March 24 = Stay out of the House All Morning Day

Liam woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  This happens sometimes- I go in to get him up and I can tell I probably should have a waited a few more minutes... or hours.  Regardless of our mood, we have to go to speech and PT so we had to get moving!  He ate a good breakfast which put him in a better mood.  And here's Malia who is always in a good mood-

 And Liam showing genuine love for his sister.

Malia has been staying awake during Liam's appointments recently- that used to be my reading time but now it's turned into Mommy/Malia time which is totally fine.  But today, we went back to Liam's appointment time being Malia's nap time and my reading time. 
 

I am currently reading Amy Poehler's hilarious book, "Yes, Please."  I took a picture of this quote and sent it to Zachary to show that breast feeding is no easy task and that I'm not the only one that thinks that.  But it's all worth it.  Well depending on what you read but I tend to ignore any articles that say breastfeeding isn't all that advantageous.  Selective reading.   Excuse the profanity- I don't use profanity but sometimes it helps get a point across so I can appreciate it from time to time.

 Liam tends to behave better in the car or when we are out somewhere so going home wasn't really appealing to me.  So we ran by Chick-fil-a and had one of our lunch dates.  Malia was still sleeping so I got to give Liam all my attention.  This is him putting his chicken nuggets in the cup holder on the stroller.  Why?  I don't know.  But I wasn't stopping him from doing what he wanted to do.

He did so well drinking his chocolate milk out of the bottle!

Malia woke up like this.  There's a new trend going around- "I woke up like this."  I'm apparently old now because I have no clue what any trends mean and I don't get half the jokes on the late night television shows- so out of touch.  But people take pictures of themselves in the morning and let everyone know that's how they woke up.  Well this is how Malia looks when she wakes up and she's beautiful.

Liam was still in such a good mood so instead of heading home and making him take a nap which I knew he would not want to do we headed to the new town house.  I just wanted to see what the ride from his appointments to the new place was like and then we would ride from there to our current home which is right across from the Naval Academy so I could see what Zachary's ride to work would be like every day.  Then I snapped this picture to send to my parents to show them how close the visitor parking is to the front door!

 We made it home and Liam went down for his nap but now Miss Malia was wide awake so she played with Joey a little bit.  He is such a good cat.

March 22 = Try a Sippy Cup Day

She tried it- she didn't like it.  More on this later hopefully. 

March 21 = Help Mommy with Dinner Day

Malia is so sweet and loves being around her people.  I think she's going to grow into a very helpful young lady- I can envision her helping me clean and cook or at least keeping me company.

She got kind of bored with the spoon so she took up some light reading.

And here was the finished product- chicken marinated in Italian dressing,  squash and zucchini and a new favorite of ours- gnocchi (which is pronounced gnaw-key according to the box).

And here are some flowers Zachary got me :)

March 20 = First Day of Spring

Does this look like the first day of Spring to you??

I am so over this snow and so ready for Spring.  So I made strawberry cupcakes with funfetti icing to bring color and warmth to our house.

Also March Madness is in full swing- I guess Zachary's not happy with the result of one of the games and Malia is super invested in this game...

March 18 = CDC First Day

So there's this place called the CDC.  Not the Centers for Disease Control but the Child Development Center.  They offer full time child care like a normal day care but they also offer hourly care which is awesome for us.  It is so difficult to get cleaning done with two babies at home so I'm always cleaning after they go to bed which cuts into the time Zachary and I have together and with our new obsession with the TV show Scandal, that's not working for us.  This also provides an opportunity, especially for Liam, to be around other kids his age and to practice different routines like eating at a table, using utensils, taking turns, lining up, etc.  So we've decided to bring them here around once a week to give them some time around others and to give me some time not around anyone!  I can use this time to clean or to just sit in silence- we will see how that pans out.

They did great!  Liam ate all his lunch and even tried drinking out of an open cup.  Malia of course gave the nursery workers no trouble at all.  And Zachary and I got to some more packing and were able to have uninterrupted conversations- what a concept!  But we missed them and I was excited to pick them up.

