Mommy's back!

Thanks to all my gal pals who emailed/called with encouragement about the one-nap situation. I would like to say things are so much better and everyone is napping like a champ, but that would be a bit of a stretch. It's becoming easier to keep the troops awake until 11:30 but Luke has a tendency to only sleep for about 45 minutes and then be a bear for the rest of the day. No fun. Jacob is pretty consistently sleeping for about an hour and a half so that is much better. I still don't understand why they can sleep for two hours when they go to MDO but oh well! I'm pretty sure they are about to get really messed up on their nap schedule because they both have terrible coughs and Jacob starting running a fever yesterday which is sure to mess up any kind of schedule. Please say a little prayer that it's nothing serious, though. So many of our friends kids either have RSV or have had RSV which is always scary.

This week we went for our 18-month (yes, the boys are 18 months...I can't believe it!) follow-up with the Developmental Specialist. This is always kind of a beating. I feel like it's a test and I never feel that I've prepared. That said, I am truly glad that their development has been tracked because they are at risk for delays since they were preemies. They have always been right on track for either their actual age or their adjusted age (actual age minus number of weeks of prematurity). It has been six months since our last follow-up and we have been very aware that Jacob's language skills are not the same as Luke's. Sure enough, we found out that Jacob is fairly significantly delayed in his language development. He is about at the 9-10 month range and he should be somewhere between 15-18 months. Luke on the other hand is at the 18.5 month range - yea Luke! So, Jacob is going to have his hearing checked - just to rule that out but we don't have any reason to believe he has hearing problems. And then he will be evaluated by Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). We are hopeful that with some therapy he will catch up to his actual age and that it's nothing more serious. Keep Jacob in your prayers and we will update when we find out more.

We have really been loving the nice weather here lately (although today it's frosty cold). The boys absolutely love being outside (Luke stands at the back door saying "out" and having a little tantrum when we can't go outside). Luckily, one of our Christmas presents from my parents was having our garage floor textured so they can play in the garage on the days when it's too cold to go outside. It took my dad a day and a half to do this so THANK YOU Papa D! The boys got lots of great outdoor toys for Christmas but what they like the most are sticks and dirt. I mean, the slide is fun but who wouldn't rather eat dirt? They are turning into such little boys! There have been a few days when they are literally covered in mud by the end of the day.

They have also really gotten into climbing lately. Jack's parents gave them a precious table and chairs for Christmas and all they want to do is climb on it. Luke especially likes to climb on top and "dance".

A fun thing about the boys getting a little older is that they (mainly Luke) like to "help" mommy and daddy do things around the house. Luke started taking the diapers to the Diaper Champ a few months ago and now he really likes to help us vacuum. He only likes the mini-vac, though. The big vacuum scares him.

Jack left today for another work trip to California - boo-hoo. Luckily I will have help again from my wonderful friends and family. And, our old nanny, Mayra, is coming over to watch the boys on Tuesday so I can go to my parents because HGTV is coming to their house to film a new TV show! Very exciting - I love HGTV!