It's Christmas!

Well it was on this day.

Sydney made out like a bandit on her first Christmas. She received more than double the presents Donnie and I received combined.

She loved to rip off the wrapping paper, but then she would try to eat the pieces of paper, so opening presents took a little longer than we thought.

Her favorite toy was the Tigger my parent's gave her. She started dancing to his song. Unfortunately, that was the favorite of almost every kid there, so you either really had to like Tigger's song, or learn to block it out and find a happy place.

Winter Wonderland

This year we went with Donnie's family to a couple of cabins in the mountains for Christmas. We were gone almost a week and so I am a little behind on the whole bloggy magic.

It was very exciting for me because it was my first White Christmas. In fact, there was so much snow that most of the family couldn't get in to or out of the driveway at our cabin. Here is the outside of the cabin we stayed in. Can you find the driveway?

Since we were pretty stationary due to the weather, we spent most of the time outside sledding. This was another first for me. I only went down the hill three times, and I crashed into snowbanks each time. I went down by myself at first, but then I had a partner or two for the last couple of times. One time I was so deep in the snow my brother-in-law had to dig me out and get me back on track. After this picture (we were just pulled out of the snow), my nephew said, "I think I'll go down by myself from now on."

Donnie helped me out of a snow pile too.

It was a great trip and Sydney was able to play with all of her cousins. She now has 15 on Donnie's side, and 4 were born within a few months of Sydney, 3 of those were girls.

We're in trouble now...

So we thought it was cute when Sydney started crawling around and we loved it when she started pulling up on the couches and bookshelves.

We even clapped for her and cheered her on while she was pulling things off the couch or finding papers nestled in a bookshelf. Now, however, we are regretting it.

She has recently discovered the stairs in our home, and she loves them. The problem is she moves really fast and so I can't take my eyes off of her when we are in the family room or she is on and up the stairs.

A new hat...

We will spend Christmas this year with my husband's family. As part of that, we are doing a gift exchange. The kids all drew names, but the adults (guys with guys, ladies with ladies) just have a random go at it.

Each girl is making a homemade gift to exchange. I decided to knit a scarf. Then I decided to knit a hat to go with it. After I finished those, I decided to knit a few for Sydney too. She really likes her scarf, but the hat she constantly tries to remove.

I pulled out the camera and she finally decided to leave the hat on long enough for a few shots. She even decided to show off her teeth!

Yes, I know she is holding a bulb syringe in her hand. It has been cleansed and disinfected. She likes to suck on it. I think it is gross, but it keeps her happy.

Be it ever so humble...

There's nothing like our Christmas tree.












We are going out of town and will be gone for about a week around Christmas so we weren't going to get a tree this year, but since it is Sydney's first Christmas we changed our minds. We ended up buying a little fake 3 foot, pre-lit wonder. It fits nicely on the countertop so the baby can't pull off the ornaments.

It doesn't look too small until you see Sydney next to it (keep in mind though she is really big for a 10-month-old girl).









Her favorite part of the whole deal is her dad's present - it's a watch so it is nice and easy for her to crawl around with. She pulled it down and clutched the box in both hands and proceeded to "belly crawl" around the living room. Everywhere she went that morning, the box was there too!

Looks like Santa overspent this year - a small box with pretty paper would have sufficed.

Third time's a charm, right?

So Sydney has been rather unlucky in the health department. She was born with jaundice, which the doctor failed to treat effectively so she spent the first week of life recieving heel pricks. Then she was treated for thrush. Two months and three medicines later we learned it was just fat deposits from breastmilk. So we're now on to pediatrician No. 3 and things were starting to look up...until September came.

Sydney went to the doctor September 15 and we found out she had an ear infection in both ears. We gave her amoxicillin like it was going out of style, but on October 4 we went back and she had an infection in her left ear. So we moved on to medication No. 2. Then we went back on November 4 and she has an ear infection in her right ear. Now she is on Augmentin, but the doctor upped the dosage, so hopefully we can get over the infection for good this time.

