Ophthalmalogy Report

Today was Brooke's rescheduled appt with Dr. Cogen. We have noticed that she has intermittent periods when she looks cross eyed and one or the other eyes focuses inward. Dr. Cogen did a full eye exam dilation and all. He said we had 2 choices either wait and see if it got any worse or go ahead and treat for strabismus. Which meant glasses. He said it was a hard decision to make. I looked at him and said this was an easy decision considering where we started with the CMV til now. Especially if the glasses was the only thing that she had to have. It was a no brainer for me. Of course I opted for Brooke to go ahead and get glasses. He is unsure if this is from the CMV or if it was inherited from Tim. No one will never know. I went ahead and got her fitted and she should have her new glasses the first of the year. Dr. Cogen said that I had made the right decision because of Brooke's history. He is unsure if this will correct it or if she may have to have surgery one day. If the glasses correct the strabismus she will have to wear them until her teenage years. The glasses are going to be so cute. They are pink of course and they have Minnie Mouse on them. As soon as she gets them I will post some pics.

Physical Therapy update

Today Brooke had another therapy session. As usual Kristi was impressed with how well Brooke was doing. She totally has crawling down and keeps up with Ben pretty darn good. She is also pulling up on everything in site. She has started cruising the furniture and is doing pretty good. Kristi said "Brooke has a determination about her unlike no other child". She never gets frustrated and works extremely hard ever session. With Brooke doing as well as she is her therapy sessions are being cut back to once a month. What great strides Brooke has made since Kristi started coming in May.

Always remember to point down

I could not resist posting this. This morning before we left going to school I had ask Ben to go potty. While in the bathroom he calls me asking me to come see. I ask what it was I needed me to see because I was still feeding Brooke. He finally came to the living room. He had his pajamas half way unzipped and said they were wet and his eye was burning. All that I can think of is he didn't get his pee pee out of his underwear good before he started to pee. Hence the title "always remember to point down". I could not help but laugh. I laughed so hard I cried then went and cleaned up the mess.

Unsupervised Play

Monday Ben and Brooke had been playing in our bedroom. Tim and I both noticed at the same time it was rather quite. You know the quite that your kids are up to no good. So we walked in our bedroom and this is what we found. Ben had gotten out some of my swimsuits and was playing dress up. I guess it could have been worse. It was a good laugh.

Summer in December????

Last week when it was so beautiful out the kids and I enjoyed a few afternoon out playing. This is some pics of them loving the warm weather.

A Visit with Miller

A few weeks ago we went to T-town to visit everyone. I thought this was a cute picture of Ben and Miller. He was at the time 5 1/2 wks old. He sure is growing fast. It looks like Todd and Allison may have a lineman on there hands.

9 mth check-up

Today Brooke had her 9mth check-up. Her doctor was very pleased at her progress. Overwhelmed I should say. The only concern he has is her right eye has a tendency to float inward. So I called her ophthalmologist today to see if he wanted to see her sooner than March. He wants to see her on Dec. 20 for a full eye exam again. Everyone please pray for her that her eyes/vision are okay. She weighed 17#15oz (25th %), 28 1/2 in tall (75th %) and her head circ was 16 3/4 in (10th %). Since microcephaly (small head) is part of the CMV disease process Dr. Brian is not worried as long as her head continues to grow. She got 2 shots which was terrible. She cried more with 2 shots than the 4 in the previous visits. But big brother Ben was there to help comfort her and make her laugh and forget about the pain. All in all we had a great visit. Oh yeah her left ear is looking better from the infection.

St. Vincent's NICU Christmas Party

Yesterday I took Brooke to St. Vincent's for there annual NICU Christmas party. It was nice to see the nurses and doctors again. They were all amazed at how well Brooke was doing and has done. I also got to see some of the other parents/children that were there the same time we were. Below are a few pics of two of our favorite nurses. Almost all of the staff we saw committed on how nosey Brooke STILL was. They use to have to put her in the middle of the pod in a swing so she could see everybody. She would not have it any other way. Several of them referred to Brooke as "Pod C last one on the left" which is where we were in the NICU. How did they remember that? We had a great time.

