Bath time for the Animals

Since they always seem to like bath time and look cute afterward we thought we would post a couple of pics of the animals (Avery the chicken and Mason the Cow) at their cleanest.  Thanks Uncle Todd.  

Doctor Visit

Today everyone got to go to the doctor and a lucky two got to get shots. Yesterday they were seven weeks old which more than qualified them for their first round of vaccinations.  They both did very well, a little shocked at first (as you can imagine) but they handled it very well.  We are excited because until they get their first round of shots they are only able to be taken out on a limited basis, now we are free to take them anywhere we want.

  

 Mason is doing well as you can see from his report card above.  Each time they are in Salem, their nurse at the doctors office, likes to fix them report cards with an artsy flare.  According to the doctor he is growing well and hovering somewhere in the 25% on all his stats.  

After trying a few varieties he has finally found a drink he can tolerate. He now takes pleasure in a 2009 Enfamil Lipil premade concentrate, a more refined and full bodied blend than what he was drinking (Similac Soy powder) which he found extremely dissatisfying and would turn into Linda Blair on us in a moments notice. The new blend is a bit pricier, however the belly filling properties as well as exorcism power it seems to have are well worth the price.     

 

Avery is doing great as well, she is still little for her age but the doctor said she is growing each visit so not to worry, she'll catch up. She is doing her part to help us keep expenses down by being much more tolerant than her brother when it comes to her drink of choice and enjoying SAMS generic Enfamil Lipil powder.  We can only hope she is so considerate of our budget in her teenage years.        

One Month Old

Today Mason and Avery are one month old.  

Avery is still as curious as ever, she loves to just sit and look around after she eats.  Today she saw herself in the mirror for the first time and seemed fascinated and confused at the same time...maybe a little early to figure these things out.  

Mason is doing well, he still loves his sleep, it took both of us working with him to keep his eyes open long enough to get the picture taken.    

So far in the first month:

Diaper changes - almost 500 

Midnight feedings - 60

Average hours sleep per night - 3

Just sit and watch them sleep - all the time

Jump up at every noise they make - way too often

Pick them up just to hold them - daily

Fall asleep while updating blog - 

Just the four of us...

One of our goals once we settled back at home was to start a blog and fill it with pictures and stories about our daily adventures. So far we've survived four weeks as a family of four and it has gone by very fast. Obviously since this is our first post we haven't done a very good job of keeping everyone as updated as we had hoped. On the upside, the need to learn quickly has left us feeling a little less "green" in our parenting capabilities which we hope will afford us more opportunity to update this site on a regular basis. As an added word of warning, we are new at blogging so if this site is a little muddled at first we apologize.

To bring everyone up to speed on the past four weeks...

Mason is doing well, growing bigger everyday. He weighed an even six pounds at our last doctor visit (12/24) and is measuring 1/2 inch longer - bringing him to 19 1/2 inches long. He has developed the ability to fall asleep within nanoseconds of finishing a bottle and recently, to our joy, has begun waking up with very little patience for our obvious sluggish response to his apparently immediate need for nourishment. We are aware that babies response tim

es from mouth open, drooling, eye twitching deep sleep to wide awake and starving can catch one unprepared, however, we still found ourselves surprised and a little jealous of the sheer speed at which he can make this transformation. If we could do this being late for work would be a thing of the past. And...to our astonishment he seems to be even faster between about midnight and 4am. Whohoo! Otherwise, he is doing well. Preemie clothes are finally starting to fit a little tight which has opened up a new wardrobe for him to pee on and it seems to be one of his favorite things to do during diaper changes. He is growing more and more curious about his surroundings. Once he's finished his meal he wants to look around and check things out for about 10 minutes before he's out again.

Avery is doing well weighing in at 4lbs 13oz at our last visit (12/24). Unlike her brother, she is very patient when it comes to meal time. She will wake up, look around, read the paper, and have a cup of coffee without saying a word. She will usually spend the better part of the first 10 minutes that she's been awake stretching, groaning, and looking around like she's never seen this place before. Preemie clothes are still fitting her well but at the rate she's growing we don't suspect she will fit in them long.

Per doctor's orders the babies aren't allowed out in public until their first set of shots, however, we are allowed to visit family on a limited basis. We had our first family outing just after Christmas to Nana and Papaw's house in the Woodlands and all survived without any scarring memories. In fact, it went so well that we got out again to spend New Year's Eve in Katy at Uncle Tom and Aunt Molly's house with the entire Spears/Lowers gang together (a rare treat).

All in all everything is going well. We go back to the doctor Jan. 27th for their first round of shots so pray for us, we hear that visit will be loads of fun for everyone. Updates (shorter we promise) to come.