I'm not sure where to start as so much seems to have happened this week. I guess, the good news first.

Thomas is crawling! Early Intervention was here on Tuesday and at the time, we were making comments like, "Thomas appears to be a long way off from crawling" and so we were looking into a physical therapist to give us some hints of ways to help him. On Wednesday and Thursday, I noticed he was repeatedly going from sit to crawl position back to sit which previously he had seemed fearful to change positions. By Friday morning, he was rocking back and forth in the crawl position. By Friday night, he was taking 1-2 strides! We are thrilled! It's so amazing watching the process. Much of it, they must figure out on their own or do accidentally the first time.

Now for some bad news....

Their colds don't seem to be going away. All the end of this week, their noses are really running although they are sleeping a little better the last 2 nights. We had some tough nights there Monday and Tuesday because of coughing. Their coughs are better but it doesn't seem we are done with the colds. I did call the doctor not that anything was really awful, but I wondered if he wanted to see them. He recommended that we keep fluid intake at a maximum and keep up with the pedicare cough suppressant. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with not feeling 100%, but Nathan has been really snugly the last 2 days. He has been my independent one, so I'm thoroughly enjoying this. If I'm on the floor, he wants to be sitting in my lap, if I'm working in the kitchen, he's at my feet pulling up on my skirt!

This week has been very challenging in the food department, especially with Nathan. I'm hoping that his appetite is just off because of the cold, but it's extremely frustrating. He takes 3 or 4 bites of what I've prepared for them and then starts crying, clamps his lips, pushes the spoon away and won't change his mind. One night, I let him eat with his tooth brush while I snuck bites into him. Another day, I figured out he would eat if I stuck a cheerio on top of the spoonful. About half way through that meal, he figured out that if he opens his mouth just a little bit, that he would only get the cheerio and not the rest of the food! Matt doesn't think I'm making it fun enough, it's not easy always making every meal into a production and performance! They ate like champs for so long, maybe I should be thankful for what easy time I did get. I wondered if perhaps they are bored with the food or if they want to feed themselves more, but nothing I do seems to get very much into Nathan. The last few days, he's simply existed on cheerios and breast milk. My mom suggested we get rid of the cheerios for a bit and just end the meal when he starts fussing. Then next meal, he ought to be hungry. Course that makes for a really happy boy! She reminded me that some of this is a power struggle and I was reminding myself that I'm their mom not their friend or pal. Thursday night, I was so annoyed with his fussing, that I plopped him into his bed while I fed Thomas. I think I've lost my patience with them a handful of times and 2 of them happened this week. I don't like how I feel afterward!

The last bit of bad news is that Thomas is still waking up early! I did try eliminating the afternoon nap, but that was a big flop. They are both still napping 1 hour at 9AM and 1 hour around 1:30PM. Thomas may just be a morning person! I try to think about the virtuous woman who "riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household" (Proverbs 31:15). This helps me to not be cranky when my day starts when it is still dark.

All I can think of for now.
love,