Mason eagerly chomps on his first bite of a Thanksgiving meal

Ever since Mason found his feet, he won't let them go!

Mason isn't sure what to think about his new Bumbo

Mason completely crashed after a full body massage from Mommy

Jenni has a way with bringing out Mason's biggest laughs

11.24.05: an 18 lb. ham and a 12 lb. turkey

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year. Just a short year ago, it was looking as though I had swallowed an entire turkey, and now here we are with two of them. Well, really, one is more of a ham. And how fortunate we are that they are both here with us. It's amazing how much they have enriched our lives already.

Because we need to stay fairly isolated to avoid exposing these guys to unnecessary germs, we are not traveling to be with family for the holidays this year. We enjoyed a quiet TDay at home, just the four of us.

What a fun stage we have reached, as both of the boys are noticing more, exploring more, and constantly discovering new things.

For one, they are much more aware of each other. Where once they would hardly take much notice of each other when face to face, now they can lock eyes across a room. When they lie next to each other on their playmats, they often interact, hold hands and occasionally even smile at each other.

Avery is more verbal, using his hands more, and experiencing happier moments all the time. He has started laughing some. Although it's barely audible and very wheezy, it's as cute as can be, especially when he has his little belly chuckles. When Avery is in a playful mood, he often practices speaking "static". He may not have a loud voice, but you can easily hear him practicing this new vocal technique from outside the room when there are other competing noises (such as the oxygen concentrator). He's already learned that it is amusing to us, so he often does it just to get our attention.

Avery is also sleeping a lot better at night and we've been able to have the whole family upstairs together again. Good sleeping has in turn resulted in better eating and he's now growing at an improved pace. He currently weighs just over 12 pounds and measures 24.5".

We can hardly keep up with Mason's development these days. Every object he gets a hold of is going to the mouth. He's proficient at eating his feet, and we love watching him observe his hands and move them in a rather psychedelic way. He's becoming quite adept at picking up and maneuvering even small objects.

Mason laughs and squeals often, with even more inflections than he has expressions. He's been babbling B's for weeks now, with an occasional D or M thrown in just for fun. He just survived a rather miserable weekend while his first two bottom teeth broke through the gums. He wasn't a happy camper. It's nice to have him back to his usual cheerful and goofy self.

Over the past month, Mason's taste buds have experienced rice cereal, peas, zucchini and squash. He appears to be loving all solid foods so far. His formula consumption averages about 30 oz. a day now. He's been sitting at around 18 pounds for over 2 weeks, and measures 28.5". His length still falls at about 95% on the preemie growth chart, and believe it or not, puts him at above 50% on the chart with full term 9-month old boys. Mama says he must get his height from her side of the family.

Over the past couple of months, Mommy and Mason have shared a few new activities together, including jogging and an infant massage class. We jog about 3 times a week, and we even finished our first 5K as a duo last weekend. Next year, Mama and Avery plan to join us. The massage class is long over, but I massage both Mason and Avery at least a couple of times each week. Avery wasn't very receptive to it the first couple of times, but he now seems to accept and enjoy our massage time very much. It has been beneficial in so many ways, especially for Avery. Massage can help with a long list of things, but we particularly notice how it aids digestion, promotes sleep, and increases awareness and mobility of their bodies. I wouldn't doubt that it has contributed significantly to Avery's recent improvements.

So far all of the boys medical and developmental follow-ups have been going very well, and they continue to surprise the doctors and other professionals with just how well they are doing. We have several appointments in December and we hope to continue hearing each doctor and therapist confirm that their health and development is on track.

Halloween may have passed, but ...

Avery can still be found dressed up as a frog on occasion

Maybe Avery is starting to understand what "say cheese" means

Comfortably snuggling with Great Grandma Jerry

Carl is often close by