The Russells (and then there were four): Tayden's 1st Haircut

We finally broke down and got Tayden's hair cut for the first time last weekend. I had been sick on Friday, but wanted to get out of the house so we went to Cool Cuts near the house. They have really cool car chairs and each station has a t.v. You could pick which movie you would like for your child to watch. GREAT IDEA!!! Tayden sat in the car until the lady put the cape on him. He then started clawing my neck and trying his hardest to get down. Luckily, I was able to sit in a regular chair and hold him in my lap while she did the cutting. She gave both babies suckers - their very first ones, and Tayden was so excited that he barely noticed the snipping. Meanwhile, Brooklyn sat in a car chair, eating a sucker, having a great time since no one was coming at her with scissors. They save a lock of his hair for us and put it in a special bag with a place for a picture of the big event. Overall, he did very well and he now looks like a little man. I still am getting used to it! He still has his curls, they are just a lot shorter now.

Brooklyn started coughing over the weekend and spent all of Sunday night up coughing so hard she would vomit. We did breathing treatments, ran the humidifier, and started her on some medicine we had from the past. I stayed home on Monday to help with her and to get some sleep. We talked to the doctor's office and they suggested we keep the same routine, but add Benadryl, instead of the other drops. It seems to be doing the trick. She coughs a little in the night, but it is very minor.

Our vocabulary grows with each passing day. Both babies are starting to say 2-3 word sentences like, "Bye bye dada or SueSue" and "Dadas at work." They love to count (we have ventured past 10) and say their ABCs and still love to sing any song. We have "coloring" time every night and they stay entertained for about 10 minutes before trying to color on the floor and the tables. Brooklyn always has to put the crayons away and will say, "Bye bye colors," as she puts each one in the tray. Tonight I asked Tayden his name and he told me and then when I asked him my name he said, "Mommy." He calls Brooklyn Sissy, and at times calls dada - Tim (he hears me do this quite frequently). He hasn't stuck anything up his nose lately - we watch him very closely. Brooklyn has been a frequent flyer in the new "time-out" area. We put up a very small tree this year and decided that on top of the bar was the best place for it. She will now get on the couch and hoist herself backwards onto the coffee table, then stand up and touch the tree. She has a routine and can do it in about 30 seconds. Each time I give her a swat and put her in time-out. After a few minutes she will get out and do it again instantly. Tonight she figured out how to scoot the time-out pack-n-play so she could see the t.v. and even managed to get both of her legs on the outside. She could easily have flipped it over but decided against it. They love to get on the see-saw and stand up on the opposite ends. I am raising acrobats! We might join the circus in the next few years if this keeps us. They have a zillion toys in the floor to play with, but would rather climb.

Tayden will have his follow-up MRI on Wednesday the 21st. Last year our doctor suggested one to make sure his head size was not caused by any neurological problems. The scans were all normal, although he did have a small cyst that they said was extremely normal. They want us to do another one just to make sure that the cyst hasn't grown. They will have to sedate him and we will be there a few hours. Please pray that the findings are normal and that he does well. Last year when he woke up he was breathing pretty rapidly so they kept us a little longer than normal to get him regulated.

Please also keep my PawPaw in your prayers. He was hospitalized on Wednesday to get his blood sugar stabilized and to get hydrated. He is feeling better and they are going to do a procedure in the morning to help him be able to eat better so that he won't continue to get dehydrated. He is such a sweet man and is so very special to so many people and I hope that he gets back to feeling like himself very soon. Love you PawPaw!!!