March 17 = Hair Cut Day

So... for the first time, I forgot to take Malia's monthly picture on the 16th.  This one was taken a day late.  At eight months, Malia is getting so very close to crawling.  She's making lots of sounds, "baba," "dada," "gaga," "ppppppp," "ehhhhh," ya know, things like that.  She has started patting our arm every time we pick her up like a little hug.  She waves.  When she's excited, she can't keep her little hands still.  She still likes her pacifier but is starting to really enjoy stuffed animals more.  She may not be crawling but she's getting where she wants to go.  She continues to be such a happy, content, loving baby and such a joy to everyone she meets.

In addition to taking monthly pictures, we decided to tackle Liam's crazy hair.  I've been suggesting we cut his hair for several weeks now but it's been so cold so we've been putting it off.  Well- today was the day and here is a before and after!

But before we did all of this, we had a genetics appointment at Walter Reed.  I am writing this on the 30th... almost two weeks after the actual day so I forgot that the appointment was the same day as Malia's pictures and Liam's hair cut.  We found out "today" that Liam definitely has Neurofibromatosis Type 1.  One younger doctor began the appointment by doing a quick exam and seeing if we had any questions.  I told her we were expecting the results from Liam's NF test and she said the results were in and they were positive.  She did a great job of giving us the information right away, not making us wait, but also giving them to us with compassion.  I knew they were going to be positive.  The geneticist in Jacksonville told us she had never seen a child Liam's age with the number of cafe au lait spots he had that did not have the disease.  That along with his small size, large head circumference and delayed development- I knew in my heart he had NF.  I had prepared myself to hear that they were positive.  When she left the room to get the genetics expert, Zachary asked me if I was okay.  There was this tiny hope that I had let enter my brain that they'd say he didn't have it.  That all these other things were coincidences and that there was nothing to worry about.  So I had to deal with that not being reality but I was okay.  I was okay and I am okay because I know we can handle this.  

I firmly believe that there is a reason Liam has NF.  Yes, something strange happened in Liam's DNA that made this mutation occur.  But there's a reason that happened.  Well, many reasons.  

There are hundreds of people who have prayed for Liam.  Praying for Liam brought them closer to God for the few seconds or minutes they spent praying for him.  

Several of Liam's therapists have told me that he was the highlight of their day- that they looked forward to his appointments because, while he can be very stubborn, he's always cute and 95% of the time he's such a sweetheart.  So because of Liam's NF, he has brought joy to Jen's and Amanda's and Elle's and Janine's days.  And with his progress, they've seen a direct result of what their hard work can do.  

Other parents who have heard about what Liam goes through and what we, as his parents go through, have expressed to me that they can't imagine dealing with what we're dealing with.  While I think part of them saying that is to be supportive and empathetic, I can tell that another part of it is them saying they are thankful this is not something they have to deal with so there are many parents who, even if for a moment, have been thankful that their children are healthy and gratitude is a wonderful thing.  

Zachary doesn't talk a lot about his feelings and thoughts on Liam having NF.  He mainly makes sure I'm okay.  He's also taken Liam to MRIs and EEGs.  I can take Liam to these appointments and I will when Zachary is not able to but Zachary can handle the IVs and blood draws a lot better than I can so I let him do that.


Throughout elementary school and into middle and high school I was heavily involved in tutoring.  This continued in college in a different way as I earned my education degree.  I am ashamed to say this but I'm going to anyway.  I was always so impatient with students who had a hard time learning.  I remember thinking to myself, I would lose my mind if I had a kid like this one day.  As I got older and realized there are many reasons and causes for kids to have a hard time grasping concepts whether it be a difficult home life, lack of interest, psychological issues, learning disabilities, etc., I discovered that the child rarely had anything to do with it.  And then I felt guilty.  And then I grew fearful that because of this attitude I had had with these students, God would give me a child who had trouble learning.  A lot of people like to say that God won't ever give you anything you can't handle.  They think this is in the Bible somewhere because they've heard it said so many times but it's not.  There are some verses on how to handle difficulties- Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you."  In part of our favorite passage in the Bible, James says "...whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing."  And instead of hoping God won't give me trials that I feel I can't handle, I focus on internalizing these two truths.  Having a child with learning troubles is something I can handle.  I thought it wasn't but God taught me a lesson. 