This is Pam. They were making faces at each other which I just missed.

This is Adrianne. She was there from day one. We love her.

Before we went to the party

"Swow Poke"???

When Ben and I went out today to get the mail he came running by me saying "you swow poke, I run fast by you". I wonder where he has heard that from?

He has also been quite the tattle tale lately. He tells on Brooke when she pulls his hair, hits him, pinches him, or when she is playing with the artificial plant. He will say mommy her pulling my hair etc...... Looks like it has already begun.

Brooke's 9 months old

Motorboat anyone?
Caught in the act
Getting a little brave. The one-handed attempt
Cutting teeth is pure misery

Brooke has been so busy since learning to crawl 2wks ago. She is everywhere. And way more busier than I remember Ben every being. I finally had Tim to put up the gate in front of our stairs tonight. She is starting to explore more and more everyday. Her therapist came last week and was so surprised to see her crawling. I did not call and tell her before she came. She said that it just made her day and her month. If Brooke continues to do so well Kristi is going to drop her visits back to once a month. Isn't that great. However we will miss seeing her so often. I will let you know how her 9mth check-up and shots go next week. Hopefully she can get over her cold and ear infection before then. Instead of Brooke's middle name being Morgan it should be "Miracle".

More Pics

Ben, MeMe and Brooke Thanksgiving Day
Brooke loves the camera
Face painting gone bad

Just a little tear jerking note. On February 26, 2007 Tim's uncle Cary(Roach) passed away. So needless to say this Thanksgiving was tough for everyone. Tim's dad was getting ready to say the blessing and he ask everyone for a moment of silence. During the silence Ben began saying the prayer we say at every meal. It could not have come at a better time. Everyone joined in. I could not have been any more proud of him. There were many tears flowing by the end of the prayer. My family has been so blessed this year. From the wonderful progress Brooke has made to Ben's successful heart surgery and Tim's recovery from his appendectomy. And me not totally having a nervous breakdown. I can truly say God has been good to us this year. I know it is a little late but I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Promised Pics

Trying to get a few Christmas pics. I could not get them to cooperate at the same time
The day I found Brooke pulled up in her bed. Don't ya love the hair
Ben and Brooke's first bath together
The little indian boy aka "Little Bear"caught in the goody basket.
What a cute behind
Yes, I know I have been promising pics for some time now...... I just can't stay caught up. I'm like that commericial mom where the pics never get developed or downloaded. Anyway here are a few.

I want to be on the winning team

Last night Tim was laying with Ben in bed trying to get him to sleep. They were watching a football game. Tim ask Ben what position he wanted to play when he got big (the one that catches the ball, the one that throws the ball, the one that runs the ball or the one that tackled everyone) Ben said "I want to the on the winner". Tim said what do you mean he said "I want to be on the winning team daddy".

It happened over night

Friday night Brooke was playing in the floor and crawled a couple of inches. Of course I had to get in the floor and entice her to crawl some more. But she was sure. So Saturday it finally clicked, she was off to the races. She is crawling after anything of interest now. Boy is Ben in for a rude awakening. Her favorite toy of Ben's is his red firetruck. It has taken him a while but he finally gave in and decided to let her play with it. It has been so much fun watching them play in the floor together. Ben will lay in the floor and Brooke will crawl up to him and hold on and just laugh. She is also pulling up on everything now. Who would have ever imagined that she would be crawling at 8 1/2 mths old. Her physical therapist comes on Wednesday. She is going to be so surprised.

