Nevermind the scratch on his nose. Chicks dig scars.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The very popular stacking toy
Both of the boys love the stacking rings. Allan can really get the rings spinning.
Allan - playing with the aquarium
We may have to take this in to prove to the VNPT that he can and does reach and grasp. When HE wants to.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Very clever boys
I wish that the Very Nice Physical Therapist could have been at the house last night when I got home. You may recall that Allan wouldn't do anything that she asked him to do and, in fact, fell asleep before the test was over. He wouldn't reach, wouldn't grasp, wouldn't look at you, wouldn't make a sound. She thought I was totally deluding myself when I said, but, really, he does some of this stuff. Last night when I got home he was rolled over on his side, whacking the stacking rings as hard as he could with his right hand and spinning them round and round on the pole. Then, every now and then, for a change of pace, he would grab them and fling them off of the top of it. He's no performing seal. Ornery little twerp. It makes me think of brother Mark who got put in the gifted class and then promptly began to fail because "the more you do, the more they expect you to do." (Which is very funny when it isn't your kid.) Allan wasn't going to set the bar too high lest they ask him to do more. Or, as Michele observed, maybe he was just saving his effort for a toy that he liked. Allan continues to outstrip Griffith on the teething. He definitely has a second little tooth peeking up beside the first. Griff is all gums still.
Allan is clearly feeling pretty good these days and finding lots of things to be funny. He really likes to rough-house -- especially if you roll him from side to side. He gets a big grin on his face for that. He also likes it when you fuss at Griffith. On Sunday night Griffith was whiny and I kept telling him to be a good boy and to stop being a pill or I would send him back. Every time I did, Allan would get this sly little smile on his face. Probably how things will go from here on out.
Griffith is making progress toward learning to crawl, God help us. He can get himself up on his arms and toes, but that doesn't work very well. Every once in a while he drops his knees down, but his belly usually follows. If you put your hand under him on his belly, he gets the right position, but can't quite figure out how to move his hand without collapsing. We are just letting him work that out on his own. He'll get it eventually and then we will wonder why we encouraged this kind of behavior.
Allan is clearly feeling pretty good these days and finding lots of things to be funny. He really likes to rough-house -- especially if you roll him from side to side. He gets a big grin on his face for that. He also likes it when you fuss at Griffith. On Sunday night Griffith was whiny and I kept telling him to be a good boy and to stop being a pill or I would send him back. Every time I did, Allan would get this sly little smile on his face. Probably how things will go from here on out.
Griffith is making progress toward learning to crawl, God help us. He can get himself up on his arms and toes, but that doesn't work very well. Every once in a while he drops his knees down, but his belly usually follows. If you put your hand under him on his belly, he gets the right position, but can't quite figure out how to move his hand without collapsing. We are just letting him work that out on his own. He'll get it eventually and then we will wonder why we encouraged this kind of behavior.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Happy Birthday, Babies!
Allan and Griffith turn 9 months old today! I imagine they will celebrate with big bottles of formula. Chug-a-lug.
As you can see from the pictures, they are doing great. I can't remember if I mentioned that Allan managed to turn himself over for the very first time this week -- of course, his neck and shoulders aren't that strong and so it resulted in him essentially doing a face plant, but it is progress. (Of course, having face-planted, he may decide that turning over is for the birds.) In other news, he ate bananas yesterday. So far we've done cereal, apples and bananas. We can't really tell if he likes them or not. He's hard to read is ol' Allan, but he did swallow it down and there it stayed. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice. Griffith hasn't quite got a handle on the eating thing, either. He approves of the fruit, though, if only because is it really fun to spit back. We all have to amuse ourselves in whatever way we can.