There has been a big push for more politically correct language- there's a difference between a "special needs kid" and a "kid with special needs."  While studying education, I didn't get it at first- I used the appropriate term but I wasn't sure why there was such a distinction.  Now I get it.  Liam, before all else, is Liam.  Not NF, not special needs, not Malia's brother, my son, etc.  He is Liam.  When you say "special needs kid," his special needs define him.  Since I once did not understand the distinction, I will not be bothered by people who don't know the perfect way to word things- it's hard!  I was thinking today how difficult it must be to be the President.  There's nothing you can say that will make everyone happy- no matter what he says, someone will be terribly offended.  So acceptance and tolerance is on the rise I would say as a whole.  But there are still bullies.  There are still kids who just say mean things for fun.  Liam will probably have someone make fun of him if he doesn't learn something as quickly as others and if he has visible spots on his skin.  As a mother, it makes me tear up writing this.  And it makes me resolve to teach both of my children that their worth is not determined by what mean people say or what any people say for that matter.

Malia will grow up watching a big brother go through some difficulties that not all of their peers will go through.  He will be stronger for them and she will learn lessons of resiliency and perseverance simply by watching him.  I bet she will learn to stand up for others who are unfairly teased.  I bet she will be sensitive to seeing others' pain and I bet she will grow to be a compassionate and loving young lady.

So, you see, Liam isn't in this on his own.  He has the fierce love of his parents, sister, grandparents, uncles and other extended family.  There's not a two year old around who is loved more than this little boy.  He's not loved because he has NF.  He's loved because he's Liam.  Because God knew what he was doing when he formed Liam.  He's loving, sweet, stubborn, funny, silly, mischievous, helpful, eager, and adorable all in proportions that make him uniquely him. Oh, and he has NF.  But there are several reasons he has NF- some of which are clear now and some which will be revealed in time.

March 16 = Get This Move Started Day

One great thing about this apartment that we're moving out of in a few weeks is that there is tons of storage.  We have a storage cage downstairs that looks as creepy as it sounds but we also have a room upstairs for storage which is equally as creepy.  These used to be the maids' rooms.  Each family living in military housing was assigned a maid and the maids lived up stairs in these rooms that now house the stuff we moved up from Jacksonville but never went through and everything else we didn't have room for in the apartment.  Anyway- here is Malia supervising us organizing through everything.

March 15 = Going Home Day

I realize I've been complaining a lot in these last posts.  I have one more complaint.  My children don't sleep when they're not home.  My family worked so hard to make a Liam friendly sleeping room- they had a mattress on the floor, blocked the closets and made it to where he couldn't get to stuff on the desk.  I was hoping he would give us a little fight and then go to sleep.  My dad ended up having to sleep in the room with him and it took him hours to actually fall asleep.  My poor Dad.  And Malia- my perfect sleeper- was waiting until midnight to go to sleep and then waking up 3-4 times between then and 7 when she was up for good.  This was no good for the sleep loving momma.  So we altered our plan.  Instead of going home Monday morning, we decided to leave Sunday afternoon.  We were able to eat dinner with my family- Dad grilled some hamburgers for us- but we figured they might not sleep in the car but at least the time we spent with them not sleeping was spent getting closer to home where we were pretty sure they would sleep.  

But they did sleep!  Hallelujah!  Here is Liam who fell asleep holding his cup and his beloved Gigi.

March 14 = Difficult Diapering Day

I can't believe I only took one picture today.  This is Liam asleep on the way home- but I have no pictures of what we did to come home from!