She's such a sweet girl, so it is so hard to see her sad and in pain. Her dad has been helping out a lot more too, but it is still hard for her.

So third illness, third doctor, third ear infection...hopefully the old saying is true.

Halloween

Sydney had her first Trick-or-Treat experience on Tuesday. We dressed her up as a cat.













It was pretty cold so she had on about 3 other layers too. I wanted to take a million pictures, but Donnie was afraid we would miis out on the "good" candy, so he didn't want to wait for pictures.

We went with Donnie's sister and her family and his brother and his family. It was nice to go in a group. There were 7 kids and 6 adults (Donnie's mom was in town too). The oldest kid walked, but the others were in strollers. After about three houses Donnie realized he could get to the doors faster if he carried Sydney, so he ditched the stroller. We made it about 2 hours and then it was time to call it quits - Sydney was screaming her lungs out!

All in all it was fun, but next year (when she can actually eat the candy she gets) will be even better!

On the move...

Most kids sleep with a blankie or a favorite doll, but not our baby - she loves her shoes. She totally gets that one from her dad (he needs a closet just for shoes, seriously).














Sydney's new favorite game is destruction. Donnie will stack her blocks and then she will "crawl" (it's more like a gimpy army crawl, but you gotta start somewhere right?) to the stack and knock it over. She thinks it's great fun. I pulled out the camera, but she had already been going for about 10 minutes so she was starting to wind down by the time I started recording.

Another day down...

I can't believe she is already 9 months old. Sometimes it feels like she just came home from the hospital, and yet at other times I can't remember life without her. It is amazing how much my life has changed In the last year. I am truly thankful for my little angel!

When Sydney was born she had a beautiful head of dark hair (yeah, we still aren't sure where that came from). It was so thick - until month 4 when it just seemed to disappear. She never went bald, but all of the sudden she had this thin blonde hair pop up on her head.

I told Donnie I was so excited for her hair to grow long enough to start using clips, bows, and any other "girlie" concoction I could think of. So imagine my surprise when I combed her hair Sunday before church and realized that I could pull a little into a rubber band. Now, when I say "a little" I really mean A LITTLE. None the less, I just had to do it. Now maybe people will stop asking how old "he is" and calling my baby "buddy" and "such a good boy." MAYBE...

Sydney's first pumpkin!

Saturday we went to Donnie's sister's house and carved (the little kids painted) pumpkins with some of Sydney's cousins. Donnie said a 9 month old baby doesn't need a pumpkin, but as her mom I disagreed. If he gets to go trick-or-treating with her, then I get to have a pumpkin for her. It's only fair!

Finally...

Tonight we put the baby to bed and started to relax. After only 2 hours she woke up screaming. She is battling her second (perhaps just a continuation of the first) ear infection in less than three weeks. We went back to the doctor Wednesday and he confirmed it. So I thought her ear was bothering her.

Anyway, I picked her up out of her bed and she turned to me and bit my finger! Normally this would not be cool, but I was so excited because it means she finally has a tooth! Her bottom right tooth (her right) broke through.

She is one step closer to leaving behind her world of mushy foods. She is almost 9 months old so it's nice she decided to let her teeth grow in. Now if I could just convince her walking is fun...

Mom, this is for you...

She's 8 months old!

Sydney is 8 months old today. She is growing so big and strong. She is a very mellow little girl (she gets it from her dad - the mellow part that is). She loves to roll around and eat anything within her reach. She really likes Donnie's blue jeans and socks. We have to be really careful about that!

She had an ear infection, but today is day 10 of the Amoxicillin so she should be as good as new. When we went to the doctor they weighed her and she weighed 19 pounds 10 ounces. They didn't measure her, so I am not sure how tall she is.

Yesterday she finally started clapping with her hands open. Before she would bang her fists together, but now she has it down. She still slobbers a lot and is toothless, but we have hopes that one day both of those problems will be solved.

