Sydney's First "Steps"

Not the clearest picture, as Sydney was on the move, but this evening she took about 3 small quick steps then fell down.  I was just trying to get a picture of her wearing Bailey's princess crown, but she wanted to walk to me from TJ.  She is about 10 months, 1 week old today, March 11, 2012.  If you try to set her down on the floor in a sitting position, she arches her back to keep her feet under her so she can stand up. She wants to walk!

Yeouch!

Sydney's fingernails were in badly need of cutting. Looks like she got to Bailey's forehead before we could get them cut!

Bailey's Letters...

...spell words! Bailey has been practicing her letters. Of course, the letter B for her name. Next she got the A down. This picture is her writing my name and her name, with help along the way. She drew a big "U" for my second letter. All the letters are there...just a little skewed. We are so proud of her!

Sydney Grinding Teeth and Balancing

While we were in McCall this week Sydney's first top tooth (right) finally poked through her gums. She already has her bottom two - since around the first of the year. I would pick Sydney up and hear what sounded like a rock in her mouth that she was chewing on. On multiple occasions I would do a quick finger sweep and come up empty. Then I realized she was grinding her own teeth! A new found hobby! She is also darting her tongue in and out over her bottom teeth, all the while with a big smile. She must like to feel them!

Prior to the McCall trip, Sydney has been pulling herself up to standing from everything. Couch, footstool, end table, bar stool, window sill, her activity table. During the McCall trip, she started letting go and balancing. She was getting really good--up to 10 seconds or so. (The next week she has been up to 20-30 seconds. Julie and I am predicting she'll walk before her first birthday--she has 2 months)

McCall Trip

TJ took a much needed week off from work and we just had to get out of town so he wouldn't be bothered. We rented a condo in McCall and planned on going snow-shoeing (with the girls in the Chariot), sledding, and swimming at the indoor club. We decided not to go snow-shoeing due to all the extra equipment to bring and with Sydney's two naps a day, it just didn't leave us much time to play with her being involved. We had Grandma Darla come up for one day and night to watch Sydney so TJ and I could take Bailey skiing at Brundage.

We left Boise at 1:30ish on Monday afternoon, just in time for Syd's nap. She only slept one hour. TJ crawled in the back between the girls to give her a bottle and I kept driving. When we arrived we all got in our swim suits and went literally, across the driveway to the Club to swim. The water wasn't warm by any means, but if you kept moving around, it was ok. Bailey had a blast. The pool has about 4 extra-long steps so she could play on those and "touch." TJ and I switched off holding Syd and kept her moving around. Bailey took piggyback rides the length of the pool and even got the kick board out. We forgot her goggles, so she didn't want to go under water...well, she didn't want to try. When just Bailey and TJ went swimming on Wednesday, she slipped on a step and went under, eyes wide open and looking out at TJ while she waved her arms under water. She finally put her feet down and stood up and was fine. She went under 2 more times and when she came back to the condo, her first words to me were, "Mama! My whole body got wet 3 times!" That night we ordered Toll Station pizza and salad...it was great, as always.

Tuesday morning Darla was coming up and we were skiing in the afternoon. We packed a lunch and headed to Brundage...a short 15 minute drive. We ate lunch and got out on the groomed bunny hill, with just about no one else on that run. Bailey seemed a little bored on that run as it was just straight, versus the hairpin curve at Bogus' bunny hill. She saw some powder off to the side and wanted to ski in that and did. She had a blast. She got tired quickly, and she and TJ made a snowman and had a snowball fight while I got to take some runs myself. It was a gorgeous, bluebird day, groomed runs, and not crowded! Back home to Syd and Darla and spaghetti, which Sydney tried. Not good though, as her tummy was upset all night and she was up every 2 hours and ate at 4am.

Overnight Tuesday McCall got about 8 inches of snow. It was beautiful outside. We decided to venture out to the Pancake House with Darla before she headed home Wednesday morning. TJ got the Pathfinder all cleared off and ready and we hopped in. We haven't been out to eat much with Syd being little and going to bed early, but both girls did very well. Bailey was starved and ate without being reminded to. Syd was content with bits of bread crumbs and cheerios. She is not liking being spoon-fed at all, and are options are somewhat limited until dairy is ok at one year. Bailey brought her Dr. Seuss flashcards, with one picture of a Lorax. Since the movie was coming out that weekend, there were commercials galore. Everytime Bailey saw him on TV, she had to find her card, and hold it facing the TV. Funny girl. (TJ took her to the movie that Saturday with Aiden and Kenzie.) Bailey found an icicle from the deck and brought it in. She wanted to keep it in the "shade" so it wouldn't melt. Bailey loved the fleece Christmas blanket that was at the condo. She would later say that was one of her favorite parts of the vacation. After morning nap, we bundled up and got ready to go sledding, just in town at the public park near the beach. Some gradual slopes for the little ones. It was cold, sunny, and windy, which made it even colder. Syd only had a thick fleece onesie on, and putting her in the sled just got snow all over her and up her sleeves on her hands. I held her for a bit, but the cold wind was just too much. We took the car and went home; Bailey and TJ stayed to sled some and could walk home easily. I tried hard to get Sydney down for her afternoon nap but to no avail. She was not tired. B and TJ came home and went swimming again. Since we each had a kid, no pictures were taken of these events. Oh well. We ordered sushi takeout and B had Mac 'N' Cheese.