I mentioned before that every North Carolina trip must include La Cocina, barbecue and sweet tea.  A truly great trip also includes McAlisters and Light Years (a jewelry store at Southpoint Mall).  We were able to meet the other half of our parents in Durham on this trip- when we visit one family, we always try to arrange a visit to see the other and this time it worked out to where we got to spend several hours with both families which is always nice!  We all met at McAlisters and then did some shopping- my main objective was to find Miss Malia an Easter dress- it took searching in three or four stores but we found it.  But not before some fun times- Liam had a really wet diaper in the first store so while Zachary worked on getting what we needed to change him, my brother and I went to find a shirt to replace the one Zachary was wearing that was a wet diaper casualty.  We found a cash register with only one person in line.  Now is the time I get to talk about something that really annoys me.  Another employee was doing some folding and I was hoping he'd open his register and get to us since Zachary was waiting shirtless for us but I figured there was a reason he wasn't so I patiently waited.  A few minutes later, while we were still waiting, a man and his teenage son came up.  The previously busy employee now opened his register and said "I can help the next customer" gesturing towards the man and his son who eagerly moved over and started their transaction.  This is so infuriating to me.  The employee obviously hadn't noticed us waiting but when the man and his son heard him say "next customer," they should have let us go.  But I thought to myself, maybe just maybe there is something they're dealing with that is more pressing than my shirtless husband so I didn't react.  Well, their transaction was done before the lady in front of us- she was apparently buying one of everything in the store.  The employee went back to folding!  Thankfully the cashier helping the lady told said employee to help us, which he nicely did.  So we sped walked the shirt to Zachary who informed us Liam also needed a pair of shorts- there were no extra shorts in the diaper bag.  So we found a pair of shorts and in the three minutes it took us to get Zachary's shirt to him, the equivalent of the population of a small country was ready to check out at the same time.  So we got in line.  A long line.  A long line that did not move.  We waited five minutes before going to a different register which thankfully did move.  During the time we were checking out Malia decided to load up her diaper and ruin her outfit as well- when it rains it pours.  So I changed her and thankfully she did have extra clothes in the diaper bag so it wasn't quite as complicated as changing Liam. So we survived!  And then found an Easter dress.  I hope everyone loves her Easter dress.

March 13 = Mebane Food Day

Every trip to North Carolina must include La Cocina, barbecue and lots of sweet tea.  Today we got to all three of these things.  Here's Liam waiting patiently for his barbecue-

 And Malia just being Malia entertaining herself at the restaurant.

Later we went to La Cocina to celebrate Dad's birthday- this first picture is him singing Happy Birthday do himself.

 And here's me with my Daddy- boy do I love him!

March 12 = Go to NC Day

We were going to go to NC for my mom's 50th birthday but they were both sick so we stayed at home- we're trying again for my dad's birthday!  

I hate traveling.  I hate packing, I hate riding, I hate having the car perfectly packed and uncluttered at the beginning of the trip and then realizing there's not enough space for my feet one hour later.  I hate pumping in the car, I hate traffic.  I hate finding a perfectly good radio station that turns to static five minutes later.  But I love seeing family.  I love spending time with our parents and I love watching my kids spend time with their grandparents.  It's absolutely, one hundred percent worth it but man.  This was Liam's Valentine's Day present that was temporarily lost in the toy box that I resurrected specifically for this trip.  Good move, Mom.

March 11 = What Have We Gotten Into Day

First let me start with a cute picture taken at Target:

Okay, now that that's out of the way- we are definitely moving!  The morning after we had 95% decided we were going to move, I got an email that we needed to avoid using the water until someone had come to check it out and I immediately felt like we had made the right decision.  Until I decided to check out our upstairs storage room:

There isn't any storage at the new place- there is a garage that I was hoping to put my van in but it's looking like that's going to be our storage room.  It's definitely time to get to work!  We move in on the 17th and out of here on the 20th so that we'll have the full weekend to get things out.  Zachary and I have decided we're packing a little bit each day or at least organizing- somehow moving towards packing every day so we're not so very overwhelmed at the end- and I think we will start upstairs.

March 10 = Photo Evidence Day

I excitedly announced Malia's new skill but at the time didn't have any photographic evidence- here we go!

