What a Week!

We've had coughs and colds for a while, but Brooke started to get the full-fledged cold this week. On Thursday, Mommy got a call from daycare that Brooke was wheezing and sounded like she was breathing hard. Mommy left work in a panic to get Brooke. After a visit to the peditrician and chest X-rays, we were told to "just watch her and watch her breathing". It has been an epidemic winter for RSV, so thankfully that's all it was!! Brooke is sleeping in her bouncy seat in her bed to elevate her head, even though we've used her elevated Moses basket for a while. Brooke is almost too big for it - but she's actually "outgrowing it". Kylie and Neela were out of them at 3 months because they were scooting everywhere on their back -- Brooke's just getting a little too tall, but she still seems to LOVE it!

On Friday, we ALL stayed home with Daddy because Tracy's was closed. Neela and Brooke had a rough Thursday night (one of them was awake every hour), so it was probably best we stayed home. Kylie was well rested - and helped Daddy by putting herself down for her nap. When Daddy wasn't watching, she somehow got into the baby-proof cough syrup and dumped it all over the bathroom floor. Then, she put the cough syrup and children's tylenol in the loft fridge. While in there, she found the milk Daddy had ready for bedtime. She took a sippy cup, set it on Daddy's nightstand, climbed in his bed, and took a nap.

Saturday was our first day of Little Gym without Mommy & Daddy. We wore our ballerina outfits. We started off wearing our tap shoes, then switched to our ballerina shoes, then went into the gym. The biggest challenge for us was the transition from unstructured classes (OK, where we could "explore" as much as we wanted) to structure. We did pretty well for being the littlest ones in the class!! And, Daddy caved and bought us cheeseburgers afterwards - but we had to eat them at home because the tower was "getting cleaned" (how creative Daddy can be!).

Saturday afternoon was a challenge!! Brooke and Kylie took a nap, but Neela was not tired. She played with Daddy and Brooke while Mommy ran some errands. When Daddy was changing Brooke, Neela decided to "hammer" the front window next to the door (the most expensive window in the house)... and it cracked... guess what needs to be replaced now?? Then, she decided to reach WAY across the counter to get a permanent marker - she colored a "sticker" on Brooke's outfit. (It's a good thing Mommy knows how to use stainsticks!!!) After Mommy came home - and while Daddy was making supper - things got quiet again... Mommy came downstairs to find Daddy taking the cleaning spray (which was also WAY across the counter) out of the girls' hands -- they had been in the pantry "cleaning" the food! What a day!

Of course, Brooke added some humor... she woke up Saturday morning determined to show the world her super-long tongue. She spent all day sticking her tongue out and curling it under chin for anyone who would watch!

Sunday started with the big girls helping make pancakes, then they pulled all of the clothes off the drying rack onto the floor - so they could reach their doll house... oh what a joy!

When we weren't in trouble, we really enjoyed entertaining Brooke -- she smiled at EVERYTHING we did!

Hope you have a great week!!

Little Gym Champions... again...!

For our last parent/child Little Gym class, we did just about everything! We went on the bars, walked on the beams by ourselves, rolled across the hotdogs, and played with the parachute!

When it was time for medals, we went up on the steps and said "Ta da!" We got a medal AND a envelope (Kylie reminds us of the envelope every time we ask about the medal). Aunt Angie and Brooke were there to watch our new tricks, and see us get our medals.

The next time we go to Little Gym, we get to be ballerinas! We have our tap shoes, ballet shoes, and ballerina outfits all ready -- and Mommy & Daddy can't come in with us. We've graduated to child-only classes... (Mommy is a bit sad, but we will have so much fun if we listen!).

After Little Gym, Daddy took us for a special celebration supper at Burger King. We had cheeseburgers and french fries, then we got to climb in the big tower of tunnels and slides. Neela loved it, and Kylie had fun with another girl who helped her (she was probably 8 or 9). After she left, Mommy had to climb up the tower to get Kylie down.

