8 months old....where does the time go??

So trying to up date my blog here....8 months later! Elise has been doing great adjusting to our family life. She's such a good baby, very easy going. Big sister Emery is doing good with her too though we do have our moments. Elise sleeps very well and has been in her own crib upstairs since about 2-3 months now. She stands up and cruises on everything she find, including the dogs! It probably won't be long till she's walking. She's still a little peanut though and only weighs about 17 lbs. When she born she was 8 lbs. 9 oz. Definitely not following in big sis's footsteps as Emery was already pretty chubby by now. Her eyes are staying a gray/blue/hazel color so not sure what color she's end up with. She's got a bit lighter hair too. She's very vocal and has a little bit of temper when she doesn't like something. She's not a big screamer/crier but will grunt with unhappiness if she's stuck somewhere like highchair and doesn't want to be in there. lol! She likes to eat little pieces of food vs. purees and likes chunkier foods rather than smoother. Some of her favorites are chunky sweet potato, zuccini, pieces of rotisserie chicken, steamed carrots, peas, watermelon, and she absolutely loves yogurt! She's a pretty good eater though she prefers actual food already to her milk in a bottle. She also drinks from a sippy cup already and will also sip from an open cup as well. She sleeps through the night mostly every night and rarely gets up. However, she did just get her first cold (bronchiotis) and ear infection and that had her up a couple times a night poor girl. Both her and Emery got ear infections and have been recently on antibiotics this winter. Emery just celebrated her 4th birthday, unfortunately she was sick the weekend of her party though. I brought cupcakes to her class on her actual b-day (Thursday) and then daddy and I took her to Toys R Us to spend her birthday money. She ended up with a small carebear stuffed animal and some new legos. She crashed in the car on our way home as it was a long day for her :) Then that Saturday we had family over (both Grandma's, both Grandpa's and Cousin Alyssa and Aunt Lisa) for lunch and cake. My poor girls were getting pretty sick though so we didn't have the best of attitudes and in fact no hardly any smiles. Emery's little nose was soooo red I felt terrible for her. Her party with her friends was Sunday and was at a Gymnastics place. I almost cancelled it but she had no fever and seemed a little better by that morning. She had a lot of special friends at her party, a couple girls from our neighborhood, her friends from playgroup (Sam, Nick, Carson) and a few good friends from school (Presley and Hailey). She looked like she had an amazing time but we still didn't get a whole lot of smiles. The kids got to jump in the foam pit, bounce on the trampoline, and Emery got to take a special swing way up high in this harness. Looked like so much fun! Then the kids had pizza and cupcakes and ran around the room till it was time to clear out. All in all a big success! She got lots of fun presents too from both friends and family. Mommy and daddy got her a mobi go (handheld game thingy), grandma's got her a Barbie house (with an elevator--her request!) and lots of puzzles and color wonder sets from her friends. My big girl is growing up so fast! Update on me....after Elise was born a noticed a freckle on my lower leg/calf. I brought it to the attention of a dr. during a physical and they recommended seeing a dermatologist. I was able to see a dermatologist and get it biopsied. I got the call during my first week back at work from maternity leave that the biopsy came back and that it was melanoma. Time stopped for me and I really couldn't even comprehend what she was saying after that. Thankfully it was caught very early and was only a .4mm spot. I scheduled the surgery. After the surgery, I was left with a pretty big cut/stitched area. Being so active with a baby and child, I had a hard time resting my leg and it became a little bit infected. I was put on antibiotics but they didn't seem to help. The dr. then switched me to a pretty strong antibiotic and after 12 days or so and removal of the stitches I did see some improvement. The scar is pretty large though and still didn't heal well. Five months later and I am seeing another dermatologist to check it. Hope my next appointment goes well and I have no more spots to remove. NOT a pleasant experience I want to go through again! Wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to STAY OUTTA THE TANNING BED! Oh well... from here on out I plan to take the best care of my skin as I can.