Taylor, Purses and Dogs

Lately Taylor has been really into the "dogs in purses" the girls got for Christmas. She seems very proud to put all three purses on her arms and walk about the playroom. Sometimes she takes a dog out to give it hugs and kisses too. She is such a tender loving child! I love her expressions in these pictures so I had to include them all!

After Dinner Antics

This video gives a little insight into what goes on in this house, warning....this is a long one!

Typically Brooke wears a shirt for dinner, but her applesauce got the best of her this particular evening.

A Lazy Sunday Morning

Chris and I had a great night out at Dinner Club last night. It was a later night than normal for us, which resulted in a lazy Sunday! Chris slept in a bit and around 9:30 the girls and I went to join him for a little lazy time in Mom and Dad's bedroom. I have this vivid image in my head of how sweet it would be to all snuggle in our big old bed and be comfy and relax. Well, that is not exactly what happened. We all started on the bed, but the novelty of that wore of real quick when the girls discovered the basket of old magazines next to the bed. Did they ever have a good time going through them, and I was reminded of how incredibly far behind I am on my reading, ugh! They had a great time shredding, crinkling and pretty much destroying a few mags.

We temporarily have the treadmill in our bedroom while the basement is being renovated. Taylor was happy to climb on it...

but unsure how to get down...

Brooke is very meticulous about her shredding technique!

Syd was enjoying hanging out on the bed with us and playing with Carmen
Syd giving Daddy an adorable smile while showing off her mouthful of teeth! She has 4 molars now.

SMOOTHIES!!!

I started making smoothies for the girls and it has been a huge hit. I thought not only would it be a great way to get fruits into Sydney, now that she is pretty much resistant to all fruits at meals, but also I add a little wheat germ or oatmeal to sneak some extras into the girls diet. I am having fun making different creations. So far they have loved the banana walnut, strawberry oatmeal and mango. I use low-fat yogurt, sometimes a little cinnimmon, honey, vanilla extract and nutmeg for flavor. I love that it is all natural sugars and they girls can't seem to get enough. They should be especially refreshing with the warm weather on the way (that is what I keep trying to convince myself anyway).


I always get a kick out of the girls because I give them smoothies in the sippy cups for obvious reasons, so they have to work a bit to suck the drink up the straw. They don't seem to mind the extra effort one but, but I always think of how tired their little cheeks must get by the time they finish. They rarely take much of a break at all, the straws barely leave their lips!

Bracelets!!!

The girls love wearing bracelets. They are actually into any accessory. They love when I wear necklaces, bracelets etc. They also love putting various toys on their wrists to wear bracelets themselves. Brooke and Taylor are especially into accessorizing, they LOVE hats. Sydney has her moments, but is not as much as a diva as her sisters. Maybe Syd's phone will be her accessory. Here are a few pictures and a video:
Syd
Brooke

Taylor




Brooke

Taylor

Losing the AM Nap

We are done, it is outta here and there is no going back. At almost 18 months old Chris and I decided it was time to transition to one long afternoon nap. The girls are AWESOME, and I mean AWESOME sleepers!!! We are so thankful for this! Sydney is definitely the one that can go with the least sleep and be happy. Brooke and Taylor tend to need a little more rest and I think it is to keep their mischief up to par. The girls are on a tight schedule and would take great morning naps, usually 9:00-10:30/11:00 and then go back down at 1:00. Recently there was a lot of waking up and crying and talking and not a lot of good sleep happening in the afternoon. That is the time they really need the rest in order to get to bed time happily. I knew something had to change, so over the past few weeks I have been limiting their morning naps to no more than an hour and fifteen minutes. They were fine with that, but still the afternoons were not consistent. With all this happening we decided to go for it and open up the morning for activities for whatever we like. It will be a transition to get, mostly Brooke and Taylor, accustomed to no rest in the morning, but I think in a week or two they will adjust. I feel like at their age one two to three hour nap in the afternoon is sufficient, especially because they sleep from 6:00-7:30AM.