She is such a cute girl and loves to play. The pictures below are of her eating, playing, making "monster" faces with Donnie and when she was sick. She looked so sad, but really adorable too.

Donnie has been really busy with school, work and interviews. He interviewed with Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouse Coopers this last week for an internship, but they are not allowed to give any offers until at least Oct 11, so it will be a few weeks before we know where and when he'll do an internship. He has an interview with Deloitte next week.

We have been enjoying lots of free food from different accounting firms, so it will be sad when it is all over! That is what is going on in our little world.

All about me...

Amerimeximadre at Mayehm In Mexico tagged me to do this Meme.

What do you like most about where you live?
I really love that we have so much family around. Unfortuantely my family is on the other side of the country, but my husband has a sister and two brothers here who are all married and have kids. It's nice to get together with the sisters-in law and have "girl time." I am also a big fan of the mountains.

Is there any thing strange about where you live?
Well, I'm a Southerner living in the west, so I pretty much think everything is strange!

What's one of your all time favorite music albums, and why?
The Beach Boys Greatest Hits. When I was growing up my mom always listened to oldies and so that's what I always heard in the car. I think it just brings back good memories. The music is really upbeat and I'll put it on while I cook dinner and my baby laughs and smiles and "sings" with it. She really just makes crazy noises, but I think it's beautiful!

Did you have a passion for something as a kid that you still have now? (If not - what is one of your passions now?)
I am not sure if it is because I am Southern or simply genetics, but I LOVE SPORTS. Pretty much I live for college football and basketball, but I make room for other sports too (please note that although it is covered n ESPN I do not feel darts nor lawn bowling can be classified as sports).

What do you like most about having a blog?
Mainly because my family is on the other side of the country. It helps me keep them updated on our little bunch and share photos without running up the cell phone bill. I also love reading about other people's adventures (misadventures too) in motherhood. It gives me hope!

I want to tag MamaDuck and Kelley to do thid Meme

WFMW: Hair Tip

Have you ever woke up late and washing your hair is out of the question? You're hair looks a litlle oily and you have to do something, but what? Well it just so happens that sometimes I wake up and I have enough time to brush my teeth and take a 3 minute shower- I can bathe, but my hair is out of the question. It takes me about 40 minutes to blow dry my hair and run a straightening iron through it. If I don't, I look like a poodle (not the cute ones either). On those days I put a little baby powder in my brush and brush it through my hair. It clings to my hair and absorbs any sign of oiliness. My hair looks just as "clean" as the days I wash it.

It really is a great little trick and my sisters use it now too.

Taiwan: THE TRIP

Here are a few slide shows from Donnie's trip to Taiwan. The first one is the LDS Temple in Taipei. The second one is from an amusement park they went to with friends. The park also had miniature replicas of famous sites in Taiwan and China. Donnie said it was amazing how much detail they put into each model. The rest are just random places - including Taipei 101, which is the largest building in Taiwan and the world. It has 101 stories above ground and 5 below it.

Remember me?

Well, it has been a REALLY long time since I have written anything. I have been pretty busy with travelling and cleaning and joining Donnie on a few outings.

Sydney has her first (and hopefully last) ear infection. She was acting a little cranky last week and wouldn't nap or sleep. Any time I laid her down she would scream. Friday I took her to the doctor and he said she has an infection in both ears. She looks so sad now. She still smiles a lot, but her eyes are red and she looks tired!

I have been waiting for Donnie to go through his hundreds of pictures from Taiwan so that I could post some, but he is so busy with work and school that I have just picked out ones I like. I wish I could give details or cute little stories about them, but maybe that will come later.

After a lengthy absence...

We have been really busy lately.

Donnie had a family reunion in northern Utah and eastern Idaho so we were up there for a few days. I had never been to the Teton area before, so it was pretty exciting for me. We saw some really beautiful areas. One of the most beautiful parts of the drive was by the Palisades Reservoir. It is about 27 miles or so long and the water is so beautiful! The mountains aren't so bad either.













