A few days before their birthday, I looked at my pictures from the boys' birth on my computer. It takes me back a little to see them, tiny little babies, with feeding tubes and heart monitors, oxygen monitors and itty-bitty hospital bracelets around their ankles. It is sometimes hard to look at the pictures- to think about all the "what-ifs" that come with multiples pregnancies and births, but I see them now and know that for us, all is well. I am so thankful for my fun-loving, mostly happy, mischievous, snuggly, cuddly little boys. Here are some then and now pictures to take you back down memory lane with me!
This is William in the NICU. He was the oldest, but the smaller of the boys. He had trouble regulating his body temperature, and stayed on oxygen and IV fluids longer. He also had to tube feed longer. I remember looking at him and thinking that he would be the more careful and cautious of the two- and I could picture him always following Jonathan around saying, "No, Jonathan, don't do that."
Jonathan was born two minutes after William, and was off his oxygen and fluids first. He was a more vigorous eater, and the larger of the boys. He is still bigger in size. He still loves to eat. (He ate 3 fajitas at dinner the other night- even more than me!) He is actually the more cautious of the boys. He is always following William around and telling him, "No!"
William was so tiny that his bottle looked huge next to him. (He was 4 pounds 10 ounces at birth, and had probably lost some weight at the point this picture was taken.)
Although he was the bigger baby, Jonathan weighed 5 pounds 5 ounces at birth, and was under 5 pounds when we brought them home from the hospital. Look at his tiny head in Aaron's hand.
The boys were only in the most critical part of the NICU for 4 days before being moved to the upper floor, which is the less critical area of the NICU. Here they were able to share an "open crib" and they worked on their eating so they could come home. (This is William.)
They kept their feeding tubes in so that if they got too tired from eating from a bottle, they could still be fed through the tube. They had to be able to feed from 8 bottles each day in order to come home. (This is Jonathan.)
Here they are together, in their shared crib, still in the hospital. At this point, William (on the left) still had his feeding tube, but Jonathan had gone to all bottles!
What a difference a few years makes! Here is a picture that my friend, Erin Summerill, took of the boys during our Christmas trip to Utah in 2010. They are such good friends (most of the time) and are really sweet to each other, again, most of the time! (Jonathan is on the left and William is on the right in this one.)
I just couldn't resist adding this picture! It was too cute to leave out!
I took this picture of the boys earlier this month. They were sitting in the recliner together, watching a show. They were just being too sweet! (Jonathan on the left, William on the right.)
Here are the boys celebrating their 3rd birthday. We were singing "Happy Birthday" to them, and Emma was so kind to help with getting their cupcakes and candles to them.
The boys are trying to show everyone that they are three with their fingers! We will keep working on that one. (William is on the left, Jonathan on the right.)
William has a blue icing goatee!
Jonathan was just really happy- happy that it was his birthday, happy to get cupcakes again (they went to a friend's birthday party earlier in the day), and happy to be wearing his "monkey on a motorcycle" t-shirt!
Here is everyone (minus me, of course) sporting cupcake faces! Baths were definitely next on the agenda for the evening!
Here are some things about the boys at this age that I want to remember:
William: likes to gather up all the matchbox cars at the end of each day, pile them in the middle of the bed and sleep with them. William is the mischief maker. He loves to be silly and play jokes. If he wakes up in the middle of the night (and even some mornings), when I come into his room, he will pat the spot next to him on the bed and say, "Mommy lay down." I usually can't resist!
Jonathan: my little snuggler. Jonathan is the lover- he loves to give hugs and kisses. He likes to read stories with anyone that will read to him. He is my big eater! He always finishes his dinner and usually asks for seconds!
I am so thankful for the unexpected blessing of twin boys. They are so much fun and I can't imagine life without the two of them- together.
