Almost 10!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted!  Time has flown again and William and Aaron are in 4th grade now and doing great.  They're sweet and smart boys with big (and different) personalities.  William is a super caring people-pleaser who works hard and will be prepared for real life someday.  He wants to do, and does, anything we are doing, from making dinner to fixing cars.  Aaron is a detail-oriented and chatty future engineer who loves Legos and Star Wars and especially the two of those combined.  

Health updates:  They really have no major lasting effects from prematurity and there hasn't been much to update in that respect.  Since the last post, William did start patching his left eye for two hours a day to help with the strabismus and he has stopped as of January.  We've had multiple opinions and the strabismus is not a good candidate for surgery.  Right now his vision is 20/25 with glasses on, which will, unfortunately, prevent his future military pilot goals but ultimately shouldn't have an impact on his daily life.  Both boys are in bifocals now and want contacts - we have an appointment next month to try them.  Hopefully it works out as I think they will be better for sports.  

We don't share a lot of daily life details on social media - we mainly use it to share pictures of the kids.  I had started this blog to share updates about the boys due to their early birth and all of the medical issues - without many medical updates, there hasn't really been anything newsworthy to post.  

So, why am I posting now???  Because William wants me to post! He knows his birth story and wanted to read the blog.  He started reading it a while ago but hadn't finished it - he has spent his free time over the past week reading the blog posts from beginning to end. Tonight when it was time to read for bedtime, I found him with the computer on his lap, blog pulled up - and writing his own post.  He found the edit button and started to update it himself! I let him finish what he was writing and Aaron added a bit as well (with William jumping back in).  They also figured out how to add pictures from Google. I have not changed a thing from what they wrote below except to block out a face from one of the pictures that Aaron had selected.  I let them know I would be adding an intro and then publishing tonight.  I hope you get a kick out of their updates like I did :)

Updates from William & Aaron are below! 

This is William and I know I have never posted and you might not read this but I want to say thanks for the comments and stuff they're nice and I'm doing fine. That was probably a run-on sentence but who cares. I have to get this approved by mom. Also, she is an awesome mom for doing this blog. I know she was just finding a way to tell people because it was hard for her to tell people. Here's a picture of me and my mom at the Jefferson in Richmond. I can do links.... with the help of mom. Within the past week, I read the entire blog I finished today. We got the game Life from the Easter bunny. I am doing virtual school I go back in the fall. It was Anna's birthday on the 15th, she is 13, wow. My birthday is in 67 days I have to go to bed now bye!!!! 

Hi this Aaron and I am doing good. I have read most of the blog too but not all of it. I will also put so pictures of Allee and my family. Now, this is what William wants me to type:  Hi I also have a hamster that I got in September named Lucas. I will also post pics of Lucas too. That is what William wanted me to type. Now back to me, I will post lots of pictures of us so you get an update.

Lucas!!!!

                                                                                 FYI Anna's best friend is right beside Anna

5.5 Year-olds, Kindergarten, and Happy New Year!

5 Year Update

William and Aaron are great!  I haven't posted an update in a while, so I thought I'd share a bit for anyone that doesn't see them on Facebook, or has found this blog through the preemie community.

William is a few pounds heavier than Aaron (45/42lbs-ish), but they're now about the same height again (William may have a slight edge, we haven't had official measurements in a while).  They're both right under 45 inches...moving up in the world!

We've been released from all doctors now except our regular pediatrician, ophthalmologist, and dentist.  All is fine on each of those fronts.  Outside of the NICU and early days, we've been blessed with 3 pretty healthy kids.  Aaron's eyesight continues to improve.  His prescription for near-nearsightedness has become weaker every visit, which is great.  William, however, is becoming more farsighted, so we're on a 6 month visit scheduled for him.  His glasses correct his strabismus, and it's much less noticeable now with them off, but we may end up discussing patching again at his appointment next month.  If he does need it, hopefully he will view it as a pirate costume and not an annoyance!  Big sister Anna started her orthodontic journey this summer, with a palate expander and braces.  William and Aaron will likely follow the same path in a few years.  Aaron especially has a high and narrow palate, which was probably increased by intubation and not solely due to (my side of the family) genetics.