Also- we have been thinking about moving recently.  Anytime the temperature goes below a certain degree marker, the heat goes out.  That's right- when we need it most, it goes out.  Our neighbors who lived here last winter said the same thing happened last winter so it'll happen again.  Also, we've been having trouble with the outlets in our kitchen.  When we first moved here and tried to use our toaster, it didn't work.  Figuring it broke on the trip up, we threw it away and got a new one.  Well the new one didn't work either.  Common denominator = outlets.  So we avoided using that outlet.  Then Zachary started charging his phone in the kitchen because that was the most convenient spot for him. A couple weeks later, his phone started going crazy.  It would randomly shut down- things that I have had phones do in the past but we're starting to think it was the outlet.  The next victim was my baby food maker.  And then a roast.  I put a roast on and made sure it was warming up before I left- I came home and it had stopped working.  So people came out and revealed there were loose wires behind the outlet plates.  Loose wires?  That makes me nervous.  Also parking is a nightmare here.  Especially with two small ones.  When we were looking for places to live up here, I wrote down all the possibilities and their numbers- I called each one and asked what the parking situation was.  First of all- I do not parallel park.  I will park half a mile away and walk but I'm not going to try to fit my car in between two other cars.  I am not okay with parking half a mile away and walking to my house every time I come home so I needed a place with a parking lot or garages.  The people at the place we chose said there was a garage in the back that you could park one car in and then space behind the garage for another car.  That sounded great but I was pregnant and aware that Liam and soon to be Malia would have some grandparents very eager to come visit them so visitor parking was important to me too.  They said there was parallel parking in the front that was first come first serve.  A couple months after we moved here, they decided to change that rule- now only one resident per apartment can park in the circle- no visitors.  Where are visitors supposed to park you may ask- well I never got an answer for that.  I'm curious what families with a driving teenager do.  But anyway- they do not enforce this rule so I don't dwell on it too much but if they did start enforcing it, that would be bad news for us.  Zachary has wanted to move for months- since the heat started going out- but we got space heaters and I thought we could tough it out but what finally drew me to the dark side was I saw two kids walking around with guns.  I'm assuming these are toy guns but they don't look like it.  Zachary followed one of them one time and discovered they are pellet guns that look very realistic and that there was a group of five of them that gather right behind our apartment and shoot each other!  We are guessing these might be the people that keyed our car- from the front to the back.  After I saw that- I said, if you want to move, you've got a short window that I'm willing to consider it so get to work.  Well tonight we looked at two townhouses- I'm pretty sure we're going to move into the first one we saw.  This one has a garage and space behind the garage and it's connected to the townhouse- you don't have to walk through a creepy dungeon-like space with narrow and dangerous stairs to get inside.  And their heat works!  And we saw girls walking their dogs instead of boys shooting each other.  And there are three floors.  So gone are the days of Liam dragging his easel, his car, other large toys, from one side of the house to the other.  There's a play room downstairs that we are going to make completely baby/toddler friendly and that's where all of their toys will be.  Their rooms will be for sleeping which I hope will encourage better sleeping habits for Liam.  I think I will be really happy about this decision once we've moved in and especially this winter when we have heat.

March 9 = Daddy's Girl Day

We got our Easter baskets today!  In case you can't read it, the pink one says Malia Mae... it's kind of hard to see in the picture but not in person.  I love that lots of people on facebook call her Malia Mae instead of just Malia.  I call her so many things- mainly Lia Lia which is what Liam used to call her- he doesn't really call her anything now... so Lia Lia and Missy Mae.  Because having a Liam and a Lia Lia isn't confusing at all.  I may have specified this before but I want to reiterate- this was not planned.  We knew we wanted to name any boy we had William and I knew I wanted to name any girl I had Malia.  William and Malia wouldn't be that bad.  But the boy came first and we decided instead of Will, a name which I do love, we would call our William Liam.  Because- get this- we thought it was unique.  As the Grinch says in my favorite part of his movie- Wrongo!  Anyway- so we had our Liam and then we find out we're having a girl.  Well the name is already chosen- Malia.  It took me a few weeks to realize having a Liam and Malia was going to be very confusing.  So many people think we did this on purpose- why anyone would choose to have their childrens' names so similar is beyond me.  But I love each of their names and they fit them perfectly so ... Liam and Malia it is. 

Liam has always been a little bit more like me than his daddy.  He's uptight, likes things done a certain way and is terribly stubborn.  I've personally worked on all of these things and I think I've made progress but apparently I passed these traits down to my little man.  We are also both very passionate and we don't give up which can be good things.  Malia came along and is very similar to her daddy.  Laid back and only gets upset if she's hungry.  And here she is with a basketball.  In a similar way of Zachary's and my personalities balancing each other out- Liam and Malia balance each other out too!

