Over the River and Through the Woods...

This past weekend, the babies took their very first trip to Grandma Linda and Grandpa Rick's house, while Daddy traveled to NYC to see friends. The babies and I had a great time. Now, I had to take vacation on Friday to pack and on Monday to unpack. :-)

Just a quick funny story about Derek's travels... Derek packed in a backpack that I used to carry breast pump parts. Unbeknownst to him, I had left a speciman cup of Palmolive dish soap in the bag. As he went through security, they were very concerned about the composition of this liquid. Derek, not wanting to even broach the topic of breastfeeding, insisted that security just throw out the container. But, those kind-hearted security guys would not let Derek just throw out his "medicine." After much persistance, he conviced them that he would be fine without it.

What a day!

Sometimes, all you can do is laugh! This morning the babies and I were to travel to Peoria to visit the pediatriac neurologist. Now, I will get to the details you all care about, but I cannot resist sharing the comical details of our day. As the nanny was loading the kids into the car at home, a bird flew into the house. All we could do is close the house and pray that the critter did not spread its little avian germs (aka poo) across the house. We were running a bit late, but it should have been fine. Ah, but I missed my turn onto the interstate, and my keen sense of direction did not alert me to my error until I had traveled an hour in the wrong direction! My 45-minute trip to Peoria lasted nearly two hours and wound through countless one-stoplight towns. I tried to call the neurologist to alert them to our delay, but no cell phone service. Alas, we arrived, only to find that the doctor had left the office only five minutes ago. He agreed to see us after lunch at his other office. Yeah! And, his receptionist, recognizing my directional impairment and our struggles to get anywhere, personally escorted us through town to his other office.

Will and Lila were referred to the pediatric neurologist for possible positional plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome). It is particularly common in preemies and multiples, who spend even more time lying on their backs than other babies. Will's case is mild-to-moderate, and Lila's is classified as moderate. Fortunately, the doctor has given us two months to try to correct the problem on our own before prescribing helmets. This means lots of tummy time! The doctor was nice enough to give a quick look at Addie. Her skull also is slightly abnormal, but the abnormality does not fit a classic positional plagiocephaly case. If her skull does not improve, she will need an x-ray to rule out any premature closures of the cranial sutures. However, he does not believe this to be the case.

Well, it was a hectic day. I arrived home to find that Derek had produced a video documentary of his bird hunt. He excercised great care for the bird as he expelled it from our home. The Crocodile Hunter, himself, would have been proud. And, I was proud of Derek for protecting our home! :-)

Play Ball

The Holtlets celebrated opening day, although their spirits were dampened with the Cardinals' rain out. We have had a great week. I have a break from school, which is allowing me to enjoy even more moments with the babies.

Today, the babies tried rice cereal for the first time. Addie was first up, since she is quite the eater. She was not sure about the strange substance but quickly decided it was worth the effort. She finished the whole bowl! Lila wanted nothing to do with the cereal, and Will was just too impatient to eat spoonful-by-spoonful. We had varying levels of success but a big mess!