Regarding their personalities - most of what I posted when they were 4 is still valid :) They are both in-your-face energetic and social little guys with an insatiable curiosity for the world and 9000 questions all day long.  They've continued to play soccer the past few seasons, and William is enjoying it more.  He did try a dance class over the summer, but was intimidated by the little ladies in the lesson and did not want to go back :)  Aaron still loves soccer and is very competitive.  William is his biggest supporter, although he did get a few goals of his own this year, which was fun :)  We'll keep playing soccer until they express interest in something else.

Aaron is our future engineer.  He is very creative with his Legos and builds his own awesome vehicles and houses with no desire for assistance.  While Aaron is very affectionate, and Anna is also very sweet, William is the all around sweetest of all three kids.  He says "I love you" all the time without prompting, and gives little gems at bedtime like "Mommy, I'm going to hold your kisses in my heart so that you're with me forever".  Some of the sayings that he comes up with make me laugh and melt at the same time. Anna and Aaron are both more independent.  William wants to be with us, or with a sibling, most of the time, and wants to be involved with whatever we're doing, including cooking or folding clothes, so he's a great helper.

We did start them in Kindergarten this year, based on their June birthday.  I know the trend these days is to give boys an extra year at home, but we felt that the right decision for us was to start them with their peers from preschool.  We got lucky with a teacher who is very hands-on and activity based, and they love her.  They're not at the head of the class but they met their fall benchmarks, and hopefully they will meet the spring benchmarks as well. I do worry a little, because I'm a worrier, but they've come a long way.

For anyone reading this whose baby has IVH, especially grade IV, I hope this is helpful.  All journeys are different.  Ours has been a fairly smooth one, and for that we are very thankful.

A couple of pictures

Spring 2016 Cowboys - Aaron on horse, William standing

Aaron's Fall Picture 2016

William's Fall Picture 2016

Christmas 2016 - Aaron, Anna, William

4 year-olds!

The boys turned 4 at the end of June and they are GREAT.  They have so much personality and they're turning into little boys and definitely not toddlers anymore.

In the past year, we've had eye doctor, dentist, and ENT appointments, but nothing super out of the ordinary.  They did fail a hearing test early this year, which they have always passed in the past - Aaron had fluid in his ears, and William's ear drums were retracted, so the doctor suggested that another set of tubes would fix the issue for both of them, and we agreed to the surgery.  They also had their adenoids removed.  I had put off another set of tubes last year because I just didn't see a need for them at the time, but the failed hearing tests changed that mindset.  The surgery and recovery were successful (but man did William wake up from the anesthesia fighting!  He reminded me of his big sister after her first set of tubes...not fun!)  They'll get another hearing test later this year, but we don't notice any issues with their hearing.

William is still ever so slightly bigger than Aaron - he's about 41 inches and Aaron is maybe 1/4 inch shorter.  William is also a few pounds heavier at around 38lbs vs 35, but Aaron usually eats more :)  They are both potty trained as of last fall.  It was definitely a different experience than with Anna, lots of accidents for them, but eventually it did happen :)  William still wears a pull-up at night because he sleeps so soundly, but I don't think that will last forever either.

The boys are both hams.  They both loves cars and trucks and being outside.  Aaron is generally happy-go-lucky and really Mr. Personality when you get him talking - he's super animated and with his facial expressions sometimes it's like he's really smug (in a cute funny way, not annoying, haha) about what he's saying.  He has the longer attention span and will sit down to try to work a puzzle, and I can see him being more interested in the way things work.  He enjoys the roller coaster type rides at amusement parks, but won't do the one that is darker a littler scarier.  William is the opposite - he likes the scarier ride because it's smooth, but isn't a huge fan of the bumpier/slightly more thrilling rides.  Aaron also has the hotter temper of the two, and is a little more assertive and physical - I also see a future in wrestling!  Oh, and he can ride a bike with training wheels!  We wanted to get both of the boys bikes for their birthday, and took them to the store to pick them out.  Aaron was really excited and hopped right on one and took off down the aisles in the store.  He didn't want to get off of it, we had to pull him off crying in order to get it to the parking lot :) William, on the other hand, ended up with a scooter- he couldn't quite get the turning of the pedals, and wanted nothing to do with it.  He'll let us know when he's ready.