Catch up time

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted anything on the blog. Boy do I have alot to catch up on. Brooke has made great strides over the past 2 weeks. She had her OT evaluation on the 1st. Her self help skills she is at a 9mth level and her fine motor skills she is at a 8mth level. They were very impressed. She is doing so well she does not need their services. What a relief that was. GO BROOKE!!!!
On Sunday the 4th Brooke was in the floor playing and the next thing we know she is sitting up. Tim and I looked at each other and said "did you sit her up?" She had transferred herself from a crawling to sitting position. Another milestone met. On Monday it was like she had been doing it for weeks.
On Monday the 5th Brooke had her F/U appt with her neurologist. He was very pleased with her progress. He said "miracles do happen" my eyes filled up with tears. He said she should continue on the track of a typical child and foresees no problems. We will see him again in 6mths.Music to our ears. Brooke is our little miracle. All the thoughts and prayers out there have been answered. Thank you. You will never know how much that means to our family.
On Tuesday the 6th Ben had an eye appt for his lazy eye. Dr. Cogen said he should grow out of it and not need any intervention. Another prayer answered. After Ben's appt i took Brooke to the pediatrician for her tight and raspy cough. She had the mild beginnings or croup. He gave us some Orapred in case she started wheezing.
On Wednesday the 6th Brooke was suppose to have had an appt with Infectious Disease but on Tuesday I received a call from the nurse and said that Dr. Ross had reviewed the notes from Dr. Mathisen (neuro) and saw no need for Brooke to F/U with them unless we just wanted to. I saw no need myself. Another great day. Oh yeah she also pulled up to her knees on her exersaucer. Scared me to death because it was on the hardwood floor.
On Thursday the 7th I had to renew my ACLS so MeMe and PawPaw came up and kept the kids for me. Brooke finally cut her 1st tooth.
On Friday the 8th Brooke was suppose to have gotten her 2nd flu shot but she was still sick so instead I took her back to the doctor. She had a little expiratory wheeze and rhonchi the night before. You know us nurses. Never off duty. So anyway of course when we got to the doctor none of that was happening. But she had developed mild bronchitis. So he gave her a RX for Xopenex inhaler in case her wheezing came back. It didn't. I felt like a big dummy. I guess better safe than sorry. Earlier in the day I had put Brooke in her bed and when I went in to check on her she had pulled up and was standing up in her bed leaning over the rail. I almost had a heart attack. I was not expecting her to do that. So I had to lower her bed all the way down.My mom came and stayed the night with me and the kids. Because Tim went to the beach to try to get in one last fishing trip before it got to cold. They had a great trip. They caught 21 mahi and 8 trigger fish. Way to go Tim.
On Saturday the 10th mom kept the kids while I went to get my haircut. A little mommy time after such a long week of appts. Brooke is still coughing but is still playful and eating well.
On Monday the 12th it was on Brooke started trying to pull up on everything in site (exersaucer, coffee table, ottoman etc...) I am so glad that she has met that milestone but I am scared to death she is going to fall and hurt herself. It was such a beautiful day we stayed outside for a long time and Ben painted until his heart was content.
On Tuesday the 13th Brooke began babbling. I am not sure if she trying to say "mama, dada, or bye-bye" it a mixture of them all I think. Another milestone met.
On Wednesday the 14th Ben was in his room playing and he came out with one of his trucks and said" mommy I want to give this to a little boy that doesn't have one". I said of course we can do that. So we are going to either let him pick out a toy and donate it to Toys for Tots or sponsor an angel off the angel tree. Ben has such a kind and giving heart. He always thinks of everyone and is such a worry wart.
Finally almost finished. On Thursday Brooke cut her 2nd tooth. She is trying her best to crawl but just can't her legs to cooperate. I know i didn't post much about Ben. He is being the typical 3 yr old. He has a hard time sharing his time with Tim and I and does not like sharing his toys with Brooke. I will post some updated pics at some point. Hope everyone is well.

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!

Miller Andrew Arendale was born yesterday Oct. 31, 2007. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 in long. He and Allison are both doing wonderful.

Welcome little one

Miller's first bath

Todd, Allison and Miller

Tomorrow is the big day!!!!!!

