Return of the Slackers!

That's right, Meva and I have officially become slackers here on the blog! Meva doesn't really have time to do much contributing here and I've been devoting my free time to writing in other areas, so we haven't put much time into updates. So, what's been going on?

In a nutshell, not much at all. The biggest news we have concerns teeth. At this point Perrin has 6 of them, 4 on top and two on the bottom. Sarah still has her 4 and Ryan now has an amazing 5 teeth. I say it's an amazing 5 because unlike Perrin, his top 4 teeth are all in the front (incisors), Ryan has broken a molar on his left top side! I discovered that last night and when I told Meva I think she thought I was pulling her leg---until she felt it herself. Surprisingly the biting hasn't been bad at all, just the occasional chomp here and there, and nothing that's really aggressive.

On the mobility front, depending on the perspective, it's gotten worse and better. No one is walking fully on there own yet, but Sarah remains closest. She took three steps on her own yesterday! I got so excited trying to get Meva's attention so she could see it that I scared her and Perrin with my shouts! Meva worked really hard with both her and Ryan over the weekend, acting as a guide and having them walk around the house with her. I think I can see their improvements from just this! She's such an excellent mother and she really understands what the kids need and how to take care of them (although I fear we'll never agree on the whole heating of bottles issue!!!). Perrin still shows no interest in walking on his own. He will pull himself up and walk along a sofa or table, but that's only to further his mischief. Even when Meva tries guiding him like she does Ryan and Sarah, he refuses and just lets himself get dragged. I think once the others are walking, he'll join them quickly.

Despite no one walking, their ability to crawl all over the place and get into things we think are out of their reach, they are constantly showing us how dumb we both are. What makes matters worse is that they really do work as a team! We've seen them hold objects still so that one of the others can climb it and reach for something on a table or desk! Like I said, their mobility is both good and bad.

We had the kids all reassessed for developmental issues at the 1 year mark because of being premature at birth. They're really all doing well, with Ryan and Perrin having a few issues. Ryan's issues are just in his shoulders--the boy has big tight muscles! I know that might not sound like a problem, but because they are bigger he doesn't like to move his arms above his head. It becomes a real annoying struggle with him when we're changing his clothes and trying to put on or take off his shirts! He is going to be meeting with a therapist to help him learn to use those muscles correctly and increase his upper body flexibility. All in all it is my belief that this is a sure sign that the boy was born a warrior and destined to be an NFL linemen!!

Perrin's issues are a bit more complex and are going to require more work. It's nothing bad or dangerous, but the best way to describe it (I don't know the medical term for this) is to say he is sensitive, or that he has sensory issues. What this means is that he doesn't like strange or new stimulus, especially with his sense of taste and touch. Giving him a new food is stressful situation for him, double so if it involves a texture that isn't like what he's used to. Foods like peas or berries need to be well smashed or "hidden" in the other foods so that the texture isn't immediately obvious to him. Once that happens, we slowly remove the disguising food until he's only getting the new stuff with the strange texture or taste. After coming along slowly, he's usually safe and good to go. A therapist will be helping him and us discover better ways to transition him to new items and foods here in the future.

For the future I think it's safe to say that slowly but surely we are trying to get them out of the house more often so that they'll be used to going out and seeing people. It's been hard up to this point because of everything we would have to do to take them somewhere, but it really is becoming a bit easier as they get older. We have a hydrocephalus walk coming up in October that we'll be bringing the kids along on and I'd like to get them to the Zoo this year before the weather takes a turn, but until they are able to walk for themselves, it will still be a real challenge. The real goal for both Meva and I is to have them ready for winter so that we can take them sledding!