Milestones

G. on left and L. on right

The girls are now a month old. Actually they were a month old on Wednesday, but I never got around to posting. (My laundry, though, is completely caught up for the first time in 9 months!) They are gradually starting to wake up during the day and to sleep better at night. Night before last they both were up just once, one right after the other. It was the most sleep I've had in a long time. The problem is once they do that a time or two, one starts to expect it. And then they have a night like last night where they each slept just once. At least it's what it felt like. When I just couldn't nurse anymore, J. took them both downstairs and the three of them watched Monty Python DVD's while I got a little sleep. I'm not sure the girls really appreciated Monty Python. L. fell asleep and G. just cried.

Everyone asks us if they are identical. The fact is, we don't know. To know for certain, a blood test would need to be done. The more I look at them, the more I'm pretty sure they are not identical. They are looking more and more different to me. We did a test and I was able to tell who was who when they were dressed alike. I have a feeling it won't matter whether they are identical or not, I'm pretty sure others won't be able to tell them apart. All of our babies have looked remarkably similar and many people still have trouble telling A. and P. apart unless they are standing next to each other.

K. dressed as a pirate.

I think when you have a child who is battling developmental delays, you appreciate new milestones that much more. K. has enjoyed his tricycle a lot, but he has made it go solely by pushing with his feet on the ground. We've tried to get him to pedal, but it just wasn't working. He couldn't figure out how to make his legs go, plus he didn't have the muscle strength to propel himself forward. So it was very exciting when on Thursday, he was able to make it work. He pedalled down the front walk, turned the corner and kept going. He can only do it for short periods, but it is a huge triumph for him.

K. also hit another milestone this morning. As I have mentioned before, language is the area where he lags behind the most. The past few months we have been thrilled that he has started to use two word sentences. Well, this morning, there was an altercation on the third floor between two children and A.'s foot was hurt as a result. (It's fine.) But, she was crying and K. was concerned enough to come for help. As he comes down the stairs into the kitchen, he very clearly tells me that, "A. foot owie". As far as I know, this is the first time he has strung three words together.

J. and I are not really concerned about K.'s overall development. Other than sharing our excitement with you at his accomplishments, I blog about it mainly as an encouragement to others. When reading the description about a child, sometimes the diagnosis can sound very scary. But, what sounds scary in the abstract becomes manageable when you think about the child first and the diagnosis second. We are blessed that all of K.'s delays have turned out to be environmental, but we were prepared to parent K. even if his delays were more organic. If we hadn't been open to that possibility, we would have missed out on loving and parenting one of the silliest, loving, and joyful children I have ever known. When we accepted K.'s referral, it felt a bit (OK, a lot) as though like Peter, we were climbing out of the boat into a stormy lake. We didn't know what would happen, just that this is what we were being called to do. I don't want this to sound like bragging because it's not. Choosing the paths we have over the past three years has been purely a result of trying our best to follow Jesus and be obedient to His call. Any success we have had is purely due to Him.