Tomorrow Oct. 31, 2007 baby Arendale will be here, if Allison doesn't have it tonight. They decided to go ahead and induce tomorrow since today was her due date. And Hunter was I think 15 days late and weighed 9lbs or so. I know she is ready just as the rest of us were at this time. We can hardly wait. I will post pictures ASAP, that is if I can get there. Brooke has her PT and Ben has his Fall Harvest party at school tomorrow. I called Tim's mom today and thought I would play a little joke on her. I ask her if it would be any way possible if she could keep Ben for me tomorrow. Without any hesitation she said sure. Just as I thought she would. I couldn't hold it any longer I of course told her I was kidding. She said I would have just taken him to the hospital with me. JoAnn is the greatest. She never lets us down. Thanks MeMe. See you tomorrow sweet baby Arendale.

Waiting on Baby Arendale

As many of you know Allison is due any day now. We are all so excited and can't wait. Especially not knowing what sex the baby will be. That has been the hardest part for me as for many others. The not knowing. How in the world are you suppose to buy for a baby when you don't know the sex. I guess you can always buy greens and yellows. But how are you suppose to get anything monogrammed. I know it is the wish of the parents but what an inconvenience for the rest of us. Just kidding Allison and Todd. I know you two can hardly wait. Baby Arendale will be here before we know it. JoAnn always wanted grand kids and never thought she would. Now she will have three pretty much under three. Boy is she going to have her hands full. Watch out MeMe and PawPaw. Can't you just hear it now during the holidays. Oh, how much fun will it be. Love you guys and can't wait to see that beautiful baby.

Can you say Werchanowskyj ?

Yesterday we went to Greg and Ashley Werchanowskyj's for the game. They are friends of ours in the neighborhood. They have 2 children Lily Kate (3) and Will (17mths) Lily Kate and Ben are only 6wks apart. They play so great together. They are truely great friend. They ask and talk about each other all the time. Lily Kate told her dad she had to wear her pink bracelet for Ben. Isn't that so cute. Here are a few pics of the day.

Look how sweet they are

Little Will. Isn't he so cute.

Ben and Lily Kate taking a break to pose

Brooke's favorite thing to do these days. Play in her Jumpin' Johnny

Lily Kate, Ben and Will cleaned out the toy box and decided to play in it

BOO At The Zoo

Last night Tim and I took the kids to Boo At The Zoo. We all had a great time. Ben was all about the candy... of course. Brooke took in all the excitement from the stroller. There was alot of great activities. If anyone decides to go make sure you go early and get in line for the train ride. The line was incredible long when we finally made it and it was dark. Ben did not want to go because it was to scary. Here are a few pics of the night.

Our little pirate

Waiting on the backward carousel ride

A big smile from Brooke

Ben's first encounter with a real snake

A final pose before leaving

Shrimp Festival

This passed week/weekend since Tim was still on the mend from his surgery we decided to go to the beach. We left on Wednesday afternoon. We made it to the beach in record time. It usually takes us at least 5 1/2. And it has taken us 8hrs with all the stops for feeding Brooke and Ben saying "mommy I gotta pee pee". We got up on Thursday went for our walk while Ben rode his bicycle. He sure has gotten good. Then we went to the beach. It was so nice. The weather was perfect. Ben then wanted to go to the pool. Since Tim still could not get his incisions wet I had to go with Ben. The water was freezing cold. I stepped in and boy what a chill. I only could make it to my knees. I then sat on the side while Ben played. Later that afternoon MeMe and PawPaw made it down along with our friends Gary and Melinda. We all then headed to the Shrimp Festival before it got to busy. We passed by one of the concert stages and Ben had to stop and listen. He danced a little and clapped alot. He was so much fun to watch. Brooke even got in on the action. She was kicking her feet in the stroller. Ben was attached to Melinda for the majority of the night. For those of you who do not know Ben has many girlfriends. Bethany, Chrissy, Leigh (Tanner's GF), the girl at the pharmacy, and now Melinda. Watch out Melinda.
On Friday we took Ben back to enjoy the kid's activities. Brooke stayed home with MeME. Ben got a face painting of a mahi which matched his shirt. Then he played on the huge inflatable slide for over an hour. He had a blast. Later that night MeMe and PawPaw kept the kids for us so Tim and I could go out to eat for my birthday which was Oct. 11th. Gary and Melinda went with us also. We went to Louisiana Lagniappe. I was absolutely wonderful. It was one of the best meals we had all had in over a year. Thanks you guys for such a great time.
On Saturday MeMe took Ben to the beach while to rest of us got our game faces on. Roll Tide!!! After the game Tim, Ben, Gary and Melinda went to the marina to check on the boat. Mostly to get Ben out so he would take a nap. It worked. When they got back Ben was attached at the hip to Melinda. I am sure she was exhausted when she got back to their place.
Sunday we headed home. We made it back in record time also. The kids were great on the trip. I will post pics later. Uncle Todd and Aunt Allison have our camera and I forgot to download pics before I let them borrow it.