After the reunion we came back home and I began cleaning and packing again. Donnie left yesterday to go to Taiwan. He will be there until the end of the month. Sydney and I are going to visit my family in Georgia while he is away. We don't like to be alone!

She is getting so big! Her sitting skills have definitely improved too.








She sits really well, but once she starts to lose her balance she throws her arms up in the air and starts making circles to balance back out. It's really cute.

Lil snapshots...

All you bloggers...

Here's a fun little game from MamaDuck. It's called fishing. Visit MamaDuck at Lil Duck Duck for the how!

It's just one of those days...

Tonight as I get ready to relax and unwind for bed I have just one question: Why did I even get out of bed this morning?

Last night Sydney decided it would be fun to pull an "all-nighter" - she made it to about 3 a.m. and then finally we could go to sleep. Before that she laid in her crib - which for some reason unknown to man is still in our room- "talking" and kicking at the walls. That was great fun!

At 7a.m. I woke up to a call on my cell phone. It was my sister's number so I thought maybe it is important. Boy was I wrong. Apparently she found a Web site that you can enter in your cell phone number and Samuel L. Jackson will call you and tell you to "wake up and take your partner to see Snakes on the Plane." Yeah, I'll rush right out to that...

Just as I started to fall back asleep Sydney decided it was time to play. I tried everything, but she was not going back to sleep. At lunch she decided that bananas (her favorite "baby fruit") were more fun to spit, throw, and play with than to eat and swallow like the little angel she is.

By the time I could finally take a shower - 3 p.m. is way too late to get ready for the day by the way- the water wouldn't get hot. Each previous attempt was thwarted by Sydney's screams.

Finally to add to the joy of the day, I started cooking dinner. Last night I placed two beautiful steaks, glazed in my tasty marinade, in the fridge. I pulled out the steaks, placed them in a pan and put them in the oven. I was too lazy to mess with the grill. As they began to broil, I started the roasted potatoes and broccoli and cheese. I also put on a can of baked beans.

When everything was ready, I opened the oven and began to pull out the steaks. In my final act of glory I shattered the pan. Yes, I broke the glass dish that contained my beautiful steaks. I spent the next hour cleaning glass shards off the floor and out of the oven. It was great. This is all I was left with.













We had a vegetarian dinner tonight. Broccoli, beans, and potatoes. I must admit, I was a little heartbroken, but Donnie quickly reminded me, "this just means we can have steak tomorrow night now."

Mom, this one's for you

I'm a blogging chick too!

Sports : There what's for dinner

It is official: my husband is a sports junkie.

What's even worse is I am an enabler. During football season I ignored how many games he watched and even joined him for some (I'm Southern and have somewhat of a devotion to the sport of the gods). When football ended college basketball was well underway and since I am in love with the Duke University basketball team (yes, I cried when J.J. Reddick became the all-time leading scorer for the Blue Devils), I let his addiction slide.

I mean we watched games for schools I didn't even know existed. It was a novelty at first - trying to figure out where these schools were actually located and who would choose a squirrel, banana slug, or zip to be their mascot (not made up, unfortunately). After the crushing blow to my heart by the loss of Coach K's squad, I put away my foam finger, waiting for September to arrive again.

Oh no! We couldn't stop there. My husband, who until recently showed little interest in the NBA, decided that every team would be his favorite and we would have to rearrange our schedules to ensure optimal game viewing for every televised event. By the time the playoffs came I couldn't handle it and avoided my husband - and our living room - like the plague. When I finally thought our lives would return to normal and we could eat at our kitchen table and talk about things of importance over a home-cooked meal, I was informed that World Cup Soccer was now in progress.

