Happy Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed being visited by family since we still do not venture out during the winter months. Riley did enjoy eating ham and broccoli and cheese casserole. Maybe next year Carter will figure out what he has been missing. Carter's ear infection did clear up but he is getting three new teeth and not really lovin' it. He is not a real fussy baby but he does not like it when he doesn't feel up to par. Riley is crusin' around the living room holding on to furniture and i see him walking very soon. Not much else going on around here but here are things we are thankful for...

Carter & Riley are home and are healthly,
Having grandparents close by to help when we need a break or a hand,
That so many care about our family.

On a little side note, Kevin and I did manage to venture out on black friday for a little us time and we went to see Four Christmases. We thought it was funny even though the critics call it an airplane movie. To see the baby spit up on her is priceless and for once i can say - atleast it wasn't me this time.

And the Ears Have It

You always seem to know when your child gets ill. Last week, Carter just wasn't acting himself and looking pretty tired but his pain tolerance is so high that by the time you figure out something is wrong its way late. Well, instead of waiting around to figure out what was bothering carter I took him to the doctor. When he woke up Thursday, blood vessels in his eyes had burst and the inner part of his eye was red so i knew something was up and of course it was an ear infection. I would have never guessed that but at least we caught it before the weekend since he was not running a fever and when he does he does not fuss a whole lot. The last time he ran a fever of 101.9 and Carter was like "oh, i just don't feel good, am i really running a fever?" So atleast we caught it early and on the ever so fun anitbiotics for 10 days and hope it goes away. He does seem to follow the same pattern, don't feel good and begin calling momma all day long.

Riley is still teething but one of them came in and the other is on its way but the pain has subsided and he is back to his normal self - playing with all his toys and taking Carter's away from him. They are beginning to play with each other some and beginning to take notice of each other. I know one day I will be telling them to quit playing so rough with each other instead of the wishing I am doing now that they will begin to play together. Someday.

Life in a Fish Bowl

Ever feel like you are a fish in bowl trying to get to the ocean and you just keep swimming around in circles? Well somedays, i feel like i am in a fish bowl just waiting to get to the next step but it never happens. Oh well...

Things have been busy around here. Trying to keep well, Trying to get Carter to eat, Trying to keep Riley from falling flat on his face etc. etc.

As of this week Riley is 18 lb 4oz and Carter is 19 lb and 5 oz. We are making progress everyday and always wanting more. Riley is eating new foods everyday and somedays they are great and somedays not so great. We still have to keep his food pretty mushy since he still has not figured out the whole I have to chew it up to swallow it or I'll choke thing but it gets better daily. He does love to eat cheerios and gold fish but we do have to break them up or he will choke on them. He is getting 2 more teeth and not really enjoying the getting part. I guess i should be relieved that 2 of them are coming in at the same time but he is miserable, his mouth hurts and he lets everyone know about it - daily. His other favorites are yo-baby yogurt, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. Riley is pulling up to everything and holding on t0 things with one or two hands depending upon which toys are around and what he wants to hold. After a week of falling over and over he learned how to get from the standing to sitting position without falling. It won't be long before we see him walk across the floor and into everything - like he isn't already.

Carter is doing very well. I thought we would never see the day when he would want to roll everywhere to get to a toy but over the last two weeks or so, he has been rolling around on the floor and actually propping himself up on his arms. WooHoo! This is a major milestone for Carter since he really has no upper body strength since tummy time was not a favorite for him and getting him upset while trying to do it was not ideal since he did have an NG tube at the time. He also holds himself up at a standing position but has not fully grasped the if i let I will fall issue so I still have to catch him when he lets go. We did go to a feeding clinic in October to help us will issues to teach Carter how to eat. Some of the ideas we came away with actually helped us with Riley more than Carter but we do have a plan of attack. On October 26, I did get Carter to eat about an ounce of yogurt and drink from his honey bear bottle. He did not actually drink himself but the bottle allows me to squirt small amounts of liquid in his mouth to swallow. The other day I i saw him actually put his lips around the straw. Now the issue, drink from the straw. Carter still does not eat a whole lot just bits and pieces here and there but we are making progress and he is not gagging everytime we put something in his mouth. We did increase his bolus feeds a little and he is tolerating it well. Maybe another increase is in order but we will hold the same pattern for now. Here is a pic of Carter laughing. He doesn't laugh as much as Riley does so when he does do it, it is so adorable.

On October 20th, the boys got their first haircut. My hairdresser was so nice to come out to our home and cut their hair. What a lifesaver! Thank you ever so much for taking the time to fix their do! here are a few pics.

Riley

Carter

together