Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for 6 months!

The girls had their 6 month appointment this week and I think I can safely say that they're quickly catching up to their peers!

Let's start with non-adjusted growth:
Lilah - Height 2' 1.25" (28th percentile), weight 12lb 1.7 oz (1st percentile), head 43 cm (64th percentile)

Charlotte - Height 2' 1" (20th percentile), weight 12lb 6.4oz (1.5 percentile), head 42.5 cm (49th percentile)

Yes, a quarter inch in length equals an 8 percentile points difference and a half cm in head equals 15 percentile points difference.

Yes, the girls are greater then or equal to more than half of their peers when it comes to head size (say thank you to Daddy, ladybugs!)

And yes, Charlotte and Lilah, at 6 months, are nearly half my height.

I forget about how tiny these little ones are until I hear from other moms. One has a 4 month old that is 18 pounds, another's 6 month old was over 20 pounds. When I set the girls into their cribs with only one arm I think about how much harder it would be if they weighed what they're supposed to. But, they're quickly growing out of all of their clothes because they can't straighten their legs in the PJs or have the pant legs go up to their knees. Who knew that children of mine would be too TALL?

The ladybugs are also catching up with the 6 month developmental milestones: holds head steady when upright, sits with support, rolls over front to back and back to front independently, supports self in standing position (assisted), reaches for objects, recognizes own name, smiles spontaneously, squeals in delight, babbles to toys, transfers objects from hand to hand (Charlotte has a little more hand control), pulls to sit with no head lag, turns to voices, get attention by babbling instead of crying.

They also do a few things that are above their age: moves body with excitement in anticipation of playing, enjoys peek-a-boo, works to get a toy that is out of reach (they shuffle on their backs).

And a few that they aren't quite ready for: making noises that sound like attempts at speech, holds own bottle (Charlotte holds the bottle tightly but more out of comfort than trying to manage it), sits without support (those darn heads still).

They had to have 4 (!) shots at this visit, including the h1n1 that they're finally old enough to get. The clinic was out of one so they only got 3 shots, but something tells me that was more than enough. I've seen the girls cry for a variety of reasons, but rarely do they produce actual tears, and when they do, it's the saddest thing to see. Luckily, they recover quickly with a good cuddle unless they're exhausted, which Lilah was. We got out into the waiting room and got our first piece of unsolicited stranger advice (lucky us, I know, but we don't have a lot of chances to get them out much). Some older gentleman said, "You know, I was a nurse and babies usually calm down after shots if you cuddle them." I kindly responded, "We did, but she's very tired and more upset about that than anything." What I wanted to say, dripping with sarcasm, was, "Really? I never thought of that. Thank goodness I have complete strangers around to tell me what my baby needs! How can I ever thank you? Whatever you do, please, continue to offer unsolicited and entirely obvious advice to those around you!" But, I'm sure he meant well, so I kept that to myself.

Charlotte found her tongue this week, licking everything that comes near her mouth, including burp rags, blankets, hands (hers or someone else's), and our shoulders. I can ask where her tongue is, stick mine out and she will stick hers out for me to touch. She loves when I touch her tongue and is torn between keeping it held out and grinning from ear to ear. Let's hope that doesn't last past childhood.

Lilah is really getting the hang of this eating thing and absolutely loved the pureed banana with pear juice I made. (Don't be impressed. I have mini-Cuisinart and just dropped a banana in with some juice. It took about 20 seconds and made enough to last for weeks. I spoon some in little Dixie cups and freeze it.) Lilah opened her mouth wide whenever she saw the spoon coming and swallowed every single bite. Charlotte was reluctant to let the spoon into her mouth and still pushes her food out onto her chin, mostly because she's playing with the texture.

In other news, part of the reason I'm so delayed in posts is because I had strep throat the week before last and it pretty much wiped me (and my vacation balance) out.

And we had a bit of a scare with Roscoe this past weekend. I got home from work on Friday and he didn't greet me at the door with his usual enthusiasm. All evening, even when we were eating on the couch, he remained laying down in the lower living room, not even playing with a toy. When we heard him whimper we thought he was sleeping but looked and he was wide awake. We called him to join us on the couch and he very gingerly walked up the two steps, had difficulty jumping onto the couch and then piddled. All of this was very out of character for our sturdy and enthusiastic puppy. We looked him over and noticed that he had very little strength in his back legs and was trembling from head to toe. Not sure if he could have gotten into something, we called Nanntastic Cindy to see if he had been acting normal for her during the day. He had. So whatever it was came on suddenly. Sean, bless his heart, felt horrible that Roscoe couldn't get on and off our bed where he normally sleeps at night, so he coaxed Roscoe onto the low guest bed and slept in that chilly room with him all night so he wouldn't be alone. I took Roscoe to the vet in the morning (which involved me lifting all 67 pounds of him into and out of the truck - it's amazing how animals can somehow make themselves weigh more when they don't want to do something!) and she confirmed that it was pain in both hips, not some sort of paralysis. It could have been hip dysplasia, but that usually shows up in younger dogs (he's 5) and usually after a very active day (he hasn't had in active day since we got our Christmas tree). Another possibility was "sterile" meningitis, the sterile part meaning that it developed on it's own and wasn't contagious. She gave us anti-inflammatories to feed him twice a day and sure enough, he started acting better within a few hours. After the pills run out we'll see if he has a recurrence, but no one wanted to put him through x-rays and tests if it was something easily resolved. So now he's on and off the bed, begging for food, and back to his same old self. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he stays happy and healthy after this! He has two little girls to look after and they're going to be mobile soon!