Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did! We spent the day playing at Grammy's house, with Grammy, Uncle Seth, Aunt Lys and Uncle Marc, and Reid! All three boys had a wonderful time and Riley learned how to feed Peppe, our dog, from his high chair. It was so cute, but I couldn't get to my camera to get a picture. I did get this good one of Ross and Reid playing together before dinner, though.




The rest of the weekend was just as much fun! On Saturday, we all went to Chuck E. Cheese to play. The boys watched the show for a few minutes, but spent most of the time running and crawling all over the place. Thank goodness everyone helped me chase the boys or I am sure I would have lost one of them! I wasn't able to get any pictures, but thankfully Uncle Marc and Aunt Lys got a coouple of good ones!



All three boys watching the show...














Ross about to go down the slide








Some of you have asked about how the boys are doing with their DAFO's (leg braces). Riley has been doing beautifully with his since the first day that he got them. He spent a few hours a little unsure of how to move with them on, but he quickly got used to them and is now doing all of the same things he was doing before. He is still not able to keep his ankles straight when he stands, but he is getting better and better. As soon as I pick them up to put them on him in the mornings, he very cooperatively holds out each foot and lays totally still until they are strapped on and his shoes are on and tied. He's so cute about it!


Ross had a much tougher adjustment and was fairly miserable for a couple of days. He seemed to feel like he couldn't move while wearing them, and he just sat completely still and cried. It was heartbreaking. Then, he finally learned how to move in them, and just as quickly, he learned how to pull them off...shoes and alll! So, we had to go back to the orthotist to have extra gripping pads put into the heels to help keep them on him. We had them adjusted Friday, and he immediately starting crawling, cruising, and playing perfectly well in them! On Saturday, at Chuck E. Cheese, he wore them and crawled and climbed all over the place. He has also taken quite a few steps holding onto my hands, or Grammy's hands, which is very exciting.

Here's a picture of both boys standing in their DAFO's. You can see how they really help Ross to stand nice and straight, and that Riley is getting straighter.






Thanks to all of you who have already given me such great feedback about this new site. Please don't forget to leave us a comment and to vote in the poll!

Welcome!

Welcome to Twincredible Twosome! This is a new blog where I can continue to share news and photos of the boys with everyone. I decided to close the Carepage website because it is time to move on. The Carepage was a wonderful way for me to get info out to everyone while the boys were in the NICU. All of your comments and heartfelt messages made the days a little easier, knowing that so many people were sending love, support, and prayers as the boys grew strong enough to come home.

Then, after the boys came home, so many of you wanted to know how they were doing, how big they were getting, and what they were up to. Also, lots of you asked me to post as many pics as I could, so the Carepage was a great way to share those. However, Carepages are really meant for families who are dealing a health crisis (premature birth, illness, etc.) and I feel like we're so far past that part of the boys ' lives. I am deeply grateful that they are healthy and strong, and I just want to focus on all of the "twincredible" things they are doing now.

I am doing my best to transition to the new site without losing any of the info on the Carepage. I really want the boys to be able to see it all when they are older! I copied all of the posts from the Carepage and archived them on this site. I also archived all of the messages on the message board. Finally, I created a group in my email so I can send out email notifications (just like the Carepage did automatically) when I post and/or add new pictures. There are also some fun, new things to check out, like the photo slideshow and the poll at the bottom.

So, please stop by and check on the boys whenever you'd like! I will post as often as I can, and share as many pics as possible. If you don't want me to send the notifcation emails to you, just reply and let me know and I will be happy to take you off the list.

Thanks for caring so much about the boys!

Thing One and Thing Two and Riley's Big News

Hi, everyone! The boys have been doing so many new and exciting things! I have been meaning to post for a few days, but we've been so busy that I just haven't had time. I just posted several new pics from the past couple of weeks, including some Halloween pictures. The boys dressed as "Thing One" and "Thing Two" from "The Cat in the Hat." My most adorable nephew was a Dragonfly, and I had to include a pic of him because he looked so gorgeous!

The most exciting announcement of the week is that Riley has started to take some steps holding onto a walker! He has been working very hard in physical therapy and it is paying off! Here is a very short video (37 seconds) of his first attempt!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U3tFmWFkm9MGhZUdJC3KoA

Both boys will be getting their DAFO's (leg braces) on November 12th and I am sure they will really take off with the added stability. I have a hunch we may have some independent walkers very soon!

Thanks for checking in with us! I hope you all had a great Halloween!