Chompers

Finally after months (since January) of whining, moaning, groaning, drooling, crying....those blasted teeth are in! He loves to show them off too - especially in the form of chomping down on you finger! I cannot believe we have moved on from that sweet gummy smile but I am thankful that we are getting a slight reprieve from the discomfort of teething. There are two little while chiklets in there!

In hopes of having better teeth than Mom we practice brushing our teeth every morning after breakfast!

Matthew loves the Easter bunny

Matthew gave the best response to his first visit from the Easter bunny. He is always such a little ham and makes us laugh! When I gave it to him he looked at me like I was a crazy - giving him such a great big toy.

Then he proceeded to do what he does with everything...put it right into his mouth. He really would have been happy with eating the handle vs. getting what was in the basket.

Checking out his "crabby" pj's that the bunny left him.

For me?!! Big smiles for the bunny!!

A little bunny visits Jackson and Neva

On Easter Sunday we did not have a nurse to help with Jackson so we had the house and our babies all to ourselves. It was a great day! Jackson is so stable that he doesn't require a lot but you do need your eyes on him at all times so he hung out with us downstairs and even napped with us. Here he is checking out his Easter basket.

New pj's, toys, and colorful trach ties (they are used to hold his trach in so he cannot put it out!) for Jackson!

Neva has quickly learned what to do when the camera is out and this is a perfect example. She couldn't really look in her basket because she was very busy posing for the camera.

We pulled everything out for her and she was very excited for her new clothes...not so much for her new toothbrush!

Loving outside...kinda

There is a kids song we have ALL been singing constantly around here that goes ..."Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me...." and he finally responded! It is such a great way to entertain these babies and for everyone to get a break from cabin fever. As you can see 2/3's of my kids love it and we are working on Jackson. This picture is from his second time going outside his entire life. (His first was at Children's Specialized on March 18th) We have to always remember that Jackson is being exposed to a world that he never knew existed and it's A LOT on him to take it in and be comfortable in this world. He only knows life in a crib in a hospital. We tried him in a bouncy seat but it was too much so I ended up holding him tightly and he settled down a little. He can only be out ~ 30 minutes before he is exhausted.

However fast forward two weeks .... he has now been outside 5 times! It's always scary at first but yesterday he relaxed enough to leave my lap and sit in his bouncy seat. Those are big celebration moments in our house!

Helping hands

As you can imagine having one of our babies hospitalized put quite the strain on our time and lives. Weekends were often spent being a single parent while the other was with Jackson. Our families/friends helped us so much in the last few months but here are a few shots of our latest visitors!

Just last week Connie and Mrs. Linda came up to watch the babies while Nicole was out for spring break. Since the weather was still nasty we were trapped in doors which meant a lot of creative playing and eventually falling back to the old stand by of pacing circles in the house with them. Connie spent all of her evenings learning to care for Jackson and by the time she left had become a certified caregiver (that means that our nurses are now allowed to leave Jackson in her care!)! Thanks to both, especially Mrs. Linda, who worked tirelessly to keep the babes happy so Mom could work!

Rebecca was able to spend a couple of days in Sparta and get re-aquainted with Matthew/Neva and FINALLY meet Jackson! Not to mention I got to enjoy some friend time! It was a great help too because Brian was out of town. Thanks for bringing your sunshine to the Groves home!

The weekend before Jackson came home Jennifer made her way to NJ. We had the most perfect weekend, relaxing in our pj's, gossiping, watching reality tv, and spending a day at Children's Specialized with Jackson! I even got enough downtime to shower, shave my legs, and blow dry my hair on Sunday.... which you know was done in under 20 minutes because my life is in constant fast forward! Thank you Jenn for coming up and loving on my kids!

