Walkers

We officially have two toddlers in our house. On Sunday Jack started walking; it was like he looked at Harper and said "hmm...I think I'll do that today" and then he just pulled up and walked. Jack walks slowly and deliberately while little sister Harper zips around walking from one side of the room to the next. Harper is now learning to navigate around objects, slow her speed when she gets going too quickly, and yesterday, she picked up a stuffed dog and carried it with her as she walked one side of the room to the other. I am so proud of these two little ones, both moving at their own speed, both reaching their goals, both becoming walkers by their "first year" (adjusted age).

I decided this week that I needed to take some shots of H & J playing so I can remember what these days are like. I recently read a blog about slowing down life and enjoying the moments to fully appreciate all that you have. I think taking these pictures has forced me to put down the iPhone, take my eyes off the tv, abandon the grading, laundry, other numerous chores, and really spend time appreciating the kids at play. So, here are some pictures of the kiddos- enjoy!

 

 

 

A Letter to My Son, One Year After the NICU

Jack,

One year ago yesterday you came home from the hospital. You spent 54 days growing and getting big and strong, and then your dad and I hoisted you upon our shoulders and welcomed you home.  We celebrated your first birthday in December, but February 22^nd was the day you began your life at home with us- a day to be celebrated.

 

Jack, you have learned so many things in the past year: you crawl like a champ, feed yourself, dance, and laugh; you said your first word, and this morning, we watched you string together your first steps and really, truly walk for the first time. You were skeptical how this walking might work, and you took your steps cautiously, but soon you were grinning ear to ear and you were so proud of yourself when you reached your destination.

Your steps this morning were very much like the steps we took together a year ago. Your dad and I were skeptical- we had no idea what life would be like outside of the NICU; we were cautious- I would’ve held you every moment if I could’ve; I didn’t want anything to happen to you; and we were grinning ear to ear- you were such a little man and you worked so hard to get home, and we were thrilled to have you. We are so proud of all you have accomplished.

This year you have filled my heart with such joy and wonder and happiness. I never knew if I would get to see the world through the eyes of a child, but you and your sister, you show your dad and I things in a whole new way. I love to wake up to your smile every morning when I pick you up from your crib; even if you’re cranky, you always give me a smile. I love that something tickles your funny bone and you laugh at silly things- really belly laugh. I love that you give slobbery open-mouthed kisses, and clutch onto the neck of my shirt when I hold you, and play with my fingers when we read books, or sit and have quiet time. I love that you will rest your head on my shoulder, or wrap your fingers around mine, or snuggle into my lap. I love that you love spending time with me.

I love that you are my son. I love that God blessed my life with yours. You are the boy who made me a mommy- my first born- my only son- my little man. A year ago today I was overwhelmed and worried that I would not be a good enough mommy to you. Sitting here a year later, I still pray that God will mold me into the mother that you need me to be; that He will grant me patience, understanding, wisdom, compassion, and strength.

I pray that God will guide you in all that you do and you will learn to walk in His ways, because even now, little one, I know that all my days with you are preparing you for days when you won’t need me. Wow, that put a lump in my throat. How in the world am I ever going to understand a time when you don’t need me? Thankfully, that will be years from now. I can already see that emerging young man- that little tiny bundle that we hustled to the car a year ago isn’t tiny anymore.

Jackman, I am so amazed at the little boy that you are becoming and I know that we are in for many more adventures. Always remember that you are a miracle kiddo- I can’t wait to see what you learn next.

I love you,

Momma

Mid-Week Office Visit

This week has been a good week in the Collett household. The weather has been nice, we've enjoyed two wagon rides already (and it's only Wednesday), and today I got a rare treat- I got to spend the day with the kids while Durinda took off. 

The kids slept in a little bit this morning and woke up with smiles on their faces and we played until breakfast; it sure beat running out the door to make it to my 8am class. Because the kids slept in, Tony didn't get to see them before he left for work, so the kids and I decided to go meet him for lunch. I explained to the kids that we were going to see Daddy's new office and I put them in some nice clothes and they were excited; Harper kept squealing when I would say "we're going to see Daddy!" 

The kids did a great job at lunch and tried everything we put in front of them. After lunch we went to Tony's office and checked out his new place. The kids really enjoyed looking out the window (floor to ceiling windows made them very happy), and playing on Tony's computer; Jack even added a meeting to Tony's calendar (whoops!). 

I feel so blessed to be able to spend the day with the kids; it was the recharge that I needed to be able to head back to work and finish out this grading period. It seems like the days in February and early March drag until Spring Break gets here. I can't wait to have a whole week off with these little ones!