Brooke's Hearing Update

Today Brooke had her 3mth hearing test. It went rather well. She passed with flying colors in the sound proof booth. It was funny because when she would look to the left she would see the audiologist behind the window and start smiling and laughing. Then they did the OAE test. She passed in her left ear but failed in her right ear. She said that was more than likely due to Brooke having tubes and she was surprised that she had passed on her left. We will continue to monitor her and be screened again in 3mths.

At Home At Last

Tim was able to come home today from the hospital. He has done so well with his recovery. He has a F/U appt on Monday. He will continue to be on strong antibiotics while at home. He has a F/U appt on Monday. After that he will know when he can go back to work. I don't imagine it will be until the following week. I know it is going to be tough on him. He will not be able to hold or pick-up Ben or Brooke for a while. I will keep everyone posted on how things go over the next week or so.

On the Mend

For those of you who did not know Tim had acute appendicitis with an appendectomy on Saturday. He is doing much better now and we are in hopes he gets to come home today. Now backing up to tell the story. He started feeling a little bad on the prior Monday. We both thought it was from the wonderful supper Granna had cooked. She and ChopChop brought us supper on Sunday. It was a good ol' country meal. Everything cooked in lard, fat, butter, etc.... you get the picture. It was absolutely wonderful. We knew we would pay the price for eating it later because Tim and I are not used to eating like that. Anyway on Monday both of our stomachs did not feel the best. On Tuesday I was better and Tim still had a little upset stomach. We thought he was getting a little stomach bug or something. Thursday he started visiting the bathroom a little more. On Friday he did not feel good at all. He had N/V/D. But he still had to go to work and do a case at DCH. When I got home from picking Ben up from Mom's morning out Tim was in the bed. That is very unusual for Tim. I knew he was sick then. It had gotten so bad a good friend of ours gave us some IV fluids and medicine for him. I gave him 2 liters of fluid and the medicine without any relief. Friday night was a very long night. Then Saturday morning he said he needed to go to the hospital. So I packed everyone a bag and out the door we went at 5am. We headed to Tuscaloosa to drop the kids off at MeMe's and PawPaw's. Then to DCH we went. The ER did all the normal lab and x-rays. His WBC was 16.0 so they decided to do a ABD CT. That's when we found out. Not only did he had acute appendicitis but that is appendix had ruptured and he had a paralytic ilius. Oh boy, I thought to myself. But I knew I had to strong for Tim. This could be a very difficult and long recovery. But Dr. Gross thank goodness, was able to do the procedure laproscopic. He has 2 trocar sites and about a 2inch incision under his belly button. He also had to have a drain for all the pus in his gut. He is on 3 major IV antibiotics. Strong enough to kill anything. He is on a Morphine pump for the pain. He made it out of surgery in time to watch over half of the Alabama game not that is was anything to brag about. Now we had to focus on the recovery and letting his gut rest and start waking up from the paralytic ilius. That was one of our worries along with the possibility of becoming septic. On Monday night his bowels started rumbling. He looked at me and said "I think my bowels are waking up go get a stethoscope". And sure enough they were. Prayers answered. He has been walking the halls several times a day building up his strength. Trying not to have to use his pain pump. On Tuesday when Dr. Gross made rounds he said if your bowels will move and everything else goes okay you can go home tomorrow. Well with the help of some magnesium that has happened and then some. So we are just waiting on rounds today and the word go.
His parents will be bringing him home because Brooke had her biweekly PT today. So I had to come home. She is doing absolutely wonderful. PT thinks she should be sitting independently in the next month. Her hamstrings are much more loose. Good job Brooke. I will post some pictures later.She was 7mths old on Friday. My how time flys. Got to go she is waking up from her nap after therapy. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. All the visits and phone calls. Thanks to the grandparents for keeping the kids. You guys are a lifesaver.

