Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was really anything but normal. With us avoiding crowds of any sort we decided to venture out and see the Christmas lights. It was sprinkling rain so we decided driving thru the lights in Layton would be the best option. We had brought Krissy's Minky blanket we had bought her for Christmas so we swung by and unfortunately they weren't home. Matt called Chris and he said they were just picking up dinner and would be home soon so we headed for the lights. The rain stopped and when we got to the lights it was to bright to see the lights well. As we drove thru the lights I noticed a nearby playground so we stopped there and let the girls play. I think they have really missed having a yard and a play space. It was a little on the chilly side so Matt and I sat in the car with Liam and discussed house plans. Liam loved playing with all of the buttons in the car and the steering wheel. After about 30 minutes it was getting dark and Chris had text and said they were home now so we loaded up and headed for their house. First we drove thru the lights a couple more times now that we could actually see them.

 Matt and I decided it would be ok for all of us to go in for a bit so we unloaded everyone and headed inside. Chris and Krissy were so nice and excited that we had all come and we settled in and visited while the kids played. The girls played so cute with Eden and Van. Liam loved a change of scenery and watching the kids play and dance. It was nice to stop thinking about all the medical stuff for a while and just enjoy the time. After about and hour the kids were getting hungry so we loaded up and headed to get food. Our plan was to get take out Chinese and go home to open our Christmas Eve pjs, have a picnic, and watch a movie. Well our plan didn't go well when we called to order our Chinese they said it was a 45-50 minute wait. We were starving and decided that wasn't an option. So we decided to head to Riverdale and see what was open. Chili's was open so we called in a take out order and had 25 minutes to kill but everything was closed and we were still starving. We drove over to McDonalds and ordered yogurt parfaits and french fries until our "real" food was done. It was memorable if nothing else. After eating our snack we went to pick up our food and headed home. The girls were so excited to finally get to open a present. We ate our food and got everyone in the tub and in their new pjs. But because of our detour  it was late and everyone was tired.

 So after a few pictures, checking the Santa tracker, and setting out milk and cookies we were all off to bed.

Happy Christmas Eve!!

Liam's Dancing

Babies dancing is seriously one of the cutest things. Liam has been loving music lately and started dancing. Its the cutest thing.

Crazy Date Day

Saturday morning Matt got up and needed to run to Daniel's house to check on the framing. He took Hallie and they had a little lunch date while they were out and about. They had a great time and Hallie went prepared for the weather.

Joy picked Emery up for her date about noon which Ill talk about in another post. After Matt got home Gracie and I headed to finish Christmas shopping and run some other errands. It was so nice to get out of the house. On the way down the canyon we were right behind a car that got hit and then proceeded into a tree. We called 911 and checked on everyone the guy that hit the tree appeared high out of his mind. He jumped out the window and tried to run away while giggling. A couple bystanders held him down until the police arrived. Gracie and I directed traffic and Gracie thought it was so cool we talked to the police and the firefighters/paramedics.  

We ran a bunch of errands and it was fun to just have time with Gracie she has such a fun and silly personality. 

Then we headed home to have pizza with everyone else. When we got there grandma had brought some gifts.

It was a fun day which each of the girls getting individual attention while Liam's needs were also being met.

The Week of Christmas

We have been spoiled by so many people. Reaching out in a lot of ways. Liam is his busy self...which I secretly love...although its a ton of work.

Some of Santa's Elves dropped off a basket of fruit and other healthy snacks

Liam enjoying one of the Christmas presents he opened early

He is doing great using this sippy. We have also started transitioning him to whole milk and off of formula

He is also starting to climb on everything!

And enjoying chocolate

The girls have been so cute to play with him and he has been loving the play space with nothing but toys

Performance Academy Events

Both Gracie and Emery have had a good time doing their dance/singing class this fall. They have had recording sessions, dress up events for Halloween, and then their winter recital. They have done so great and seem to be one of the best if not the best in their classes. Gracie has done so great with her solos and its been fun to dress them up in their cute costumes.

 The holiday recital was so cute! We left Liam with Amy and headed down to Ogden. The girls looked so cute and we're more excited than nervous. I was really excited to see what they had learned.

 

The girls did such a great job. Gracie had a solo part and they were both easily one of the best in their classes knowing the steps and the words to the songs. We had people approach us after and comment on how cute the girls were. Unfortunately Liam wasn't doing well for Amy and had been crying since we left so we loaded up and headed for home. After we got home and made sure he was ok we had dinner and ice cream to celebrate the girls great job.

Liam's 1 Year Pictures

Once we got the lab results I asked about when would be the best time in his cycles to do his 1 year pictures that we hadn't gotten done when he was diagnosed. Rosann, the nurse coordinator, said that the sooner the better would be her suggestions so I messaged Ashlee and asked if she was available this week and she said, "How about tomorrow?" So we quickly looked over Pinterest and found some suggestions and ideas. Tuesday night before dance I ran to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of decor for the photo shoot. It turned out so cute. Luckily he had all the clothes we decided to use and Ashlee had an outfit from a vendor she asked if we could take some pictures with which of coarse I was ok with. He was pretty good for pictures until we got to the cake part...

What I thought would be his favorite part ended up being the part he cried thru the most. He didn't even want to eat the cake. Throughout the photo shoot he loved the berries that were on the greenery and kept pulling them off to play with. So we resorted to sticking the berries into his cake. I even tried putting his fingers in the cake for him and he was so sad that I had got his hands all messy. It was an epic fail but one to remember for sure. I think its special that you can see his port because that's where we are in life right now. So we had to include some of his sad cake ones

Im grateful for Ashlee for fitting us into her schedule and being so flexible. When we went to leave I asked her if I could venmo her and she said no that her and her husband had decided they wanted to gift us the pictures. Im a terrible gift receiver. I didn't even know what to say other than thank you. People are so good and Im grateful for these memories that were captured.

Laim's Cancer Fight-1st Week Home

The first week home from the hospital felt strangely normal. We tried to settle into our new "norm." The home health nurse comes every Monday and Thursday to do labs. Thank heavens Matt is done teaching for the semester and was home to either be with Liam or take the girls to dance. It was nice to take a break and run errands. Liam seems unphased so far and that has been a huge blessing. He is back to sleeping great most nights and naps. I think we all missed our beds and there have been quite a few naps happening as well. Liam loves bath time and has been so cute and happy in there.

One afternoon I had been on the phone and I went to check on Emy and I found her like this. Sound asleep. Its true what they say when someone in the family gets cancer everyone does. We are doing our best to keep things "normal" but some days its way harder than others. 

It brings me so much peace to see him playing and acting normal. He at times is more clingy and wants to be held but we love him so much. 

Liam finally found the presents under the tree previously he had ignored them...probably because he has no idea what they are. When he found them I decided not to stop him but to just enjoy the moment. Im sure on Christmas morning he will be into everything so it was fun to let him just open it and play with it for awhile. Since then he has opened a present a day and just plays. It has been so fun. Cancer has taught me that I need to be better about living in the moment and enjoying things in the present. 

We hope he continues to do so well. His labs did take a "dip" and look like "cancer" labs should but it was still terrifying. I had hoped it wouldn't happened but I guess in hind site its good that it did because it means the chemo is working the way it should be. The prayers of our army carry us everyday.