Valentine's Day, Developmental Specialists, and First Words

As you know, Friday was our date with the developmental specialist. This is a doctor that we had to promise we would take the twins to see in order for them to be released from the NICU. We have been to see this doctor (actually we see the NP and then the doctor comes in if there's something "wrong") four times in a year. The first time I went to the office, Harper wasn't eating and they are the ones who classified her as "failure to thrive" and got the ball rolling on getting Harper some much needed help. The second time we went to their office, both kids got a great report and we didn't even see the doctor (Harper was eating and growing by then). The third time we went, Tony came with me and we saw the doctor because Harper's head was "alarmingly large". When we went to see the developmental specialist on Friday, we ended up seeing the doctor- UGH.  First, let's do the run down and you can see how the kids are growing and stacking up:

Jack:
Gross Motor Skills- 12 months
Cognitive Skills- 13 months
Receptive Language- 10 months
Fine Motor Skills- 13 1/2 months

Weight- 20 lbs (25-50% chronologic age)
Length- 28 3/4 inches (5%)
Head Circumference- 47 1/2cm (75-90%)


Jack did great with his evaluation and played with all the toys. The NP did give the kids a couple of things that we were surprised to see like crayons (how were they supposed to know to color with crayons? We would never give them crayons because they would just try and eat them). Jack's shining moment was figuring out how to retrieve a red block from behind a piece of plexi-glass.


Harper:
Gross Motor Skills- 12 months
Cognitive Skills- 12 months
Receptive Language- 11 1/2 months
Fine Motor Skills- 12 months
Expressive Language- 11 months

Weight- 16 lbs, 12 oz. (5-10% chronologic age- woo hoo!!)
Length- 27 1/4 inches (5-10% adjusted age)
Head Circumference 95% (chronologic age)

Harper also did great with her evaluation and playing. Her shining moment was when the NP pulled out a piece of paper with four different black and white pictures on it. She asked Harper "where is the dog" and Harper pointed to the dog immediately; she then followed up with "where is the shoe" and Harper was quick to point that out too.

Here's where the appointment went down the drain: Harper's head is still big- very big- for her age. The doctor is worried that she might have hydrocephalus despite the fact that she has no symptoms aside from a large noggin', and despite the fact that literally EVERY person that is genetically a Collett that I can recall meeting also seems to have a giant head (no offense Colletts, I'm just trying to prove a point here). So, we are now on "soft spot watch" to see if Harper's soft spot starts bulging and if her head is still growing so this rapidly in August, then we'll be referred for a CT scan (which involves putting her under to get the scan- we are not a fan of this idea).  The other thing that the doctor is worried about is that Harper is not going to do well when we try to wean her off of her bottles. She said that it's taken Harper so long to grow that she's worried she won't eat enough calories without her bottles and will start losing weight. This thought had crossed my mind when the pediatrician told us not to worry about her bottle eating anymore and told us to focus instead on her table food selections. Hearing the specialist say that she's worried about Harper's potential lack of calories in the future made me want to cry. I feel like we have worried about what that girl has eaten since the moment she took her first breath; we were just getting used to the idea that we wouldn't have to monitor every little thing she eats, but now I feel like we're going to have to go back to writing down how much she eats and calculating calories (something that I think will make me go insane). Please pray that the weaning process goes smoothly and we don't have to take drastic measures (thankfully we have until the end of April to get that done).

Needless to say, Tony and I were both exhausted when we left the doctor's on Friday (the appointment was at 2 and we got home at 5). We didn't have big plans for Valentine's Day, but Nana watched the kids so we could get away and have a nice dinner.  At dinner Tony and I decided that the specialist's opinion was just one opinion and we would continue on as we have been and if we see a drop in Harper's weight, then we'll worry. It took a good friend telling me, "Melissa, remember that a specialist's job is to find the problems- doom and gloom is their business." That helped me remember that this is just a cautionary take on our kids, and not gospel truth for their future.

Saturday brought a much better day and a great surprise- Jack said his first word! The kids were eating and I was encouraging them to sign "more" to request more food instead of whining. Harper has been signing "more" for quite awhile, but Jack has recently started doing this as well. I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when Jack looked at me and signed "more" and said "Ma"- his attempt at the word "more". I requested he do this more as the day went on (to make sure it wasn't just a fluke) and he  repeated the sign along with saying "Ma". I was so proud and so excited for my little guy who was still in the NICU at this time last year trying to gain enough weight to be able to come home. Who would've guessed he'd be walking (he took his first steps on Thursday!) and talking just a year later.

