathroom a different color, right? London is somewhat aware of her hair loss and brings me her medicine so that her hair will be thick. London does find happiness in little things, however. Mandy is pregnant with a boy, Monica is pregnant with a girl, and Mary is pregnant with a boy. London thinks this is the greatest year because she gets all of these cousins! This is her cause of happiness most days! Tyler's job is doing great and I'm so grateful to have him home. Life is good to us.

Birthday, Anniversary, and Other Delights!

London's birthday was a fun day. I took her to Tangled to take her mind off of her hair situation. It was so fun just to have a little one on one time with my girl. I think she needed the distraction to be quite honest. She picked her cake which was deliciously chocolatey and actually had ice cream in the batter! You heard me! It was awesome! I then picked up some pizzas and we went to Mimi's to have a party. For some reason, all she wanted was a Pillow Pet. Luckily my mom got her a lamb and she was thrilled. She's named it, "Juju." No clue why. I also got her Fantasia and she's been calling it "Alotasia." Sounds like Alopecia doesn't it. Funny girl. The steroid foam is working well for stimulating hair growth. As of now we're just going to continue that. I did have to call the Dr. and ask how her labs turned out. I was so bugged that they didn't even call me and she had the suggestion of low iron! So we had to go back to have more blood work to see if she was anemic. I was really hoping that was it because that would have been the cause of her hair loss. But, no, she was okay. They said her iron levels just must have been low that day. Madden is really starting to talk. Whenever Madden is sad or angry, he dramatically falls to his knees. It's hilarious. He loves to watch his sister and tries desperately to copy her. He even brought me an elastic after I had done her hair and wanted it in his hair! Ty and I also celebrated our fifth anniversary this last week! Crazy how five years flew by. But, the biggest occasion was that Olivia went through the temple yesterday! Lib is going on a mission to Chile and we are so proud of her! It was an awesome day to be with the family. I love you all! Now I have to go to church and be the sub in nursery. Yay.

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!