As you can see from the pictures, they are doing great. I can't remember if I mentioned that Allan managed to turn himself over for the very first time this week -- of course, his neck and shoulders aren't that strong and so it resulted in him essentially doing a face plant, but it is progress. (Of course, having face-planted, he may decide that turning over is for the birds.) In other news, he ate bananas yesterday. So far we've done cereal, apples and bananas. We can't really tell if he likes them or not. He's hard to read is ol' Allan, but he did swallow it down and there it stayed. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice. Griffith hasn't quite got a handle on the eating thing, either. He approves of the fruit, though, if only because is it really fun to spit back. We all have to amuse ourselves in whatever way we can.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
oh, yes, we have bananas....
we had some bananas today. Allan tried bananas today. Dad tried his hand at feeding. Both were first-timers.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Big Al and I had a big day yesterday. We had an appointment with the cardiologist at 8:45 and NICU Graduate Clinic after that. What with one thing and another, we didn't get home until 2:30. He was worn out (so was I). Anyway, we had good news -- the echo and EKG showed that Allan's heart is doing things that only healthy hearts do. His cardiologist and pulmonologist were delighted with how well Allan is doing. (Dr. Kanga was also happy to check out Allan's tooth.) We are taking him down and off of some more of his medicines. We'll keep you posted.
Then we were seen by a variety of folks at the NICU graduate clinic. We were supposed to do Big Al's developmental assessment. Well, I pretty much knew how this was going to go. As a preliminary matter, Allan is perfect and he is doing great. That having been said, he isn't yet doing all the things that a baby of his age is meant to be doing. Breathing and eating take up a lot of his energy. As that improves, he grows more active and he will catch up (the statistic is that 90% of babies born at the same stage as our boys are indistinguishable from other kids by the time they start kindergarten). That's the first thing. The second thing is that, by the time that they started trying to test Allan, he was worn out. And, finally, as we all know, Allan is not exactly the most cooperative of individuals. In fact, he can be downright difficult when he puts his mind to it. So, it was no real surprise (to me anyway) when he essentially refused to participate. The Very Nice Physical Therapist (hereinafter "VNPT") began by trying to prepare me -- we'll be asking him to do things that are above his level (like what-- algebraic equations?), don't get upset or worried. We just want to see what he can do (again, like what? skip rope? Fail a test?) and, good luck to you on that seeing-what-he-can-do thing. Now, mind you, Allan spends half of his time these days playing with his hands, wringing them like the villan in a silent movie. You wouldn't have known it yesterday. As soon as the VNPT hit the door, he dropped them to his sides like they were lead weights. And he can clearly hold on to things and put them up to his mouth. Nunh-uhn. Not yesterday. Hands? I have hands? I'm sure that there will be a note in the report that the mother responded with inappropriate laughter, but when she got behind me and started ringing this bell to see if he would turn his head and he didn't turn his head, but did cut his eyes at me and heaved a big ha-rumph sigh, as if to say that this was irritating and, really, couldn't I do something about her? Finally, since I wouldn't do any thing about it, he took refuge in sleep. It was his only defense. Allan, 1, VNPT, 0.
I hope this is not indicative of his future academic career.
Then we were seen by a variety of folks at the NICU graduate clinic. We were supposed to do Big Al's developmental assessment. Well, I pretty much knew how this was going to go. As a preliminary matter, Allan is perfect and he is doing great. That having been said, he isn't yet doing all the things that a baby of his age is meant to be doing. Breathing and eating take up a lot of his energy. As that improves, he grows more active and he will catch up (the statistic is that 90% of babies born at the same stage as our boys are indistinguishable from other kids by the time they start kindergarten). That's the first thing. The second thing is that, by the time that they started trying to test Allan, he was worn out. And, finally, as we all know, Allan is not exactly the most cooperative of individuals. In fact, he can be downright difficult when he puts his mind to it. So, it was no real surprise (to me anyway) when he essentially refused to participate. The Very Nice Physical Therapist (hereinafter "VNPT") began by trying to prepare me -- we'll be asking him to do things that are above his level (like what-- algebraic equations?), don't get upset or worried. We just want to see what he can do (again, like what? skip rope? Fail a test?) and, good luck to you on that seeing-what-he-can-do thing. Now, mind you, Allan spends half of his time these days playing with his hands, wringing them like the villan in a silent movie. You wouldn't have known it yesterday. As soon as the VNPT hit the door, he dropped them to his sides like they were lead weights. And he can clearly hold on to things and put them up to his mouth. Nunh-uhn. Not yesterday. Hands? I have hands? I'm sure that there will be a note in the report that the mother responded with inappropriate laughter, but when she got behind me and started ringing this bell to see if he would turn his head and he didn't turn his head, but did cut his eyes at me and heaved a big ha-rumph sigh, as if to say that this was irritating and, really, couldn't I do something about her? Finally, since I wouldn't do any thing about it, he took refuge in sleep. It was his only defense. Allan, 1, VNPT, 0.
