Double the fun for Dad!
Jace with Great-Grandma ("G.G.") Swanson
Jocie with Grandma Greenwalt
WOW has time FLOWN by! Especially since Niki has been back to work. She returned to work the Monday after Thanksgiving and then the holidays flew by. We kept saying “We really need to update the blog” and that was about as far as we got. We’ve had so many people wanting updates which is so great to know you guys continue to be thinking of us. So, here is the most recent update, which we can thank 2-hour school delays for J Well now the Wonders are almost 8 months old! So crazy! They are 15 lbs+ now and Jocie has surpassed her brother in weight but maybe not for long. Jace started having some issues with his feeding. He started being super sloppy and messy (boys, go figure!) and it seemed as though a good 1.5 to 2 ounces of his feeds were ended up soaked up through his burp rag and bib onto his shirt. We finally got in for an Occupational Therapy evaluation and found out he is a “chomper”. Basically, he chomps instead of retracting his tongue and lips back to suck. So we got different bottles for him that have a long skinny nipple (thank you Dr. Brown) and he is doing MUCH better. No more messy boy! We are on just day 2 of this and it is just SO much better. He is also getting ready to be discharged from his physical therapy as his flat side of his head has really rounded out. We have one more appointment in which the physical therapist is going to do a developmental test on him to just see where he is at with his gross motor skills.
The babies are being watched by a nanny who comes to our home and we just love her. She is great with the babies and is able to help a bit with dishes, their laundry, and replenishing supplies in their room which really makes a big difference to just have those few things not to worry about during the week.
The holidays were fun with them of course. We did suffer their first colds just before Thanksgiving (Jocie) and just after Thanksgiving (Jace). Unfortunately Jace’s came with a fever the day after Thanksgiving so we went to urgent care and then ended up in the ER because the doctor at urgent care couldn’t find the source of the fever and due to their history she didn’t want to take chances. Everything checked out okay with some baby Tylenol. Christmas was spent at our house in the morning with Niki’s parents visiting from Moses Lake and then we all packed up and went to Cody’s parent’s house in West Richland for a TERRIFIC Christmas dinner and family time of visiting and opening presents. For New Year’s Jace and Jocie got to ring it in with Grandma and Grandpa Ratliff while we went out for some adult time. Grandma and Grandpa Ratliff have been so helpful in watching the Wonders just about once a week so we can run errands, watch a movie, or grab some dinner. They even had their first over night stay at their house just before Christmas so we could have our annual Christmas party with friends.
As for the Wonders themselves – they are just growing and growing and every week is something new they are doing developmentally. Jocie has rolled over from back to side to tummy twice. They are both talking up a storm – especially Jocie. Jocie just LOVES her toys that light up and play music where as Jace is more into physical play of being tossed around. There is nothing better than coming home to play with two giggly Wonders! They love to be helped in sitting up and Jace likes to try to stand – he seems really strong on his two feet so maybe he will reach the standing developmental milestone before Jocie since she’s taken him on just about everything else! We just can’t believe we will be planning a first birthday party here in just four months!