Imaginary Friend

Today while I was getting ready Ben was sitting on his stool in the bathroom. He was mumbling something. I wasn't really paying attention. Then he got up and ran to the other side of the bed and said "no you in trouble". Then he came running back to the bathroom. I asked him who he was talking to, he said "my friend". I then ask what is your friends name? Jerry. Well what did Jerry do "he is in trouble and I wocked him up in jail". I wanted to laugh out loud. I never knew he had an imaginary friend. Later in the day I ask Ben where Jerry was he said "he is still in your woom in jail". It's amazing what little ones can come up with in there little minds.

Catchin' Up

I know I have been slacking these past few weeks. I will do my best to keep it as short as possible and catch everyone up on things. Well lets go back to Aug. 30th. Ben & Brooke both had there check ups at the pediatrician. Dr. Dudgeon (Brian) was very impressed with Brooke and her development. He said she was right on track for a 6mth old. She weighed 14lbs 13oz and was 26 1/2 in long. She is 25th percentile for weight, 75th for length, and 5th for her head circumference. Her head finally made it on the growth chart. Yeah!!! The only concern is her thumb tucking. That is a sign of possible cerebral palsy. However, Kristi Brooke's physical therapist, says it is possible but she thinks it is just an issue with under developed muscles. We would see how it looked in the next few weeks when she starts doing a little more weight bearing while in the crawling position. Back to the MD visit. She got her normal shots and labs. Her labs were all within normal range. So no more labs. YEAH! We did need to schedule an ABD US, to F/U on the sludge in her gallbladder while she was in the hospital.As for Ben, we thought he was just getting his 3yr check-up (No shots). Well we found out differently. He got a Hepatitis vaccination. He was upset at first but did pretty well. That was a rather long visit. But we made it.

We left for the beach on Aug. 31st. A long needed vacation for all of us. We had not all been on vacation together since before Brooke was born. Me, MeMe (Tim's mom) and the kids have gone several times but Tim always stayed behind. Ben loves going to the beach house. The weather was wonderful with the typical thunderstorms. Tim, Todd, Brandon, Buster, Tripp and Tanner went fishing Saturday the 1st. They had a great trip.

Sunday, Tim took Ben out on "Daddy's BIG boat" as he calls it. They went to Pirate's Cove and had a famous cheeseburger. Me, Brooke and MeMe stayed home. We had a big fish fry from all the fish the boys had caught the previous day.

The rest of the week was filled full your normal beach activities: going to the beach, swimming in the pool, fishing off the pier etc... Tim & I decided to take the bikes out for a ride one day. We thought we would go to the end of west beach approx 4miles one way. Going down was nice and easy but coming back was pure you know what. We had the wind in our face. Let's just say it was much much tougher coming back.

On Saturday the 8th we went to visit our friends Steve, Dyan, Wesley and Ethan at there condo. We let the boys play on the beach and swim in the pool. And of course we had to watch Bama and Vandy. This is a picture of Ethan, Wesley and Ben. They had on there Bama shirts.

Ben is almost swimming now. He can swim under water about 3-4 feet without his floaties. He is so excited and we are to.

We came back home on Sunday the 9th. Back to reality.

