July update

Hi. I know I have posted lots of pictures lately, and updates on our trips, but not a lot about the boys. So, here is what I know. I'll start with Alex, then Grant, then go to Ethan... :) birth order!

Alex
Alex is doing really well these days. He is walking and running all around. He has started to talk some. He has some words...
"choo-choo"
"bee-bee" (beep beep for car)
"Mom-me" (he always says it very softly with a high pitched mom then a slide down to me, its cute)
"E-i-e-i-o"
"Sisa" (airplane, don't ask me how it got to sisa)
"my" (bye)
"uh oh"
"sing sing" (he sings along with his lullaby song)
"A, B, C"
"two, tree, foo, ive, x, eig, nah" (I say one, he fills in most of the rest)

He is throwing a fit when he doesn't get his way. Temper tantrums are a norm around our house these days. So, I would say, he is almost caught up to his actual age. We'll see what the therapist says at his next update in a couple of months.

He is eating most everything I put in front of him. He really loves to eat fruit chunks. He is still on prevacid, but we may try to wean him from that soon. We'll see what the pediatritian says about that after their 2 year appointment.


Grant
Grant is still trying to recover from the trauma of the hospital. He is slightly working on it. He doesn't scream all the time when he is around strangers that much any more.

He is also walking and running around everywhere too! He likes to keep his toys away from his brothers. He does NOT like them interefering when he is playing alone. However, he plays really well with his brothers when they are playing.
He is starting to speak some too.
"choo-choo"
"uh oh"
"da-da" (all the time!!)
and then starting to immitate some more of my sounds.

He is on an inhaler for athsma. He has a very minor case of it, but he still has a bit. He doesn't snore very much any more. Every once in a while he does. But it is a good thing he isn't.

He was eating pretty well up until about a month ago. Now he is being a typical toddler and does not like to eat some things. He has developed quite the sweet tooth. We are trying to keep that under control because I want him to eat other things than just sweet things. He really likes eating fruit, only if it pureed though. He gags on chunks of fruit. He used to eat noodles really well and feed himself, but lately he takes a few bites and then refuses to eat any more. I dont know. Just being a toddler. It's a phase I am sure.


Ethan
Ethan, Ethan, Ethan! What to say about him. Oh, there is a lot, I just don't know where to start.

Well, I guess I will start with the good news. Ethan was approved to come off the oxygen today. He had been on it since being in the hospital in March for RSV. When I laid him down for nap today, he laid there expecting me to put his canula on him. I told him no o2 and gave him his blanket. I think he was a bit confused, but he slept well.

In other news, he is walking and running around like crazy with his brothers. He loves to ride in the strollers and wagon. He plays hard with the cars and toys. He loves to swing too. His physical therapist is really happy with his progression to walking and squatting, and now running some.

He just learned how to say "uh oh". That is pretty much his first real word. He doesn't really say much else. He just screams and grunts a lot still. He is still working with the speech therapist on that, but we havent seen her very consistantly yet because of travel and sickness.

Speaking of sickness, he was a very sick little boy last week. He could not keep any food down. We aren't sure what it was, and neither Grant or Alex got it, so who knows. He has gotten back to normal now and is eating to try and gain back the weight he lost.

Speaking of the weight loss, last Thursday I took him to the GI doctor for a follow up. He was not happy with Ethan's weight loss. He said that even sick, he should not have lost so much weight. The last time we were in his office, Ethan weighed 19lbs 6oz. On Thursday he weighed 18lbs 12oz. At his max between these times, on the pediatritians scale, he weighed 2olbs 10oz. So, he has lost a lot of weight.

So, we talked about a lot of things and decided to get Ethan in for a scope of his GI track and an over night stay and test of his reflux. I don't know what the technical terms are, but I know it is an over night stay. He will also be getting a bronchial scope at the same time. Each scope takes around 8-10 minutes. He is going to wake up one hungry kid though cause we won't be able to give him anything after midnight the night before. It will be rough, but we can do it. I am expecting I may need to have ear plugs. :( I don't have a date for the proceedure yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

Once we get the results, then we will know how to proceed with his eating and reflux issues. Hopefully he can start gaining some substantial weight once we know how to proceed.


So, that is what we know right now. That is what the boys are doing right now. Our days are really busy, but we have lots of fun. They love being outside and love playing on all their toys out there. I am so glad we have a fenced yard they can play in. It makes my life a bit easier. They can run and run back there and I don't have to worry about traffic. I am not looking forward to when we have snow again.