An Appointment with a Dermatologist

Last week we had an appointment with Dr. Hill a Pediatric Dermatologist. Sydney has had a little blue looking hard lump on her forehead for the last few months and we wanted to make sure it was nothing serious. As it turns out it is not. It is a cyst, or in scientific terms a Pilomatrixoma. It is common in children, especially in girls. It will not go away on its own and will likely continue to grow over time. She will be having day surgery to remove it probably in November. Because of her age they will need to put her under anesthesia. The risks of anesthesia go down at 6 months and again at 12 months, so we will have that on our side by November. Brooke and Taylor both have Eczema, again very common in small children and nothing to be concerned with. We have a few ointments to use to control it and hopefully they will grow out of it. Both girls seem to have very sensitive skin, just like Mom and Dad, so we need to use certain soaps and moisturizers that are extra gentle. Then there is Sydney with the skin of steel. She has the most beautiful smooth skin and has never even had a bit of diaper rash, even after she pooped in the middle of the night and didn't cry to get her pants changed.

We Hit the Park!!!

Yes, there are numerous blog entries this evening. It is Friday night and it has been a long week. Tonight, babies are fast asleep, Chris is playing cards with the boys and I sit here listening to what else, but country music while catching up on what will one day be my daughters' baby books. I decided a few months ago that instead of keeping individual baby books I will one day print this blog out for each of them to keep forever. The thought of writing in three baby books constantly is overwhelming to me. This blogging thing is not only fun for me, but hopefully enjoyable for those who follow and takes me significantly less time to update! I hope that I capture an equal number of memories for each girl, I sure do try.

Today we took the girls to the park for the first time. There is a great park near our house that has two baby swings, so we loaded up the girls and checked it out. Sydney loved the swing, Brooke and Taylor were pretty indifferent, but I think they all enjoyed at least being outside. I also took each girl down two slides. I couldn't really tell if they loved it, but they definitely didn't dislike it! I can't wait to see the day when they are all running around screaming playing together!

Taylor

Taylor

Brooke

Brooke

Sydney

Brooke, Taylor and Sydney (love her smile in the background)

We Now Brush Teeth, all 7 of Them

At the beginning of July, when all three girls bottom teeth broke through I decided to start introducing the idea of brushing teeth, even if there are only six(now seven) among the three. According to the pediatrician it is a good idea to get them used to this and to create good habits for the future. I figured it can't hurt to give it a shot and although I sometimes forget, we try to do it at least once each day.

This is not the most entertaining video, but a memory nonetheless.

The First Popsicle

When we were at Busia and Papa's house we gave the girls an actually bite of their first Popsicle. It was banana flavor and they all really liked it. I think the initial shock of the cold was surprising to them, but they got over it and ate away.

Taylor is our Little Sunshine

Taylor is also on the move, just not quite as quick as her older sister. She has found interest in sneaking out the door of the playroom into the foyer. Papa thinks that she likes to hear her sounds echo, and the new surface, hardwood. I obviously only keep the doors open when I am in there, but I think with becoming mobile she wants to broaden her horizons and explore the world! Go Sweet Little Girl!



I think I have said it before but every time Taylor smiles, the room lights up. Of course, I think all of our daughters have beautiful smiles, but for some reason when Taylor lights up so does everyone else. I can't get enough of the smiles from all of them!!! Taylor is the one who gives complete strangers a huge grin and they are amazed how social she seems to be.

Brooke is Really on the Move, and Out the Door!

Brooke is everywhere! It is official, the "getting into everything" has begun! The second the door or gate is open she is outta there! I like her to be able to explore, but only when I am able to watch her every move. Although her knees are getting a little red from all the crawling around, nothing is going to stop this little one! The best thing about it is that she is always willing to flash a gorgeous smile! You are a gem Brooke!




Hanging out in playroom exploring is what is on Brooke's agenda...


When I go in the girls room to get them up whether it is from a nap or in the morning, Brooke is usually either sitting holding onto the bars of the crib, or she is on all fours moving about the crib. Twice last week during a nap there was fussing that turned into screaming and as it turned out she got up on her knees and she didn't know how to get back down. It was pretty cute but I felt terrible because I think she got a little freaked out and didn't know what to do. I also noticed that she is sitting or kneeling looking into Taylor's crib, which I find adorable.

Sydney is Having a Ball

This beautiful girl has a way of flashing "looks" at people. Often it is a lovely, almost three tooth smile and sometimes it is a glare or seemingly dirty look. I always get a kick out of not knowing what to expect out of her. By the way, she has a front tooth coming in. It has broken through but since she tends to put the lock down on the lips when I try to steal a peek I can't get a picture or even a really good look.