8 months

First bath at home on my 8 month birthday! I am still unsure how I feel about the bath, it's brand new to me as I have only been allowed sponge baths until about a month ago. We have to be careful because I cannot get water in my trach but I hope I will learn to enjoy it. Mom and dad have to remember to take life very slow for me, they have to remember that I get overstimulated so easy, that I can only take small bouts of activity, and that I need lots of rest. It's hard for them but we are adjusting. The good news is that they already know exactly how to comfort me and make me feel secure. Dad is the best at this, he loves to snuggle and rock me to sleep at night. They are just spoiling me so much these days! I am working on tummy time, I can lift my head and I push up on my arms but it exhausts me. I reach for toys sometimes but mostly these days I just want to chew on my fingers. I just found these amazing things - my hands - a few weeks ago and they bring me so much joy. I chew on them ALL DAY LONG. It bugs mom at times but everyone reminds her that it's big milestone to meet and also it's a great sign that I am putting something in my mouth. Did you know that I have a big issue with my mouth? I have had so many tubes forced into it that I cannot tolerate anything in my mouth including my passy or a bottle. It's called oral aversion and it's very common with babies who have been through all that I have endured. We work on that a lot at home but right now the only thing I let inside is my own fingers! I weight 15lbs and 5oz!

I am a really big boy these days! I am almost 18lbs! Chunkers is what mom calls me. I am rolling all over the place and I love my tummy time. I stay up on my hands for a long time and I am starting to kick my legs and lift my butt...I will be crawling very soon. I am a very good eater. In the mornings I get cereal with prunes and for lunch I have had sweet potatoes, avocado, applesauce, and green beans. I have found my feet and they make me happier than anything else in the world! You can often find me holding both of my feet screeching with happiness or shoving my toes into my mouth. I have found my voice and I let everyone know exactly how I am feeling most of the day! Right now I am wearing my doc band to help my flat spot on the side of my head and Mom thinks I am cuter with it on! She decked it out for me and finds it hilarious ... if someone asks why I have it she points to the back and says "He's just fixin' his flat!"

I am blooming just like a spring flower! I have grown so much lately - developmentally and physically. I am such a happy little girl - finally! I explore so many things and you can watch me working so hard to figure out what a toy is, how it works, where a noise is coming from. When I want to do it, I work hard at tummy time and roll all over the place just like my brother. We are starting to bump into each other and I get very annoyed at swipes or punches to the face from Matthew. I am obsessed with my bottle. They have to keep it hidden or I will scream and fixate on it! If it is anywhere near me I will do everything I can to get my mouth on it. I have the same foods for breakfast and lunch that my brother has everyday. When I start to get sleepy I suck on my hand or arm. I prefer to have the sleeve rolled up so I can get some good skin sucking! Sometimes they roll my sleeve up for me especially just before a nap. If I cannot get to my hand I will pull my arm all the way out of my sleeve and end up with my shirt around my neck if the parents leave me alone long enough! I weigh ~13lbs and I am finally wearing 3-6 clothes!

As it should be

Life is complete now. There is so much to say - but no way to say it. He's home and my family is under one roof. Over 6 years from the day we started this journey our family is all together. Yes we have challenges ahead, big ones and then the small everyday ones, but nothing will be harder than what we have already faced.

The second picture is Neva being re-introduced to her brother when he got home. No one noticed until after the picture was taken that they both reached for each other and held hands. The two of them seem to be very aware of each other. They stare at each other and smile at each other. Even before Jackson came home he had some many of the same mannerisms that Neva has shown. Maybe they have a special connection somehow. Matthew is more interested in getting his hands on his brothers tubing and looking at all the cool equipment that came home with him. He also likes to get right in his face to tell him stories and share his drool!

The third picture is their first morning home - their 8 month birthday. Nicole (our amazing childcare provider!) bought them matching outfits for this special day and I had all of these visions of sweet, loving baby pictures....that did not pan out! I was getting frustrated trying to get all three to smile or even look at the camera but then I just realized that every day life is what we have now!! So here is everyday life right now...Matthew in his own world trying to get to his foot (or feet) so he can insert them into his mouth, Neva posing and looking for the camera, Jackson staring at his hands that he just found about two weeks ago!

Life is good!