I decided to blow up the big air mattress for the transition. I knew they would be tired in the mornings and I thought not only would it be something new and fun, but with a big down comforter and pillows it would also be a great place to snuggle up, watch some TV and get some rest comfortably. At first it was pure entertainment for them and then it really served the purpose for a great place to lay down and chill for a bit.



Taylor was checked out, so sleepy
Brooke, little snuggle bugSydney, taking a break
One big benefit of getting rid of the morning nap is that we will be much more free to go on play dates and me not be worried if they will be super fussy by lunch time. The only down side is loosing that chunk of time in the morning, usually my work out, shower time. Oh, well I will live. It was almost more frustrating when I would plan to get things done during the afternoon nap and I would get interrupted with screams. Now I can plan accordingly and know what to expect from the day.

Brooke, this must have been after the nap

Fun With Daddy

We had a great weekend filled with nothing but family time! We ran errands with the girls, and basically hung out at home and let our silly little girls entertain us. They are so funny right now. Either they are doing something crazy where all Chris and I can do is shake our heads, or they do something so funny that we totally crack up. I love it. This is such a fun age and we can't get enough!


Brooke watching the NCAA Tourney with Daddy

Taylor's "Not -So" Secret Spot

Taylor discovered privacy is nice sometimes, so when she had the need to fill her diaper she tried to find a little place to hide. There is not a lot of places to hide in the playroom, but she found this spot and no one really bothered her...at first. She was so quiet for quite a long time, but once her sisters found her, that was the end of her moment of privacy.

Sydney found her first, at first she was just peeking at her. But then, she started messing with her a little.
Then Brooke realized what was going on and she barged right in and tried to push Taylor out of her space. Never a dull moment in this house!!!

The Fun Lasts More Than 1 Day

Since I did not put the St. Patrick's Day hats away immediately after the actual holiday, the girls had more fun. Brooke and Taylor were totally into them, Sydney not so much.

Taylor looks like she is up to no good
Taylor showing off her beautiful big lips!
Brooke loving yet another accessory
Taylor moving her hips to the music

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today was a fun filled day from the start! The girls loved the festive hats and had a blast playing with them after breakfast. They also loved putting them on me and Busia and Papa!

Brooke
Sydney
Taylor
Brooke
After naps we headed to McDonald's for the first time to try a Shamrock Shake. I put the shake into their sippy cups and it worked out great. They had to work a bit at first to get it through the straw but no one got frustrated at all and they LOVED it. I really enjoy doing all these things with them for the first time.

SydTaylorBrooke
After snack time shakes, we headed to the park. It got up to 62 degrees here today which is a welcomed warm up. My friend Sue and her kiddos Kara and Logan also met up with us which was a real treat.

Sydney loved the slide, swings...not so much todayTaylor got a ride on the dinosaur courtesy of Logan, and of course Papa for support

Brooke was all smiles on the swings with constant pushing from Busia and Kara

Wrigley's Bed

A bit disgusting to me but where do the girls flock to when we are playing in the main room??? Wrigley's bed, of course! They have a blast rolling around (yuck) all over the place and giggle non stop! Why would I stop them?

Look at this absolute joy:




Where is Wrigs you ask? He finds a temporary alternate spot to chill, and doesn't seem to mind one bit, as long as he gets his licks in at some point . He adores these little ones. Every morning when we walk down the stairs we sing good morning to him and he beats his tail on the hardwood floor! One of my favorite times of the day because the girls wave and smile and sometimes say hi. Sydney usually says "woof woof"!

Always Something New and Entertaining

Aside from the start of our basement renovation, there is a lot going on around here. We did begin the basement project and things are coming along well. I can not wait to have that extra space for the girls to run around and make room upstairs for our little man. The actual construction has gone better than I had anticipated. I think I was worked up and expecting the worse case scenario. I have been pleasantly surprised! The mess, really is not that bad...yet. The noise, is loud at times but after the initial scare the girls got from the pounding, generator running and saws, they got used to it and we kind of made a game/song out of it. The girls have also been amazing with their naps, they really have not had an issue at all. The dogs, although they do get excited when the guys go in and out, it is not as bad as I thought. Poor Wrigley really just wants them to play with him and jumps around a lot. Carmen, barks but once she is back in the bedroom she doesn't hear as much and so is pretty good. Whew...all that said I am anxious to have this project finished so we can enjoy it!!!

