James and Emma's 9 Month Appointment

James and Emma are doing great. Their doctor feels that they are right on track both developmentally and physically. James weighs 23lb 6oz and is 27 1/2in. Emma weighs 18lb 6oz and is 26 1/2in. James' weight percentile is going down and his height is going up so that is exactly what they want to see - he is getting longer and thinner as he starts to move around.

They are ready to start on more table food and feeding themselves. I am not sure I am ready for that, but I am sure Darcy is going to be thrilled.

The only area of slight concern was the circumference of Emma's head. She and James have the exact same size and her growth was larger than what they like to see in between appointments. We aren't taking any action on it now, but they will evaluate it again at our 1 year appointment. I keep telling them that it has to be that big to hold all of her mad scientist brains.

Pictures to follow later.

Helmet Progress

James had an appointment with technicians regarding his DOC Band last Wednesday. They are very happy with his progress to date. We could tell that it is making a huge difference, but it nice to have the confirmation.


We also had our first physical therapy appointment and the good news is that James' neck muscles are in good shape so we will only have to attend every other week and can do most of the work at home. They also recommended some other exercises for us to do with him because he doesn't like to sit and he should be sitting for extended periods of time these days.


While we were visiting family in Indiana, cousin Amy recommended our next decoration for the helmet be pirates - so here you go Amy. Thanks for the idea.

Emma likes the new decorations.

Happy 8th Month Birthday

James and Emma don't have another doctor's appointment until the end of the month, so we put them on the scale at home just to see how they are doing. James weighs 22lb5oz and Emma weighs 17lb8oz. James is about 27 1/2 in and Emma is 25 3/4 in.

They are in constant movement these days. I can't imagine what it will be like when both of them start crawling. As seen in the pictures below, it is getting harder and harder to keep them posed long enough to snap their photo.

Here are James and Emma celebrating the 4th of July. We went to Uncle Tom and Aunt Chrissy's house in Indiana for the holiday weekend. James and Emma had a great time playing in the backyard pool with their cousins Alex and Amy.

More pictures

James and his Helmet

James loves hanging out at the doctor's office while they adjust his helmet. They are very happy with the progress so far.

We had decorated the helmet for him but didn't have a lot of time for a photos. We took some quick ones before bed.

Hopefully all you Yankee haters won't take it out on James - how could you, he is simply adorable.

My little cutie

Emma received this nice bathing suit cover up from her Aunt Denise and decided to show it off.

James and his Helmet

James received his DOC Band today and was a great sport about it. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it so hopefully that remains the case. He wears it 23 hours a day and the only time he takes it off is when he and the band get a bath. We can count swimming in with bath time so he will be able to do some short trips in the pool this summer. We go back to the therapist next Friday so they can make sure it is properly adjusted and then we will go every other week after that. We plan to decorate his helmet this weekend so stay tuned for those pictures.

And just because someone in this universe thought we had an ounce of free time, they are now recommending that James has physical therapy for his neck. At our initial evaluation, they thought we could get away with just doing neck stretches with him, but after they did all the measurements and pictures for the Band, they realize that the tightness is more severe. We are waiting for the referral from our pediatrician and then we will add that into the schedule.