Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Jude








On December 1st at 7:05pm at the American Fork hospital I gave birth to another gorgeous creature. Well I don't know if I can really say I gave birth - they went in and fished him out. He never saw it coming and I did no pushing so I didn't really birth him in the traditional sense. Nevertheless he is here and oh my goodness is he amazing.

I am so totally overwhelmed with love. I exist constantly on the verge of tears because I love him so much and I feel like I can't express it properly. The innocence and purity in his sweet expression is all consuming. He is perfect. He is so so beautiful and so perfect. I am so lucky to have this wonderful little precious gift at Christmas time. Don't even get me started on the fact that it is Christmas time! I sit next to our lovely glowing tree at three in the morning and feed my beautiful perfect baby at night. It is the highlight of my day, that three o'clock feeding. We listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies and cuddle all day long. I will never forget having a newborn at Christmas time. It is magical.

This morning I was changing his tiny nonexistent bum and he peed AND pooped all over me and my sheets and his last remaining clean outfit that was sitting folded next to his head. That part wasn't so magical, but it was pretty dang funny.

I'm not going to lie, four is proving to be difficult! Especially the 21 month old. We are not free from stress and chaos but his sister and brothers LOVE him. The most common phrase at our house at the moment is "Can I hold the baby?" Even Finn is extremely loving and gentle. He brings me diapers and burp cloths and says "There go!" (There you go) Darling. I love my children. They all have such good, sweet spirits. I love my family. I'm so grateful for every single one of them. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family. And my wonderful, helpful husband. It is so fun to share this amazing time with him.

So we are happy. And healthy. And sleep deprived. And we are loving every chaotic moment of it. Merry Christmas!

Lilly

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

First Place! Voctory!!


Oh my poor neglected blog. I'm sure I've lost any readers I might have had. My life is insane. Insane I tell you. A few balls had to be dropped and my pathetic little blog was one of them. It was either my blog or Finn. I feel I made the right choice.

So my family and some of our dear friends get together from time to time and have writing contests. A few weeks ago we had one such writing contest with a Halloween theme. I opted for a humorous approach rather than scary. Well, I don't mind telling you that I WON! That is correct. First place. Me. High fives all around. Anyway, I thought I would share it with you to get you all excited for fall. ENJOY!