The girls are funnier than ever with their little personalities showing more and more. They seem to be starting to try to communicate more and have learned a few signs (more and milk). I am trying to figure out the nap thing because they all really love their morning naps and would take two hours if I would let them. Sounds great, but if they sleep that long they will not nap well in the afternoon which is when they really need the rest. I have cut their AM nap to just over and hour so they can catch 2 hours in the afternoon. They have adjusted well, it is hard though to go in and wake them in the morning. NOBODY likes to be awoken from a nap! Thankfully they are really happy despite this.

Sydney has been an absolute peach lately!!! She is super sweet giving kisses, learning to share toys with her sisters and gaining tons of confidence with her walking. She is so funny too, she really is the best listener to me. She typically does what I say and listens when I tell her not to do something. She does however think it is a game when I tell her to sit on her bottom. She will, but then she will stand halfway up and look at me waiting for my reaction. She always has this cute little grin on her face. This particular picture I love because she was having a tough time, not really sure what exactly was bothering her, so I decided to sit her in her chair and surround her with all the dolls, and favorite thing in the world, her elephant blankie.


Banging on keys with Daddy at Grandma and Grandpas
One of the few hats she seems to like having on her head.
Checking out a guitar at a play date I took her to.
Chillin' at Busia and Papa's House


Taylor is all over the place! She loves to run in the opposite direction of where we would like her to go. This happens before every diaper change and usually when we are trying to corral them upstairs to nap or bed time. She is definitely exploring her independence. At the same time she is so sweet with her sisters most of the time. She is such a helper and brings Brooke and Sydney their blankies, toys, sippy cups, etc. She has even started feeding them which is super cute. When she is in the middle at meals she will take turns putting food into both of her sisters' mouths. She is really proud of this too. She is also totally into dancing! More than her sisters the second she hears music she starts to move her hips which is adorable!!!
Taylor loves this straw hat

She may be my little cook!

Dancing up a storm
I love this shot
Taylor LOVED Papa's bubble maker

Holy cow do Brooke and Taylor look identical in this photo!

Brooke is a huge ham!!! She loves having pictures taken, as you can see, she loves smiling for the camera and sometimes even posing. She is very animated and does silly things all the time. She will stand in the corner and have her toy phone to her ear as if she is on a serious call and then she will break out in a giggle. I love it and could sit and watch her all day. She has also been a snuggle bug lately. I think she is growing because her appetite has really picked up and she is really sleepy. She will be knocked out long after her sisters have already gotten up from their naps. She has a really big favorite blankie, I love it because she looks like Linus from Charlie Brown with it dragging behind her. She will bring it up to me and want to come on my lap and cuddle up with it and me. She has gotten into giving really sweet kisses which of course we love a ton. Brooke also is totally into the dogs. She loves to give Wrigs kisses and suddenly gets really close to Carmen too and gives a big old kiss. It is really sweet, she gets a real kick out of anything they do.

Proud she has learned to sort shapes
So sweet
Always figuring out how to make toys more dangerous
Little beauty
HAM

These girls are a trip, and although they are testing me more than ever, I also love them more than ever. It is getting more difficult around here for me and I am not totally sure if it is that I am getting further into my pregnancy and am more worn out, or if it is they are more aware and smarter and therefore testing me more. They are smart cookies and challenge me everyday. I am trying to be very consistent and working on teaching them specific things that I think are important at this age. We started having snack time at the picnic table in the playroom because I want them to understand sitting down to eat and not running around everywhere. They have been doing an awesome staying seated, we sing and talk and I only make them stay a few minutes to get the concept across. Check it out: