Having a Ball in the Ball Pit

The girls got this awesome "jump-o-lene" from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas. We just got around to blowing it up and the girls are having a blast! It is huge, so we put balls in it to make it sort of a ball pit and they go wild! A great energy burner. They love it when we do the "earthquake" and shake it like crazy. They all laugh and fall all over the place.


Daddy joining in the fun
Who knew how much hair Brooke has???
Taylor does have hair!!!
Syd's Mohawk

It's a BOY!!!!

BRING ON THE BLUE!!!

It just occurred to me that I had not posted anything about our big news. We ARE expecting a baby boy and he will most likely join our family the last week of June. Chris was really surprised because he thought for sure we were having another girl. I, on the other hand, really did not have a feeling one way or another. When all is said and done the only thing we are really concerned about is the health of the baby. We are thrilled to add a little boy to the bunch and to experience what little boys are all about. I know the girls are too young to understand what is going on with a little brother, and I think teaching them to be gentle is going to be the main task for us. I will say that I foresee Taylor being Mommy's little helper. She loves to help out, including already cleaning up her toys, which is awesome!

Here is a picture at 20 weeks along

Sydney Walks!!!!

Monday February 21st marks the day Sydney officially started walking (16months, 3 weeks)! Over the weekend she took many steps and we knew she was getting very close. Monday she did it over and over, so we think it is official. We are so proud of her, and she is quite proud of herself too! She has worked really really hard to catch her sisters and now, although they are faster, she is part of the walking gang! Obviously it is new to her so she still does the "Frankenstein" walk, but I think it is adorable, haven't seen that in a few months. It will be a few months before she is running like her sisters, but the independence of being upright is a wonderful milestone for Sydney! Way to go sweetheart!

Learning to Do the Things Big Girls Do

The girls continue to learn so much everyday! It really is amazing how they absorb absolutely everything. With regard to eating, they each do fairly well with the spoons but it occurred to me that forks may be easier to learn with because the food will actually stay on it from plate to mouth. It is really cute to see them using forks and spoons, they look so grown up!
SydBrookeTaylorThe girls have also have gotten into the habit of brushing their teeth after dinner. I usually start by giving a good brush to the top and bottom and then they take over and finish the job. They are really good at opening their little mouths on demand and waiting for me to do my thing. They definitely know the routine. The last few nights they have wanted to dip the brush back into the water cup which for some reason cracks me up. Of course as soon as one of them did it they ALL had to do it!

Dad managing the teeth brushing
Speaking of teeth, Syd suddenly has 2, almost 3 that literally seem to have popped up overnight. She had a rough day when the big molars were cutting, but beyond that she has been a real trooper. She always lead the pack with teeth. Who will be next?
I am so darn proud of my sweeties!

Great Uncle John

The girls were hanging all over Uncle John
I love this picture of Uncle John and Taylor, great smiles!!!
Chris's Uncle John came up from St. Louis over the weekend for a visit. We had a great time hanging out together. The girls really turned on their silliness for him which I think he got a kick out of. They really are silly little girls, especially right after dinner just before bed. We think they are burning off their last energy burst before a long sounds night of sleep. It is awesome, they are so happy and they run, walk, roll around screaming, chatting and laughing. Many nights they get into the laundry basket and put the clothes over their heads which they think is hilarious, and it is until they start tripping and running into everything.

We enjoyed delicious dinners together and always enjoy time with Uncle John. A big thank you to him for taking the time to drive up and hang out with us! If only I would have taken more pictures...my never ending regret.

Happy Valentine's Day

Since Valentine's Day fell in a Monday we didn't do anything really special. Chris and I got out for a bit for dinner. For the girls it was just another day at home with Mom, with a visit from Busia and Papa. I wanted to do a few little things for the girls, so they each got a little something to love. They each got a doll and a book and I made mini Valentine cupcakes. The cupcakes were a hit for dessert and the perfect size for their chubby little hands!

One of the adorable things the girls have really gotten good at is hugging and kissing their dolls. If I ask them to go get their dolly and give her a hug and kiss they totally do it. It all really started with the little dogs in the purse they got for Christmas. The funny thing is that they all will hug and kiss them and then usually throw the doll to the ground. I find it pretty funny. Now, if we could only get them to hug and kiss Mom and Dad on demand. I think I would spend the entire day asking for them if it worked. I actually do ask often throughout the day and they are usually not into it just yet. I will say that Sydney typically holds the best odds of giving smooches!!!
Syd giving sweet hugs
Brooke giving kisses with mischief in her eyes...

Taylor giving loving kisses

Brooke-in-the-box

Sometimes Brooke empties the entire box of toys and gets comfy inside, and sometimes she jumps right in on top of all the toys. Either way, she has a blast. Silly little girl!

Exploring Spoons

This is something I have to admit selfishly I have been putting off. The mess that comes along with figuring out how to properly use a spoon is considerable. I decided to take "baby" steps with this whole issue and to hope and pray my thought process reduces the crazy mess involved. What we have been doing is, I hold a cup of yogurt, pudding, etc and am teaching the girls to dip the spoon into the cup and then bring it to their mouth. It really is a lot harder than it sounds, because the kids are not born knowing how to properly hold a spoon, and my girls really seem to want no guidance at all. The death grip that they have on the spoon makes it difficult to adjust the grip at all sometimes. Anyway, it is going fairly well, they get the spoon to mouth process. The real question is whether they dilly dally getting there and all the good stuff falls off the spoon or they get distracted along the way and start spreading the food all over the table, which seems to be just as fun. I have the utmost confidence that one day my daughters will properly utilize all feeding utensils in a well mannered way!

Taylor
Sydney
Brooke

A few other cute pics:

Taylor checking out Mom's new rain boots
Sydney looking sweet as pie
Brooke locked into Sesame Street
Monkey see monkey do, Brooke with Busia

Superbowl XLV: Packers vs Steelers

We are the champions!!!!!! Final score Packers 31 Steelers 25!!! Way to go Packers, this a very sweet victory!

TOUCHDOWN!!!Mom with the girls (BTS)
The best shot we could get with Wrigs and the girls...
Taylor
Brooke
Brooke upside down with Daddy
Sydney
Taylor
Brooke
Syd getting ready for dinner...

Sydney First Pony...tail

It looks like I pulled her pony too tight in this picture the way she raised her brows! That is not the case!!!



I must admit I am pretty excited about this! My little girl has enough hair for a little pony tail!!! I was surprised she didn't freak out when I put it in because she was not happy with the barrette I tried a few months back. Looking good Sydney, you look like such a big girl!

Post NICU Evaluation

We had the 16 month (13 month 7 days adjusted) appointment at the NICU Follow-up clinic with Dr. Bear on 2/1. Similar to the last appointment the girls were evaluated by PT, OT and Speech Therapy. This time each girl went individually into a separate room for the evaluation where they basically had a chance to show off their skills. Bottom line for all three girls is there are no concerns with their development!!! I am not going to go into all the specifics, but the reports were great and of course put Chris and my minds at ease. There were definitely areas where they are beyond even their actual age and areas where they are closer to their adjusted age, all of which are perfectly normal. All the therapist just loved the girls and couldn't believe how well they have developed for 29 weekers! Such a proud Mama!

A few suggestions were made as to things we should do with them, especially to get their communication to increase. We see a lot of "grunt and pointing" which we were told is a tough habit to break. They suggested we start teaching basic sign language. I started to be more consistent with it during the remainder of the week and it is pretty amazing how quickly they have picked it up .


All three girls were absolute troopers and they were so cute exploring the room almost naked!

Sit and Spin

Sydney and Brooke

Brooke and Taylor

Climbing Stairs

The girls have been climbing the stairs for awhile now here and there. Lately, I have decided to take a load off and have them get themselves upstairs for nap time. Brilliant!!! I love it, we will be playing in the playroom and I will say "ok girls, let's get your blankey and go upstairs for nap time". All three girls head straight for the door and up we go. We are also starting to work on getting down on their bellies. Stay tuned...