I was going out of my mind! I couldn't remember the last time we talked, I mean really talked! Dates? What are those? I don't even know what our new kitchen chairs feel like. They could be the most comfortable seats in the world, and I'll never know. Today as we sat on the couch watching our little baby (don't worry she was born in January and with labor, delivery and all we were done by noon - way before the day's basketball games started) as she struggled to sit up for longer than her previous record of 2 minutes, I saw that look on my husband's face and I knew what he was thinking.

As he reached for the remote, my heart leaped out of my chest. Fear filled every inch of my body. He turned on the television and entered in the numbers for ESPN. He sat, with beef jerky in hand, and proceeded to watch World Series Darts. Yes, they have a world tournament for throwing pointy, feathered sticks into a corkboard while semi-intoxicated. I am not sure if I was disappointed more in the program director at ESPN for showing this or my husband for wasting an hour of his life watching it.

I finally realized, this addiction is serious. According to the pros there are four stages of addiction: use, misuse, abuse, and dependency. My husband has already reached stage four of his SPORTS addiction. He has an excuse for every thing. "I need to watch golf because to be successful in my field you need to be a great golfer."

He used that same one to justify new golf clubs last year, a new pair of shoes, and an upgrade in golf balls. Tennis is important to him because he played in high school - yes that's closing in on ten years ago. World Cup only comes along once every four years - yes we watched every imaginable Olympic event this year too with that same excuse. You name the sport, he has some incredible reason why we must watch it or his world will end.

I have tried to come up with every reason why we should turn off the TV or throw it away, but it has not worked. The only idea I can come up with is to move to some tropical island ( I need warm temperatures) and live like they do on Survivor. I can learn.

Over the hump...

Sydney is 6 months old! Can you believe it? She is halfway through her first year, and she is REALLY active now. She is interested in everything around her. She wants to touch things. She wants to put things in her mouth. She wants to pull on them. Keeping up with her curiosity can be a real challenge!

She loves to grab her feet and rock from side to side. She is a real pro when it comes to rolling from her back to her tummy, but she is still trying to figure out the reverse. She plays with her toes, and she can hold her own bottle – kind of. She starts to hold it, but after a few minutes she forgets what she is doing and drops it. She is starting to sit up for longer periods by herself. She leans forward on her hands and she can sit for a while. When I sit with her she can sit all day – or until she gets tired.

We had her 6-month check up today. She weighs 17 ponds and 11.5 ounces (75 percentile) and is 28 inches long (above the 95 percentile). The doctor said he can tell she likes to eat because she is growing so big so fast.

I need change!

Sometimes I feel like my life is too monotonous. I need variety! Maybe I have a slight case of ADHD. I don't know. It's as if something is missing and the only way to fix it is to do a complete home/life/personal makeover. I use to go through this like 6 times a year, but I am improving.

For almost a year I wanted to get a perm to take my wavy frizz of a mane to a sleeker, tighter curl fest. Well, in February I decided it was time. It worked great! My hair was a little curlier than I had previously desired, but with a new born around I needed something low maintenance. I washed, sprayed a little curl spray, and I was done. Perfect.

Well last week I was in Georgia and my twin sister went to get her hair done. She invited me to come along. If you are ever in Atlanta I would highly recommend this place - Bob Steele Salon (404)262-9499. Really, it's great. Anyway, I decided to cut my hair short and go straight. I now have bangs, layers, and no curl. Complete opposite of what I thought I wanted. I love it! Yeah, I have to return to blow drying my hair and using a flat iron, but its worth it.

I satisfied my need for change momentarily, but I still need more. When I returned to town I changed the tablecloth and placemats on my table and decided to rearrange my daughter's room.

Finally I changed the template on this blog. Now, I am thinking of painting my bedroom and bathroom and the kitchen. I just have to convince Donnie...

Pictures from the wedding

Well, I was out of town and neglected my blog, so I thought I would post 2 today!