Monday Sept. 10th Ben started moms morning out at Hunter Street Baptist. He will be going MWF from 9 til 1. He loved his first day. He was such a big boy. With him being 3 now he can be dropped off and picked up in the carpool lane. It was a little scary for me. I wanted to cry. My little Ben is growing up so fast.

Brooke also had a PT session today. It went really good. Kristi is very pleased with Brooke's progress.

Wednesday Sept. 12th Brooke had her follow up ABD US at Children's South. It came back normal.

Saturday Sept. 15th We tailgated for the Alabama vs. Arkansas game. Ben had a blast. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!! Ben spent the night with MeMe and PawPaw. Uncle Todd and Aunt Allison brought him home in Uncle Todd's "Big Green Truck". Ben is totally fascinated with trucks, boats, and motorcycles/4-wheelers.

Sunday Sept. 16th After Ben came home from MeMe's house Tim thought he was going to take the Harley out for a quick ride. But Ben had other plans for him, He said "Daddy you ride me on the green motorcycle(Tim's dirt bike) and you ride the red one(the Harley) another day. So what did Tim and Ben do they rode the dirt bike around. When they got back he said "you see those hot pipes mommy they'll burn you". And off they went again. Ben then had to settle for his 4-wheeler. Brooke observed all the action from the stroller.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. I love this time of year. The kids and I went for a walk in the neighborhood. We played outside until about lunch, then came in and ate, then Ben took is afternoon nap. After his nap we went back outside. The afternoon was rather rough for Ben. He fell out of the swing and landed face first. He was bit by fire ants. Then he was telling Ms. Ashley, Will and Lily Kate bye and fell about 4 steps high landing on his butt and back. He cryed for a short while after each incident but continued to play. At bath time Tim and I assessed the battle wounds. He had a scratch and small bruise on his nose, a pretty big scrap on his back and several ant bites on his feet. All in all I would say he got very lucky. Boys will be boys.

Today Brooke had her PT session. Kristi is even more pleased this week than last. Brooke's sitting abilities are so much better. She can sit at the activity gym and play without much bobbling now. Way to go Brooke!! You are such a determined little thing. As of right now Kristi said Brooke is functioning like a typical 6 mth old. That was so wonderful to hear. I wanted to cry.

Finally, I think I have caught up for now.

Brooke is 6 months old !!!!!!

Look at me I am practically sitting now! Brooke has been working really hard these past few days. It's like the light bulb turned on overnight. We are so proud of her.



















A little brother-sister love.















Then a little hair action. Brooke loves pulling hair. I wish you could see her face. She has the biggest smile. All Ben could say was "mommy that hurts".

What a scare

Does anyone else have a problem with there kids trying to use to much soap when washing there hands? Well I do. Ben likes to pump out about 5 or 6 squirts. Today while I was getting ready I had Brooke in her bouncy seat in our bathroom like always. Ben had gone to the bathroom so I ask him to wash his hands. He pulled his stool up to the sink and I said "do not use to much soap"!!! He proceeded to pump out about 2 squirts and I said "that's enough". I started toward him to take the soap away and he tried to get in one more squirt. While doing so he pushed down really hard and the soap dispenser went flying off the counter and hit Brooke on the nose. She immediately started crying. When I looked down at her her nose looked blanched out (white) across the bridge. I thought "Oh my goodness her nose is broken". I immediately became nauseated and a warm flush went through my body. I picked her up to try to comfort her. It was the highest pitched cry you can ever imagine. After about 5 minutes of her crying I was able to look at her nose better. It was not bleeding or swollen but I thought I felt a knot and she would not let me touch it without crying. I was thinking in my head what in this world am I going to do. My nursing instinct was gone and I was in a panic mommy mode. Long story short it appears her nose is okay. It is a little red across the bridge but she now lets me touch it without crying and the knot is no longer there. We will see what it looks like tomorrow.

Learning to sit !!!!

Brooke has been working really hard trying to learn to sit. She can

sit for a few seconds by herself before getting off balance and in her boppy for a little longer. Kristi, her physical therapist, wants her goal to be sitting around 7 months.