Milestones

So, for most people, when their baby makes milestones they get very excited and show it off to the world. I'm no different :) I've loudly bragged about what Aiden did in is his early years just like a proud first-time mom does. Case in point, I also just recently posted about Jonathan rolling over.  So yes, I'm one of those Moms that people get annoyed with. Most recently, though Jonathan hit a milestone that most parents don't have to worry about.

Aiden was around the same age JP is now when he began to pull himself up by holding our hands and even bounce or jump. It was exciting to watch, but really it seemed like second nature to him and wasn't much of a milestone to me. When I initially found out about Jon Paul's condition (at my 20 week ultrasound), I had so many visions going through my head; one being a child that couldn't walk. When he was born, I learned that it was a foolish vision. His legs worked like any other child's, but one was just a little different. I noticed he wasn't like Aiden at that point because he didn't want to bounce up and down and when he pulled himself up he looked more like a flamingo (or a ninja- LOL) because he would keep his right leg out swinging in the breeze. He wouldn't bare any weight on his FH leg.

I had brought it up to his Orthopedic Doctor during our recent visit and she told me not to worry and that he would adjust and learn to bare weight and walk on it. She said it wasn't an issue as he didn't know anything different. I trust his doctor, but of course in my mind I was concerned like any mother. Then, recently we noticed him pulling himself up (with our hands) and putting weight on it. And in the exersaucer he started to put it down , as well! The picture below was taken today and makes me so happy that I need to share this real milestone with the world and brag. To most parents, this is no big deal, but to Keith and I this is amazing because there was a time that we didn't think we would ever see this happen.

Even JP is shocked- LOL

Summer Fun!

So we're in the home stretch (no pun intended) of staying with the Parents/Grandparents. We are officially homeowners again (and technically landlords) as we made settlement on July 6th on our new house. We agreed to let the seller rent it back, so we don't move in till July 26th.

During our homeless stint we have been keeping ourselves busy over the weekends. We have had the opportunity to catch up with some good friends (The Hermanns who have 3 kids ranging from almost 10 to 4) we haven't seen in forever which was so nice. We also spent time with our usual clan and gave Aiden a playdate with his best bud Colin. We also hit the pool at Nonni and Poppi's community which Aiden just loved. I've been trying to keep thing fun for Aiden, although living with his grandparents I'm sure has been great for him to have constant undivided attention.

We had a day out at Dutch Wonderland a few weeks ago. We took Aiden last year and he seemed to love it so I figured this year would be perfect. Boy was I wrong! When we first got there he had a mini meltdown because he didn't want to be there or go on the rides. I was a bit crushed as I was hoping this would be a day just for him. So we warmed him up to things; we first hit the new restaurant for lunch and showed him pictures from last year. He still claimed he didn't want to go on any rides, but as we walked out he said, "I want to do the bulldozers!" After that he was unstoppable! He wanted to ride the bulldozers, the monster trucks, the train, the cars, etc. He was having so much fun and asking to ride things twice. I was so happy and excited to see his smile! He even wanted to go on the Bumper Cars because they "crashed". Unfortunately for him (but thank goodness for me) they were broken down for a period of time. By the end of the day he was beat, but had so much fun and told us his favorite rides.

Jonathan has been hitting some milestones. He now rolls front to back AND back to front. He has finally started sleeping in a pack n play - he had been sleeping in a baby rocker chair. He has had his first taste of food (i.e. - oatmeal). He also said his first word -,"Ma Ma". Okay, so it's normally, ”Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma”, but I'll take it since Aiden’s first word was Da-da and he called me that till he was almost a year... and sometimes he still does!

JP had Ortho and 4 month check-ups in the last two weeks. The ortho was just a check in as well as a discussion about his treatment plan. We don't go back till Dec. at which time he'll get another x-ray. He'll be getting an MRI after he turns one and then his surgery would be slated around 18-24 months. As for crawling/walking, she said he'll learn to bare weight on his FH leg, cruise, and walk all on his own and likely on schedule. He will just adjust to what works for him.

His 4 mo check up was good too! He's growing and doing well. He weighed in at 14lbs 8oz and 24 1/4 inches long. He use to be such a little peanut, but no more. The doctor said we can start to introduce rice or oatmeal to him to get him used to a spoon. So we opted for Oatmeal. He did really well and really like it, but I'm not surprised. He's an eater. The poor thing also got two shots, but did so much better this time with no reaction.



Lastly, we had a low key 4th of July this year. It was just too hot to hit up the parade with two kids. I did have fun dressing them alike thanks to Old Navy's $5 t-shirts! We then went out to dinner with friends Matt &; Amy which was really nice. They really took to the kids.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying cool and we're looking forward to Keith's birthday, moving into our new home, and our vacation to OBX in August!