Noah and Grace turn FIVE in 2012. FIVE. They exhausted me over TG. Noah can out talk, well, most. Clearly. And he'll tell you how it SHOULD be. And Grace is the noisiest, most opinionated, silently articulate ( the face, oh the face) willful child without a regular voice (not counting her deliberate Darth Vader impressions.)

You can't compare preemies. They all have their own path. But you can take heart from other preemies who are badass toddlers and preschoolers. Cause those creatures are now indestructible. (Or so they try to be.)

Rick, 18 months is amazing! Hard to believe.

I do NICU and PICU support for families and, really, few want to hear about the experiences we have had. But they do like to hear that kids grow and change. There aren't words of wisdom to be passed on about the NICU experience, other than it's hard. Each day is its own thing and it's hard.

Amy, it was a Gerber puff, the kind that essentially dissolve. They are pretty low risk.

OH HOLY HELL. I just looked under the couch and there is a trache under there. It was from when we changed it on sunday. I am not that slatternly but WTF?!

Wow Kat, I usually just find Legos, super balls, and assorted action figures.

Yay Rick, for healthy happy toddlers.

And Grace eating a puff? That's good. Personally I think she should have gone with the ice cream you offered her a ways back, but I can see the appeal of a puff.

That wasn't meant to sound glib. I do think it's great she ate a puff. Grace has made such amazing strides. Her name is perfect for her, isn't it?

Look at all the little ones go! Life is good.

No worries about the potential glib. She is showing interest in food which is a giant step forward.

So I may have done something stupidish at work. A colleague received a grant. Over the summer she asked if I would share a project with her. I said yes, reluctantly, and agreed to have students write a business proposal. Which I know less than nothing about and business stuff is all gobbledy gook.

My students were signed up for a business competition so I could access curriculum. But I cannot support them at all and I don't care enough to try and I only have these students until Feb 3. So I emailed the competition folks and withdrew us.

Maria, other DC folks, and anyone else interested... link to my DC show in in my profile.

Go Gracie, eating!

And yay wee Cash-nephew. Hang tough, little dude.

Yay Gracie for eating and little baby for being tough!

For about a week I have had Glee's version of Salt 'n Pepa's Push It stuck in my head.

Now it has been pushed out because some teen girls on my bus were rapping and one of their songs consisted of "Kiss my ass and my anus" over and over and over. So now that is in my head.

But you can take heart from other preemies who are badass toddlers and preschoolers. Cause those creatures are now indestructible. (Or so they try to be.)

This stuff is all awesome to read. It calms me. It's nigh impossible to express this to my sister, however, who is handling this in her own way (by obsessively collecting information--seriously. You know what she asked me for when I called to see if I could bring her anything? FILE FOLDERS AND A PENDAFLEX!)

They will be fine and Reece's prognosis is a good one. It just be up and down for a couple of months.