I hope this is not indicative of his future academic career.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
January 8th - A Very Big Day
Griffith has been drooling, gnawing on his fist, chewing -- everything you would expect of someone who is trying to cut teeth, but it was Allan, stealthy Allan, who cut the first tooth. Last night I was feeling around on his gums (yeah, I don't know why either, but I was, go with it.) It is just barely peeking through, but Big Al has (while no one was looking) cut one of his lower front teeth. I would try for a picture, but I think all you would see is gum. Maybe in a week or two.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Typing is a little difficult Dad has gone out for a few minutes so. naturally, all h-e-double breaks lose. They both were tired, both wanted to be held, and both wanted to be on my chest. They have fallen asleep on my chest and are all nestled together, sleeping soundly. I am sort of like the little boy and the dike. I guess I'll stay put until the calvary arrives. I am typing with one hand so it is slow-going with the blogging.
Aunt Kathy stopped by yesterday and visited for a while. She was quite impressed with our big boys. Griffith showed off how well he can do pushups and Allan managed a few shy smiles.
Uncle Luis and Aunt Diane came over this afternoon and took on baby duty so that Jay and I could have a few hours to celebrate his birthday. They were apparently on their very best behavior. When they are good, they are very good. When they are bad.....
Nothing big on the horizon this week. No doctor's appointments or anything. Here's hoping for a long stream of boring days.
Aunt Kathy stopped by yesterday and visited for a while. She was quite impressed with our big boys. Griffith showed off how well he can do pushups and Allan managed a few shy smiles.
Uncle Luis and Aunt Diane came over this afternoon and took on baby duty so that Jay and I could have a few hours to celebrate his birthday. They were apparently on their very best behavior. When they are good, they are very good. When they are bad.....
Nothing big on the horizon this week. No doctor's appointments or anything. Here's hoping for a long stream of boring days.
Griffith - big number 8
Apparently if you are number 8 on the rugby team, you are the biggest, roughest guy at the back of the scrum.
Griffith - reading his bear book
Aunt Kathy made a cloth book for the boys about bears and transportation. Griffith is delighted with the bright pages.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Working for the weekend....
The trip to the doctor's office went about as well as could be expected. Both boys are excellent. That's the medical term.
Allan is doing very well on half of the dose of Lasix (a diuretic) that he has been receiving and so we are going to try him on a quarter dose. We have entirely discontinued one of his inhalers. He weighed in at 13 pounds 15 ounces which was good especially considering that he was sick with a cold and ear infection for two weeks. His doc isn't worried about him gaining slowly -- we need to be sure that he is gaining real weight as opposed to fluid from the diuretics. With Allan, it is slow and steady. We did get the green light for moving on from cereal to fruits or veggies as we wish. He had a little applesauce today and did well with it. He is clearly feeling better though -- he kicks and pushes with his legs as if he is going to stand up. And he howls when he is unhappy -- loud and long, he howls. I am sure it will wear thin after a while (especially when it happens in the early morning hours) but right now we are still delighted because it means that his lungs are getting stronger and he is able to expend more energy on non-vital activities. Mark my words, he is going to be as big a pain in the A double S as his little brother.
Speaking of, Griffith is the little brother no more. He has once again regained his crown as the bigger of the brothers. Griffith weighed in at 15 pounds 8 ounces yesterday. We skipped 14 (which is apparently a stone) entirely. He is now the master of cause and effect. He knows that when he whacks the dog (again, many thanks to Michele) that it will light up and say things. He also has mastered the cell phone that Michele (isn't she clever ?) found for him. Last night he spent quite a while rolling over, lifting himself up and pulling the handle to make the mirror elephant thingamajig play tunes over and over. He thinks that he is very clever. (So do we. You would think no other child had ever done any of these things.)
Aunt Kelly has taken up the challenge of Aunt Michele and is working on tickets for the Cards/Cubs series in August. We can't think of a better way to start the boys off on their careers as All-Americans. Of course, the question of what kind of gear the boys should wear will no doubt be a thorny one. Maybe a quick change a la Cher at the 7th inning stretch? Oh, well, plenty of time to work that out.