March 8 = Pizza Day

The two main men in my life love pizza.  I have never been a big pizza fan but when I married Zachary Holliday, that became irrelevant.  Here's Zachary and Liam making some English muffin pizzas for lunch.

March 7 = House Divided Day

I've gone into detail about why Malia is a UNC fan and Liam is a Duke fan so I won't repeat it but today is the first UNC/Duke game since our agreement.  It should be a fun night!

 

P.S.- Duke won :(

March 6 = Make a Friend Day

Zachary and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary in DC.  I had never been before but Zachary knew it was a somewhere I really wanted to go so while he was in Dahlgren for a school it seemed like the perfect time to go.  At 6 months pregnant, I walked all over DC and went to the Smithsonian Zoo.  We got our little Liam a stuffed hippo.  Jeannie ended up destroying this hippo so my mom and brother got him a replacement when they went to DC years later.  Anyway- in a similar fashion- when I was close to 9 months pregnant, we took Liam to the Baltimore aquarium and we picked up a dolphin for Miss Malia.  Today, Malia fell in love with the dolphin and started kissing... we need to come up with a name for the dolphin... let's go with DeeDee (to match Gigi).

Later, Zachary was holding Malia and doing work at the computer when Liam decided he wanted to be held too.  Then he wanted to move.  So while I was pumping, Zachary, Liam and Malia came in to say hi rolling around in their chair.

When I got done pumping, we packed up and headed to the gym.  While the kids where in the childcare room, one of the little girls decided Malia needed a picture so she asked the girls working there if they'd help her draw a picture for her to take home- she asked them how to spell her name and everything- how sweet!

March 5 = Yummy Breakfast Day

When Liam first started eating solids, he had organic baby yogurt for breakfast every morning- this one brand had lots of flavors- banana, mango, vanilla and more.  I recently saw them in the commissary so I grabbed some thinking Malia could eat it for breakfast as well as Liam.  Malia's not a fan but as you can see Liam loved it!

March 4 = Balloon Day

We did some shopping this morning!  I had a return to make and since I dragged the stroller out, we went into a bunch of different stores just to walk around.  We ended up at Hallmark to get birthday cards for Gramps and while we were checking out, the lady asked Liam if he would like a balloon.  Having people ask your kids if they want something is a tricky business.  We have had so many people ask Liam if he'd like a sticker.  Liam cares nothing about stickers.  So they give him a sticker with the full expectation that he'll be so excited.  He could not care less.  Then that leads me to have to say- oh he'll love it- he's just sleepy or make up something so that they think their gesture is meaningful.  I didn't know what to expect when this lady handed him a balloon but he did get really excited and kept saying "arj arj arj" which is his way of saying orange.  I had this vision of him letting go of the balloon and it slowly floating out of reach and him screaming so I quickly tied it to his stroller for the short walk out to the car.  He played with it the whole way home- it was definitely a hit so thank you Hallmark Lady!

March 2 = Flu Shot Day

Malia got her second flu shot today- at this age, they do the flu shot in two stages.  My chunky-thighed girl didn't even cry. 

March 1 = Cool Girl Day

No words necessary.

February 27 = New Bed Day

Well Liam has been getting out of his crib.  The first time was not great- he did not land very gracefully and let us know.  The next time we heard a little bit of a thud and then he started knocking on his door- didn't hurt himself- just wanted out.  Then there have been a couple of times when I've put him to bed that before I can get to the door he's got his leg propped up on the front of the crib.  Today we asked him to show us how he gets out and he got 95% of the way out before we grabbed him and put him down softly.  So we decided it was time to move on to a toddler bed.  Here it is:

My bet is that no on gets any sleep tonight...

February 26 = New Game Day

Well Malia has a new game.  She's always liked her pacifiers and we are very grateful for that.  However, as if it is not hard enough to locate one paci, her new preference is to have two.  She likes to have one in her mouth and one in her hand.  Then she'll take the one out of her mouth and replace it with the one in her hand.  This can go on for a while which is fun to watching and it entertains her and keeps her happy but finding two pacifiers can be quite a task.