Christmas Day the Anderson Way

How to have an Anderson Christmas:
Start with a WaY-To-GeNeRoUs Santa:
(It's not my fault, I inherited an overactive gifting gene from my mom and grandma!) Add a super cute, but overstimulated 18month old in new Christmas PJ's: Add a funny little blond that tears into her presents (and everyone elses,) and shouts out excited phrases at random intervals:

And last but not least, devour a famous Kimball style home-made Egg McMuffin.

EnJoY!

Christmas Eve the Cummings Way

Every Christmas Eve, we have a party with the entire Cummings side of the family. It goes something like this:
First, we eat tons of delicious food. (Usually sandwiches and lots of side dishes.)
Second, we have a (fairly irreverent) version of the Nativity story. This part of the night is so nostalgic to me, because now my kids are dressing up in the costumes that I used to wear when I was part of the play!
Next, we have a talent show, it usually borders on hilarious, rather than serious.
Then, ALL the kids tear into their presents from a way to generous Grandma Joye!
This year she made them all hats and scarfs! Here is a picture with most of the kids and grandma:

Christmas Eve has always been as fun for me as Christmas, since I was tiny, thanks to these family traditions.

Early Merry Christmas to Me!

My little bitty camera died around Halloween and I was so sad! But my super sweet Santa gave me my Christmas gift early (a nice Digital SLR camera) so that I wouldn't miss any more holiday moments. This collage is the product of me playing with my camera at my sisters studio with my kids, my super cute nieces, and nephew. The photographer (me!) needs A LOT more practice, but these cute kids sure were fun to take pictures of!

The Cutest Little Helper

I was doing laundry the other day and Rowen ended up climbing into the dryer while it was empty. He thought it was so fun, like his own little fort, so he kept on climbing in and out until I had to actually put clothes in. When I closed the door and wouldn't let him in any more, he cried and cried!

My Little Dancer

Makaylee started dance this year, and it has been fun, but I am really loving it now that she has had her Christmas dance recitals. It was so much fun to get her all glammed up and watch her shake it on the stage. It is so adorable to see little kids dance, they are so uncoordinated, and so hilarious! She really did an awesome job and we are so proud of her!

Preschool Christmas Program

Makaylee's preschool put on a little Christmas performance. They had made these little reindeer hats for them, and painted their noses red! They looked so stinking cute! Makaylee likes to dance. . . but put this girl on a stage and let her sing, and you see where her true talent is! She had ALL the words memorized, and she BELTED the songs out! It was almost like she was singing a solo the whole time, because you couldn't really hear any one else!

'Tis The Season

Here are some cute but random Christmasy pictures

Rowen looking out the window, watching Makaylee and Terrill shovel the driveway

The adorable gingerbread house Makaylee made at preschool

A psychedelic Christmas tree we saw at the Festival of trees

Makaylee's best impersonation of Santa!

Rowen's GI Scope

Just a Rowen update. . . Rowen had an upper GI endoscopy at Primary children's last week. It was no fun! I had to starve him until 2:30 in the afternoon! (But, since he doesn't really like eating, he didn't even fuss about it!) They let me be in the room when they put him to sleep, and it was really hard to walk away from his little sleeping sweetness. I think it may have been more traumatic for me because he at least got to sleep through most of it! But, it only lasted about 20 minutes, everything went well, and every thing looked good! He just has some acid reflux, and it is pretty mild. So-- no allergies, no ulcers, no Chron's disease, nothing really serious! (It WAS a relief, but we still find ourselves in a frustrating spot, having to force feed the kid 5 times a day! ) His GI Dr. has now prescribed Zinc for him to take. Zinc supposedly can stimulate your appetite, and make you hungry. . . Who knew?

Mmm. . . Chicken!

When Makaylee was 2 and learned the animal names, I would occasionally hold my breath for a moment when I served "Chicken" or "Turkey" for dinner. She is such an animal lover, so I was dreading the day that she would put two and two together. After 2 years without any drama on the subject, I guess I grew too relaxed because last night she surprised me with this question:

"Mom, do you think this chicken is SAD that we're eating it?"

Gulp. . . "No Honey. . .It. .Uh. . . doesn't even know that we're eating it. . . "

"Why?" She questioned

"Because. . . he is up in heaven with his family. . . so he is happy!" I stumbled

She quickly replied (with an obstinate voice,) "Why is his FAMILY in heaven? Did we eat them too?"

You Better Not Pout!

So now that Makaylee is old enough to understand, I can totally see why parents have carried on the Santa Claus tradition for so long. This time of year is awesome as a parent! Every time Makaylee starts to pout or cry, I remind her that Santa is making up his naughty and nice lists, and she instantly perks up and behaves well! Today, after I mentioned Santa, her eyebrows crinkled together and looked like she was concentrating really hard. She finally said "How can Santa hear us so well?" And then answered her own question: "Santa can hear us so well because he has really good. . . Ear-sight, Hu!"
He he he, I Just love the way kids brains work!