Donnie, Sydney and I went to Billings, Montana this past weekend for a wedding. It was my first time to Montana and I didn't really know what to expect. I have always heard that Montana is beautiful. As we were flying in, I looked out of the airplane window and saw huge mountains covered in snow, followed by random houses and sporadic bunches of trees. I thought, "Wow! How pretty!" As the plane approached landing it hit me - I didn't see a single shopping complex, let a lone a major mall. I guess it's not so pretty after all.

The ceremnoy was held at Oscar's Park. It used to be called Oscar's Dreamland and it was a tractor museum of sorts. Oscar Cooke opened it up and filled the land with a variety or tractors and tractor seats. There were also some old buildings like a general store, church house, and a few others. Oscar died about ten years ago and his ahses were put in a box in front of his favorite tractor. That section of the land is now the Cooke Cemetery.

In 1999, the place was closed down and everything was sold off -except the buildings and the cemetery. In 2002 they reopened Oscar's Park and now people hold weddings and other special occassion ceremonies there. You can still check out the buildings and the cemetery. There are a few horses and a donkey there too.

Megan and Warren were married by Warren's uncle Robert by the river that runs along the back of the property. Robert began the ceremony and when it came time for the vows, he asked Megan if she would have Warren to be her husband (insert the remainder of the vows) and she answered, "I suppose." Warrens face turned bright red and he looked a little shocked. Then she said, "I DO!"

Then Robert began to ask Warren the same but before he could get out the words Wrren shouted "I do!" Everyone laughed. You could tell he was nervous. After the ceremnoy they had a reception at the lodge, which is close to the cemetery.

Their colors were royal blue and silver and they had lights strung around the screened porch of the lodge. The tables had royal blue table cloths and candles with royal blue and silver ribbon tied around them. Each table had pictures of either Warren or Megan and then one of them together. It was really cute. I even saw a few pictures of Donnie!

When it came time for the toasts, Donnie, as the best man, started it off. It was very sweet, and Warren's mom and sister Amber told me that he set the bar and the rest of the people fell really short.

After dinner and the toasts everyone danced and we left early - about 10 p.m. because Sydney was ready to sleep. Surprisingly she was really good during the whole thing and didn't cry until about 5 minutes before we left.

My little girl...

THIS is how Sydney likes to sleep now. She pulls her blanket over her eyes and rolls on her side. The blanket never goes lower than her eyes. We cover her up with a smaller blanket (it is really hot here), but she manages to wiggle out of that one too.

We have had quite the adventurous month. Sydney and I went to Atlanta on July 9. On the airplane she laughed and "talked" to everyone who looked her way. She is such a great traveller! She finally fell asleep halfway through the flight (it is about a 4 hour flight) and slept until we landed. We went back to my parents' house for a few days and then up to my brother's.

We went to Lake Lanier with my sister-in-law and her family and rode on their ski boat. Sydney loved to ride and splash through the waves created by the boat. I guess it was relaxing for her because by the time we returned to the dock she was asleep!

We left Atlanta and flew to Billings, Montana on July 16 to meet Donnie for a wedding. We had a layover in Salt Lake. Sydney just talked and played the entire flight. She really likes other people - especially kids. Sydney might be upset, but if she sees another kid she stops fussing and smiles at them.

She is just such a happy baby and it seems she learns something new each day. I love having her with me and seeing her experience so many different things. I am glad she is not shy too - it makes it easier to do things if she can be entertained by others.

Test your skills....

I found this IQ test on another blog and thought I would pass it along. It's pretty tough, so good luck and remember, no cheating!

Your IQ Is 125

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Genius

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

View from down here

Happy Holidays...

For the Fourth of July holiday, we went to Boise with Donnie's sister Deidra and her kids. We stayed with Donnie's parents and spent the weekend playing. On Saturday we went for a bike ride around the "Greenbelt." It's a trail that follows the Boise river and flows through a few parks. We went with Darren (Donnie's brother) and his family as well as Deidra and her kids. It was a lot of fun and a great workout!



