22 Months

A couple weeks ago, we took Fisher to the hospital for a visit with the Neonatal Follow-up Program, where they evaluate the kiddos that had to spend any decent length of time in the NICU.  He weighed in at 22.8 pounds (7th percentile) and his head once again measured in at the 50th percentile.  We basically watched as an occupational therapist (I think that's what she is...) tested Fisher's development, from his cognitive skills to his motor skills.  (The point is to make sure that he is on track with his development and that there are no ill effects from being a preemie.)  I am proud to say that my little sweet boy did AWESOME!  While his actual age is 22 months, his corrected age is almost 20 months.  He tested at the 25 month level for cognitive abilities (smart cookie!), 23/22 months for receptive and expressive language, respectively, 22 months for fine motor skills and 20 months for gross motor skills.  While none of these test results mean that my boy will be reading by 3 years old or hitting home runs at 5, the test results do indicate that he has caught up to where he should be!  He has "graduated" from the Follow-up Program!  No more "preemie" status!!!

In other news, his vocabulary continues to increase daily and he is willing to try to say just about anything.  One of our favorites is his cute version of "cookie monster."  I'll have to try to get it on video.

Sometimes, Fisher tells us that he has just pooped or is about to by pointing at his back and saying, "poopie."  One evening when he said this, I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty.  He was enthusiastic about it but really had no idea why he should be sitting on it.  So, we definitely do not have a crazy early potty trainee on our hands, but maybe he'll be ready earlier than his brother was.  Who knows!?

Couldn't resist the adorable baby butt!

The best part of the past month was when my sis, Stephanie, and niece, Dailyn, came for a long weekend visit.  I forget how much I miss my family way up here in New England until I get to be around them!  We were so happy to have them visit and had a great time.  I kept telling them that they would like to visit even more during the milder summer (hint, hint...).  Here is Steph making a lifelong friend out of Anya:

Dailyn, who is six and a half, was so good playing with Hayes and Fisher.  She is such a joy to have around and is so sweet!

We all went to a birthday party for a friend's daughter, who is 4.  Ellie had her party at a "My Gym," where Hayes and Dailyn (and eventually Fisher) played like crazy.  It was a neat party venue.  Here are Fisher and me while he was still quite unsure about all the 4 year olds running around:

He held on to these balls for almost the entire party.  He likes to hold onto things, be they rocks or cars or balls or animals, like they are his security blanket (which is strange since he has never been the least bit interested in an actual lovey or blankee).

Stephanie feeding my child lots of sugar:

Hayes riding on a swing across the gym:

Kyle reading to all the kiddos:

We took a trip to the Mystic Seaport and the favorite activity for the day was building wooden boats.  Hayes and Dailyn (and Stephanie!) enjoyed themselves and made masterpieces!

Playing on some of the small playground boats:

The day we visited was "Newfoundland Dog Day."  Hayes was petrified but Fisher let himself get fairly close since Dailyn was so brave!

Other than Mystic, we spent time shopping, hanging out, going to the movies and showing them around our area.  We had such a good time and can't wait for them to visit this summer!!!
Hayes' big excitement (after his cousin's visit, of course) was his brand new bed.  We bought bunk beds (or as Hayes calls them, "bump beds") for the room we are eventually going to move him into.  For now, he is sleeping on what will be the top bunk in his current room (since it has rails to prevent him from falling out of bed).  He was super happy to sleep in his new bed, as you can see by his hugely genuine smiles!

What a big boy he is becoming!

Fisher still loves wearing hats!

Peas in a pod:

Trying on one of my new shirts:

We officially win "Parents of the Year" for letting them play with these comforter bags (though we were supervising from a few feet away...):

Silly baby!

Helping daddy push the computer buttons:

Hayes wrapped up in one of the new comforters that we bought for his "bump beds:"

These boys love gloves for some reason:

With his latest hair cut, Fisher looks officially like a little boy here.  It makes me so sad that he is growing out of being my baby!

Sweet face from our Hayes as a parting pic: