Where to begin??

Seriously, I always think that each month has a lot of milestones, but this last month has been spectacular.

Where to start?

Well, we have the some great updates for the kids.

Grey has NO FEEDING TUBE. He pulled out his feeding tube on Dec 20th (this Tuesday) and it is no where to be found. I don't know if he hid it, a dog ate it, it's in the tree... we have yet to find it. He is on an antibiotic, the site looked infected at first, but has since closed up, and looks absolutely wonderful. He is taking his antibiotic much better than I expected, as it normally would go down his tube just to make life easier. It has been about a month since we had used the feeding tube anyway, Dr. Maisel told me to tell him congrats, and keep eating! He loves to eat, and will try almost anything. Currently his favorite things are: Greek God's Yogurt (strawberry honey), mac n cheese, whole milk with whipped cream, grandma's ranch oyster crackers, grape-mango- peach Welch's juice, pop-tarts of any kind, gerber ravioli, gerber mystery meat (it's what I call it, if you have seen the jars, you know what I mean) he loves salmon, pudding, oatmeal, scrambled eggs made in the microwave, grilled cheese... the list goes on and on and on. The kid loves to eat. The last time the dietitian was here she said he has lost some weight despite taking in sufficient amount of calories. Since he has a shorter small intestine than he should have, absorption of nutrients remains a little less than it should be. Therefore, I talked to the doctor she thought we should increase his calories by about 100-200. We have tried that. I think his weight has remained the same. We will find out on the 27th. Grey is almost walking. He very routinely takes 5-10 steps and he is determined to walk. It could be even by the beginning of the year. He will be proficient soon. He is currently 21lbs and 30.5 inches. He is wearing mostly 18 month clothes, but 12 month pants still (his waist and legs are small). The doctor and dietitian said that his growth was super, and nothing to worry about.

Grey likes to play by himself a lot. You can find him off playing with his ball popper that he got for his first birthday, or trying to walk, or climbing on the furniture. Grey is what I would call the most mischievous one of the 3. He is the one that figures out how to open the gates etc. He just recently figured out how to get into the gated tree area, and lifted the gate so that Lilly and Owen could also breech the perimeter. He is a stinker. Grey is getting his molars now, so a bit grumpy the past few days. I could not be more happy with Grey and his progress. One year ago, I would have never thought this little man would be where he is. The kid is a true miracle.

Owen is changing daily. He is the true definition of toddler. He does not want to be fed, and will refuse to eat if you think you are going to literally feed him. He wants to feed himself, and is picky at times. The old stand-by meal is grilled cheese. He likes to snack, but if you put it on a spoon in hopes to feed him... FORGET IT! We have had some sleeping issues with him in the past few months, perhaps it's because he has a full set of teeth now. His room was a bit chilly, but we just got new windows in the majority of the house... this has helped. It has also helped the noise in his room... that might have been a reason for his sleeplessness too. He is running all over. He LOVES to clean. If there is anything that resembles a rag, or washcloth, he is running it across any surface that he has seen cleaned. He likes to run his toy vacuum. Owen loves his shoes and socks, or anyone's shoes and socks for that matter. He is still pointed and making noises when you ask him where objects are, not really talking yet. He absolutely LOVES his father. When Todd walks into the room, he lights up. He has gotten a few toys this Christmas so far, and he loves to push around his toy truck and car he got. Owen can be heard growling alot..... hopefully that will subside when he decides to talk!

Lillian, oh, my Lillian. Lilly is WALKING! Yes, walking. I have had her looked at by every therapist that has come into our house. They all say she is just "cautious, and has the skills to walk if she wants to". URGH! She prefers to bear crawl, or walk on her knees, but just these past 2 weeks or so she is walking a lot more. She has been walking through rooms, and back and forth, rather than on her knees. She is the screamer. If she doesn't like what is going on, she will shriek like no other. She currently is wanting to be rocked to sleep at night... and we are trying to break that habit. She is a stubborn little sister... but, she is a true momma's girl. She is trying to talk, and if you sound out things for her, she will repeat it... like T-T-T tree... she will do the T-T-T. She is doing much better with the shape sorters, and is the first to point to everyone's belly button whether it is solicited or not. She was the first to realize that Grey's feeding tube was not there... wondering if he had help with that... hmmmmm

We got family pictures taken, and Lillian was the ham. Owen wanted to run around and chew on sticks, and Grey was teething... he cried the whole time.

They also went to see santa, and I'll see if I can scan that picture... it's hilarious. Grey is screaming, and Lilly and Owen look scared out of their mind!

We have changed around the house a bit. We have new gates up, and Owen is the first to test them to see if they truly closed. If not, he escapes very quickly with 2 others following right behind.

I am really looking forward to this Christmas, it's so much different than last. I will try to post a little more, as I got a new lap-top from Todd for Xmas!

http://www.jamiesangarblog.com/index.cfm?postID=927 Here is the post to Jamie Sangar's blog that has our pics and a slide show is you want to visit it.

This picture is priceless.... All 3 in the tub, obviously before Grey pulled his feeding tube button out!