Babies Don't Keep!

This poem was hanging up in Rowen's GI Dr.s office yesterday. It brought a tear to my eye, because no matter how many hard days we've had with Ro's health, he is seriously the sweetest little baby. And babies grow up way too fast!


Babies Don't Keep

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due.
The shopping is not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there is a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing "Kanga" and this is my "Roo."
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?


The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, 1958

Twilight Trailer Spoof

Ha ha ha, I thought this was too funny! Can't wait for the real movie though!

I Know Why Mothers Go Grey!

Especially mothers of little boys!

On Halloween we were visiting Terrill's parents. Rowen was holding onto a little table and he suddenly fell straight down and hit his face on the edge HARD! I dove for him, and there was blood everywhere, I couldn't even figure out where the blood was coming from at first. Terry ran in and helped me look in his mouth, and it was a hideous sight. His front tooth, and the smaller one next to it were bent back and almost HORIZONTAL! He couldn't even close his mouth right because his bottom teeth were biting down on the broken top teeth! So, we made an emergency after hours visit to our AWESOME pediatric dentist. Dr. David Johnson. He tried the best he could to move the teeth back into place, but Rowen was screaming bloody murder and I had to leave the room. (I was having flashbacks of the ER from a few weeks ago.) He moved them enough that he was able to close his mouth right, but he told us that the teeth were surely dead and would go dark within a week! How sad to only have 10 teeth, and to have two of them damaged so badly! I just hope he doesn't lose them! Everyone keeps saying "At least they were just his baby teeth!" But when you are only 1 year old, you are supposed to have those baby teeth for at least 6 more years!

Look Who's Finally Walkin'!

Now that he's feeling a little better, Rowen has suddenly gotten determined to start walking! (It's about time! He is 15 1/2 months old!)

Oops I Did It Again!

I've done this once before in my life, and I SWORE I would never do it again! None-the-less, on Monday, someone called and wanted to see our house (our home is halfheartedly on the market.) I had about two hours notice, and two sick kids, so getting it clean and ready to show was almost impossible. People look everywhere, so you can't just stash anything in closets or the basement ect. Well, I did almost get it clean, with 15 minutes to spare, and then I remembered the 4 loads of clean laundry that needed to be put away. (Thanks to Sonya's quick thinking, I shoved that in the car!) Then I ran downstairs to double check everything, and noticed a few dishes in the sink. The dishwasher was full and clean, so I couldn't put the dirty dishes in there. So I quickly grabbed a plastic tray, stacked the dishes on it and shoved it deep into the oven (saying to myself several times "Do not forget to take these out of the oven after they leave!") Well, I did forget - until last night - when I preheated the oven. The oven beeped that it was ready, and I went to put our dinner in, and out came lost of nasty smoke! I looked deep in the oven and found this awful sticky mess! Now, I SWEAR I will never do this again!!!

The Hardest Day of My Life. . .

It started out like any other day, except that when Rowen woke up he was wheezing a little. I thought it was strange, so I brought him into his pediatrician. He wasn't very worried about it, but he gave Rowen a breathing treatment (that he screamed the whole way through) and sent us home with an inhaler. But, Rowen's breathing got worse throughout the day, until about 9:00 PM when I realized how serious it had become. I hurried him to the the instacare by our house where the Dr. confirmed my concerns. She said, "I'm sorry, but he needs to go to Primary Children's ER, I have called an ambulance and it is on it's way!"

Seeing my baby in an ambulance was about the saddest thing I have ever seen! (And something I never want to see again!) When we got to the ER he was given more breathing treatments and a lung X-ray. They kind of got his breathing and oxygen levels under control but his heart rate was through the roof (220 bpm) so they did a blood test and an EKG. It was about 3:30 in the morning when they told me that we were being admitted for the night. Every time someone new would walk into the room Rowen would start to cry and cling to me. They would do something to him like poke him, or suction him, and he would cry, and flail, and scream, and look at me like "Why aren't you saving me? Why are you letting these people hurt me?!" It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I felt the kind of worry that you learn only after you've become a mother. The kind that crumples you to the bed, and literally makes your heart hurt.

Luckily, my sweet sister and parents took turns watching Makaylee for us so that Terry could come up to help support us. I called my Dad in the morning and asked him if he would come give Rowen a blessing with Terry. After the blessing he steadily got better! First the oxygen came off, then his heart rate slowed, and then he finally started to be his silly, goofy, precious self. He would even say "Hi" to the nurses that came in to "torture" him, and then he would wave "bye" to them when they left!

