Christmas is coming...

I took Malakai and Makena to get their pictures taken with their cousins. Six kids 3 years old and under, I think we got a pretty good picture. I didn't order any of my kids because I had a photographer come out and take their pictures. I don't have them back yet. Mandy (Josh's sister) took some as well so I didn't need to buy any. But here they are...

It seems like you prepare for Christmas, and BAM it comes and goes! I can't believe it's already December the 9th! We had our first snow a few days ago and Makena was so excited! I told her in June at Emma's birthday that when it snowed it would be her birthday. Nothing more was said and when she woke up she looked outside and said "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" I couldn't believe she remembered! I told her it wasn't today, but soon. She's getting really excited.

She's started preschool and so far, so good. She calls her teacher, Ms. Brittany, Ms. Murry. No clue where she got Ms. Murry from. Brittany said she's corrected her, but she continues to call her Ms. Murry so she just quit correcting her. She loves carrying her lunchbox in and I think she's well liked by her peers and teachers. She's a pretty outgoing kid, I can't imagine why she wouldn't be likeable.

Malakai had his first appointment with First Steps yesterday and he started crawling. Right then, on the spot. The therapist came in, and he started crawling on his hands and knees. Up until then, he was still army crawling. His favorite word and toy right now is "ball" He says it all the time. It's like he has a one track mind. He's constantly thinking about where his ball is. He's also started to "make a basket" with a small basketball and a plastic tub. He's getting pretty good at it. The basket is small and I'm surprised he's even able to do it. He's saying "MMMM" when you ask what a cow says. He's able to point to a few objects in a book. Sarah showed him a picture of him with his cousins and said "Where's Kena?" and he pointed right to her. He's just grown up so much in the last few weeks, it's incredible.

I just booked a cruise for Josh and I. It's a Caribbean cruise going to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. We will be leaving the kids with family and will be gone 6 days. I am very excited, but at the same time hestitant to leave him. I'm not really worried about Makena, she's been away from us enough that I feel like she'll be perfectly fine. Malakai has never been away from me more than about 8 hours. So I am going to be nervous, but I also know he'll be fine :)

So much to be thankful for...

Im a little late for Thanksgiving, but I thought I'd say how much I am thankful for this year. It's incredible how much has happened in 2009, but I am so glad that everything worked out the way that it has. I think I have become a better mother than I ever would have dreamed. I am so thankful for my husband and kids. I feel so blessed. I'm thankful to our donor family. I think about them just about daily and the gift they gave my family. I'm thankful to have the family and friends that I do.

Malakai is just growing up before my eyes. It's amazing to watch his mind grow. He's starting to say words. He started saying "baby" then "Papa" now he's saying "ball" I was looking at a book with Makena and Malakai last night and there was a picture of kids playing basketball. I asked him "Malakai, where is the ball??" And he pointed to it with his pointer finger. He just seems like he shouldn't be able to do this yet! I know he is 14 months old, but I just feel like he's so much younger! I couldn't be any more proud of him. With all that he's been through, you'd never know it. People are amazed at how sweet his personality is. People who don't even know him can tell that he's a very laid back, sweet kid. I just love him!

Makena starts "school" tomorrow. Josh and I have made the decision to enroll her into part-time daycare. We think she needs the social aspect of being with other kids. I am going to start working for the company some, and so we decided to enroll her into a preschool/daycare. We'll have the option of taking her everyday, but probably will only take her 3-4 days, part time. Malakai will be going to the office with me, so we'll see how that goes. The first few days have been ok, hopefully they continue that way.

I am going to attempt to get my Christmas tree up tonight. We'll see how that goes, it's already almost 7 and I still have to get both kids put to bed. So hopefully, hopefully I can get that done! I got almost all of my shopping done on Black Friday. Rita and I met at 4:45 am and shopped until about 3:30. We had a blast and I was so thankful to get alot of it done! Now to get the tree up, wrap presents and plan Makena's birthday :) I can't believe my baby girl is almost 3!

Few Trick or Treat pictures

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. Kena was a "kitty princess" and Kai-Kai was a cowboy. She looooved going trick-or-treating. She'd walk right up to the door, knock, step back and wait. She wasn't shy about digging into the bowl to get some candy and skip back to us. Daddy kept Malakai nice and warm in a blanket and then we had a great meal at Nana & Papa's house, complete with more candy!

My two cuties all dressed up

She could hardly wait to go!!

Up fresh from a nap and looking handsome as usual

We decided to take the kids to the zoo the day before Halloween and were surprised to arrive and see they were doing trick-or-treating. She no longer cared about seeing any animals, it was all about the candy! HAHA...Here's a cute picture I got of the two of them together

A beautiful tree at Sarah's house that I wanted to get our picture taken in front of but by the time I made it there, the rain had taken most of the leaves....so I had to kneel for the picture, but turned out OK, I guess :0

Gonna try this one more time...

I have literally tried to update my blog at least 4 times and for whatever reason (not sure if it's Blogger or my computer) they never seem to post! I don't even realize it until I go to make another blog and see that my older post never showed up. Very frustrating...

Anyways, I haven't updated in what seems like forever. Malakai is growing and changing every day. He's cutting jaw teeth right now, bless his little heart. We didn't even see them until tonight and he was brushing his teeth and started to cry. I looked in his mouth while he was screaming and see THREE new teeth. Poor baby :( Two jaw teeth and one next to the teeth that are already there.

