Fixin' my melon

She doesn't seem too bothered by it!

Morgan is sporting a new accessory these days... the DOC Band.

When she was born, we noticed she would only turn her head in one direction. She also liked to sleep on that side of her head. We worked on getting her neck so that she could turn it both ways, but the damage was already done. She ended up with a flat spot on her head.

Over the past few months, it has gotten less noticeable, but nowhere near normal. At her 6 month check-up, the doctor said we should get her evaluated by a specialist. Our doctor's opinion was that Morgan's head would not get completely better on it's own. She said if we waited until Morgan was 9 months old to see how it looked then (her next check-up), we take the risk that she'll have to wear the helmet longer than if we started the process now. It works by shaping the head as it grows. There is space in the helmet in the area where we want her head to fill out as it gets larger and no space in the other side. You want to have them in it when they are growing the fastest (= less time wearing it).

So, we decided to go ahead and get the process started now instead of waiting. We want her to be in it the least amount of time as possible.

Morgan has surprised us with how easily she's adapted to wearing it. She actually fell asleep in the doctor's office 10 minutes after they first put it on her. She has to wear it 23 hours a day for about 12 weeks depending on how fast she grows. Here's hoping for a major growth spurt in the next month! We go for check-ups every two weeks to see the progress and to get it adjusted.

Now the question is... should I decorate this thing and how??? We didn't have a choice of color; they are only offered in white. Most people decorate them with paints or stickers or the baby's name, so they don't look so "medical". They gave us a handout on which paints are safe to use. If you put stickers on it, you have to seal them on with mod podge, so the stickers don't become a choking hazard. They gave us a calendar with all these adorably decorated DOC bands for inspiration and of course, there's a ton of ideas on Pinterest. I am NOT artsy or creative at all, so who knows what we'll end up with. It may just stay white!

Seven months

Avery and Morgan were 7 months old last week. Every month that goes by, I think "how can they already be this old?" Especially when I look at pictures of them as newborns. They were so tiny! Now, they are wearing clothes we used to look at and say "these are HUGE" and sitting up and rolling around and blabbering nonstop... so many changes!

Over the past month, the girls have expanded their menu of foods they like to eat. Sweet potatoes are still a favorite. Peas are on the "Do not feed" list. Avery hates them, Morgan tolerates them. Matt and I even tried the baby food peas and they are not good. I haven't brought myself to give the girls pureed meats yet. It just looks gross. We gave the girls a taste of a lemon wedge when we were out for lunch the other day. Avery made the typical "oh that is sour" face. Morgan chomped right down on it and would have eaten the whole thing. She takes after her Aunt Erin, who used to eat lemons like oranges as a kid.

They are getting more mobile. Gone are the days when we can lay them down on the floor to play and do something else in the kitchen, etc. They are all over the place, especially Avery. We can't take our eyes off them for long. They aren't crawling yet, but will get themselves in some strange positions scooting around the play area to get to their toys.

The girls are interacting with each other now. They look at each other and smile or screech. They scoot closer to each other when playing and hold hands. It's so sweet to watch. Of course, they also tend to go at each other's eyes and face, which is a little dangerous. We can't leave them alone together too long without interfering.

They are also interacting with us more. They babble at us, we speak English to them... they think we are having a great conversation. They reach their arms out to us to be picked up. They love getting smiles out of us. They get so proud of themselves when they do something and we give them a smile.

They both have two bottom teeth, which are SHARP! You do not want to be on the receiving end of those! We have to be careful they don't bite each other as well. Everything we own is now a teether, as long as they can get it in their mouth.

We fall more in love with these two little munchkins every day! :)

Working on her Faux-hawk

Romper Room

We used to have a living room... but a couple of little girls are becoming more mobile these days and are harder to keep contained.

Avery is a girl on the move
She rolls right off the playmat all the time

So, now our living room looks like this...

They've taken over!

They LOVE these things

And this is why they don't share a crib at night

I don't think Avery would let Morgan get any sleep!

This girl is a mess!

I think we need to just cover her in bibs. One is not doing the trick!

Bird casualty

You would think that kids toys' would be a little more durable, but our 7 month old was able to break off her favorite bird. "Larry" took a dive and was on the floor when I came back in the room after changing Morgan. Avery was just playing with the empty hole. :)  Luckily, Daddy was able to super glue Larry back in.

Loving the warmer weather

Now that the weather is warmer, we've been to the park in our neighborhood a few times. Morgan has slept through most of our park visits. She tends to fall asleep in the stroller right before we get to the park. And she wakes up right when we're ready to head home. Go figure.

Avery loves the swings

Not exactly awake yet, but we made her swing anyway

Not so sure about the grass

What is this stuff???

Grandma's birthday

Matt's mom, Ruth, visited us recently and it happened to be her birthday while she was here. The girls loved being showered with attention from Grandma! We took a few walks and spent loads of time playing. We all went out to celebrate Grandma's birthday in Greektown.