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Alyssa May Vick

12.27.08
8 lbs 11 ounces
19 inches

Christmas 2008

Christmas morning Anthony woke up at 6:45 and told me that he thought he had heard Hailey wake up. We listened for a minute and realized she had been talking in her sleep. 7:00 came and we decided that we were to excited to wait for them to wake up, so we woke them up! When we woke the girls up we told them that Santa Clause had come. They hopped out of bed and ran into the front room! Anthony told them that they couldn't open their presents until they gave them a hug. He told them it was one of Santa's rules! When Ashlynn opened one of her presents from Santa and realized that it was the Diamond Castle Barbie that she had wrote him about, she was so excited! Thanks Santa! Daddy got them a Leap Frog learning toy that magnetizes to the fridge. It helps them learn their letters, the letter sounds, and how to spell words up to three letters. It also sings the ABC's! After the girls finished opening all of their gifts, we made Christmas breakfast! French toast, eggs, bacon and juice! Yumm!! As soon as Anthony and I were done eating, we took down the Christmas tree and all of the decorations in the house. By 10:00 am everything was down and out of the house. It was a great Christmas!

Our Family Dinner!

Last night Anthony and I were talking in bed and I suddenly realized, 'It's Christmas Eve tomorrow!' So today I went to the store and bought all of the fixings to make a Christmas Eve dinner! We had ham, funeral potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, punch and homemade cherry cheesecake! It all turned out really well, all though I've decided I am not a fan of the green bean casserole. I'd rather have bacon in my green beans than soup and onions!! Our little table could barely fit all that we had to put on it! And while I was eating I commented to Anthony, 'You know, we're going to have to get a new table soon. There's no way one more plate is going to fit around this one!' Although it felt different without family this year, we sure enjoyed being together and are super excited about tomorrow morning! We are also really really excited about going to have our baby Saturday! I don't know which the girls are more excited about, the presents, or the baby!! Lucky for them, they get both! Since we didn't get the girls pj's this year, we let them open a movie! They were pretty excited because they have wanted to see Kung Fu Panda for a while! Great gift Daddy!!

Thanks To My Savior!

At this time of year I am especially grateful for all of the many things that my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father in Heaven have done for me. As a Mother I can not comprehend the love that our Father must have for us. To let his Only Begotten son die for the sins of all the world. I am so very grateful that He had the compassion and understanding to know that we would need a savior. Without both of them, I would be nothing. Shortly after having Ashlynn, I realized the importance of a forever family and of guiding my future children to the knowledge of the truth of the gospel. As I watch them learn to pray and start to ask questions about Jesus and Heavenly father, I am so very grateful for a Mother and a Father that knew the importance of teaching me, loving me, helping me learn to pray, and to answer all of the questions that I must have had as a child. I am grateful that they had the patience and love to forgive me of my short comings, as I had many. I am so very grateful for a husband that shared this wonderful gospel with others and who obeyed his Father in Heaven by going on a mission. I am grateful for the patience that he learned by doing so, for without that patience, we certainly wouldn't have the harmony in our home that is needed to raise our children with love and understanding. I am grateful to him for taking me to the temple and forever making him mine, and me his,... and our children ours! What a blessing it has been to our lives!

Thanks Joy!!

Today we went to the mail and Joy's Christmas package was here! We came home, pulled everything out and went about my business. You know the usual: cleaning house, paying bills, that sort of stuff. I was in the computer room and started down the hall, let out a gasp, covered my face, and wailed, "Anthony, I need you!" Hailey had found the box that Joy had sent to us! And it was FULL of shredded paper! Hailey had dragged to paper from the kitchen to the living room, one handful at a time, dropping in as she went! It was everywhere!! So we made her vacuum it up. I think now we should have just sent her to her room because she thought vacuuming us a blast, not the punishment we had hoped it would be!
(I have been trying to upload the video that I took of her vacuuming it all up but it's having issues, so I'll try later so you all can get the full view.)

1 Week!

So,... yesterday we all want to my Doctor's appointment and found out that I was progressing enough to schedule an inducement! Yeah!! So we'll have our little Alyssa May Saturday, December 27th, 2008! The girls are super excited! They got especially excited because we went straight over to the hospital to have a look around. There's a new wing, that just opened Sprig 2008, called The Women and Newborn Center. The rooms are wonderful! They are really big and have a couch for the poor husbands so that they can get some sleep too. We also found out that Logan Regional allows the siblings of the baby to visit! When we had Hailey, Ashlynn was only allowed to see her and I in the delivery room, but as soon as we went up to the room that we would be staying in, I didn't get to see her, or her me, until I came home. It was awful, so I am really happy that the girls can visit!! Mom & Dad Mackley are coming up to take care of the girls for us, as long as weather permits, and Anthony's parents will come up on the 5th when Anthony has to go back to school. That way I get all the help I can! Three girls! In the words of Frank Barone, 'Holy Crap!'

