Where Did the Time Go!?

Can you believe it?  9 months has already passed since the babies were born!  Everyone would always tell us, "the time will fly by, make the most of it"!  But of course we didn't realize it until we really experienced it first hand.  I cannot even begin to explain what the past 9 months have been like.  What an amazing feeling of incredible emotion we have experienced raising these 3 miracles.  Yes, it is a lot of work and does require constant organization, schedules, routines and patience but I can't imagine our days any other way.  Each of our children have developed such beautiful personalities filled with so much love and happiness.  I cannot even imagine what the future days, months and years have to offer us. 

Photo courtesy of our amazing friend and photographer, Veronica Krammer

Of course along with the celebration of their 9 month "birthday" we had to pay a visit to the doctor for vaccinations :(  The doc is overall very happy with all of them.  The stats:

Gavin: 17 lb 5 oz (10%), 26 1/2 in long (4%)
Gavin, who was once our middle one in weight, is now our smallest!  The doc wasn't concerned though because he's still on the charts and growing great.  She also said that Gavin has a small frame like his Mommy so he's not going to weigh a lot.  He's also not a huge eater and is very active so all of those factors definitely play a roll.  Don't let his small frame fool you though! He's a tough guy and so strong! He's crawling, pulling himself up to standing and attempting to take side steps! I have a feeling he may be an early walker.  He does not have any teeth yet but sure is teething!  He is saying "Dadada".  As you know from an earlier post his helmet is finally off after 3 months and he's loving it.  He has the most beautiful blue eyes and white blond hair! 

Sticking his tongue out at me while "jailed" in his playroom!

Ava: 19 lb (50%), 27 1/4 in long (40%)
Ava, who was once our heaviest, is our middle child in both categories now.  She is finally crawling but has no desire to pull herself up to stand.  She would much rather just sit and "people watch" and chew on her toothbrush!  When Ava left the NICU she had a small heart murmur that was closing; however, the doc. could still hear it yesterday so we'll have to listen out for it again at their 12 month.  If it still can be heard then she will have to go back to the cardiologist and possibly have an EKG to see if they will need to do surgery to close it.  Let's hope not!  She is definitely going through that stranger/separation anxiety stage.  She especially gets upset at men's deep voices.  Once she's around "strangers" for a little while she's fine, it just takes some time for her to get comfortable.  She has two bottom teeth and is also saying "Dadada" (Joe thinks he's winning 2-1 but really it's easier for babies to say the "D" sound over the "M" sound)! Ava has the cutest little smile and loves to cuddle. 

Learning how to use a spoon!

Brayden: 19 lb 4 oz (25%), 28 1/2 in long (50%)
It's hard to believe that he was our smallest when born at 3 lb 11 oz and now he's the biggest in weight and length!  Brayden is a great eater and will never turn down food.  He's crawling, pulling himself up to standing and is already learning the right way with "Mamama" (J/K)!  He also has two teeth on the bottom.  Brayden is definitely becoming more and more independent and really likes to explore.  He loves to open and close things like containers or the oven on their toy kitchen.  He could live in his jumperoo if we let him! Lately when he smiles he scrunches up his nose and it just lights up any room.  If really laughing you can also hear him snort! 

Standing everywhere now!

So they all got two shots each and only have one more Synagis vaccination (next week) until the start of next years RSV season (Oct.)  They are awesome with shots though.  They cry for a little while and quickly recover.  The doc said to start giving them yogurt and pureed meats.  So we're going to buy the big tubs of plain yogurt and add pureed fruit to it for breakfast/lunch ( a good amount of those small packaged yogurts for babies have a lot of sugar in them).  We're going to start pureeing some turkey and chicken for them too.  They're all in size 4 diapers (though a little big for Gavin still). 

The next few weeks and months are quite busy for us with a vacation to Myrtle Beach, trip to Virginia Beach, weddings, bridal showers, Army formals and birthday parties so I'll have lots to write about. Next week the babies go to their developmental specialist to see if they are now "true 9 month olds" developmentally and we don't have to subtract 2 months from their age due to being preemies.  I'll be sure to blog about that! 

Thank you all for following our lives on here and witnessing our three angels grow up.