Sydney is standing very well and loves to sit and play her toys that make the most music. She does the "no" motion with her head a ton, especially when she is eating for some reason. She has now also learned the "yes" nod and although it seems harder and she prefers the "no". Uh oh! She caught on really quickly thanks to the repetition with Busia and Papa. Anytime the music starts she is movin'. We are now working on clapping, which will be tooooo cute when she gets it!

A Whole Lot of Laughs

Puffs end up in the darnedest places...
Brooke

Taylor

As Sydney happily plays all by herself Brooke comes crawling over to see what Sydeny is up to. Sydney welcomes a playmate, until Brooke pushes her out of the way and attempts to take over. We are seeing a lot of that these days, grabbing toys out of each others hands, pushing each other out of the way. Unfortunately Sydney is at a bit of a disadvantage because she is not mobile. She seems pretty content kicking around, doing the "inch worm" and sitting most of the time.


This particular photo is not exactly worth a laugh, but the set up was kind of funny. Once again we were in the basement for a tornado warning, ugh. This time there were storms lined up one after another on the radar. The girls had just finished their last bottle of the day so we decided to set up the pack n plays and put them to sleep, yeah right!!!! There was little sleep for the girls, at least in the basement.

I was curious if the girls would pay any attention to a Baby Einstein video, and the answer to that is not really.

No need to move Taylor, Brooke will just crawl OVER you:

Taylor LOVES her big purple ball, when she is on her back she holds it up with her hands and feet. She looks like a little seal. Delightful!

Brook is pulling herself up all the time whether it be on me, the gate, or a toy. She is sooooo strong and does not miss a beat!


Another hilarious moment: I went into the kitchen for a moment to get the girls their bottles. These girls are drawn to the remote, my phone, the camera and the flip video. It really is my fault for ever leaving them on the floor, but inevitably I do it and they are quick to remind me that I need to be more careful. It seems they move the fastest when they are after something they should not have. Anyway, I went into the kitchen to make bottles and apparently I left the remote on the floor. When I returned the rap music channel was on. I looked at Taylor and sure enough she was playing with the remote. Although I don't mind some rap music, I have nervous visions of rap music booming from her room when she is a teen, driving her parents absolutely nutzo!

A LONG Walk

Last weekend the girls and I went over to Busia and Papa's house for the afternoon because Chris was working :( . My Mom andI took the girls for a looooong walk to the ice cream shop in town. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not too hot and not humid at all. This seemed to be the perfect combination for the girls, they were zonked out! I just love these close up pictures:

Alpha Gams meet in Chi-town

Last weekend I took Brooke with me to Chicago for a girls night with sorority sisters. It was a quick trip but sooooo great to see three of my girl friends from Alpha Gamma Delta at Indiana University. We did this get together two years ago and as you may imagine it was A LOT different. None of us had children then and all of us have children now. Kellie, from St. Louis has a 18 month old daughter, Sophia. Holly, from Ohio has an 8 month daughter, Natalie. Kristie, who lives in Chicago has a 6 month old son, Alexander. We had a short time together with 7PM bed times, but any time is great time spent together. We had a great time. All the kiddos are just precious!






I decided to take Brooke because she has not really been anywhere alone with me. Taylor went to Indiana and Sydney has been to lunch a few times and on outings here and there. It was so enjoyable to have the one on one time with Brooke, she is a stitch! She was all over the place. She also sat in a high chair at brunch on Saturday and did awesome. She even got a few tastes of food off my plate which she really seemed to enjoy. This is such a fun age with the girls so much interaction and they are sweet little darlings.

Got Beets???

WARNING...these pictures are a little weird and sort of freaked me out because the beet juice looks a little like blood. At first I thought it was really cute like they had lipstick on but then it just got messy. The girls absolutely could not get enough of the beets! They were really sweet and a huge hit. I am so happy that my girls are adventurous eaters so far. There are very few things that they have turned their nose up at. I am the least picky eater ever and I hope that will rub off onto my daughters. We also had mangoes that they also LOVED! Nice eating ladies!

She Did It....

It has only been 1 week since Brooke officially started crawling on all fours. Over the course of the last week she would get herself to a sitting position and pull up on her knees. Today she pulled herself up to a standing position...OH MY GOODNESS...this little one wants to walk. This is INSANE to me. She used the gate to pull herself up like a pro and Dad got it on video, check it out:

More Pictures From our Day at the Lake

It is amazing what a difference the camera makes, these are the pictures my friend Sue took with her camera!


Sydney

Brooke

Taylor