Developmental Evaluation, part I

Marley had his first developmental assessment at Swedish this morning. He got to see the same occupational therapist that he saw in the NICU (which was kind of exciting). She administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, which assesses cognitive development as well as fine and gross motor development. It was an hour long, and Mars worked very hard to complete all the tasks. The results?

Marley's Actual Age: 7 months 5 days
Age Corrected for Prematurity: 5 months 9 days
Developmental Age (according to the BSID): 4 months 20 days
Mars falls within the normal range for his corrected age. His therapist says that he is developing normally and she saw nothing that would be a cause for concern. Yay!

She sent Jeff and I away with several activities and exercises to do with Marley that will encourage his growth and development. It was a very positive experience and I think we learned a lot. The next follow-up is around 15 months or when Marley starts walking, whichever comes first.

Seattle Aquarium

Yesterday, we went to the Seattle Aquarium with Tanya and Jada. There were lots of colorful fish for Mars to look at. He especially liked the large tanks!

Mmm...Chocolate?

Actually, that would be PRUNES! Solid food doesn't always agree with the digestive system - prunes are magical in that way. And BONUS: Marley likes them! Other foods Mars has been eating: Pears (his favorite), peaches (yum), squash (could do without), avocados (jury's still out), and sweet potatoes (an old standard). He also seems to enjoy ice cream, popsicles, and Talking Rain (lemon-lime flavor). Luckily, his diet mainly consists of foods from the first list:)

Home, Sweet Home

It was sad leaving Michigan, but knowing we will be back in October for Pat and Cyndi's wedding made it a little easier. We got home on the 3rd, unpacked and then repacked to head to Port Angeles for the 4th of July at the Brownings'. Once again, neither Jeff nor I won prizes for the BB Gun Shootout, Bocci Ball Tournament, or Beach Scavenger Hunt. I do feel that I performed respectably in Bolo, but only because I practiced at Matt's last week:)

Now, we're at home with a big pile of laundry and an empty fridge. Ahh... home, sweet home.

Pong

Matt did a good job on this video.

Binder Park Zoo

While we were in Battle Creek (where Matt and Alicia live) we visited the Binder Park Zoo. Yay! Marley's first trip to the zoo! It's pretty small, but has a really good Wild Africa exhibit where you can feed the giraffes! (I didn't take pictures of that, only video - maybe I'll post that another time.) It was a beautiful day!
Riding the Train to Africa
Do you see the zebras, Marley? (answer: no.)
The Bird House
Cyndi feeding the goats at the petting zoo

A Thousand Words

Check out our Picasa site (click "Pictures of Marley" on the right) to see some of the beautiful photos taken by Auntie Alicia during our Michigan visit.