My Halloween - Start to Finish

Halloween started out rotten. By the time lunch rolled around I had given it a 2 out of 10 and that was being generous.
I decided to be a girlie skeleton with a hot pink bow this year. When I came down stairs my mom said I looked “spooky”. My dad said I looked “super spooky!”. “I was going for CUTE,” I said. “You look like you’re trying too hard,” said Megan.
Megan’s a brat. She’s 15. When she came down this morning she was dressed up like a strung out Lindsay Lohan. My mom yelled “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” and pointed an angry finger for her to go back upstairs and change. This is the sole reason that I had given the day a 2 out of 10 instead of a zero.
And then there is dad. For the third year in a row he is wearing a giant pot he constructed out of card board with wig hair glued all over it. Harry Potter. I might die of embarrassment if any of my friends see.
Rachel is my nice sister. She’s not wearing a costume because she’s 17 and she says that’s too old for costumes. I wonder why Dad didn’t get that memo. When I asked my mom why she’s not wearing a costume she said it’s because she just gave birth to twins and her unrecognizable excuse for a body is costume enough.
Speaking of the twins they are dressed up like Raggedy Ann and Andy. Everyone called them cute. In my opinion a girlie skeleton is way cuter than a couple of drooley lumps that look like freaky clowns with oversized red yarn wigs.
I’m living in the twilight zone.
We had scrambles eggs for breakfast which I strongly dislike. I say “strongly dislike” because my mom caught me using the word “hate” last week and I got in huge trouble. I’ve been instructed to use the phrase “strongly dislike” instead. Scrambled eggs definitely deserve to be in the “strongly dislike” category.
Rachel said she was going to drive me to school but she was running late so Harry Potter had to take me. Before we left I told Rachel if I die of embarrassment to give all my clothes to Zoe Green. Zoe Green is my best friend. She was dressed up as Hello Kitty but really she just looked like a cat. When I got to school she told me that she saw Kendra Holden in Main Hall and that she was dressed up like a girlie skeleton too except she had a hot necklace that looked like real bones.
I wanted to die. Kendra Holden is only the meanest most popular girl in the school. Plus I’ve always had the feeling she strongly dislikes me. That’s okay because I strongly dislike her right back.
I called my mom to see if she could bring me a different costume. I told her it was an emergency. I even started to cry, but she said one of the twins just exploded poop all over their costume and that she too was in crisis. Then she gave me the “Put on a Brave Face” talk. I strongly dislike the “Brave Face” talk. The “Brave Face” talk made me late for first period and I had to walk in late in front of John Kidner. It’s alright though because I’m pretty sure despite science and all the rules of physical matter I am virtually invisible to John Kidner.
Mr. Fitzpatrick gave a pop quiz in history 3rd period. Rude. Who gives pop quizes on a holiday? Miss Tanner said I looked “spooky” when she passed me on the way to 4th period. The next person who called me “spooky” was in serious danger of receiving spooky pop in the mouth. This coming from a non-violent person.
Mike Edwards and Mario Franco were rough housing in the hall and got yellow face paint on my black shirt. Mina Fillmore told me that Nolan Clark was planning on asking me to dance that night at the Halloween Hootenanny Ball. I really didn’t want to dance with Nolan Clark. He smells like a vitamin store.
It was doughnut day and they ran out of doughnuts two people ahead of me in the line at lunch. How can you run out of doughnuts on doughnut day? It was at this point I told Zoe that Halloween strongly disliked me and this day could not possibly get any worse. It was also at this point that somehow, it did get worse.
It got monumentally worse.
I looked up from my cold waxy pizza to see none other than Harry Potter parading through the cafeteria carrying a clown costume, with a huge smile on his face.
“This is it,” I thought to my self. “I will now experience death by embarrassment.”
I closed my eyes and waited for the sweet release. The white tunnel. The singing choir of angels. No such luck. I opened my eyes to see my dad standing proudly in front of me. “Mom told me about your dilemma. I had a long lunch today so I picked up this costume for you at Walmart!”
I snatched the clown costume from him. “Thanks Dad, I really appreciate it.” I managed to say without crying. I gave him a quick hug and a kiss and sent him on his way. As he awkwardly fumbled out of the cafeteria I felt my face turning scarlet red under my white make up. I rushed to my locker and as I was shoving the ridiculous clown costume inside I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey Abby, was that your dad in the Harry Potter costume?”
I looked over my shoulder to see John Kidner.
I was paralyzed. Frozen. My delayed response was practically tangible.
“Um, yeah. He’s a real comedian, my dad,” I let out a mix of a cough and a nervous laugh, which sounded more like a pre-vomit burp. Shoot me.
“He looked pretty freaking awesome.” John smiled. “I wish my dad was cool like that.”
“Thanks,” I stuttered.
“So are you going to the Halloween dance thing tonight?” He asked.
“Yeah, for sure!” I said smiling.
“I guess I’ll see you there then.” He grinned and walked away. I hid behind my locker door with an idiotic grin on my face taking in the last glorious 20 seconds of my life.
This encounter single handedly bumped up the day’s rating to an 8!
Then I heard Kendra Holden’s bone necklace snapped in gym class and scattered all over the floor. I know it shouldn’t have, but this upped the day’s rating to a 9.
We were supposed to have shepherd’s pie for dinner which I despise because it is weird and the ingredients make no sense but we had hawaiian haystacks instead because mom said she knows it’s my favorite and she also knew I had a rough day. Little does she know my day was totally awesome. After all was said and done I can’t believe it, but according to my advanced rating system, Halloween received a solid 11!
John asked me to dance twice! I didn’t step on his toes or nervous-burp in his face (which after the earlier mishap was a big concern of mine). Nolan Clark asked me to dance, but it turns out he was just trying to see if he had a chance with Zoe. So Halloween does not strongly dislike me after all and the feeling is definitely mutual because this Halloween will go down in the history books as the best Halloween ever!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

What is cuter than fritzy pixies in spring time? Not much.

Beautiful, tall, lanky brunette = Maggie (Mine)
Fair blonde that looks like a mermaid = Mila (Charlotte's)
The little one with huge eyes = Goldie (Priscilla's)

Thank Heaven for Little Girls from Lilly McDowell on Vimeo.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sexy Deputy

This morning the owner of these traffic stopping gams...






























brought me these...



























Needless to say we were THRILLED with the result.































Now if that's not a sexy number I don't know what is.





























A little serious-faced cat walk action never hurt a soul.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

colby + melanie + a wedding

I just posted this video on my videography blog but I wanted to post it here for the people I love and care about to see. I am so proud of this one for some reason. I think it's the music - My choice, thank you very much. I've always been fine with my work but I'm starting to really love it which is an amazing feeling. Take a look if you are feeling so inclined. Take the HD off if you are having a hard time viewing it.


