♪ My "Little" Preemies... ♫

My formerly tiny babies aren't so tiny anymore! Both Kristen and Austin had check-ups today...which was purely coincidental, because we scheduled them at different times and didn't even realize they were on the same day until I finally penciled them in on my calendar a week or so ago! Darren took Kristen to her two year appointment this morning and, although we knew she was growing really well, we were shocked to discover that she's grown right off the growth chart! She's measuring 37.5 inches now and weighs 35 pounds. (I suspect it won't be long until she catches up to Meghan, who, at four years, is 41.25 inches and 36 pounds!) She is such a doll!

And our little Austin is doing so well that, upon entering the exam room, the doctor laughed and said to me, "When I came in here I thought, 'This must be a different baby!' I thought I was looking at the wrong baby! He's grown so much!" He explained that, even without adjusting for prematurity, Austin is well within the average range for both weight and length: 15 pounds 2 ounces, and 24.5 inches! And he was so impressed with how well Austin just holds himself up, looking around and smiling and cooing, even when placed on his tummy on the exam table! I'm so proud of my big baby boy!

*A note about the title of this post: Remember me saying before how much I love to sing? As soon as I wrote the words "My Little Preemies" I thought of this song from way back in the day, and don't think I won't be singing my own rendition often and loudly from now on. :)

Bumbo, Baby!

Blue Girl

My kids are used to me working night shifts; I've been doing it all their lives.  And with few exceptions, my chronic fatigue is a fact of life about which they rarely complain.  Still, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the comic strip Caitlyn was working on yesterday.  In this most recent creative collaboration (Dylan is her editor!), Blue Girl is running to wake her mom on Christmas morning.  Her poor mother, however, is sound asleep, oblivious to Blue Girl's excitement.  Taking matters into her own hands, Blue Girl decides that the next best course of action is to climb up onto the chest of drawers and jump onto her mother's bed!  "Alright...you asked for it!", she proclaims, perched on the precipice as she prepares to pounce her peacefully prone parent!  Hmmm, now that I think about it, I better watch that girl!  Might be a good idea to sleep with one eye open after working all night!  :)

 

He Cannot Tell a Lie

"That's 'Your Wildest Dreams'," I told Darren, belting out my best impersonation of The Moody Blues.

"No, it's not," he said. "That's more like my wildest nightmare."

His honesty is just one of the many things I love about him. ;)

(And hey, I never said that I could sing...only that I really, really, enjoy singing.) :)

Sugar Bear

Austin has the most adorable little way of grunting and growling while he's nursing, earning him the affectionate nickname "Sugar Bear", which we all call him with a smile because he's just the sweetest little bear! (And, I just have to say that I don't remember any of my other children being so enthusiastic about nursing! He is so funny: his entire body wiggles and his little feet start kicking and his whole face just lights up when he knows I'm about to feed him!) His chubby little body is evidence that this is one little boy who skips no meals! ;) I don't know exactly how much he weighs now, but I know he's growing; I can no longer easily scoop him with one arm from his little bed into ours for night time feedings! And he's mostly wearing size 3-6 month clothes now, which makes me so happy because we have such a large selection of the cutest little outfits in that range. :)

Have I mentioned here that he can roll over now from his tummy to his back now, too? It's a trick he learned a few days ago while I was in the shower! I couldn't believe it! The big kids were supervising him while he enjoyed some tummy time on a little play mat on my bedroom floor, and Caitlyn started knocking persistently on my bathroom door, saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Austin rolled over!" I'm so glad that my other kids get as excited as I do about every little achievement. :)

He was hilarious at dinner time last night. We were telling a story, all of us taking turns around the dinner table, each adding more details to the plot of an imaginary trip to the zoo. It was really becoming quite hysterical ("POPCORN FIGHT!") and we were all cracking up. Pretty soon, Austin, who was sitting in Darren's lap, was laughing right along with us! It was the funniest thing to hear his piercing squeals and little chuckles! Seriously, cutest thing ever!