Just like I was never gone

Last week I had the opportunity to get together with my three best friends from high school. We laughed so hard we cried, we feared for our lives in Megan's jeep, and we tried hard to put Kate into labor to no avail. But the best part about it was it was like time hadn't passed. I certainly made a lot of stupid decisions in middle school and high school, but somehow I chose these ladies and we chose to stick it through even when it got hard, and now here we are, 15 years of friendship under our belts- and it's amazing. Can't wait to see where we are 15 more years from now!

And it was these girls that convinced me to take up blogging again so they could better keep track of my crazy life and keep being encouraged by my thoughts and feelings and random parenting tips and ideas. We'll see how well I do.

15 months and 3 years old

Ian turned 3 in May and has become such a tenderhearted, contemplative, and silly young fellow. He is still very curious AND his memory is awesome. He still seems to be way ahead of his peers in some areas, but we've also noticed there are some areas we can definitely be working with him on (like he's been potty trained for a year and a half but still can't pull his own pants back up).

His current favorites include:

-playing with Thomas trains 

-playing in his new playhouse

-his friends Noelle, Sammy, Myles

-reading next to Mommy in his twin bed

-all the Pixar movies 

One thing that has popped up has been his diagnosis of Complex Motor Stereotypy.  A stereotypy is defined as a repetitive or ritualistic movement, posture, or utterance. Ian has a movement and sound combo that usually looks like he's walking in circles while pressing his hands into his cheeks and making a high pitched sound that increases as his hands move into his cheeks, then quiets down when he moves them away. It's not harmful to him, and he seems to mentally be "off in space" while he's doing it and doesn't really realize it until we "call him back" to us. It's just beginning to be awkward for me in social settings, when all the kids are playing and he just breaks into his moves, but other kids haven't seemed to notice yet. I'm nervous/sad for him when and if it becomes something he can be made fun of for, but for now I just explain what it is to the other parents and move on from there.

Neil will be 15 months next week and is such a funny guy. He's slept through the night from just a few weeks old and continues to amaze me in that department. He prefers NOT to be rocked or cuddled to sleep, just wants set down so he can roll over and suck his thumb. He doesn't have many words yet- but jibber jabbers full sentences of nonsense-mostly that start with the consonant B. So he'll point at something and say "Ba ba BOWW! Ba ba BA ba Bow!" He also just started walking this week! This seemed late to me, but since he was cruising for so long, he's a solid walker and has yet to fall over recklessly or produce any bruises from his newfound skills.

His current favorites include:

-using utensils to feed himself

-pointing at pictures in books and gibbering 

-bubbles

-putting objects inside other objects, putting lids on things

-his friends Neema, Charlotte

-playing with anything Ian is playing with

We'll have Neil's 15 month appointment next week and will report back with his height and weight and all. For a NICU guy who started small, he's been doing just fine. 

Thanks for enjoying the journey with us!

LJ