Thursday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and packed up. We left about 9:30am, in time for Syd's nap. Again, she only slept an hour. We stopped in Horseshoe Bend for an early lunch and to feed Syd. She hardly ate bread and not much formula. We got back in and headed home. It was great to get away, but next year, even the next few months, will be easier to do activities after Sydney drops her morning nap.

Bailey Skiing

This season we signed Bailey up for ski lessons at the age of 3 1/2. We were scheduled for Saturdays in January, but Bogus Basin had the latest opening ever - January 19th - so we only got to do 2 lessons. We paid a little extra with our credit and got B a 2-hour private lesson. She is amazing! She went from skiing in front of the instructor (who was skiing backwards), to following the instructor and occasionally making turns. TJ and I watched her on the bunny hill from chair 1 and we couldn't believe our eyes! She was skiing! She loves to go up on the chair and when we get to the top she says, "buckle me in" (the strap on the tips of her skis that keeps them together in a wedge) and she is off! She loves to hit the "powder" on the side of the run. Mostly she likes to go straight, but we are trying to get her to make some turns to slow down! She is so cute to see her on her skis. TJ and I look forward to many seasons skiing with her, and Sydney too, when she gets bigger.

Double-Knee Hop, Downward Dog, & Army Crawl

Syd is definitely mobile now. I can place her on the center of her blanket but 1 minute later she is off the blanket on her belly reaching for the nearest toy--or non-toy. The end of last week (Jan 5-7) she really was getting the moving thing down. She would be on her belly and get up on all fours. Or she would be on her back one minute and then be sitting the next. After some serious concentration, she figured out that she needed to move her arms to go forward. She wasn't quite sure what to do with her legs. She would rock back and forth. Then she would sort of jump pushing on her feet so both her knees would be off the ground...the double-knee hop. Then she would push her butt in the air...the yoga move called Downward Dog. Then she would get tired and just lay down on her belly and rest her head on the floor for a bit. And today, she has the army crawl down. She really gets that left elbow out there and "grabs" the floor, while also pushing with her feet. Eight-months-old and definitely MOBILE! And all this while fighting croup and oral thrush (and come to find out, the beginnings of an ear infection)!

Sydney's First Illness

Oh the joys of daycare...Sydney came down with croup last week. She had picked up a cold at back-to-back days at daycare. The weekend of the New Year she started getting a runny nose and was quite congested. She developed a cough after 4-5 days. Then she began getting hoarse. She sounded like a girl who had been out partying all night! As I worked on Wednesday, she developed a fever at daycare. Nana picked her up early. The next day we saw the doctor. Croup and oral thrush! Thursday night was the worst night of her life. Wouldn't settle down unless she was upright being held in the chair. When I would lay her down, she'd be ok for 10-15 minutes, then cry and wake up again. Then she'd wake up sweating, skin on fire from a fever. It was like that until 2:30am. I probably got about 3 hours of sleep that night. Friday and Saturday we decided to keep the ibuprofen on board around the clock, which helped. She seemed more herself. Sunday morning and no fever. Until after morning nap. Day 5 of fevers. Monday morning no fever, but I called the Pediatrician Monday morning as she'd had more than 3 days of fevers. They said if it came up again, to call back and be seen. Sure enough, after her morning nap: 102.7 in one ear and 103.2 in the other ear--which was the one she was sleeping on. We were seen at 3pm. Looked like the beginnings of an ear infection. We got some amoxicillin and started it tonight...only she wouldn't drink the 2 oz of formula with the 4 ml of amox. Then fever again. Added ibu to the mix. Still a no-go. And now she is conked out on Daddy's chest, with hardly anything in her belly, a little bit of antibiotic and an even smaller amount of fever-reducer. I expect her up any time hungry, hot and pissed. That said, I think I'll go to bed...

Bailey Quotes

Bailey talked today about learning a new word. Throughout the day she would say one. But there was one she was saving for when Daddy got home tonight. (I don't know what that ended up being...yet) The first one was "February." I asked if she learned that at school and she said No she learned it at home. The other words were "junior high," "forecast," and "Arizona." She knows it is warm in Arizona, as that is where Grandpa is right now for a "long time."

Bailey slept in her footsie jammies last night. When I took them off to get her dressed, I snuggled up with her and told her she was toasty and warm, "just like an oven!" She replied, "No I'm not! I have feet! And a head!"

We read the book "Dinosaurumpus" tonight. Not one that we have read in a while, as we have been reading new books from Christmas lately. She "read" the first 2 pages (4 sentences)! Obviously not reading but from memory. I was shocked. As I went a long, she would say a few words here and there with me. Amazing. Oh, and one of the Words of the Day was "quiver" which happens to be on page one of this book.

Sydney's First Tooth!

Sydney's first tooth was discovered by Nana today at FIVE GUYS burgers. The girls and I had met Nana, Julie, Aiden and Kenzie for lunch in BoDo. Syd had been drooling and gnawing on anything and everything she could get in her mouth the last few weeks. Nana stuck her finger in there and, there it was! Bottom left front tooth was sharp and coming through her gums. Who knows how long it had been there...TJ and I hadn't checked around in there for a week or so. So we'll call it today when she got her first tooth. Just about a week shy of 8 months old. I'm trying to get a picture of it, but every time I open her mouth with my finger, she sticks her tongue down over her lower lip!