our house guest

I would like you to meet Andy. He appeared at our house on December 1st and has been doing a very good job keeping an eye on the kiddos and reporting back to Santa every evening. He also does a wonderful job finding a new place to sit and watch the chaos when he returns from the North Pole. A place that is up high so no little hands can reach him. We wouldn't want his magic to disappear would we.

Taylor thinks he is great. After we read the story of why this elf came to our house he immediately believed and started talking to him. Taylor understands that Andy has strict instructions from Santa not to talk back - but he does listen. Good enough for Taylor. He told Andy that he had rosy cheeks and to please not hide in the basement or upstairs. Every time he talks to him he waits there for a few seconds hoping maybe Andy will respond.

Bennett was skeptical and was not as welcoming at first. His first response after the introduction was "He is not real, he is fake." After some convincing from Taylor he decides Andy is welcome and is o.k. to keep watch. Bennett does ask Mom if Andy can watch him in other rooms and outside of the house. Hmmm maybe we will invite Andy to stay longer than Christmas Eve.

Owen was the man who came up with our little Elf's name. The name Austin Collie was shot down by mom. Owen likes Andy, but doesn't quite understand what he is here for. He often goes up to Andy and says "Hi Andy...Hi Andy." He then gets frustrated and says to mom "He's not talking!" Sorry Owen, Santa does not look kindly on those that disobey his rule.

All three kids love to get up in the morning to find where Andy is watching for the day. Mom loves telling Andy if the boys have been good or bad. Thanks for the idea Amber!

feeling helpless & frustrated

Poor little Chasey has developed quite a case of eczema. It is not surprising considering that Scott has always had it and Owen has it. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I could control it, but I can't. I have tried almost everything.

I started to notice some scaly patches on his legs a few months ago. Slowly the patches moved up his legs, onto his arms and they are now on his shoulders, cheeks, stomach and back. I really thought I could get rid of them with the standard measures that I have done with Owen. Eucerin and Vaseline right after baths. That is not even phasing it.

Eczema is hereditary. I know at least one reason why he has it. But it can be exacerbated by numerous things including food allergies, dry winter air and environmental triggers (dyes, mites, pet dander etc.) or for no reason at all. The trick is finding out what the triggers are. That is the hard part. Knowing this I started doing one thing after another. I started by changing his and my laundry detergent to Dreft. I have tried Eucerin, Vaseline, calming creme, Lanolin, shea butter and Aquaphor on him. He is so lubed up he practically shimmers. He is getting wet wraps in his oatmeal baths. It is not phasing it. When it is really bad I will put a tiny amount of cortisone on his patches, but I hate using steroids on him at all.

I stripped his room of everything that might possibly hold a dust mite and put a humidifier in his room. I have even resorted to cutting out dairy in my diet to see if that helps him. I read that the following things can trigger eczema: dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, citrus, nuts. Hello? What does one eat then? Sticks and twigs?

I think the most frustrating thing is that everything you do to try to reduce the eczema takes at least two weeks to take effect. That means that by the time he is 18 I may be able to figure out what is causing it, if it is actually something instead of just the hereditary thing. I will get to a point where I think I have it under control and then he flares up again.

I took him to a dermatologist today to see what if anything else I could do for him. Unfortunately everything that he told me I already knew. He just gave me 2 prescriptions for some outrageously expensive medications that may help. And one of them is a cortisone medication that I will use very sparingly.

As far as food allergies he said those are very hard to determine. Yep knew that too. So now I am wondering if I should continue with my dairy free diet for a few more weeks to see if it helps. Consuming no dairy is definitely testing my dedication to nursing. The only hope is that I will lose a few pounds. :)

It breaks my heart to see scabs all over his face and legs from itching.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me

12,000 legos!




12,000 ways I have tried to keep them contained in one area and failed
12,000 places that I have found them hiding in my house
12,000 different toys my boys have built
12,000 different arguments over who gets the gold visor or the jet pack
12,000 times I have stepped on one
12,000 times I have sucked them up in the vacuum
12,000 times they have asked me to find or build or fix a part
12,000 times I have found them in the washer or dryer
12,000 times I wish they would disappear
12,000 times they have snuck out of the house
12,000 hours of entertainment

We can't live without Legos at our house

Whew! I'm done!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true loves gave to me

Eleven Hardy Boy books and counting



This kid is a lightning fast reader. Little did my mom know that when she started giving Taylor Hardy Boy books that he would race through them in a half a day. The funny thing is that when Taylor reads he can't sit still. He wanders through the house. Here he is reading on our stair landing. Not quite upstairs not quite down. And of course always his football at his side.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me

Ten filthy toes that snuck into the house.



And ten more filthy toes that were caught before they could make it in.



That filth is mulch in case you are wondering.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me

Nine hours of uninterrupted sleep!



What makes this especially miraculous as that he did it with his arm out of his swaddle. Usually as soon as he works his arm or arms out he is up and crying.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true loves gave to me

8 works of art.



Taylor is an avid BYU football fan. As soon as the football season started he drew these fantastic pictures and hung them on his wall. The numbers are his favorite players. Collie, Unga, Pitta, Vacapuna, Jorgensen, Tafuna, and Nixon. Taylor did inform me that he had Max Hall's number (15) hung up as well, but it fell down.

And Taylor made a comment while I was writing this: "One reason why his number shouldn't be on (his wall) is because he threw 5 interceptions and 1 fumble in the Utah game." Yes, Taylor has become disenchanted with Max Hall. So sorry Max.