Let's see, what else is new. First Steps came out yesterday and he has qualified for both developmental and physical therapy. I really don't think they'll have to come out much at all. He just needs some muscle stregthening and he'll be good to go :) He's learned how to get onto his hands and knees and push himself from that position to sitting. Next will be learning how to pull himself up and then start coasting along furniture. I'm not at all worried about him. He's had alot of hospital time and I know he will catch up! He loves to throw a ball and lately he's been "cleaning up" It cracks me up! I'll give him a basket and about 6 balls and he will proceed to pick each one up and put it in the basket. He's also been saying "Don't" and "Stop" As well as throwing up his arms when you say "Touchdown" and he can "show you his muscles" It's so cute to watch him grow into a little guy and away from his baby tendencies. I think we're going to be getting a hair cut soon. His length is getting a little out of control, but I really don't want to see his soft baby hair go yet. So we'll wait a little longer :)

Makena, Malakai and I all got our H1N1 shots today. It gives me a little peace knowing we have the vaccine, but also I worry about the lack of time in studying it all. It's so hard, but I'm at peace with the decision! Both of the kiddos were troopers. She got real nervous when we went into the room, but as soon as it was over the lady gave her a sucker and she was fine. Malakai was the same. He cried, saw the sucker and was happy again :) I have such brave kids!

Malakai had a few liver friends, Eden and Eli, recieve their "Gift of Life" on November 10. They're both doing well and I am so glad to see they no long have Biliary atresia and are on the road to being normal, healthy kiddos :) Keep it up, little ones! I can't wait to see pictures of chunky, healthy babies!!

Malakai's Donor Angel

I found out a few days ago that Malakai's donor angel was a 10 year old girl who was killed in a car accident. I have had questions for almost 6 months about if his angel was a boy or a girl and how she died. Not that it makes it any easier to lose a child, but I'd wondered how she passed. Now that I know, it opens up a ton more questions. I feel like, for the first time, I mourned for her family. I was deeply saddened to find out. His donor was a real child, with a real family. They made the decision, in their darkest hours, to donate her organs. And they saved Malakai's life. I will never be able to fully explain to them how much I love them for their decision. I hope they choose to write me back, but I totally understand if they choose not to. I just need to get the courage and words to write to them. I just don't know how I am going to express the gratitude that I feel in my heart. It will be hard, but I definatly have to do it. I want them to know that without their generousity, Malakai may not have survived. If you're not an organ donor, please think about it. No one wants to think about dying, but think about the potential lives you could save, should something happen. There are far more people waiting for organs, than there are organs available. Just something to think about.

St. Louis visit went well...

Well, everything is fine! Malakai is FINALLY on the height growth curve. He's only in the 10th percentile, but he is on the curve! He's not, however, on the curve for weight. Our little guy wasn't even 17 pounds yet. But, he has had diarrhea for over a month now. They think his GI tract is just having a hard time getting over this illness. There's not a medication they can give him to make him stop, so we have to wait. They took another stool sample to finish the testing they started. He got the first of his seasonal flu shot and we'll have to get the second one in a month. Trying to find information on the H1N1 vaccine is ridiculous!! He should be on the top of "the list" but no one seems to know who to contact about "the list" In the past, I wouldn't have even probably thought about the vaccine, but with Malakai I feel like it's not even an option! So much to think about now! Anyways, we won't have to go back to clinic until January, which is great news!!

We are hoping and praying that we have a peaceful couple of months. We'd really, really like to go on a family vacation somewhere warm. It'd be nice to get away and relax!!! We had a complete stranger approach us at Cracker Barrell the other day and say "You two need to get away, just the two of you. Go somewhere...you need it, I can tell" I said "If you only knew..."

Anyway, all is well here. I am so thankful things seem to finally be settling down and returning to normal. Makena is growing into a little lady and Malakai is really starting to babble and scoot around the floor. It's an amazing thing to watch children grow...

Malakai is still fighting this bug!

It has been 4 weeks now, and Malakai is still fighting whatever it is that he originally got the day of his birthday party. He's had loose stools and very little appetite for almost a month now! I sent in another stool culture today to re-check for certain viruses. I hope and pray that he gets over all of this soon. He's only up about one pound since July. He got up over 17 pounds a few days ago, but his appetite has once again decreased, and his weight is back to 16 lbs 10 oz. He is starting to army crawl and get where he wants to go. It's so cute to watch him get his eye on something and go after it! He's also starting to stand and hold onto toys. He can stand a good 5 minutes before getting tired. He's not taking steps yet, even while holding on to your fingers. I know he'll catch up. It's kind of hard because Makena was ahead of kiddos her age. She was walking all over the place at 10 months. So it's hard not to compare, even knowing what he's been through.

I was very sick a couple weeks ago. I don't know that I have ever been that sick. Makena got it the same night I did. We're both better, but Malakai doesn't seem to be over it completely. And tonight, Josh is sick. I can't believe how widespread all this sickness is. I feel like we need to shell Malakai in and not let him out in public. I've become a sanitizer freak and wipe down everything he comes into contact with while we are outside the house.

Malakai has a liver friend, Eden, who is going to recieve a part of her momma's liver on the 26th of this month. Eden turned one in May and I think of her daily. I hope and pray she recovers quickly. I can't wait for her parents to be on the other side of transplant. Watching your childs health worsen is one of the hardest things to do as a parent. I'm so glad Erica (her mom) was a match and they can go on with the surgery.

I tried to upload pictures to my blog but for whatever reason, it wouldn't let me...so here are some pictures from my Facebook page...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163903&id=508339417&l=cbdf02865c

Here are the pictures from his birthday party:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=157141&id=508339417&l=8e32a29679