The babies are 6 months old, can you believe it?? I wanted to update everyone on their latest milestones and shenanigans!!!
Neva has really opened up and started to explore the world this month. She is holding her head up well, cautiously reaching for toys & then quickly pulling her hand back when she touches something! She has found her hands and plays with them all of the time, preferring her right pointer finger to suck on most days. She has become more needy and most of the time the only cure to her fussiness is to pace around the house in circles with her. I consider it my daily workout! She is starting to drool a lot so we know that teething is just around the corner. She loves to be talked & sang too. Based on her current behavior she has quite the temper and there are times that I can already see her as a 3 year old on the floor banging her fists and having a tantrum!
Neva weighs 11lbs 6oz and is 24 inches tall. She is not on the growth chart yet and based on her growth tracking she probably won't be until at least 2 years old. She also just started taking Zantac for her acid reflux.
Her biggest achievement is that she can roll from back to front! Yes that's right! She is doing the hardest one first! She really does love a challenge.
Ok...yes he gets a lot of pictures!!! Now that Jackson no longer has the breathing tube in we can see how far he has come developmentally. He makes eye contact with you when you talk to him and follows you around the crib and room with his eyes. Jackson smiles. (That's enough said right there!) The smallest things make Jackson smile! When a person talks to him, his toys, taking apart his trach tubing! He loves his mobile and crib toys - they really crack him up at times. (Notice him staring in amazement at his mobile in the picture above!) He LOVES music. He has won the heart of his music therapist at CHOP and she comes by daily to sing to him or play the guitar. He lays so still and just stares at her. His behavior amazes everyone - to see Jackson be still - it's a rare thing!! He kicks his legs constantly and rubs his feet together so much that we joke he is going to start a little fire in his crib. He has his hands open all of the time and can get a strong grip on anything he can reach. We think this is one of those cool things your body does - take away one sense/ability and all of the others strength so quickly.
Jackson weighs 11lbs 10oz and hasn't been height measured. He is very long though, just like his brother. It will be interesting to see if he stays skinnier or "chunks up" like Matthew!
The list of his achievements could go on and on, starting with still being with us, however I will stick to the most recent! This past Friday (2/4) Jackson got to sit in a swing for the very first time! That day he also got his reacquainted with an old friend, his bottle. He drank 3mL's of formula before he exhausted himself!
We have shared the pictures of Matthew's awesome smile so I wanted to show a different side of him...what a huge chunkers he has turned into! I tell him all of the time that he is growing way too fast, please slow down! Matthew is showing himself as my sensitive little boy. Anytime something tough happens - shots, a raised voice, a little bump of the head -he gets very upset and requires a lot of consoling. He loves his bath and loves to be naked. If he is fussy or not feeling well we go right to "his happy place" which is the changing table. The more clothes we get off him the happier he gets! He is now reaching and holding onto toys. Instead of a passie he prefers both hands shoved into his mouth for sucking. That along with all of the drool tells us teeth are imminent!
Matthew weights 14lbs 8oz and is 26 inches tall. He is in the bottom 5% of the growth chart of weight and 35% for height. That's for a full term 6 month old. Basically he has already caught up! He will be visiting a specialist in the next week to determine if he needs treatment for a flat spot on the right side of his head that has been there since birth. He may require a few weeks of living in a helmet!
Matthew's biggest achievement is rolling from front to back, taking a whooping 7 oz bottle each feeding, and.....a sign off to have cereal! We just have to get the high chair and find a time that mom & dad are both available for the big event!
Every girl needs a little fur in their life right?! Neva has had her's waiting in the closet since she was in the NICU thanks to her Grandma Connie! We were invited to a house warming party for one of Brian's co-workers and it was the perfect time for Neva and her fur to make their social debut. She was the hit of the party!!
Auntie came to spend the weekend with us so Dad could be in Philly with Jackson ... and also to get some hands on practice for her baby Rhew! When she first arrived she was so sad when the babes went to bed but the next day she was doing the countdown to bedtime just like we do! She is such a great sister, aunt, and baby Rhew is going to be so lucky to have her as a mom. Note she even has the trademark wet shoulder drool mark!! 
Matthew got his first taste of cereal this week! He gets to play with this "new toy" every morning around 8:30 and we ALL enjoy it! He makes a funny face when he first tastes it but then seems to eat most of what I put in his mouth. He squeals in delight as he is eating it and rarely spits it out. He doesn't even try to put his hands in it that much! As usual Matthew makes life easy on mom. Neva watches us intently and I keep telling her that if she would learn to hold that head up she would be next!
How many people - babies - do you know that can smile even with a breathing tube in their mouth?!! Jackson is starting to share his sweet smiles and even some laughs with us! Little does he know that it's about to be over...no more breathing tube after tomorrow!!!