Harper is still working on her language, but her walking is getting much better. She's starting to navigate around roadblocks on the floor as she's walking to her destination. She's also being much more adventurous and trying to stand from a sitting position. We are beyond blessed to have such high functioning little preemies and, despite some frustration, it was nice to have the kids evaluated and to be able to see that our kids are making progress. I'll end with a picture of these two curled up for a nap today- can't get much sweeter than those two.

So Far, So Good

Tony started his new job on Monday and he seems to be enjoying it- so far, so good! This new job has come with a new schedule that we're trying to adjust to. Tony leaves for work before I do now, so Durinda comes to the house earlier and it's fun to see the kids squeal and smile when she gets here. I've been trying to get as much done as I can at night to minimize the morning rush-so far, so good.

 Tony also gets home from work later in the evening than he did when he worked for his previous employer. The new afternoon schedule means that our gym schedule has been revised a bit and, subsequently, I have more time at home than Tony does. So, I put myself in charge of dinner this week. I made meatloaf on Monday (with plenty of leftovers) and pecan encrusted chicken tonight. I also re-arranged the living room furniture a bit, which caused me to pull out the vacuum. The kids were enthralled with the vacuum; it struck me that I was a horrible role model- here they were 13 months old and had never really seen a vacuum before (we clean while they're sleeping). The were excited to see the vacuum in action.

Aside from cooking and cleaning, you can call me Donna Reed :), the kids and I also had a chance to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and get out for a walk. We have had such a long winter that I was basking in the warmth of 51 degrees this afternoon when I knew that Abby needed to get out and strut in the sunshine. The kids were so excited when I put their coats and shoes on them and pulled out the wagon. Abby is still getting accustomed to walking next to the wagon, but she was a pretty good sport today and tempered her speed,  though I know she wanted to take off and get out all her energy. Here's a picture of my view on the walk today.

I'll sign off tonight with a couple of shots of the kids this week just hanging around- it's the small stuff that I don't want to forget like the time Jack tried to play Mr. Fixit with the music table ("someone hand me a wrench!") or Harper's posture- she looks like a little girl and not a baby anymore. I also want to remember these two yahoos playing together and sharing and laughing at each other and recognizing each other as buddies. I like this whole 1 year old business- so far, so good!

The Update

So many little things, so many new discoveries; here's an update on Jack and Harper.

Jack is turning into quite the little reader and lights up when anyone mentions books. He loves to pull books off the shelf in his room and sit on the floor and flip through the pages. He is also enthralled with the alphabet wall in the kids' room and grins from ear to ear when we point and sing the "ABC's".  He is taking his first tentative steps- 3 in a row is his record so far- and he does really well standing and squating down. Jack also likes music and attempts to do the hand motions when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". He's still our adventurous eater and will try anything we put in front of him. He really liked the chopped beef he had for lunch yesterday and cinnamon ice cream that he tired at dinner last night. Jack also loves to watch TV, and has been especially impressed with the Olympics, thus far. Jack also has a new found enjoyment for emptying the toy box and sitting inside- something he tries to do almost daily.  He is also still a very smiley, drooly guy who knows how to make us laugh with his silly faces and belly laughs. I know that one day he won't want to snuggle with me in the morning, but I really love that he snuggles with me now.

Harper is our girl on the move and will now take 8-10 steps at a time. She's starting to venture into the center of the room and cross from one piece of furniture to another without having a person as her destination point. Harper is doing much better with her food sampling. I was impressed when she ate her broccoli tonight without hesitation, and she's been willing to try anything off our plates (she is not a fan of slimey things like fruit or cucumbers, or whole milk).  Harper has also come up with her own sign language and lets us know that she's thirsty by raising her hand until we had over her cup. This is not limited to just times in her high chair; if she's playing and gets thirsty, she will stop and raise her hand until her water cup is brought to her. Harper is also listening to everything we say and picks up on things I never thought she would. For instance, today I noticed she was missing a sock and said, "Harper, where is your sock?" to which she stopped playing, looked at me, then walked around the music table to pick up her abandoned sock and proudly hold it in the air. I think this girl is going to give us a run for our money. She likes to play with Jack and is really into touching his hair right now (whether he likes it or not). She's also working on cutting 3- YES 3- teeth right now- yipes! Even with all those chompers coming in, she still manages to giggle and grin and gets me laughing every time.

The kiddos go to the developmental specialist on Friday, so we'll have the run down on heights, weights, and "check-up" notes then; hopefully we'll have some fun things to report.

One last note tonight: tomorrow is Tony's first day at his new job; please send lots of positive thoughts his way!