On Monday we went to the Boise Zoo. It's not a very big zoo but it was fun. They have a butterfly area where you can walk through as the butterflies flutter around you. Some are even brave enough to land on people! Donnie had a few on his shirt and One landed on Deidra's camera. Sydney loved all of the bright colors and all of the movement. She's not quite six months old, so the splendor of the other animals continues to elude her.

After the zoo we rode on paddle boats around the pond in one of the parks. Donnie, Sydney, Kechi (Deidra's oldest daughter) and I rode together. Sydney seemed to like but by the end of our ride she was asleep on my chest!

We came back home today and went to my friend's house to watch fireworks. The excitement of the weekend tired Sydney out and she fell asleep before any fireworks began. I guess we'll try again next year. She'll be almost 18 months and so fireworks will probably be a little more exciting!

Our little beach babe...

For my dad's 60th birthday we took a family vacation to Panama City Beach, FL. Sydney had her first encounter with the ocean. Panama City is on the Gulf Coast and so the sands are white and the water is really warm. It was a great trip and we had great weather the entire time.

Sydney enjoyed being outside, but didn't think too much of the sand. The salt water was okay and the pool was great, but not the sand!

She had a cute little swimsuit and sun hat and stayed under the umbrella while she was at the beach. Donnie took her to the water, and after they came back to the beach she began licking the salt water off of Donnie's arm.

Sydney spent most of the "day" time inside with her great grandmother. It was great that they had time to bond and Donnie and I had time to play!

Can you believe?

Well, today is May 28. For the last four weeks or so it has been HOT. The temperature has been in the 80s and 90s, but now all of the sudden it has dropped into the 40s and 50s. Can you believe that?! We had to unpack some of Sydney's cold clothes - we thought we wouldn't see them again until a little sister came along - so she could get warm. We took a few pictures because she looked so cute and we wanted to share them.

SHE"S 4 MONTHS OLD!

Although she still has hair, it is crazy! She has 5, count them 5, crowns so her hair will not lay flat or in any one direction. She likes to talk and has the cutest laugh now. It sounds kind of like she's gurgling sometimes!






Last week she started on rice cereal. She really seems to like it (although you can't tell from this picture). She manages to keep most of it in her mouth, but every now and then some seeps out onto her cheeks. Dr. Adams said that next week we should start her on orange veggies like carrots and squash.



She now weighs 14 pounds, 10 1/2 ounces (75th percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches long (above the 95th percentile). Her body is still growing pretty fast, which is hard for her trachea to keep up. She still has a slight case of tracheal malasia (underdeveloped trachea), but will hopefully outgrow it soon. Her oxygen levels are great and she eats and sleeps well so the doctor said there is no need to be concerned.

She is developing well and other than the fact that she slobbers excessively, she is doing great. Dr. Adams think she might start cutting teeth soon - I guess we will see.

Another day down...

It has been almost two months since our last post - SORRY! Sydney will have her 4 month checkup and shots appointment this week. We recently switched doctors and so hopefully it will be a good experience. Her original doctor was Dr. Nielson. He was nice, but very young. Not that being young is necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it was.

At her 2 week checkup, Dr. Nielson diagnosed Sydney with thrush ( a yeast infection on her tongue; it's pretty common among newborns). He prescribed nystatin and thought that should take care of it. After the 10 days, dosing her 3 times a day, her tongue looked the same. So he went with Diflucan next. We used it for 15 days , as directed, and still no change. We went back for her 2 month checkup and he recommend that we use gentian violet - a purple dye you paint on the tongue and in the mouth once a day. It colors everything!

She had rather random breathing and Dr. Nielson said it was nothing to worry about. Donnie's sister mentioned it to her doctor when she took her kids in for their next checkup and he sounded concerned. We decided to take Sydney to him to check out the breathing.

