Christmas

We usually videotape Christmas morning, which usually means the camera gets forgotten. Here are the few pictures we have.

Addie's special present was a new bike. She had a tricycle that got taken away a few months ago (after a tantrum and refusal to ride it home) and has been asking for a new bike. She is getting too big for the tricycle so we upgraded, but this bike is a little too big. That didn't stop her from trying it out. As you can see, we didn't have any snow on Christmas, so out she went for a test drive (pajamas and all).

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we decided to head over to the Children's Museum to work off some of the Christmas (Santa Clause is coming tonight) anxieties. Addie loves the Museum, but was especially happy today to share the fun with dad.

After some fun at the Museum, we headed for the Grand America for a little scavenger hunt. You had to roam the halls to find all the ABC's of Christmas, ending at their bakery for a free cookie. It was fun. Later we went up to Great Grandma and Grandpa Stephens for a Christmas Eve dinner. We had a great time.

Heritage Park

Every year we try to get together with the Moss extended family at "This is the Place- Heritage Park". It is fun to see all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. We enjoy visiting the old homes (including the home of Brigham Young), taking a picture with Father Christmas, dancing in the dance hall, watching people ink new Christmas cards at the press house, ride the "train" (with wheels), pet animals, and just be with family.

The best part is the dance hall. Everyone has a great time, including Addie who thought she was the center of attention.

Gingerbread House Fun

This year I thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house with the girls. It ended up being a bigger, stickier, messier project than I thought. We had fun and Adelyn sure loved it. And of course, Olivia loved eating a licorice while we were decorating.

Santa on the moon

We were able to go with Grandpa Moss to the Chevron Christmas Party at the Clark Planetarium. We got to see an Imax and take pictures with Santa on the moon. It was really fun, and again Adelyn asked Santa for more "dollars". Olivia only lasted about 30 seconds on Santa's lap, but that was about 25 more seconds than I thought she would last.

9 Month Stats

Boy how time flies! Olivia is now 9 months. Here are her stats:

Height: 16.5 inches (22%)
Weight: 16.3 pounds (10%)

Poor kiddo has an ear infection and had a high fever all weekend. The doctor said that she needs to eat more fatty foods, but again we run into the dilemma of "healthy" fatty foods that are not dairy or nuts. Other than that, everything looks healthy and on track. She is crawling all over the place and tries to stand on her own. She is sleeping through the night {when she is feeling well}, and starting to take consistent naps. She loves to smile at others and is starting to wave "bye-bye". She is such a cutie.

Ward Christmas Party

Adelyn and Scott attended the ward Christmas party, while Olivia and I stayed home due to being sick. Adelyn loved being with all the kids and listening to Santa tell stories.

When she had an opportunity to sit on Santa's lap, she asked for "dollars" for Christmas. We think she picked this up when she went shopping with dad to find a gift for Olivia. Scott told Addie how many "dollars" she had to spend on Olivia. Apparently she wanted to get gifts that were too expensive and Scott kept telling her that she didn't have enough dollars. So now she wants more. Smart girl.

And this is what happens when you come home from a ward party all hyped up on sugar.

Halloween 2010

Fall is such a fun season. This year we were able to celebrate Halloween an 3 nights; the ward trunk-or-treat, pumpkin carving and magic show night with grandma, and trick-or-treating on Halloween Eve (it is Utah after all... no asking for candy on Sunday).

Aunt Alyssa helped Adelyn carve her pumpkin. As she was pulling out the "guts" she would say "ewww" and make faces, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Scott got to carve a pumpkin as well. I stayed on baby duty but enjoyed watching.

Adelyn dressed up as a fairy (ahem... we went cheep this year and only bought wings at the dollar store, she already had the tutu). It ended up raining when she went trick-or-treating so you couldn't see her costume anyway. Olivia was a pumpkin and sadly was having some sort of allergic reaction so her face is really red. Poor kiddo.

Overall it was fun, we ran out of candy {usually I buy too much so I didn't get as much this year... oops} and Adelyn has been on a sugar high for days. She keeps reminding me that she can have chocolate now... I should have waited to tell her that after Halloween so I didn't have to share. :)

Crawling

Olivia has started crawling. She is determined to be moving and is much happier when she can do so. Here is a little video of her trying her best to get around.



(*Note: I do NOT like that there are advertisements for other photobook videos.... I am going to figure out another way to upload when I get some free time....)
This poor girl is getting all four top teeth at the same time. It makes for a fussy baby and we cant wait for it to be over. Even though she has been pretty fussy lately, she loves to smile at everyone. We love her.

Allergy Update

It has been almost 2 years since Adelyn has been tested for her food allergies. I have been reluctant to get her tested because I have not seen a huge change in her reactions to the milk and egg protein. However, it was time to take her in and see what progress {if any} her body has made. The skin test showed improvement in both the milk and egg allergy. The egg allergy showed the most improvement, but she is still more allergic to egg than milk. We talked about her tolerance level, which seems to be increasing. Anytime Adelyn is fed processed milk/egg foods, she does not seem to have a reaction. At a family part she drank milk from another kids sippy and only got a few small hives, no vomiting or upset tummy. The allergist recommended that we increase her exposure to dry/cooked milk, slowly start her on processed milk products {such as cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.}, and maybe try some scrambled eggs when we think she is ready. Yahoo! The allergist was quite confident that Adelyn should not have any serious reactions, like vomiting or shock, and should outgrow her allergy in another year or so. This is exciting news for us! Hopefully Olivia wont be allergic {although chances are slim} and we can have regular diets in our household.