Love & Logic

I started a parenting class a few weeks ago called Love & Logic. I had heard about it from friends in the past and when I found out the Muskego Rec Dept was offering the course I signed up quickly. I have one book which I have gotten partially through, but I only really get to read before bed and it usually doesn't last very long and I rarely remember what I read in the morning. That is why I reserve my US Weekly for bedtime, don't need to remember all the Hollywood gossip. Ha

The premise of Love &Logic is raising kids who are 1) Responsible 2) Respectful and 3)Fun to Be Around, sounds great doesn't it??? I like the approach because it is less yelling and more offering choices for the kids so they get used to taking responsibility for their actions. The thought is that they will learn by making mistakes when they are younger so that when they are faced with tough decisions later in life they are more prepared to make the best choice. It sounds really advanced, especially for our 16 month old girls, but it is really all about Chris and I learning how to be a better parent and doing it in a particular way right off the bat to instill consistency. Theoretically this will make it clear to the children that their parents' words mean something. There will not be threats, but there will be consequences. So, you ask how are we using these techniques on our girls. At this point it is pretty simple. When someone misbehaves, hits, pushes, throws things, etc. we say "Uh oh, _____ needs a little blanket time". We don't have to say what they did, because they know or will figure it out after a few incidents. We then put them on this little brown blanket in the corner and they have to stay there until they are "sweet" again, or stop crying . So far it is going ok, I hate seeing them cry, because they really do get worked up about it. BUT, I know if we are consistent with this now they will learn and be better off. Typically there is only one incident per day, if that. They have been very sweet to each other lately. I see the sharing is starting to sink in and there is less frustration with the taking of toys.

So that is where we are at in figuring out this whole parenting thing. We know we have the most important role ahead of us and we are determined together to do our very best. We love are girls beyond words and want them to be happy and fun to be around!!!

The Silly Things They Do...

All three girls are still really good eaters, which of course makes me really happy! A few of their favorites are: chicken sausage, eggs and sausage, pasta with sauce, fish, cheese, veggie burgers, pickles, and casseroles.

They also are having a lot of fun learning their body parts, so far they know belly, head/hair, ears, mouth, feet, nose, and hands. Suddenly they understand so much of what we say. They all respond if I ask them to get me a book, or get a specific toy, or to get their water/milk/snack. It amazes me everyday how much they know and continue to learn. They learned the touchdown sign in less than a day, and they had never seen it before, unless they were paying attention with all the Sunday football we have had on the past few weeks. Taylor also loves to scream when we say touchdown. When I tell them it is nap time they walk/crawl over to the door and go right up the stairs. I usually ask them to find their blankets before we go up if they brought them down from their beds. "Don't touch" is working very well and we have a new discipline technique that I picked up at the Love & Logic class I am taking. I will expand on that in a separate post.

Random pictures of the girls being the girls!

Taylor being a sweetie, I feel like I have fewer pictures of her lately becasue she is always sitting on my lap or snuggling on me. I love every second of it!!!
What a doll!!!


Sydney has been an absolute peach lately. She is soooooo happy! A few weeks ago things were getting a little tough with her, she was crying more and was not her sweet little self. I decided to try the "brushing" again with her. It is a technique that is used with kids that tend to have high sensitivities to things, or situations. She responded extremely well the first time I did it. It totally amazes me how this child responds to "brushing"! It takes about a week to see results but they are very evident. I realized that initiating the "brushing" was the only thing that had changed since I started to see the improvement in her mood. I love when she is so happy and it seems she is much more confident and likely to make strides toward new milestones, a.k.a walking!!! The morning this picture was taken I had to wake the girls up at 8:00, unheard of. Somehow Sydney manged to get her zipper down on her jammies and get a leg out. I still can not figure out for the life of me how this happened. She really can't unzip it by herself, I have since tried to test her to no avail. Huh???
Brooke, this little girl loves the camera!!! She is always doing something silly, that is probably why I have so many random shots of her compared to her sisters.
Future model??? Look at these poses!!!

She loves to find random toys to make her little chairs, the mini drum is my favorite it looks like she is sitting on the pot. Of course that picture didn't come out...
Bellied up to the bar...huh, wonder who she gets that from...
Such a happy goofball!