We finally discharged at about 8:00PM last night. They told us that it was probably a virus that had just targeted his lungs and heart. Rowen is doing much better today, he's just had to use his inhaler a few times. He is still not eating or drinking well, but that is not really new! I am so thankful to have him home, and be able to hold him without 5 tubes and cords attached to him! And I am so thankful for the priesthood and the power of blessings!

2 Reasons not to leave your baby alone with Rowen:

Free = Fun

We found the cutest little museum in South Jordan. It's called the Gale Center (about 10200 S. and 1500 W- it's right across the street from the DMV.) The best part is that it is free! It has a fun kids play area, similar to the Children's Museum with a store, a classroom, and a house. There were the cutest grandma and grandpa Docents there that paid tons of attention to Makaylee because no one else was there, and she loved it. Washing clothes the old fashioned wayBaking Muffins

Exploring the Mine
Teacher Makaylee

Rowen, filling up his tank!

Where Does She Learn This?

4-year-olds say some of the funniest things. Here are a few things KK has said lately that have cracked me up:

I was leaving for work and I said "I love you, forever!"
Makaylee looked at me funny and said "WHAT?!"
I said "I love you forever!"
She giggled and said "I love you HAMBURGER!"

She was stalling her bedtime with Terrill and he started getting frustrated with her. He said in a stern voice "Makaylee, it really is time to go to bed right NOW!"
She looked at him, put her hands on her hips and said "Well, Daddy, I don't think your striped shirt is very handsome!"

She was making a fort with her friends, and was super hyper. I gave her a rug to put in her hideout and she yelled "Yes, Mommy! You are a genius!"

Who Does KK look Like?

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Who does Rowen Look Like?

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Grocery Smarts

About a week ago I went to my sis-in-laws "mini enrichment." The teacher was from "Grocery Smarts" and she taught us how to save TONS of money grocery shopping. It sounded to good to be true honestly, she said she fed her family of 5 for $200 a month (like 300-400 less than I spend on my family of 4!) Through their website, you match up manufactures coupons with your favorite stores sales and you end up getting some awesome deals (some items even end up being free!) On my first shopping trip I bought 8 bags of Malt-o-Meal cereal, 6 cans of soup and two pounds of grapes for. . . are you ready for this. . . $9.00! The bottom of my receipt said Today you saved $29.07, I saved 3x more than I spent! (I have the receipt to prove it!) The website is FREE and it is at http://www.grocerysmarts.com/ you have to use the password "g84rcm." Check it out, it is kind of self explanatory, but after going to the class, it made a lot more sense. I am thinking about hosting a class. If any one is interested coming or learning more leave a comment for me or give me a call (the class is free too.)

Oh, Rowen, please just eat!

I know some of you have been waiting to hear how Rowen's feeding evaluation went... Where do I start? The therapist was nice, and empathetic, but I still have WAY more questions than answers. She did what all medical professionals do when they don't have answers, she gave us a referral! (To a GI Dr.) She seems to think that he is purposefully limiting his food intake because his tummy hurts. She thinks he has reflux, due to the symptoms I gave her. The good news is that he chews and swallows correctly. She was really concerned that he isn't gaining weight, and even more concerned that he isn't drinking enough fluids, so I have to 'power pack' his food. That is, I have to add more calories to his food, without adding more bulk. That is REALLY difficult to do when you can't use dairy or soy!! So I have been adding coconut milk, canola oil, and formula powder to his baby foods. He has been tolerating that okay, but as for the fluids, I am at a loss! What do you give a baby to drink when he can't have soy or dairy, and the Dr. says not to give him juice or rice milk because it has so little "nutritional content!" I really am worried about the kid! I keep telling myself that he will not still be eating baby food when he is in kindergarten, right? Someday he will be a big teenager that can eat an entire pizza by himself, right? But for now Rowen, your mommy would get a lot more sleep at night if you would just EAT!!

Elk Huntin'

Hunting Bow & Equipment: $150.00

Camo Gear: $50.00
Hunting Licence and Tag: $80.00
Gasoline Money: $50.00
Cost to process Elk meat: $80.00
New Freezer to put Elk meat in: $300.00
Proud look on Hubby's face when he brought the Elk home:
Cute, but definitely NOT priceless!!!

(Seriously! I think I could have bought an entire COW for the price of that hunting trip!!!)

Bear Lake

Last weekend we went up to Bear Lake so Terry could go hunting with his brother Eric. His wife and I stayed at their cabin with the kids, slept in comfy beds, and let the kids play on the beach all day long. Meanwhile the men were sleeping in the back of a pickup truck, hiking miles in hot camo gear, and eating cold chili straight out of the can. (And they seriously think they got the better end of the bargain!)I was so worried about bringing Rowen out to the beach the first time. I thought he would just try and eat the dirt and sea shells, and make us both miserable. I had no idea how much fun he would have! He is a little copy cat, and he would watch his sister and cousins build sand castles, and then he would pick up the shovel and start trying to fill a bucket with sand. It was so much fun.