We have been home for about 2 weeks now and we are all settling in rather well (considering the circumstances).
The boys are learning the routines/schedule/way of life at home and we are learning to be parents. Not as easy as some may think. When a new baby or infant comes into a family, you have time to adjust to the little things. When you have 2 preschoolers dropped into your life, you have to make SUPER QUICK adjustments and deal with things that most parents get to deal with gradually.
Overall, we are all doing really well.
They enjoy playing both in the house and outside. They have been to several different parks with playgrounds to play (once just the four of us and the rest were 'play dates' with other kiddos). They have 2 balls and 2 vehicles to play with outside (right now) and we are looking into a play structure of some sort to put in the backyard in the near future. They aren't really fond of swings but like to climb and slide (they LOVE the curvy slides). Anything that David does, Michael wants to do the same (he is our daredevil acrobat).
Inside they have some coloring books, crayons, blocks, a fire truck (complete with sounds), a puzzle ball (the original one from Tupperware!) and some vehicles (we are not doing the small matchbox type cars as the boys just want to push them under the furniture and can't get them back out). They also have several books to look at (usually with us).
Bedtime is developing a routine. Bath time starts around 7:15 and is done by 7:45 (yes, 2 preschoolers can get fresh bathwater, scrubbed/shampooed, rinsed and play all in about 30 minutes). They don't know how to play in the bath, so Rachael is teaching them (slowly but surely) to enjoy bath time. We have started out with a few squirting toys and today we bought some stacking/straining cups for them to play with as well. Not that bath time needs to take all night, but it would be good to see them playing for a bit in the bathtub! They both get teeth brushed (Michael gets help and David can do it on his own) after pajamas are on and then a book is read before tucking into bed. They really like: Barnyard Dance and Pajama Time (both are by Sandra Boynton). The first one in bed gets to choose the book first. We try to get them in bed for reading time around 8:00 with lights out around 8:15. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.
Food wise they eat pretty much what we have put in front of them. The only thing that David has a hard time with is spaghetti, but we are working on that (in other words, we won't use that particular brand of sauce again). Michael is usually good about eating most of his food before playing with it. He is very independent when it comes to trying to eat; he prefers to do it all himself. It really is fun watching him pick up pieces of things to put on the fork or spoon then put it in his mouth. David doesn't really like his food touching, but spreads it out himself. He also likes to eat one thing completely before eating something else. He also watches Chris and imitates his eating style sometimes (like mixing corn into the mashed potatos before scooping them up to eat). So far they have had: yogurt, apples, bananas, peaches, biscuits, scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, malt-o-meal, carrots, cucumbers, potatos, rice, broccoli, corn, green beans, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese cubes, milk, water, apple juice, beef, chicken, pork, hot dogs, corn dogs, pretzels, animal crackers, cheerios, spaghetti, pasta, bread, and various other combinations of things. They are eating quite well. We are supplementing David's diet with the occasional Pedia-Sure (vanilla) to help him out.
Their first doctor appointment isn't until April 21. They will see Dr. Montgomery at the Texas Children's Hospital International Clinic at that time and she will be their primary care physician for a while. We will eventually find a pediatrician closer to home.
David is wearing size 3T tops & bottoms while Michael is in 2T tops and 18 month bottoms. Even with Pull-Ups, he doesn't have much to hold the bottoms up, so we are going with the smaller size for now. Thanks to the generosity of friends we have plenty of clothes to choose from in sizes up to 4T.
The boys both got their first look at Sunday School at church this past week. They did rather well. Chris stayed with Michael and Rachael stayed with David. During the 2nd service (starts at 11:00), Michael stayed in his classroom and David came with us to service. About halfway through, Rachael took him back to see if he would like to stay with the other kids, but stayed only because Rachael stayed with him. We expected this and don't mind at all. The teachers and our Children's Pastor are very supportive about it all. We love our church.
We will post pictures of the boys soon (Rachael has to upload them first from the camera).
