Three year-olds!

Okay, I'm about a month late on this :)

The boys turned three on the 27th of June.  They are doing GREAT.  We had a pretty healthy winter, with the exception of a stomach bug or two.   We've only seen a few doctors since the last post:

- Dentist:  The boys will need braces some day, but no surprise there.  They have narrow palates and will probably need the palate expander in a few years to give the permanent teeth enough space.  I'm sure the prematurity contributed to this, but I had one as well so it could just be genetic.  Otherwise, their teeth are coming in fine and are not discolored.

- ENT:  The boys have had fluid in their ears the past few check-ups, with no other outward symptoms of ear infections.  Both have one tube from their last set of tubes still hanging in there.  The doctor recommended another set of tubes and adenoids removed for both of them - however, given the fact that they were not in pain, no fevers, the fluid wasn't infected, etc, we decided to wait. I did not feel comfortable putting them through another surgery without real evidence that they needed it.  It was a good decision (I think) as the fluid was gone at their 3 year check-up and everything looked fine.

- 3-year pediatrician check-up:  Everything looks great - they are growing well, talking very well, running and walking well.  William (32lbs) is about a pound heavier than Aaron now, and less than half an inch taller (37 1/4 inches), putting them both in the 50th percentile for weight and height.  William did not pass the depth perception test, though.  I'm not sure if this is was a fluke- holding up cards with 3-D pictures, the nurse asked him to "Point to the card with the letter E" and all three times he pointed to the wrong card.  While he can recite the alphabet and knows several letters, I'm not sure that he understood exactly what he was being asked to do since he each time he did point to the blank one.  The next eye doctor appointment is in October, so we'll find out then.

Their little personalities are staying true to the past :)  William is such a love bug when he's happy (and a grumpy bear when he's overtired or hungry), and quite the little performer.  Aaron is super smart and cute and makes me laugh.  They are not potty trained yet but we're getting there (hopefully).

We've been very blessed/lucky/thankful for their outcome given the rocky starts.  I still hope that their story is providing hope for other people going through similar situations with their preemies, especially with the brain bleeds.  Have faith :)

A few random videos of their silliness:

William makes up his own funny songs...this one had more verses, but this is what I was able to get on video:

Anna is sitting here as if nothing is going on because she had to finish her dinner in order to get dessert :):

A few pictures from the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk:

William, Anna, Aaron

Reading together (Aaron, William)

Happy New Year!

 (If I had time to send Christmas cards this year, this would have been it!)

Updates
The boys have been released from Early Intervention - their assessments in September and October placed them in the 26-30 month range, and they were 27 months at the time.  They are right on track!  They will still be monitored every few months per my request, but we have no expected developmental issues.

William is wearing his glasses more consistently, which helps with the right eye that likes to turn in.  We switched back to our original pediatric ophthalmologist who believes that we should continue with glasses before patching the left eye, now that he's in the right prescription :)  He's still just slightly farsighted, but also has astigmatism, so he will be wearing glasses or contacts for life.  Aaron is still solidly nearsighted, but his vision has actually improved.  He does really well wearing his glasses.

They're both running, jumping, and speaking in sentences now.  They can count to ten and sing their ABCs.  They know many songs by heart, and their favorite is "Jesus Loves Me".  William is still more of the wild man - very loving and full of spontaneous "huggies" and "I love you's", but also more prone to temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way and when he's overtired.  He is also super independent and whenever we try to do something for him (even get his milk from the refrigerator), we are met with a cry of "No! I need to can do it!".  Aaron is still more laid back and easy going and pretty much the model child :)  I can tell he'll have the witty sense of humor when he gets older.

The boys are constant entertainment.  They have their fair share of fighting already, but also love each other and wake up every morning talking to each other or singing with each other, and share the occasional unprompted "I love you brother" with a kiss.  They have their own funny conversations and are fun to just watch.

Other than monitoring William's eye, we have no preemie-related appointments in the future.  I'll update when I can to show their progress, or if anything new arises.

Happy New Year!

Bigger picture of the Little Men:

William & Aaron