Now, when you ask Neela about going to Little Gym, she says... First we go to Little Gym, then we go to Cheeseburgers, then the tower!! (Did Daddy start a bad tradition???)

Bowling

When Uncle Tony was in town, we got to go bowling for the first time! It was so much fun - we used bumpers, and a ramp to get the ball rolling faster.



Every time we knocked down pins, we'd tell Mommy we got a "Home Run." Mommy tried to straighten out the difference between baseball and bowling, but gave up.



Kylie asked Daddy if he was so proud. This was the first time Uncle Tony got to bowl with a cheering section: "Go Tony Go!".



(Daddy's bowling league got quite a few chuckles that night!!)

Rocking & Rolling

Brooke has been trying and trying and TRYING to roll over - and she finally did! Mommy put her down the first night Uncle Tony came to town, and she just flipped right over from her back to her tummy - like she'd been doing it for a long time! We flipped her back over, and she did it again (Daddy saw it this time!).

Of course, she's had a few barriers preventing her rolling... Cy, big sisters, all those people cuddling her, and the other kids at daycare!

Now that she's on her tummy, who knows how long it will be until she crawls (Daddy thinks it's going to be soon - she loves to kick her legs! - but Mommy is praying for as long as it took her big sisters!).

Creative Minds

So... most of our posts have pictures... but Mommy wanted you to know some of the very creative things we've been saying in the last month...



Mommy: Why do you keep getting out of bed?
Kylie (as she's supposed to be getting back in bed the 10th time - or at least the 3rd...): "It's hard to explain..." (do 2 year olds really know this stuff???)



Aunt Renee: Neela, show your Mommy what you do with a glass of wine.
Neela: First you sniff, then you swirl, then you slurp.
Mommy: Thank goodness it's white wine - and grab the glass BEFORE she drinks it!



Mommy thinks it's awful quiet upstairs... what is going on?
Neela (holding a red marker in her hand at the top of the stairs): Mommy, I really like hopscotch! I do hopscotch to my bedroom!
Mommy follows the trail of red squares from the stairs into the twins' bedroom on the white carpet... thank goodness the new neighbor has a steam cleaner AND the marker was washable!



After Mommy asks if the girls want to have a birthday party...
Neela: we can have hats, teddy bears, balloons and goodies!
(Apparently, Mommy missed the Dora episode for "Boots' Special Day!" - but Neela remembered every part!!)



Papa E.: Kylie, do you see the snow frogs outside? (at Christmas, during the blizzard)
Kylie: Yes, I see some over there with my spotting scope (and/or binoculars - depending on when you asked).
Neela: I can't see them - Kylie, where are there?
Kylie: There, there, there... Neela, make binoculars with your hands and you will see them!
(Kylie definitely has the creative mind in the house)



Neela: Mommy, can we play the bicycle game? I really like the hulahoop game.
(These are both Wii games - one from Wii Sports Resort, and one from Wii Fit. Of course, it does seem to get Mommy and Daddy a workout playing the games - the girls stand on the coffee table and pretend it's their balance board!)



When their friend Reardon and his twin sisters came over... it got awful quiet upstairs. Mommy went up to check, and found them "looking for animals in the caves" (this was in the beds under the covers - and jumping between them...) Mommy just hoped the jumping didn't end with someone "landing" on top of their friend!



A few other creative things that don't have quotes...

We've learned how to peel our clementines, so you better not do it for us! Just get them started...

We like to have tea parties - in the bathtub - why not by the table in the toyroom???

We LOVE to pretend we're in airplanes, on trains, in cars... and princesses... we move our Elmo couches, chairs, stools, and anything else around to make the "pieces" needed. With our new princess piano, we love to have "concerts" - and everyone in the family gets a part. Brooke usually gets the maraca - and Cy runs away (he doesn't WANT an instrument!).

We love Candyland - but we aren't quite sure about the path. We just know we want to get to the Candyland!