William has a great imagination and makes up stories and songs.  He is very eager to please and is the more sensitive of the two - he has two baby dolls that are his grandsons and he takes care of them, which is cute.  Speaking of his grandsons - William has an imaginary grandson.  Not an imaginary "friend" but specifically his grandson, and his name is Mike, and he lives down the road from my parents.  Mike is generally around somewhere.  William is generally the more daring/impulsive of the two (he's the one I see climbing up the fireplace and trying to fly off one day), and also can be the grumpier one :)  The boys really are best buddies.  They look for each other at home, they play with each other, they are constant sources of entertainment to us and each other.  They're not perfect and they fight sometimes, but generally speaking it's a really great relationship that I hope continues between them for ...eternity.

They are doing soccer in the fall.  We signed them up last fall, and Aaron showed a lot of interest.  William was more interested in sitting on the sideline and eating snacks, haha.  We'll try again this year and see how they like it.  William has expressed an interest in taking dance like big sis, but I don't think he would actually stay in the room the whole time for the lesson.  If he's still interested next year, I'll sign him up if there's a class he can take at the same time as one of Anna's classes...managing activities for 3 kids and jobs for 2 adults is quite the juggling act.

Our goal for this year is to get them ready for Kindergarten in 2016.  They will be on the young side for their grade, with their birthday in June (and due date in October, which would have been past the cut-off date for next year), but we do think they will be ready to start.  Socially, they're ready.  We talk about school, they're ready to ride the bus, they are VERY social, communicate well, etc.  I do have some concerns about attention span and sitting still, but we'll see how this year of preschool goes.  They know all of their shapes and colors, can count, can spell their names, recognize most letters (for me, anyway...apparently they don't always want to cooperate with their teacher, but we are hoping that more days of preschool for the upcoming year will help with this).  My friend's son who attends preschool with them can spell all of the days of the week (pretty awesome for a young 4 year-old)...I asked my boys if they can do that too, as they had never mentioned this at home, and William can in fact spell "Wednesday" (of all of the days of the week, that's the one he can spell!).  So, they're learning!  We read together every night, and they love books.  

We are going to Orlando for vacation in a few weeks, and will take the boys to Disney to see Mickey (they are really excited) and Anna to Universal to see Harry Potter and Hogwarts and Diagon Alley (she has started the 3rd book and is very into Harry right now...I'll be honest, I'm excited about that part too, haha).  I need to put the boys in shoes with good thick soles and fluff their hair so they can meet the 42 inch minimum for a bunch of the rides ;)

I think that's all to catch up on for the past year :)  Really, the boys are doing great.   Generally, we're not very public with personal info on social media, except sharing pictures, so my goal with keeping this blog updated is to provide inspiration for other families facing some of the same things we did in the NICU.  There is a light and a world at the end of the tunnel :) 

Pictures/Videos

Disclaimer:  Ignore any messy rooms, unfolded laundry, etc...life is always in progress! 

Hopefully these links work!

Here's their performance from last night, it's goofy, their new song is "I love my meatballs".  I'd shorten the video if I had time, as probably the first minute is sufficient...William does mention his grandson:  https://goo.gl/photos/N2wcUuLwgHAvnnEM8

This one is from earlier in July, when Aaron caught his first fish and I was trying to get him on camera saying how big it was (true fisherman! I asked him and his immediate response was "This big" as he spread his arms out all the way):  https://goo.gl/photos/QLUKK8npkWxXX7Rh8

Here's Aaron riding the bike for the first time (and William not that excited, haha):  https://goo.gl/photos/Pq9AhnhNFNSA76TH8

I posted this one on Facebook back in March of the boys being hams, but it's cute:  https://goo.gl/photos/9eaWZCw9MShtpUEaA

This one is also several months old from March, but it's a (long) 8 minute video of Aaron "reading" one of his books at bedtime, and William mostly patiently waiting for his turn.  It's not super "cute" or funny but does show how well they're doing!:  https://goo.gl/photos/wtC8k38f7u6b5CQK6

Tennessee Aquarium

William

William, movie star

Aaron & William

Aaron, fisherman

Aaron & William, playing together before bed

Aaron

Aaron excited about his cupcake

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

2 Years Adjusted!

 Weight Check
Both boys are around 28 lbs

Updates
The boys were due October 5, 2011...we've come a long way since then.

