Happy Birthday Drew & Garrett!

Garrett & Drew are one year old!! This is certainly one of those instances when time seems to contradict itself. How could it possibly have been a year already since these two little boys were born, but was there ever a time that we didn’t have them with us? They are amazing little people who have changed so much over the past year you could hardly recognize them from their tiny selves in their NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) isolettes in the days after they were born.

I’ve been thinking a lot about their birth this last week, replaying those days in my mind, re-reading my journal entries from the days before and then afterward, reading my account of all that happened (and finding out I never did finish the story… wonder how I got sidetracked?...). I find myself wishing I could go back and experience it again (it’s true, you forget the pain), it was such an exciting and special time. It was (well organized) chaos, but it was giddiness, too, and such an amazing experience to get to meet these two new little people, after so many months of worry and anticipation and impatience.

At the time I’m writing this, a year ago, I had been to the doctor and found out I was already starting to dilate and having contractions though I couldn’t feel them. I had been given a drug to stop them and been sent home. In a few hours, Jim would get home and we’d giddily think, “guess we’d better start thinking about what must get done before the boys are born, and what we’ll need to take to the hospital”. Good thing, because it was just a few hours later that we were hurriedly grabbing those things on our way back to the hospital, the contractions having come back with renewed strength. The plan was to stop them again, but the boys were having nothing of that, and the call was made to deliver them by c-section. And so at 2:42 a.m. on 2/22/07, first Drew and then Garrett made their appearances.

There is so much I could write - I'm having trouble limiting myself, because every detail seems so important. But when it comes down to it, really the whole point is: GARRETT & DREW ARE ONE YEAR OLD! It has been quite an adventure, but we have survived and are feeling pretty blessed to say the least for what this past year has brought: Two amazing, healthy, growing little boys who never fail to out-cute themselves almost daily; Time with family and friends - so much love and support and good times; Challenges that we've overcome and some that we're still working on; Lots of crying (well, at least for three of the four of us...), but lots of laughing, too.

And when we're done reminiscing about this past year, we will be looking forward to a new year and it's adventures. Thank you for sharing this journey with us, and for humoring our Proud First Time Parent-ness (x2!) as well!