Our Christmas Tree!

So I am finally getting around to blogging about our Tree! (Which we put up the first weekend in December.) This year we had decided not to drag a Christmas tree home with us. Last year we strapped one to the trunk of our big blue boat and brought it home, clear from St. George! It was hillarious! When we got home, Anthony was so busy with finals and work, we ended up going to the tree lot at Smiths Market Place! It's a really pretty tree though and smells so good! Our precious new ornament this year was one that Ashlynn made in school! It made me cry when I opened it! It is my most favorite ornament on the tree! She also got to make a ginger bread house out of graham crackers and was pretty upset when I informed her that it was not edible! That's right, Head Start made the icing with raw eggs! There was a sticker on the tin foil warning parents that it was just a decoration! How dumb!! Even the ginger bread men that they made last week were decorated with cream cheese, so those had a stcker on them telling us we had to refrigerate them. Anything to keep the kids from eating sugar!! What cracks me up is that they decorate them in fruit snacks, chocolate chips, and other sweet treats!! Why no just give them the canned frosting too?!!

Turkey Noodle Soup!

Thursday Hailey & I made Turkey noodle soup! She loves to help me peel the potatoes and is getting quite good at it! It was so cold outside, grilled cheese sandwiches and soup was the perfect solution to lunch! When we took Ashlynn to school at 10:45 the temp was 2 degrees!! We passed the golf course on the way and the water in the pond was steaming because it was warmer than the air, and the ducks were swimming around in it trying to stay as warm as the could! I told Ashlynn's teacher that she probably wouldn't be back to school for a while, unless Anthony could take her, because there is NO way I am taking a brand new baby out in that kind of weather! Especially because I've seen temps drop down to -7 come January & February! Burrr!

A Christmas Party!

Anthony's sister Belinda had a Christmas Party! Grandma & Grandpa Vick came up, as well as David & Lisa and all their girls! Even Ian flew was able to fly in from Texas and be there. (He had been visiting Catie) We all had a lot of fun and ate way tooooo much! Belinda provided a ham, little quiche's, egg rolls, rolls, and punch. Anthony and I brought a turkey, banana bread, rice crispy treats, and cream puffs! There was soooo much food! And it all tasted so good! Belinda also made a trifle in Nanna Vick's memory! After eating we played games and Grandma got all of the little girls to sing Christmas songs around the piano. While we were there Hailey found out that Belinda has kittens, and while we were cooking, Grandma piped in, 'Where's Hailey?' None of us had seen her in a while. Then Belinda gasped and ran out to the garage, where the kittens stay, and sure enough! She was in there trying with all of her might to catch on of them. I knew I'd never get her in the house until she got to hold them, so I grabbed one for her and tried to teach her to hold them without choking them. Someday we'll have to get her one of her own! By the time we all left we were so tired we could hardly wiggle! Thanks Belinda! We had so much fun being with cousins and getting to see everyone again!

Sleepy?

Just this week we've started putting the girls to bed at 7 o'clock! That's so early for us! Because of this, I haven't been having Hailey take her usual nap at 3:30. The first couple of days she would get sooo tired around 5:30. On night she fell asleep on the couch and on this night she just decided, right in the middle of eating her spaghetti, that she would lay her head down on the table and take a little nap! Both times she's fallen asleep I've had to shake her, holler at her, threaten her with a spanking, if she didn't wake up now! But it wasn't until I told her that if she'd wake up, she could have a Popsicle, did she finally budge! After two or three times of this, she's stayed awake and bed time has been between 7-7:30! It's been great! Why haven't we started this before now?

Tree Hunting With The Vick's! (11~28)

Every year the Vick's go up to Little Creek and pick a Christmas tree. Of all the 5 years I've gone, this one was the best! It was so warm! I don't know if it's because we're used to Logan weather or not, but it felt great! The tree that we picked to take back to mom & Dad Vick's was HUGE! It was 12 feet tall and 7 feet across! It took up half of the living room. I think it looked smaller up on the mountain.