We went to Dr. Adams on May 3 and he asked if she had any problems. I told him she was born 2 1/2 weeks early and had jaundice, and she was also being treated for thrush. He said her jaundice was gone (duh, she was no longer yellow) and then proceeded to check out the thrush. Surprisingly enough, Sydney's tongue looked the exact same as it always had. Dr. Adams asked if she ever had any diaper rashes or complained about eating. I told him clearly she had no issues eating ( she had already gained 5 pounds since birth) and I've never seen any rashes. It turned out Sydney didn't have thrush. In fact, the white on her tongue was merely a fat deposit from breast milk. Dr. Adams said that thrush causes a white rash all in her mouth, not just on her tongue and she would have a rash down bottom too.

We had spent the last 3 months treating her for something she didn't have! Unbelievable! Her breathing sounded gaspy/airy because her trachea is underdeveloped and as she grows and her trachea grows, she should eventually grow out of it. Well, that is why we now have a new doctor.

She is growing so big and strong now. She likes to play "Where's baby?" and watch the toys that hang on her carseat. She loves to talk too! We recently started her on rice cereal and SHE LOVES IT! She laughs and giggles the whole time. It's really cute. She loves bath time now and likes to splash the water with her feet.

Everyday I look at her and it is still hard to believe she is my little girl. She's perfect - and cute as can be.

Two months and still going strong...

Sydney had her two month check up yesterday. The doctor said she is doing really well and he was surprised at how tall she has grown. She weighs 11 pounds 11 ounces (75 percentile) and is 25 1/2 inches long (above the 97 percentile).

She was pretty good at the doctor, until they pulled out the needles. She received 5 vaccinations yesterday ( only 4 shots because the polio vaccine is given orally). She started screaming as soon as the first needle went in, but stopped when the nurse left the room. She pretty much slept most of the rest of the day and we gave her infant tylenol every 4 hours or so.

I thought we would be lucky and she wouldn't have any reactions to the shots, but today she has been so cranky! Nothing seems to console her. At least we know what to expect when she goes in for her 4 month check up and shots!

She is finally out of the baby zombie stage and looks around and holds your gaze. She smiles a lot too, which makes all of those crying times a little easier to take. She is such a sweet baby! Bath time and diaper changes have also become good times - no more tears!

Six weeks old and still going strong...

She spends a lot of time with me and our favorite pasttime is watching TV. Hey, we live where it snows a lot and it is way too cold to go outside. Maybe in a few weeks it will warm up and we can play outside.

In the mornings after Donnie leaves for class Sydney sleeps in his spot. She likes to sleep curled up with her arms under her head.


She smiles a lot now and is a really happy baby. She loves her carseat and to smile!







When she is in a deep sleep she puts her hands up by her head, most of the time they make it all the way up into a "toucdown" position, but here she apparently is pretending to be a moose.






She still is not too big on bathtime, but she is adjusting well to her "big girl tub." It seems to be more enjoyable than the sink or a spongebath (who knew?).

Some more photos of Sydney

Here she is at 1 week old. She still has jaundice and so she looks a little yellow. She is a great sleeper and eater though so it should clear up soon.






This is right after a bath. She hates baths and cries the whole time - until we wash her hair and then she is very calm. Her hair is curly when it's wet and as it starts to dry it turns wavy and sticks out everywhere! It is so cute.





This is how you will find her most of the time - except for the few hours between 3 and 7 a.m.. She thinks that is playtime and is wide awake. In her first pictures she looked exactly like Donnie, but now you can see some of the Ralston in her too!

A view from the hospital...

Finally - I have the epidural going and I can relax. Only my sisters keep me on the phone for updates.

Although you probably can't tell from this angle, I really look like I am about to pop!




Who knew that the hardest part of it all would be the pushing? Pain was not a problem, but I thought if I had to keep pushing my head would explode!















She's finally here! Her lungs were nice and healthy too. Once they cleared her mouth and nose and clamped off her umbilical cord, they wiped her off, weighed her and measured her.















Finally she's clean and all bundled up. Then I was able to hold her. I was still a little groggy from the epidural, but I was very excited to hold my little angel!