Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN!

Charlie was not happy about getting dressed up....and Christian just wanted to steal his Nuk

Christian is always happy...One of our little pea pods

Charlie, another pea pod

Our little pea pods!!

Easton, the farmer, who tends to the pea pods

First Halloween out trick and treating

Happy Halloween from the Kings!

Extra Caution

Not much is new in the last week or so, but here's an update anyway.  We are all doing well and trying our best to stay healthy.  We all battled colds for the past week and prayed it wouldn't turn into anything nasty for the little ones.  We are dreading the cold/flu season since it can mean terrible things for the little boys.  A simple cold could turn into something more serious in a blink of an eye and could lead to medications or even hospitalization for these preemies.  We're counting our blessings that they've done so well since being born and haven't encountered anything too serious so far.  Needless to say, we're becoming extra cautious and limiting their exposure to too many people, places or things.  We're washing our hands to the point of extreme dryness just to make sure we aren't passing too many yuckiness to them.  We know some of the other babies that were in the NICU with them that have already been sick this fall and we're just in the start of the cold/flu season.  They already had a struggle at the beginning of their lives just to live, we'd hate to see them struggle with something so unnecessary and something so aviodable. So, this means that if you're feeling under the weather or if you've even been exposed to someone who has been sick, we're going to ask that you refrain from coming to our house until you feel better.  Thank you.

Other than all that.....
Easton is a rockin' and a rollin' with new words and talking up a storm.  He is loving his little brothers and loves to make them laugh and smile.  It's actually very sweet to watch them interact with one another.

Christian is a movin' and a shakin' with his rolling and can be across the room in a blink of an eye.  We've also noticed him trying to get his knees underneath him, but I'm sure crawling is still a ways out.  But we'll be working towards it!  While Christian and Charlie had their colds, I took them in to see their pediatrician just to have them checked over, have their lungs listened too...ya know, just in case.  At that visit a week or so ago Christian weighed a whopping 14lbs!  He's doing great!

Charlie was also seen at the same appointment Christian was and weighed 9lbs. 12oz.  So very close to 10lbs!  He's working so hard to gain weight and just grow, but dong a good job of it.  He's also working hard each day to work on his rolling, and doing a wonderful job, I might add.  And some big news.....Charlie ate some oatmeal cereal yesterday and liked it!  Here's hoping to a little bit of solid food here and there to add more calories and hopefully cut down on that darn acid reflux.

All in all we're doing pretty good.  Gearing up for Halloween next week!  Stay tuned for some pictures!

8 MONTHS OLD!!

Yep, that's right....our littlest men are 8 months old on Monday!  Corrected age is 5 months Tuesday.  They are getting big so fast and learning so many new things these days.  Christian is rolling around like a little rolling pin it almost seems like he'll be crawling in no time.  Charlie is working so hard on growing but is also enjoying learning to roll around and getting to be a pro at grabbing things.  He loves to grab your face when your talking with him closely.  So what did we do to celebrate 8 months old?


We made crowns for our little kings....

Christian

Charlie...He's trying to grab the camera

Our little kings together.  Please disregard the poor condition of Christian's crown.  He decided to eat it after the first few pictures.

Charlie's showing that beautiful smile more and more these days

And we couldn't leave Easton out of the crown-making fun!  Yes, he decorated his own crown.  And please ignore the fact that he had stuck the marker in his mouth.  You'll be relieved to know that they were washable, non-toxic markers!

We couldn't leave dad out of all the fun.  After the crowns were made, Easton and dad had a coloring contest.  I wonder how long it's been since dad has colored with crayons?

Funny Story

I have to share a funny story.  And it's not really the story that's so funny, but the picture that was taken.    Now, I want you to imagine this before you see the picture.  Imagine in your mind that you're at our house.  It's about 9:00pm and the household is settling down for the night.  Easton is in bed fast asleep and Tyler and I are working on getting Christian and Charlie down for the night.  Christian and Charlie have been fed but they're still awake, laying in their bed trying to get themselves to sleep.  Picture in your mind that Tyler and I are trying to pick up the house a bit before we go to bed.  Tyler is writing out some bills, I'm putting toys away, washing bottles, wiping off counters, etc.  Christian and Charlie are very tired and I know they'll fall asleep soon, but they just can't seem to settle in.  There's a lot of grunting and groaning going on and Charlie is fussing on and off.  Tyler and I continue what we're doing, trying to let the boys do their own thing and get themselves to sleep.  All of a sudden, Charlie lets out a high pitched wail/scream and continues to cry.  I'm thinking he must not be able to settle in on his own tonight.   Picture in your mind what you think must be going on in that crib....

I know having 3 boys is going to be an adventure.  I know as they grow together there will be some arguments, some pushing, shoving and fights.  I know there will be tears but also laughter.  Between brotherly arguments I'm hoping they'll find time to be friends and have fun together.  I can already see these boys of mine are mischievous....all 3 of them.  But it's always the quiet one you need to keep a close eye on..........

When I went to see what was going on I couldn't help but laugh.  Yes, it's the quiet one you need to watch out for.  And doesn't Christian look much too pleased with himself?  That's because he not only stole Charlie's nuk, but the blanket on the other side of Christian...yes, that's Charlie's too.  Christian thought this was so funny and laughed as I gave Charlie back his nuk and blanket.
Silly boys.

NICU Follow Up Clinic

Charlie had another visit to the NICU clinic today.  3 months ago when he and Christian originally went to the clinic the doctors had some concerns about Charlie.  1. his poor weight gain and not eating much and 2. his stiffening of his entire body as well as stiff hips.  Since that initial appointment Charlie has done a lot of hard work to show the doctors what he can do.  He's gone to physical therapy (PT) once a month and also worked on his PT daily at home, sometimes as much as 3 times a day.  He's switched his formula to soy formula and experimented with 24, 26, and even 28 calories.  Only to find out that he absolutely hates higher calorie and will not eat if its anything above 24cal.  This is a lot of work for one little boy, but Charlie has proven to be one tough stud.

At today's appointment he is 9.13lbs. (up from 7.4lbs 3 months ago).  His weight gain is still slow, but at this point, what can you do....the kid eats and his head and length is still growing.  He's also had many blood tests and seen different doctors only for them to tell us he's a healthy kid.  So, at this appointment Charlie wowed the doctors with his dashing good looks and devastatingly handsome smile.  He also showed them that his hard work has paid off.  He can roll over, is awesome at tummy time and has some major pipes from pushing himself up on his forearms during tummy time. His head control is great as is his strength in his trunk and the doctors couldn't believe how well he can sit (supported of course) but sit without flailing around and falling over.  He showed them how good he has gotten at grabbing items and putting things to his mouth.  He has really good tracking and attention to things and has become so much more vocal.  He's able to play for small periods of time without screaming for constant attention.  All in all, Charlie is exactly where he should be developmentally, if not, above the curve!

Both Charlie and Christian will have another NICU follow up appointment in January and I'm sure they'll both impress the doctors beyond possibility.