The only doctors' appointments we've had since the last post were the neurologist and the ophthalmologist.    The neurologist spent time with both boys and was not concerned with development for either of them :)  At the last visit, he still saw the Babinski sign with Aaron, which is a potential indicator of upstream neurological issues when still present after age two.  Aaron is now two...and it is gone.  The doctor did talk to us about an increased risk for ADHD when they are older and a few other general preemie potential issues, but didn't see any indicators currently.  As a result...we have been released from yet another specialist :)

Aaron's vision is holding steady at a very strong near-sighted prescription.  He does really well with his glasses and asks for them when they aren't on.  The eye doctor didn't see a need for action right now with William's strabismus.  His right eye does turn in frequently, but he still didn't see it during the appointment and wanted to see if the glasses have any effect.  William is wearing his glasses on a regular basis now (finally), and also asks for them when they are off.  For the most part, his eyes are straight when he is wearing them.  I do still see the turning in enough to foresee that some action - whether it's surgery, patching, or eye drops - will be in his future, but we're not quite there yet.

The developmental therapist through Early Intervention is still seeing the boys once a month.  Their yearly evaluation is in progress now, and it looks like we may just be monitored going forward, but we'll find out next month.  I don't want their services to be completely dropped just in case something comes up, but it does feel good to know that they are meeting all milestones of a full-term two year old.

Personality

No personality changes since the last post :)  Aaron is still the more laid back of the two (actually, of all three), and William is the more excitable.  Here are a few cute stories....

Within the last month William has really started to conversate- he has full sentences, not always grammatically correct, and most of which start with "I want":  I want more milk please mommy, I want scoot up please, I want more crackers please, I want, I want, I want!  At least he's polite about it :)   He also sings - he will repeat choruses of songs and sings "Elmo and I know it!".  I sang "Jesus Loves Me" to the boys last week for the first time in a long while, and he became very excited and made the sign for Bible and sang "Bible" and "Me! Me! Me!" along with me.  I'm not sure if they are singing it to him in Sunday School or daycare, but it was super cute.  William is also Mr. Helpful - if there's something he thinks he can do for you, he'll do it.  This is more information that I need to share on the internet, but I'll share anyway because I think it's funny - if I say I need to go to the bathroom he gets excited and will walk me in there, try to pull down my pants, hand me toilet paper, flush the toilet, and then will pull out the stool to the sink and wash his own hands.  We're not officially potty training yet but trying to give them exposure...he's not interested in doing it himself, but he understands the process, haha.  He also tries to wipe Aaron's nose and change his diaper.  William is also very loving.  Anna started Kindergarten last month, and he yells after the bus "I love you, Anna!" after she leaves every morning.  When he's in a good mood, he's great entertainment.

Aaron is definitely quieter, but he's more of the thinker.  He seems to grasp and verbalize concepts faster than William even though he's not stringing the thoughts together in sentences the same way.  He does have a few 3 word sentences like "I'll get it" and definitely has the vocabulary for things, he just isn't as vocal.  He has the sweetest smile and really is generally an all around good kid who is easy to parent.  The only thing that really makes him angry is when someone else has something that he wants :)  The kids all have personalized place mats for the table, which are exactly the same except for the names.  The other day, William brought Anna's place mat to his spot and put it under his bowl and cup that were already on the table.  Aaron took one look at it, shook his head and got upset and pointed at Anna - "No, Anna's!  Anna's!".  He's so smart :)  Also, we almost always grace before dinner at home, but one night when Stephen wasn't home I forgot...Aaron reached his hand out to me and it took me a second to realize he was saying "Amen? Amen?" reminding me to say the blessing...also super cute.