Cousin Time

Lindsay and Devin came down from Rexburg for the weekend. One day Katie was also able to visit. It is so fun having cousins around! Adelyn loves Levi (unless he is stealing her shoes) and I love having sisters around who can come visit occasionally.

Olivia, Adelyn, Molly, Levi

We decide to experiment with our creative sides and make a cake. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Of course, Devin had to get in and join the fun... boys definitely have a different humor :) In case you cant tell, the giraffe has been stabbed and its guts are hanging out. The lion is chewing on a bone with meat on it. Oh, and I am not quite sure what that thing is on the front... a devil? After cake decorating we sat around and played games {out of a "camp game ideas" book} and laughed ourselves silly. I hope we get to do it again soon.

Happy Birthday Grandma Stephens

For Grandma Stephens' {Scott's grandma} birthday we joined in on the big family get-together. It was fun to see everyone and celebrate grandma's 87th birthday! She is such a sweet lady.

Grandma and Olivia

This is the cake I decorated for her b-day. My sister-in-laws and I got together and played with fondant a few days before the party. It was fun!

Addie and her {extended} cousin Benjamin love playing together.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

When Dad's in Charge...

This is what happens when dad is in charge of breakfast....

I think he just signed himself up for bath-time too (and probably a little mopping).

6 Months

Olivia is now 6 months. Time is flying! Here are her stats:

Weight: 14.8 lbs (21%)
Height: 26.75 in (79%)
Head: 16.5 in (32%)

She has her two bottom teeth and is loving food. The allergist has recommended Olivia stay away from milk, eggs, nuts, fish, cereal (basically everything except fruits, veggies, and organic rice and oatmeal) until she is one year old. Other than the possible allergies and rashy face, she is healthy baby.

Moss Family Reunion

Over Labor Day weekend the Moss group got together for a reunion at the cabin. It was full of games, food, relaxing and fun. It was fun to catch up with everyone.

There was plenty of time for card games and football. Notice Addie's sweater... go Utes! {we temporarily bleed red -while Scott's in school- but deep down there is always a place for blue}In the evening we played a couple of "minute to win-it" games. It started out with shaving cream and cheese puffs. Hilarious fun! I think the winning number of cheese puffs caught in the shaving cream was around 40. I was partnered up with Addie. We only got 13. Since she is allergic to cheese puffs we had to use craft puff balls. Everyone loved this game.

The next competition was getting the balloon to the finish line while keeping it between your heads only. There were some very clever strategies.Then sadly, my camera died (and it got dark). The next competition was to put an Oreo on the top of your forehead and get it into your mouth using only your face muscles. It may be hard to believe, but I won! Scott came in second. Being very expressive comes in handy sometimes. The next game was to try flicking three spoons into a paper cup... if you watch the actual game on TV, you may know what I am talking about. The final game (between finalists) was to get golf balls out of a tissue box tied around your lower back. The contestants had to shake their hips to get the balls out. It was so funny. I wish I had more pictures. We all had a great time and hope to get back together soon!

Just For Fun

Just for fun Kayla and I made a cake out of fondant. We made our own fondant (which was easier than I thought it would be) and had a few minutes, without screaming kids, to decorate it. It requires more patience than I thought, but it was fun. I thought I would post a picture.

My first cake!

Just ignore the big finger hole in the front. Addie got a hold of the cake while we were not looking. I could have turned the cake, but to be honest, this was the best angle. Our bow needs a lot of work. I am thinking about trying it again (as soon as my kids start going to bed at a reasonable hour!)

Allergies?

My poor baby has eczema. Her face has frequent flare-ups of red, itchy, puffy skin. Given a large family history of allergies we decided to take her tested. We were lucky to get her in just a few days after I had called (usually it takes months). She was tested for milk, eggs, wheat and soy. The results came out negative, although the skin test can produce a false negative. They don't want to check her for nuts yet and suggested I continue a strict nut-free diet. We were told that over 60% of kids with eczema will have allergies or asthma. Given her family history (dad, sister, aunts, etc) with allergies, I don't think she stands a chance. Poor girl. Now we are just trying to combat the eczema so it doesn't get worse. Lots of creams and baths. Good thing she likes the water. We will do some more blood testing when she turns a year old. Even with her itchy irritated skin, she generally is a happy baby. She definitely makes me smile.

Adelyn's B-day

After Olivia's baby blessing we celebrated Adelyn's 3rd birthday. She was spoiled by her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles. She loves opening presents and getting new things. We had an ice cream party after lunch to celebrate. She loved it!

Adelyn went to her annual check up and I thought I would share her stats:

-27.5 pounds (17%)

-36.25 in (30%)

Overall she is pretty healthy. It looks as though she may be starting to grow out of her milk allergy, but not the egg allergy. We will take her to the allergist in a few months to check on her progress. She will start joy-school this week and she is really excited. We love this little girl.

Olivia's Blessing Day

We blessed Olivia on August 8th while my parents were in town. We decided to just invite immediate family members and bless her in sacrament meeting. It was a beautiful blessing. Here are some of the things Olivia was blessed with: (thanks to those who were frantically scribbling)

-compassion and understanding towards others

-ability to look into others hearts to understand, help, and serve them

-wisdom, courage, understanding and faith

-ability to see past the cunning ways of the adversary, to see what is important, the big picture, using faith like the North star for guidance home to Heavenly Father

-blessed with many talents and ability to use those talents to serve others

-blessed to be a great support to her family

After sacrament meeting we had a luncheon at our house and then celebrated Addie's b-day. Sadly I didn't take very many pictures. Thanks to everyone who came. It was a special day for our family.