Ballerinas

For Christmas, Grandma & Papa G. bought us ballerina outfits, tights and slippers. We were very excited to try them on - and we danced around the loft (and the house) for 2 hours after Mommy got us dressed! We did every dance pose we've ever learned (or made up), twirled... we can't wait for our next class at Little Gym to start so we can wear them!

Brooke's 4 Months Old!

It's hard to believe our little "Bear" is 4 months old!

What is Brooke doing now?

If you can't tell, she's been smiling since 2 months - and she smiles a LOT! Since starting daycare on November 30, every day her message says "Happy Baby", "Very Happy Baby"... it's pretty hard to disagree! She's always smiling!

She has managed to find her thumb - FINALLY! Brooke has had her fists in or near her mouth since Mommy's ultrasound at 35 weeks. We knew it was only a matter of time before that thumb was discovered.

Brooke LOVES to grab EVERYTHING! Her mommy's hair, her sister's hair, Cy's hair... She also grabs rattles, connecting rings, her baby gym pieces!

And this girl has some stomach muscles! She is lifting her head about 4 inches off the ground, and her feet at the same time. We can tell she totally wants to see the world - and what is happening around her! She's also trying with all her might to roll over. She gets up on her side, but just can't seem to flip over her shoulders quite yet.

Brooke also tried cereal, but she has a nasty cold now. We decided to hold off on any more cereal until we get through the cold and are sleeping better. The doctor also said we could wait until 6 months if we want, so we'll see!

At Brooke's 4 month appointment, she weighed 19 lbs and was 26 inches long. She is in the 99% for weight, the 95% for height, and the 94% for height/weight combination. That means, she's big - but proportional. She's wearing clothes at 4 months that her sisters wore at 9 months!!

In the snow... again... at home!

We've had our share of snow this winter - especially around Christmas! When we finally made it home, we had to test out our sleds and shovels to see if they would work at home, too.

All 3 girls in the new sled from Aunt Angie.

"Brookie Bear" is wearing her "bear" snowsuit from Uncle Chuck.

Kylie helps Daddy shovel (she wouldn't help Papa!)

Neela helps Brooke experience her first sled ride!

Go Mommy Go!

Go Cyclones!! Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve, the Cyclones of Iowa State and the Gophers of Minnesota played each other at the Insight Bowl in Phoenix. Being former Cyclone season ticket holders - and living in Minnesota - we anticipated a spirited viewing engagement with several friends! Of course, Mommy was a bit conflicted since she graduated from both schools... but you can guess where her loyalties ended up!

Brooke & Daddy - ready to cheer!!

Mommy & Brooke - who did Mommy cheer for??

My, Brooke & Alyssa (My was one of the few Gopher fans!)

The big girls had more fun playing princess with Gretchen and Olivia - even though they had Cyclone gear on earlier in the day.

(Gretchen and her big sister, Sydney, are Cyclone fans... Olivia is a Gopher fan who was converted to saying "Go Cyclones" by the end of the night... does peer pressure start at 3??)

For those who don't know the results, the Cyclones did pull off a victory!

Brooke helped Mommy, Alyssa & My watch the ball drop at 11 PM in New York - she got all the New Year's kisses -- and everyone was in bed by midnight!

Happy Noon Year!

The Como Zoo once again hosted "Happy Noon Year!" Mommy took us to the Zoo - with a lot of help! Dominique and Danielle came with us - and it was SUPER cold outside! Aunt Angie met us at "Angie's Zoo" for the noon ball drop.

Neela waiting for the balls to drop

Kylie's New Year's Horn

Dominique helps Neela make her bird seed shaker

Danielle & Kylie with her Bird See Shaker

Aunt Angie with Brooke's Horn

(Doesn't she look great with the Baby Bjorn??!?!?!?)

After the ball drop, we met Daddy at Great-Grandma Berger's favorite pizza place, Biscalli's, for lunch!