Have a great weekend!
Allan is doing very well on half of the dose of Lasix (a diuretic) that he has been receiving and so we are going to try him on a quarter dose. We have entirely discontinued one of his inhalers. He weighed in at 13 pounds 15 ounces which was good especially considering that he was sick with a cold and ear infection for two weeks. His doc isn't worried about him gaining slowly -- we need to be sure that he is gaining real weight as opposed to fluid from the diuretics. With Allan, it is slow and steady. We did get the green light for moving on from cereal to fruits or veggies as we wish. He had a little applesauce today and did well with it. He is clearly feeling better though -- he kicks and pushes with his legs as if he is going to stand up. And he howls when he is unhappy -- loud and long, he howls. I am sure it will wear thin after a while (especially when it happens in the early morning hours) but right now we are still delighted because it means that his lungs are getting stronger and he is able to expend more energy on non-vital activities. Mark my words, he is going to be as big a pain in the A double S as his little brother.
Speaking of, Griffith is the little brother no more. He has once again regained his crown as the bigger of the brothers. Griffith weighed in at 15 pounds 8 ounces yesterday. We skipped 14 (which is apparently a stone) entirely. He is now the master of cause and effect. He knows that when he whacks the dog (again, many thanks to Michele) that it will light up and say things. He also has mastered the cell phone that Michele (isn't she clever ?) found for him. Last night he spent quite a while rolling over, lifting himself up and pulling the handle to make the mirror elephant thingamajig play tunes over and over. He thinks that he is very clever. (So do we. You would think no other child had ever done any of these things.)
Aunt Kelly has taken up the challenge of Aunt Michele and is working on tickets for the Cards/Cubs series in August. We can't think of a better way to start the boys off on their careers as All-Americans. Of course, the question of what kind of gear the boys should wear will no doubt be a thorny one. Maybe a quick change a la Cher at the 7th inning stretch? Oh, well, plenty of time to work that out.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Thursday January 4
The boys are doing great so naturally it is time to drag them out again for another round of vaccines. We have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. We have already begun dosing with Baby Tylenol.
In other news, Allan has learned to shove all fours fingers down his throat and gag himself. Whether this is what he intends to do it another question entirely. He is also getting much faster and stronger as evidenced by the way he whacks my hand away as I try to put in and take out his contact. I can't wait until he can do it himself.
Griffith isn't really interested in learning to crawl as he has now mastered (sort of) the technique of propelling himself with his arms. Unfortunately he can only do it in reverse and has no clear sense of direction. He keeps ending up stuck under the chairs, couches and tables. Still, it amuses him. Right up until it doesn't.
In other news, Allan has learned to shove all fours fingers down his throat and gag himself. Whether this is what he intends to do it another question entirely. He is also getting much faster and stronger as evidenced by the way he whacks my hand away as I try to put in and take out his contact. I can't wait until he can do it himself.
Griffith isn't really interested in learning to crawl as he has now mastered (sort of) the technique of propelling himself with his arms. Unfortunately he can only do it in reverse and has no clear sense of direction. He keeps ending up stuck under the chairs, couches and tables. Still, it amuses him. Right up until it doesn't.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Allan's sock
He works full time at getting them off of his feet. It is how I know for certain that he is mine.
Allan and the centipede
It really is a very popular item in our house. We may have to buy another one in case we lose this one.
And check out those eyelashes.
Happy New Year.
Well, here we are back again. We welcomed in 2007 in a pretty low-key sort of way. Jay and I had steaks, mashed potatoes and wine and the boys had, as usual, formula. They didn't seem to mind. And we all watched The Twilight Zone on the SciFi Channel. Big wild night.
Allan has been doing just great. We have halved the dosage of one of his diuretics and discontinued one of his inhalers and it hasn't set him back at all. In fact, his oxygen requirement has been as low as it has ever been. He is more alert and fun these days. He can't quite turn himself over, but he does get over on his sides to reach for toys or to watch his brother. It probably isn't fair to say that he "can't" turn over. With Big Al, it is hard to tell what he can't do and what he just isn't interested in doing. He is making more baby sounds these days and gets tuned up and howls when he is wet or dirty or has been put down when he would prefer to be held. Regular baby stuff. He's smiling a lot these days and loves to play spider-hand and get Eskimo kisses.