They are definitely interacting more with each other, and with Anna, these days.  I watched the boys have a whole conversation with each other tonight that consisted mostly of random thoughts like "Anna, bus!" and "No more! All gone!" but they seemed to be enjoying the talk.  They like to do things together around the house....like rearrange furniture and push the kitchen chairs across the room, sneak into the office and take all of the books off the bottom shelf and then look angelic when they tell me they're reading, open the few cabinets to which we allow them access and pull out every single thing in them....life with two two year-olds is fun!  It actually is more fun now to be able to take them more places.  They require an adult per kid just because they refuse to sit in the stroller and both are always on the move, usually in opposite directions when we're out and about.  We have a busy fall - we've been to the State Fair, Field Days of the Past, Touch-a-Truck, and a reunion, all within the past month...and have the pumpkin patch, their great-grandma's 100th birthday party, and hopefully a few other things in October....very busy!  Because of that, and because I don't foresee any need for any type of developmental update, it'll be a few months before I update again.

Pictures
Mostly random pictures taken within the last few months

What does the fox say, William?

Aaron gives the firefighter statue a hug.

Aaron & William

Aaron, our hired lawn help

Aaron & William

Anna - the obligatory Kindergarten 1st day photo!

William & Aaron

Cookie Monsters, William & Aaron

William & Aaron, waiting to walk Anna to the bus stop

William wearing my jacket

Almost Two!

Weight check
Both boys are about 25.5 lbs

Developmental Clinic
The boys missed their appointment in March due to a snowstorm, so we were curious as to what the clinic would think of their progress.  To be honest, this appointment is not one we enjoy.  It's tough to watch people who don't know your kids judge their development in a purely clinical setting - sitting in just their diapers in a cold highchair, being asked by strangers to respond to commands.  At this appointment, in typical toddler fashion, Aaron would laugh, shake his head, and just say "no!" to easy questions from the speech therapist that I knew he could answer.  Thankfully, he warmed up after a while and proved that he can, in fact, talk.  After each met with the pediatrician, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and almost with a dentist until we told him they have already been to the dentist twice, we were cleared to go- for good.  I don't have the detailed assessment yet, but they both tested between 20 and 23 months for everything, which is perfect and amazing and awesome.

In related news, Aaron no longer qualifies to receive speech therapy - his vocabulary is exploding daily.  Both boys will be monitored by early intervention monthly, but no services are needed at this time. Yay :)

Personality
For two little boys who look a lot alike (at least to people outside of the family), they are very different. Aaron is much more even tempered, laid back, and easy going.  He is generally happy and easy to please...unless someone has something or someone that he wants.  His little temper will flare quickly and often results in biting, which we are trying to stop.  His attention span lasts longer than William's, and he loves to sit in your lap and read.  He's also fascinated with anything with a wheel, and we foresee hiding the keys when his legs are longer so that the car doesn't disappear in the middle of the night :) You can tell he is always thinking about things and figuring them out.  Don't get me wrong, I love all three kids the same, but I'd consider having more if they were all like him.

William, on the other hand, is the more demanding and harder to entertain.  He reacts more instinctively- if he's hungry, tired, bored, or frustrated, he is quick to let you know and will keep letting you know until you fix the issue.  Like his sister did when she was younger (and actually, he's a lot like Anna was at that age), he will bang his head on the floor when he's mad.  He seems to be getting over that phase, which his forehead appreciates.  When he's happy, though, he's super fun and energetic and loves music and dancing.  He's also the sweetest, cuddliest, and the first to share.  When we were at the Children's Museum a few weeks ago, he grabbed two baskets from the apple picking area and handed one to me.  I started to put it back, and he told me "No!", grabbed it back,  and walked it over to his brother so they could both use one in the rocks.  I love the kindness.  He has also just started to say "I'm nice!" which is really cute and funny.  He is starting to wear his glasses more, but I still have a feeling he will need the surgery to correct the right eye crossing inward.  His next eye doctor appointment is in a few weeks, so we may know more then.

They turn two in less than two weeks, which is hard to believe!

A few pictures...in no particular order, as Blogger isn't letting me rearrange them at the moment :)

William

Aaron

William

Aaron & William

William, Anna, Aaron

The baskets - William, Grandpa, Aaron

Aaron