Colby + Melanie + A Wedding from Lilly McDowell on Vimeo.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

I Can Be Reverent

It's too funny, I have to share it with you. Henry gave a talk in church on Sunday. Now when I say "gave a talk" I mean he had Daddy at his side feeding him his lines loud enough for the entire primary to hear. This is because, bless little albino monkey heart, you can't understand a word the child is saying. (Not to worry, we are on it . The speech therapist is hopeful that he will be understood by the masses by kindergarten) ANWAY! This is all beside the point. His talk was on reverence. I wanted to keep the primary children's interest so I took a bunch of pictures of Henry and made them each an 8X10 for visual effect. I was not anticipating how freaking CUTE the pictures would turn out! How I love my little dapper man. This is all I will say. See the full talk below. Hilarity and cuteness ensues...


Sometimes I like to play and be loud!



























I like to wrestle with my daddy




























I like to swing on the swings with my sister




















It's fun to run and play!





























But sometimes we need to be reverent






























Like when we go to church on Sunday





























Or during family home evening






















We can be reverent by folding our arms




























And sitting quietly in our chairs





























When we are reverent we can hear the Holy Ghost whisper to our hearts























When we are reverent we make Heavenly Father and Jesus happy.






































I can be reverent when I need to. This in one way I choose the right.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Our Trip to Disneyland


(The kiddies with grandma. Too cute.)



Did you ever go somewhere for the summer? Like grandma's house or a cousin's house for a few weeks? Or a cabin or boat house? I'm talking not just a week long vacation. I'm talking spending some serious time away from home for the summer. Somewhere you consider to be like a second home. I did. Since I was a tiny little girl, my dad was the set designer for the Children's Miracle Network Telethon broadcasted live from Disneyland. This meant he would have to spend a week or so in Disneyland setting up, broadcasting the telethon, and taking it all down afterword. Of COURSE the whole family would join him for this particular business trip. After the telethon was finished, Daddy needed a full vacation too so we would tack on another week or ten days at Disneyland. We grew up a family from Utah with annual passes in our name each year and all those days in Anaheim were spent in the park. Later during the year my mom would get antsy and we would usually go back one or two more times for 3 or 4 days a visit. This meant we had plenty of time to lounge in the shade, take our time, and relax at Disneyland. Most families were running from line to line, eating on the go, and leaving the park sore and exhausted at the end of the day. Our experience was much different. We got to know every nook and cranny of Disneyland. We would pretend we were orphans that lived in New Orleans Square or runaways that lived on Tom Sawyer's Island. Most kids had grandma's tree house in the back yard as their play area for the summer. We had the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse to run through and cause mischief. Disneyland was our playground. It truly is my second home and it will always be where my heart is. It is so much more than a theme park to me. The smells, the sounds, and the beauty found there are a part of me. My sisters and I often tell people the Disneyland "calls to us". I'm sure they think we are crazy. But sometimes I will be in the kitchen doing the dishes and I will suddenly smell the vanilla on Main Street or hear the Swiss Polka that plays in line on the Matterhorn or see Snow White's wishing well next to the castle. I can practically feel the cobblestone under my feet!! This is Disneyland calling to me and it is a cruel and painful experience when our bank account is shouting back "Absolutely NOT!!" This is why I need to win the lottery.

We just returned from a five day vacation to Disneyland. Not NEARLY long enough for me (or my cute husband who TOTALLY understands the magic of Disneyland) but it was sufficient to feed the intense addiction for a little while. Some wonderful things happened there!

Wonderful thing #1. Finn learned how to drink from a straw at the Big Thunder Mountain Barbeque Ranch. YESSS!

Wonderful thing #2. I felt the very first flutter of sweet baby number 4 when it was startled by the fireworks. How cute and awesome is THAT?!! (By the way, I am pregnant)

Wonderful thing #3. Henry got picked to be in the Jedi Training show in Tomorrowland! Hilarious and tear jerking all at once. It was serious business as you will see in the pictures below.

Wonderful thing #4. We were ALL sick with a terrible stomach flu (or violent germs as Maggie would say) on the drive to Disneyland, but miraculously enjoyed perfect health through out the remainder of our trip!

Wonderful thing #5. Maggie pointed out to me how beautiful and charming the evening lighting is in Adventureland. My children are beginning to understand the importance of beauty and atmosphere!! It's not just about the rides to my FIVE year old! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree folks. (Of course it can't hurt that the larger apple constantly points out to the smaller apple that there is beauty all around them every day.)

So that was our trip. And thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, The Tim McDowells, "Unca" James, and our beloved Deakins, it was a trip these apples will never forget.

WARNING: There are 26 pictures following this post for your viewing pleasure. I know it's a lot but trust me, it's whittled down to the bare essentials as there were over 700 pictures to choose from. Also, please note the last picture, Buzz with Mickey ears copping a feel on the blue pixie. You love it.