Happy Thanksgiving

We are so blessed, Little Ones.

Last Thanksgiving was spent with a spirit of solemn gratitude. We were still in much pain from the passing of your great-grandmother, and yet also so thankful for you all and your health. It was a quiet evening, not filled with the loudness of our typical house. There was a piece of all of us missing without my grandparents with us. There was a piece of all of us missing without you all, our newest, tiniest, and what seemed like the only, reason for our joy. And so while we were so thankful, it was just a different year.

This year was such a Thanksgiving of celebration for me and our family. You boys have come so far this year, shocking not just us, but doctors as well! You are our tiny little miracles and we are so thankful for you both. I am so thankful for our family. I am thankful for the closeness between us all. For the support we show one another. For the friendship shared among us all.

Life is a beautiful roller coaster of ups and downs. This journey to you boys, and now with you, has definitely taught me that. There are so many things that happen that we can't always explain or understand, but through it all, there is much to be thankful for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Hungry Little Caterpillars

Saturday was your big day boys, your first birthday party. We were so excited to celebrate you both with our family. It was such a fun day! I'll let the pictures do the talking...

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday

How fun to celebrate a full year with you little boys! Daddy took the day off to spend some special time with the birthday boys. For lunch you visited me at school (you were quite the hit and loved by all my students!) and then we had a blast playing that night. New Legos, birthday books, bath-time fun, and a surprise visit from Paka. It was a fun, full day!

12 Months...ONE YEAR!

Wiley

• You are an official walker at this point. While it's still a little shaky, you seem to prefer walking to crawling. You are even starting to be able to bend for a toy, stand back up, and keep walking!
• You are still chatting all the time. I still don't think you call us "mama" and "dada" intentionally, but you sure have mastered those sounds.
• You are trying to communicate and tell us things more now. When you need our attention, you often give a loud shout.
• You have started clapping now and will do so on command.You also wave hello and goodbye (not to strangers so much, but definitely to mommy, daddy, and other familiar faces).
• You now like to dance too! You bend your knees and do a swaying, bounce move anytime music comes on.
• You are still toothless, but the slobber seems to be increasing...so maybe sometime soon!

 Ryan

• You have taken your first steps and now take several at a time. Depending on what you're walking towards, depends on how far you're willing to go!
• You are still chatting all the time. You are making many different sounds and imitating more and more of what you see and hear.
• Your love for music hasn't lessened. No matter where we are: at home, in the store, in the car, if you hear music, you're dancing!
• You wave hello and goodbye on command. We have begun working on blowing kisses too!

We prayed so hard and long for you little boys. It seemed like we may never have the opportunity to be parents. And yet, here we are, celebrating your first year of life. You have brought a joy, deeper than we ever knew, to our home. It is just amazing to reflect back on this first year. You have been fighters since before you were even born. Once here, you continued fighting, defying the odds and reaching milestones much faster than you should have as preemies. It's amazing to think how far we have come in a year.  Happy Birthday, our sweet Wiley. Happy Birthday, our cuddly Ryan. We love you so much and look forward to all your lives have to offer you.

Snow Day

Today...in the middle of November...we had our first snow day! While I'm the queen of the snow dance and praying for snow days, I really didn't want one quite this early.

However, I quickly got over it and was thrilled to have an extra day home with my babies! Although this wasn't your first official snow fall, last year you were way too little to understand / care about snow. I was itching all day to get you outside and play in it, but since you'd never experienced it before, we didn't want daddy to miss out on the fun.

By the time he got home from work, it was way too cold to go outside (we're talking in the teens...in November!! Crazy!!). So, we got creative and brought the snow to you! You weren't too sure about it and were hesitant to touch it, but still all of these firsts are just so fun!

National Preemie Day

Did you know, my little preemies, you were born just two days after National Prematurity Day? I was doing some reading on some of my favorite preemie sites today which mentioned a lot of the risks of prematurity. As I read risk after risk, I was overwhelmed with such gratitude for the miracle God has worked in your life.

We knew that there were many things to fear when we were first hospitalized, but all we could do was pray. When you were born 10 weeks early, again, we knew there was much to fear, but all we could do was pray. The first several weeks of your life, we faced many tests that would reveal problems you may have. And test after test, you both defied the odds and passed all of them with no concerns. God has had you both in His hands since before you were even born. I know He was such great plans for your lives.

Splish Splash

Tonight you had your first big boy bath! Two slippery, mobile, curious babies sure made for an interesting experience to say the least.