Happy 4th Birthday Kendall and Seren

How did they ever grow up so fast?  My little babies are turning into beautiful, spunky and loving girls.  They were so excited for their birthday.  I think next year for the big 5 we'll actually try to throw a little birthday party but again this year we enjoyed the small family get together without too much work.  Grandparents D stopped by the day before to wish them well and give them presents (big fluffy blankets and princess pajamas) that they love.  

We went to church that morning and since I was subbing for a primary teacher during this time I was able to watch the primary sing Happy Birthday to them.  They soaked it in.  They each got to wear a special party hat during the song and Kendall's hat had to be held on or it fell off.  She tentatively tried to let go of it and it toppled to the floor.  A boy in her class got the giggles about this and I was worried she would get embarrassed or sad and start crying.  But nope she picked it back up and laughed too then purposefully let it fall off again for another laugh.  I was proud of her for making light of it and not shying away from the attention.  

Grandparents B and my sister were there for dinner and the actual birthday.  The girls enjoyed a meal of their choice (pasta with white sauce) followed by gift giving and then cake and ice cream.  They helped me decorate the cake earlier in the day.  Grandparents B gave them a ballet outfit for their dolls and a Frozen sing-along microphone.  We were all serenaded with their singing and enthusiasm over this the rest of the night.  Jeff and I gave them a Barbie and a sleeping bag and camping chairs.  They were excited to try out the bags and wanted to go camping right away (not to be bothered with the snow on the ground).  We opted to let them sleep in the bags that night instead and that sufficed for now. 

First and Fourth Christmas

We had a great Christmas.  We were delighted to have my parents come up from Florida to visit us and surprise the girls.  They weren't toooo surprised (I don't think they understand how far away Florida is haha).  Nolan was a good baby for his first Christmas and promptly slept through most of the gift giving and unwrapping.  The girls were thrilled to make cookies for Santa and sing Christmas songs and talk about the magic of the season. We visited Santa on three different occasions and each time they asked for the same things.  Kendall wanted a tablet (with kid games...no grown up games) and Seren wanted a doll.  Santa came through with two of each thanks to some surprise help from family in Florida.  We were spoiled and grateful.  We even got one magical family picture of everyone looking at the camera and smiling.  Love this little family of mine.  

That Darn Torticollis (evaluation appointment)

I went to Nolan's physical therapy evaluation and intake appointment yesterday.  The therapist was very nice and good with him.  She explained more about the tilt and lean/turn that Nolan was doing and which muscles were causing the issue (good to know as I had it reversed).  She used her "tools" to measure how much progress he would need to make and where he was at now.  One looked like a giant protractor she laid on the floor with him to measure how much he could move without resistance/grump.  And the other was like a soft clamp that she measured the difference of his head with (the flat side versus the rounded back of his  head to over the opposite eye).  He had an 11 cm difference.  If he were closer to 6 months old this would mean Nolan would need a helmet but since he is still so young she believes we'll be able to correct the problem and his skull will fix itself before it's an issue.  My understanding is around 9 months is when head shape begins to be permanent.

We'll be going to physical therapy weekly for the first month and then every other week after that along with doing lots of exercises and stretches for him at home.  I hope we see an improvement rather quickly and the therapist thinks it will only take 6-8 visits to get him on the right track and hopefully be done.  He is still such a happy baby and very easy going with the stretches we are to do with him.

2 Month Update

*as with my girls these updates are for me to keep and remember.

Weight / Length:   12 lb 9 oz (76%), 24.21 inches (88%) and head circ 40.2 cm (53%)

Appointment Notes:  We talked about tummy time and Nolan's dislike for it.  Also determined that he probably has a little torticollis and Dr G wants him to be evaluated for physical therapy.  I think he's doing better now that he is fully in the crib but Dr G thought his neck muscles still felt a little tight toward his left side.  Other than that he is doing great and no concerns.

Eating:  We are still breastfeeding and still have the same tub of formula sitting around (yeah!).  I'm debating between buying a backup tub or those nice travel pouches (I usually only supplement on the go) or just using a different formula sample we got from my ob/gyn appointment.  Still happy it's working though and hoping to push until at least 6 months and maybe a year but we'll see.

Development:   Nolan has great head control.  He is very alert  and likes to look around.  Despite this he hates tummy time (okay he doesn't cry anymore but he usually just lays his head down and chills out haha).  He seems to try to immitate "Hi" and loves to make eye contact and smile and coo.  He loves watching his sisters as they run around or lay/sit by him to entertain him.

Sleep:  He started sleeping in his Rock n Play due to a stuffy cold and darn it all he got pretty attached to it.  It cradles, rocks and vibrates so I can't blame him.  I've been trying to break him of the habit for the last couple of weeks and had a breakthrough a few nights ago.  I rolled up a blanket next to him (hoping it would make him feel more secure) and he went down without a fuss.  So now he naps better and sleeps good at night also.  He's in our room and won't move to his own room until next year due to the holidays and honestly not wanting to fight him on it just yet either.  3 months is a good time to hit that goal right? haha  He goes to sleep between 10-11 pm at night until 2:30 (he has hit 4:00 am a couple of times...wow) and then again until 6:30-8:30 am.  

Fun Memories:  The girls still love on him.  Seren is especially attached and likes to touch his head, hold him and lean on or near him.  Kendall is okay with him but seems a little worried about hurting him, so we try to encourage her and she's getting better.  Kendall is the first to ask "How is Nolan doing?" before she goes to sleep and loves to observe what he's doing and tell us.  Nolan spent his first Thanksgiving sleeping most of the time on my chest.  The girls are excited for Christmas and wrapped presents for him to open.

Looking Forward to:  I hope he starts enjoying tummy time more so that he'll eventually be more mobile.  It will be fun to do Christmas stuff with the girls and Nolan.  They love to see the lights.  We've driven through Layton city lights twice now in a week and even Nolan stops fussing once there are above lights that he can see.  

It blows me away how much he has changed in one month