Summer Lovin'

Nathan came home 4 years ago this weekend. That summer was one of the hottest I remember. We spent many an hour with them just in a diaper on the nursing pillow, me sweating wherever the cute little bodies touched mine. This summer is setting up to be just the same and I love it!

This picture is his last day in the NICU (Corwyn was allowed to visit). It's one of his first pictures without the NG tube in.

We went to family camp again for our 4th year. The first 3 were overcast or raining, but still fun. The sun and heat this year were amazing. Add to that, they are now 4 and able to enjoy so much more, a bit more independently.

Wordless Wednesday - Corwyn has been Home for Four Years

The Evolution of a (Lego) Builder

This Christmas we made the move to 'big kid' Lego (although my guys call it baby Lego because it's smaller). Yes, they are still young enough for Duplo, but mommy has an entire closet (and I mean entire) full of Lego she has not taken out in years. The Duplo is still there, although it's being ignored.

Oh, for the 2 or 3 people out there who don't know the difference, here. Standard Lego is about 8 times smaller than Duplo.

Both boys play with the Lego/Duplo but Corwyn LOVES it. Here are some shots of the evolution of his play with the blocks.  His Duplo use started out building 'Trains' and then square towers with all the blocks filled in, onto creations with a ton of imagination. He started to figure out bridges, stairs and supports. Then I messed him up with the smaller bricks. He likes to build with the instructions and for the couple of new sets they got, he did that first, but he's back to first love of turning everything into a 'train'. He even put the horses on wheels so they could join in. The Lego motorcycles are a huge hit too.

 So far they have a teeny tiny bit of the Lego available. My place is not big enough for all of it to be out and they are not ready. But I'll  keep adding more bricks and blocks over time.

I can't wait to see what he creates with the Lego!

Toddling into 2011

I honestly can't believe how fast the time is flying by. The boys are now 19 months, putting them just past the starting time to be toddlers. Seriously, my newborn preemies are toddlers now. How? When?


So what have they been up to? Where are they developmentally?

Both have obviously mastered walking and even running. Corwyn has a wonderful gait, so cute to look at, more of a swagger than a walk. I'm trying to get a good video of it. Both love to 'dance'. Dancing varies between bouncing up and down and swiveling the body around. Adorable, totally adorable.

Fine motor skills are progressing as I'd expect them to. Both can feed themselves quite well (when they want to) with either a fork or a spoon. I haven't let them play with knives; they still throw cutlery, so I'm guessing I'll let them try knives when they are 30 or 40 (years). Nathan will pull up and down his own zippers (once started). Corwyn has no interest in this at all. Both like to put 'things in things' so we do activities like putting small pompoms in a container with a small opening or sticks into bottles etc. There is no real preference for handed-ness.

Nathan loves anything electronic and has an obsession with phones and cameras. I finally found a good 'play' phone. It lights up, has sounds when you push buttons, pre-recorded messages and rings once its closed. It also lets me record a message on it anytime I want. They think its neat to hear my voice and their names. Nathan wants to do everything himself but gets frustrated very easily when something doesn't work for him. Things get thrown when this happens and he doesn't want to try again for a while. He loves music and points to the CD player the minute he gets up. He does like TV and seems to become absorbed whenever its on. I try to limit TV time and like to only have it on when I can sit with him and 'talk' about what he's watching.

Corwyn loves books. He loves to sit on your lap and turn the pages. He doesn't want to be read to when their are lots of words, but if there are only a few words to each page, he'll sit through a story. He likes to look at the pictures and 'talk' about what he sees. He is understanding sequence a bit better now because he knows when he skips a page in a story and we have to go back. He only likes electronics as a means to take it away from Nathan to tease him. If Nathan has no interest in a gadget, he doesn't care. Corwyn doesn't really notice TV. He seems to like In the Night Garden, but even with that he'll lose interest before its over. He loves his trains and his Thomas books are a favorite. Interestingly, the Thomas TV shows will only hold his attention for a couple of minutes at a time. He is a very caring boy. If Nathan (or anyone else) is crying, he will bring over a toy and try to help.

Both love cuddles and hugs. They have no shyness around strangers and will wave at almost everyone and give hi-5s on request.

Both can talk a bit, but it's inconsistent. Sometimes they will say words very clearly and the next time, the same word comes out unintelligible. I think its a matter of concentration. Christmas was cute. If they saw a picture of Santa they would point and say 'Santa' and when you ask what does Santa say they'd go 'ho ho'. Once in a while, you'd get a third ho, but it was usually 2. They are wonderful at their animal sounds. The latest is the lion roar. Elephant is cute because it involves raising an arm by the face for the trunk at the same time.

I wake each day wondering what new thing they will say, do or discover. It's a wild adventure that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Happy Half a Year!

And since two halves make a whole, it's a year. Okay, so it's not, but what an incredible 6 months its been.

Let's see. As per a previous post, the boys are eating now. Dinner is going well. Corwyn loves veggies, any kinds (even strained peas). Nathan is a bit more reserved on the veggies taking a couple of times to start taking them willingly. Neither boy likes fruit at all. I've started breakfast solids yesterday. As with when we started dinner, they don't really care about it right now. They'd rather their morning milk. But we'll keep going and I'm sure they will get the idea.

Nathan is pretty much hitting all the 6 month milestones. He rolls over (has for weeks), can sit up for a bit and is really trying hard to crawl. Corwyn has better fine motor skills but I think will hit the gross motor ones closer to his corrected age. I'm more than okay with that. I'm already chasing one half naked baby across the bed in an effort to get him changed and dressed each morning.

My domperidone ran outa couple of days ago. My milk supply plummeted. I could go back to my Dr for another prescription, but I'm not sure. I never had enough for breast milk full time and I cant pump more than I do since they want me and I cant pump and hold a baby. I still have some milk and Nathan still nurses at night. I said I'd self wean so I'll keep pumping during the day, as much as I can, until Nathan gives up the night feed. Its been 6 months, I think that's a good start. Its a far cry from the breastfeeding until 2 that I hoped for when I was pregnant though. Sigh.

They are both growing really well. As of their last appointment, Nathan was off the chart for height! Corwyn came in at 97%. For weight, Nathan is 90% and Corwyn is 75th. They are tall and fairly lean. Nathan wears 9 month sleepers, but Corwyn should fit the 6 month for at least this month.

I still cant believe how fast the time is going by. Sometimes its seems so surreal. Its like a dream, a wonderful dream. I cant wait to see what the next 6 months hold.

Just a reminder, I'm still doing the cans for comments. I'll post a tally at the end.(See previous post for details)