Lots of catching up to do...

What a week last week! First, I need to give a huge shout out of THANKS to the grandmothers of my lucky babies. We were without Jessica (our Nanny) last week due to scheduling issues so in marched the Grandmothers to pitch in a help out with the kids. We are so fortunate to have family nearby that can help us out when we need it. And we appreciate you so much Gramma and Grammy! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy days to help out. My sister in law Susie once said to me at a family occasion that it is so awesome seeing her kids surrounded by so much love from their extended family. At the time she said it, I didn't fully understand how awesome that was but now I do. There is nothing better than seeing our kids flourish in the love of family that surrounds them. Watching them love their Grandparents is a neat thing to see, that is for sure. They light up when they see them, every time. SO, THANK YOU TO GRAMMY & GRAMMA - YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

I never came back to update on our evaluation we had on Wednesday. All went very well. Long story short, both kids are behind a bit, as expected. JD is operating at about a 7-8 month old level which is a bit ahead of his adjusted age; and Cole is operating at about a 5.5-6 month old level, which is a bit behind his adjusted age. The real vs. adjusted age is quite a confusing concept because they analyze some things based on their adjusted age (which is almost 7 mos) and some things are looked at based on their real age (almost 10 mos). That said, we are in a good place with both and we have our work cut out for us for the next several months. We have lots of ideas of things we can do to continue helping JD & Cole get caught up. It was a bit overwhelming at first since there was a lot to process with two kids - but once I sat down and thought through everything, it's really not that complicated. The bottom line is that both of them will develop at their own pace and eventually will catch up. We can help facilitate their development but as with any children, they all learn and develop differently. We were happy with the eval and will continue with physical & occupational therapy (especially for Cole's eating). His eating has improved tremendously over the last week so we are on the fast track now.

We also had a doc appt at Hopkins to have JD's feet looked at. They have been very curved (in a C shape) since birth and our pediatrician and therapist were both on the fence about whether or not it was a problem. So, we had him checked just to be sure. The ped orthopedic doc said nothing to worry about - he'll grow out of it once he starts walking. Another thing to cross off of the worry list! Better safe than sorry, glad we had it checked.

Due to our lack of nanny this week and in an effort not to overwork the Grandma's, I took the day off Friday and headed down to the beach for the night with the kids. It was a great day (which usually doesn't happen when I PLAN a day off) and the boys enjoyed themselves. We were with two of my best friends and their kids and all of the kids did great together (4 boys, 2 girls). It's always fun to watch JD & Cole watch the bigger kids. They are intrigued by them and love to watch them playing and running around. I've enjoyed traveling with the kids this spring/summer; they are doing pretty well with change of routine and sleeping arrangements. They are still not too mobile yet so it's a good time to be traveling with them. It won't be much longer and they will not want to sit still wherever I plop them down! Then the fun really begins...

Friday night at the beach we got a sitter and actually went out like the old days! We went to see a concert in Dewey Beach at the Bottle and Cork (the Cork!). Now, I'm really going to date myself by saying who we saw - and I had to laugh when I mentioned it last week to a young co-worker, they didn't even know who I was talking about. We went to see LITTLE FEAT. Remember them? They were really good for a bunch of old guys. There's nothing like a live band in my opinion so I loved just watching the live music - and music that I grew up listening to as my parents always had music playing. It brought back lots of fun memories! Needless to say, 6am bottles rolled around pretty quickly after a night out but we rallied pretty well. There was a day when 6 beers warranted no hangover; not so much anymore.

On another note, we are the proud owners of a swing set now. I had the opportunity to get a swing set for our yard from a new neighbor who moved into a house with one and didn't want it. After some arm twisting of my husband (who believes that swing sets are for girls, not boys?), I arranged to have it moved over to our yard on Saturday morning. When we got back from the beach, there it was, sitting pretty in the yard. What fun! I spent the day power washing it today and getting new swings hung up. The boys went for their virgin voyage on the swings this afternoon and loved every minute of it. I anticipate that this will give us endless hours of fun (and will save me MANY trips to the local park). It needs a few new bolts but otherwise, it's in great shape. It was a lucky find for sure!

Here's a quick clip of the swingers themselves...