Griffith is full of it these days, too. We moved his crib upstairs because he outgrew the bassinet. He absolutely loves to pick his feet up over his head and slam them down in to the mattress. Preferably in the middle of the night. It sounds like a cannon going off. He has also discovered his tongue and thinks it is just grand. Not just when it blows spit bubbles or zerberts. All the time. And he loves for you to stick your tongue back at him. He crows like a little rooster and flaps his arms and laughs out loud at the hilarity of it all. He got a little off-schedule during the holidays and 4:30 a.m. is apparently the new 7 a.m. We hope that he gets over that soon.
We all took a road trip to visit Aunt Evelyn on Saturday and they did very well. At least until the end. Griffith woke up on the ride back and decided that he was not happy with the situation. Waking up in the dark, in the car, wet and tired was not his idea of a good idea. It was not made better by him howling like a banshee for the 27 minutes it took us to make it home. He was mad for an hour after that.
Uncle Luigi and Aunt Diane came and brought many goodies. Most notably, genuine bolas and a whip from Argentina. No ostriches will be safe on our street.
The boys have a doc's appointment on Wednesday, but, other than that, we are all just planning on staying at home and growing.
Allan has been doing just great. We have halved the dosage of one of his diuretics and discontinued one of his inhalers and it hasn't set him back at all. In fact, his oxygen requirement has been as low as it has ever been. He is more alert and fun these days. He can't quite turn himself over, but he does get over on his sides to reach for toys or to watch his brother. It probably isn't fair to say that he "can't" turn over. With Big Al, it is hard to tell what he can't do and what he just isn't interested in doing. He is making more baby sounds these days and gets tuned up and howls when he is wet or dirty or has been put down when he would prefer to be held. Regular baby stuff. He's smiling a lot these days and loves to play spider-hand and get Eskimo kisses.
Griffith is full of it these days, too. We moved his crib upstairs because he outgrew the bassinet. He absolutely loves to pick his feet up over his head and slam them down in to the mattress. Preferably in the middle of the night. It sounds like a cannon going off. He has also discovered his tongue and thinks it is just grand. Not just when it blows spit bubbles or zerberts. All the time. And he loves for you to stick your tongue back at him. He crows like a little rooster and flaps his arms and laughs out loud at the hilarity of it all. He got a little off-schedule during the holidays and 4:30 a.m. is apparently the new 7 a.m. We hope that he gets over that soon.
We all took a road trip to visit Aunt Evelyn on Saturday and they did very well. At least until the end. Griffith woke up on the ride back and decided that he was not happy with the situation. Waking up in the dark, in the car, wet and tired was not his idea of a good idea. It was not made better by him howling like a banshee for the 27 minutes it took us to make it home. He was mad for an hour after that.
Uncle Luigi and Aunt Diane came and brought many goodies. Most notably, genuine bolas and a whip from Argentina. No ostriches will be safe on our street.
The boys have a doc's appointment on Wednesday, but, other than that, we are all just planning on staying at home and growing.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Well, Santa made it in a big way. Griffith was so excited about Christmas that he decided to get an early start. He probably just missed Santa leaving when he got up at 4:30 a.m. It was up and down (literally) from that point on. We had visions of getting the boys in their red velour Christmas outfits and opening gifts, making a nice lunch, playing with toys and taking a nap, but we could not get every one in sync. By the time Griffith went to sleep, Allan woke up, then Allan was tired by the time Griffith was ready to get up and eat. Then we had to start cooking or else we wouldn't have dinner until the 26th. In between diaper changes, showers and general baby-minding, time really flew. Finally, at 6 p.m., the boys were both awake and relatively cooperative so we started the Great Gift Opening. Although the boys liked their loot, they were thoroughly uninterested in the unwrapping process. We might as well have just as well have opened them ourselves while the boys slept. They got some great stuff. You could tell who bought what, though -- Dad bought exactly one gift that doesn't light up and make noise. I am saving all of the instruction manuals so I can figure out where the "off" and "mute" buttons are.
Enjoy the photos. Merry Christmas!
Enjoy the photos. Merry Christmas!
Allan- wrestling the centipede
Griffith fell asleep and so Allan was able to get hold of the centipede.
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