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

Eight Eyes

Weight Check
William - 24lbs 2oz
Aaron - 24lbs 4oz

As expected, William now has glasses to help with his eye occasionally turning inward.  The technical term is intermittent esotropia, a form of strabismus.  His is neurological based and not vision related - his eyesight has actually slightly improved since the last visit, and he is just barely farsighted.  Because of his extreme prematurity and/or the brain bleeds, there are times when his brain isn't quite telling his eyes how to line up correctly. Luckily it's not constant, so his depth perception should be able to develop normally, although he is slightly behind Aaron in that area according to the ophthalmologist.  The glasses should help, but probably not fix, the issue.  At some point down the road we may discuss eye muscle surgery to correct it, which was mentioned previously by our pediatrician.  I waited to post this until the glasses were received, so that I could post adorable pictures of the boys in their glasses together...however, William will not yet wear them.  It took a good two months or so for Aaron to wear his consistently, so I expect it will take at least that long for William.

Other than that, no real news for the boys.  They are making great progress with speech.  William is putting two words together "not nice!" and Aaron is building up his vocabulary.  Our speech therapist believes he'll be caught up to the expectations for their actual age by age 2.  Developmental clinic was cancelled last month due to the late season snow storm and we're waiting to go back again until they're two.  I'll keep everyone posted with their progress...until next time, here are a bunch of pictures :)

William

Aaron

Aaron

Anna

Troublemakers

William...stealing Aaron's glasses

William, Allee, and Aaron

William

Aaron

William 

Aaron

19 Months - with a video!

19 Months

William – 23lbs 10oz

Aaron – 23lbs 2oz

(as of the middle of January)

The boys are growing and thriving.  We moved this month to Hanover, and needless to say, we’ve been busy!  It is quite an undertaking to move with three little kids.  We did finish unpacking the playroom and kids’ bedrooms first, so that they have safe places to go while we finish unpacking the rest.

Everything went well at their 18 month check-up earlier in January.  Our pediatrician is antsy for the boys to go back to the ophthalmologist – specifically William.  While he has the better eyesight, one eye at a time (usually the right, but not always) will occasionally turn in (strabismus).  With his slight farsightedness, this will happen because of difficulty transitioning from looking up close to far away.  I pointed this out to the eye doctor in the fall, but he didn’t notice it and told us to wait until the next appointment and see what happens. Our pediatrician believes he will need surgery to correct it.  From what I’ve researched, this surgery on the eye muscle is one of the most frequently performed eye surgeries and he would recover quickly.  While I, of course, don’t like the need for any surgery or pain inflicted on my kids, he will get it if he needs it. We’ll find out in March.  This really wasn’t a surprise, as you can tell even from some of the pictures I’ve posted on here that his eye will turn in slightly.  The boys have had colds/flu/stomach bugs all in the past month or two (as has the rest of the family) and I am looking forward to nicer weather and at least a week of a healthy house!  I am very thankful that we are still eligible for the Synagis vaccine, as I credit this for keeping them away from RSV.

With our jump into the next county, we have moved out of the service area of the Rural Infant Services Program, the early intervention branch that covers the Northern Neck area.  Hanover County, as with most in the Richmond metro area, has its own EI service, which is one of just two in Virginia that are provided through the school system.  The benefit of this is that the boys could fairly easily move into Hanover’s preschool program after they age out of EI, if services are still needed.  The team from Hanover assessed the boys last week and determined that as of right now… Mr. William has no need for services, but will remain under their observation.  He was a ham for the assessors and is really starting to progress nicely with language.  He will repeat many words and is very, very social.  He’s our rambunctious little wild and musical man J  Starting next week, Aaron will be receiving speech therapy twice a month.  He is starting to say more though, especially “Bye bye,” and school has heard him try to say “push” and “pull” (concepts they are working on there), which are new. He’s definitely behind William in the verbal arena, but he’s getting there.  Aaron is more of the cuddler, who wants to sit in your lap and look at books or play, and is usually the more easy going one. He’s also more sensitive and seems to get his feelings hurt more easily, especially if a toy is taken from him, or someone else is in mommy’s lap J

Are all boys born with an innate ability and desire to wrestle?  William is more of the instigator, but they will head butt each other and roll around each other bumping heads and laughing.  It’s really funny and cute to watch, especially when Aaron is receptive to it instead of whining and pushing him away J I’m so happy that they have each other, and Anna to keep them in line J

We have another developmental clinic in March, and the next eye doctor appointment as well.  I may not update anything until then just because there’s no “news”, so just know that they are (hopefully) happy and healthy until then!

Pictures

Aaron loved the snow!

William did not love the snow :)

William's "Cheese" face

Aaron

Aaron

William

William, Anna, and Aaron (taken in November)

William and Aaron (taken in November)

Video!

Be warned, this is about 6 minutes of craziness that only family and close friends may appreciate, taken right before we moved.  Although it ends with William in tears after falling on his bottom, no babies were harmed during filming of this video!