March already?!

Since our last post, there's been some sickness.
Sofia had some stomach bug with a fever that is pretty much gone....sadly, she lost a pound.
Everyone avoided it except for me.  Everyone knows things are rough when mom is sick...luckily, it got me on a weekend and dad took over.

We also had ANOTHER eval for Marcos by another speech pathologist who also watched him eat.  The not so great speech eval in February raised some concerns with the way he ate. Luckily, this mom was right.  He eats just fine. This time, we got, what I feel, a more accurate evaluation.  He isn't THAT behind after all, but he still qualifies for speech therapy.  Carlos was also evaluated the same day.  Thankfully it was an in home evaluation.   He is right on track for his adjusted age.

The kiddos are into Elmo and Woody.  The boys are repeating 2 word phrases more and more, and Sofia's first 3 word phrase:  "Move on back", from Wheels on the Bus.  She also tries to push the boys out of her way and says "Go, go go" as in get out of my way!

There's been lots and lots of playing...

Lots of unzipping of the pj's...

Lots and lots of reading...

More and more TV, we are up to 20 minutes at a time, just enough time to watch Elmo's World.
 Woooo Hoooo!!!!

Big sis had wacky hair day at school....our first science fair and parent teacher conferences, which truly deserve their own post.

Lots and lots and lots of nose wiping!  Still cute even with mocos on his face.  

And finally today... their noses are much better, and coughing last night was better than the previous night.  The kiddos had their Synagis shot, there might be one more.  The rest of preemieland is telling me no but we'll wait and see what our doc says.  Next week, spring break for Big Sis and Marcos is getting his 2nd set of tubes (ears) and will go under general anesthesia again.  I should be a pro at this but still scary.  We hope we can get him out of the house without eating or drinking anything without too many tears.  'Til next time....

Crayons!

 I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks now.  Thankfully last weekend while Daddy was home, I remembered. and put the crayons in front of them.  Our activity lasted, uuummm, maybe a whole 5 minutes, definitely no more than 10.  Baby steps, baby steps...
The trio is about to turn 18 months old but we are not quite ready for coloring yet.  Opportunity alone and scribbles plus cause and effect will continue to be our focus.

Every six months, the three go through a developmental evaluation to see where they are at in all areas.  Marcos had his last Thursday and here's what is written on his report:

Cognitive & Fine Motor: 12-14 months
Receptive Language: 12-14 months
Expressive Language: 11-13 months
Gross Motor 9-11 months
Fine Motor 10-12 months

At the time of the assessment, his actual age was 17 months (adjusted age = 14 months) so he is doing great in a couple of areas.  His biggest challenges are gross motor (he is not walking yet) and language.  He has always been the least vocal out of the three.  Colds (runny noses) have gotten in the way each time a hearing test is scheduled.  The test after he got ear tubes put in did not show a significant improvement, and the doctor really didn't have an explanation.  The good thing is that usually gross motor usually takes over the brain so once he figures that out, we are hoping for a language explosion.  This is the trend that Sofia (our walker) followed and we are praying that the boys will get there soon.

I would be lying if I said that these numbers don't get to to me.  But only because all this stuff is a reminder of what they have all been through.  I allow myself moments of sadness, worry and concern but then I move on knowing that these three beat the odds.   In the mean time, the waiting game continues. Patience, patience, patience...and everything on their own time.

Did you know that early intervention and medical professionals stop adjusting age at TWO?
That's in six months! I'm thinking it may take much longer for my little ones to catch up and hopefully they will qualify for more services to speed this process up.
And so the journey continues....

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Hiiiii, Bye-Bye, Clap and Arms Up!

Yesterday we went to story time! Our 3rd time! Huge accomplishment.  Not too long ago I would have never thought this to be possible with the three.

Now that we are out and about a bit more, we often get asked how old they are.

I think this month, we have gotten...

Are they 6 months? 9 months?  Last week, someone asked if they were 4 months!!

We've gotten quite a few looks of confusion when people are surprised by my answer.

The trio is 16 months.  And no they are not walking yet.

During introductions at the library, I went back and forth a bit...

Do I say their actual age? their adjusted age?

I went with the actual age but it's still a struggle within me.  I'm surrounded by babies who are half their age and sometimes bigger than them.  Kiddos who are their age and are twice as big as them.  It's hard not to wonder what people think.  Strangers don't know our story or what they have been through.  It's natural to wonder.  I am sure if I had not walked this micro-preemie journey, I would do the same.

I don't mind sharing their history but one big disadvantage of being out with three is that there is no down time, no breathing time and little room for conversation with others.  They are left wondering.  Instead of allowing myself to worry about what others think, we'll focus on the positive...

We've had huge development and growth these past few weeks.

 I really do wish I could write down every little thing!

The kids are playing, I mean really playing with toys, with each other, it's wonderful.  

They are curious about everything around them.  They are figuring out how toys work and playing with them correctly.  They are taking in the world.  What I am enjoying the most is their level of understanding, language development is slowly picking up.

All three are waving at the right times, when we (or strangers) say hi and hello, and of course bye-bye.

Marcos is the most social while we are out.  I think he waves at everyone in sight.  Then Carlos does not let his brother show off, he often follows.  Sofie is her own person and glares at strangers with her serious look. If she really likes you and finds you good enough to smile at, then her smile is huge.
She may even say a quick "Hiiii"!  

They are all clapping when we say "clap", kissing mama (or doll) often when we say "kiss" and lifting their arms up when we say "arms up!".  This week my heart melted when Sofia kissed her brothers after I said "kiss your brother", then she proudly smiled and giggled.

Sofia is (as always) showing off her verbal skills these days.  She repeats many sounds.  I am not sure if I am making it up or my ears are playing tricks on me but I believe I have heard her attempt and say a few words such as "hi, bye, book, hat, cup, sleep, ball, up, peas, cake, duck, and car" in a very cute way.  Of course she often yells our "ELLA" for Bella.  The boys are repeating A LOT especially up, cup, ball, car and bye, and a lot more sounds that my brain can't remember at the moment.  Sofie pants has mastered pointing to her nose when asked and all three are working on touching their head when mama asks.  All of my singing is also paying off.  They are bouncing and dancing and recognizing songs.  They are starting to mimic some motions of Itsy Bitsy Spider and Open Shut Them and they all clap for me when the song is over as if asking for more.  

Every parent celebrates milestones.  We know we celebrated plenty with Isabella but with these three, all of this is big! Big can't even describe it.  It's a bit different this time around and times three.  Things are happening, they are slowly catching up and we are so thankful and blessed. 

The day they all raised their little hands up in the air, I almost shed some tears!

Now since we are talking about development and growth...I must share that we are quite proud that Isabella has found herself in the highest reading level of first grade.  I guess all those hours of reading for six years has really paid off!  She is enjoying the popular Junie B. Jones series and scoring 100% on math and spelling tests! She is also enjoying her siblings a lot more and celebrating their milestones with us.

What milestones are your celebrating this week?  

Picture time!