Coughing, coughing, and more coughing

Once again, I apologize for taking so long in between posts. We are all recovering from another round of yucky coughs and colds. Riley got it first and developed a nasty cough at the end of last week. We stayed in all weekend while he coughed and coughed and coughed. Our whole apartment reeks of Vicks baby rub! Then, just as he started to get a little better, Ross woke up Sunday morning with the exact same symptoms. So, now Riley is on the mend and Ross is still in the midst of the worst of it. Thankfully, neither of them is running a fever and they are both still happy and playful for the most part. Also, since they love me so very much, they shared their germs with me and I am also sick right now.

Even in the midst of coughs and cold, we are managing to spend some time each day being purely silly. I caught the boys playing Hide and Seek...toddler style.

Riley is looking for Ross. Ross believes we cannot see his feet sticking out from under the curtains...he's at that "If I can't see you, you can't see me" stage.


Riley is turning away, pretending to look somewhere else. At least....I assume he is pretending. Do you think he really doesn't know where Ross is? Keep in mind that Ross is giggling the entire time.


Ross reveals himself! Riley looks at me in shock! "Oh! He was behind the curtain! Who knew???"


Ross' smile says it all...he is so proud of himself for being such a clever hider!


This is just a random shot of Riley in his ongoing quest to make sure every single toy we have is out and on the floor at all times. Seriously, though, look how nice and straight he is standing. He is holding onto the shelves for support, but his posture is much improved as a result of using his walker. He has only been using it for a month, but his body positioning in many different circumstances has improved greatly!


So, that's a quick wrap up of what we've been up to. Not much new....just two incredibly cute kids that I love with all my heart!

It's all good...

Hi, everyone! I had to share this pic with all of you because it's so cute, and the story behind it is even cuter. That blue toy bin holds some of Ross' favorite toys, and he empties it and throws all of the toys all over our living room every day. Each evening, I have been having him "help clean up" by putting one or two of the toys back in the bin. Usually, that lasts about 10 seconds, and he takes them all out again. Well, on Saturday, Riley somehow crawled into that empty toy bin and got himself wedged in pretty tight. Ross looked over at him, smiled, and picked that moment to decide to help clean up! He picked up all the toys and tried to stack them in the bin on top of Riley. Riley's face says it all!

I know that many of you have been waiting for a post with news about the boys' appointments with the developmental pediatrician. Overall, both of their appointments went very well, and the doctor said that we should have very high hopes and expectations for both kiddos because she expects them to do beautifully! She did formally diagnose Riley with mild hypotonic cerebral palsy and Ross with extremely mild spastic cerebral palsy. Although it was a little hard to hear the formal diagnosis for each boy, in my heart, I already knew that was the answer. She does not feel that, for either boy, their CP will hold them back in any way, which is all that I truly care about. Also, she reassured me that we are already doing all the right things in terms of therapy, and that the fact that they have been getting Early Intervention since they were 2 months old is fantastic. Finally, she also formally declared them both super cute, which, of course, I completely agree with!

In other news, the boys and I had a great weekend! Today, we went out to lunch and to the Center for Creative Play with Aunt Lys, Uncle Marc, Reid, and Gigi (have I mentioned before that Ross and Riley somehow started calling my mom, Gigi?). All three boys had a fantastic time! Riley must have put a zillion miles on his walker, because he never stopped moving. Ross did a great job with walking, too.

Speaking of Ross walking, here is the long awaited video. I'm sorry it's so dark, but it was taken after he was supposed to be in bed. He hasn't been sleeping well, and seems to need much less sleep than Riley. So, on nights when he seems wide awake at bedtime, I have been putting Riley to bed and letting Ross stay up later to play off some of his energy. I try to keep it low key, with less lights, no TV, etc. After a while (sometimes a loooong while!) he calms down, we have a good cuddle, and he finally goes to sleep. As you can see in this video...he is nowhere near ready for bed yet and is moving full steam ahead! He is wearing his PJ's, and so he doesn't have his DAFO's and shoes on, but he is still walking very well!

Thanks for checking in!