For Roine

I had no idea how to start this entry. I knew it needed to be special. I looked back onto my previous entry, dated 11 days ago, and the title was "Tis the Season to feel Blessed." The word "blessed" stayed in my head. Then it came to me. Only 11 days ago my adopted grandmother Roine, wrote on my facebook wall the following message after seeing the photo of my boys sitting on Santa's lap; "Oh Emily! How you are blessed! There certaintly is a God to have blessed you so. They are absolutely perfect and you are such a good mother! How would we ever have known that you three (you, Nick and God) would be given such a gift. Good job. Love Roine. 

2 days ago, Roine passed away.  My neighbor, adopted grandmother and mother to My mother. Her family was ours. Still is and always will be. She was an example of a beautiful, faithful and loving woman. The example she led was extraordinary. 

When I was 6 months pregnant with Jacob and Liam, I went into Premature labor the day of my baby shower. Later that evening, while I was in the hospital and after my mom opened my gifts so everyone could get a glimpse of the baby blue presents people had purchased, I was told that Roine had said the prayer during my shower. I felt an immediate gratitude and sense of comfort. I knew my babies would be ok. Growing up, there were a few times when I needed a little comfort. Roine's hug never let me down. 


Tonight, as I put my 2 boys to bed. I plugged in their night lights. Their baby shower gifts from Great Grandma Roine. Shaped like an angel, it reads "An angel is watching over you."

 Roine meeting Jacob & Liam for the 1st time

Tis the season to feel blessed...

I've been thinking a lot lately back to last year at this time. 2 baby boys, growing inside of me. Wondering if I'd be able to carry them all the way to the dreaded 38 weeks (full term for twins). Praying that they'd be born big and healthy. I felt very limited last December.  Not only was I put on bed rest over Christmas, but I couldn't eat sweets! I think that was more difficult than the bed rest itself. My friends and family came to my rescue, bringing Nick and I meals, magazines, movies and flowers. Loved ones always checking in seeing if I needed anything.

Fast forward 1 year...no one can prepare you for a world with twins. It's amazing, exhausting, awe inspiring and straight up crazy at times. I'm finding myself more excited for this Christmas than I ever have before.  Last night the boys sat on Santa's lap. I watched in delight as Jacob grinned and Liam's lip quivered and the elves tried to make them laugh. I kept thinking to myself, "you should just be trying to get them to look at the camera at the same time! Forget trying to get them to smile!!" There are so many things you think about when you know you may never be able to have a child. For me, I wondered if I'd ever see mine sit on Santa's lap for the first time. That moment, one of many I've already had with Jacob and Liam this year, was perfect.

After that Santa visit, we ventured on over to see the big Christmas tree at Pioneer Square, then went to Macy's where they have a pretty awesome North Pole set up.

Have a little faith

Over the past week, I have felt every emotion humanly possible. On Thanksgiving, we learned that my oldest cousin was in the ICU with Pneumonia. Unable to breathe on her own, she was on a breathing machine and severely sedated. As each day passed, unable to communicate with her family, we prayed. We prayed hard. I have never in my life prayed more, sang so many worship songs with tears in my eyes, forced the fear from my bones and believed that my faith and the faith of my loved ones would be enough to help heal her.

I simply started doing the only thing I know to do in a crisis...bake! In the kitchen I went, with the boys in their exersaucers and their smiling faces to remind me of joy. Every time I would let fear overwhelm me, I reminded myself of one thing...faith. I remembered a sermon I sat through a few months ago, the topic being Fear and not letting it overpower you. I would also at times (a lot actually) text my mom to see if she had any updates. More than once she would write back just one word..."Trust."

Yesterday we received the best Christmas gift of all. Andee woke up. I had a dream the night before where I was sitting alone in her room in the ICU and all of the sudden her eyes popped open. I found out a few hours later that she was awake and on the road to recovery. I'm so thankful for my family and the lesson I've learned through this. Always have a little faith.

Can I please slow down time?

Well, so much for keeping up with my blog! There's been a lot of activity in our house and with the holidays approaching, it will only get more fun! We had the boys 9 month appointment last week and they are growing so big! Jacob's 19 lbs and Liam's 20 lbs. Jacob's crawling all over the place and Liam does the cutest one arm scoot. Liam's also about to pop his first tooth!!! It's hard for me to believe that 1 year is creeping upon us. It truly feels like we just brought the boys home from the hospital. I totally understand now why people told me the first 6 months are a blur. They were!!! At times I just sit and watch them laugh, play and smile at each other and I'm amazed at the little boys they're starting to become. Each with totally different personalities. Each with smiles that capture my heart strings over and over.

We had a lot of fun celebrating the boys 1st Halloween with my cousins in Camas, WA. A houseful of kids in costumes, laughter, trick or treating and the boys did so well. GG bought them their costumes and they were the cutest little dragons on the block!

Most recently, we flew to CA to visit Nick's family in Moraga. The boys finally got to meet Auntie Lesley, Cousins Chris and Alex and many other friends and family. We had a blast just playing and hanging out with each other, watching the boys laugh and crawl around and enjoy each others company. It had been 2 and a half years since we were all together!!! We'll make sure that doesn't happen again!!

 Saying "Goodbye" at the front door.

 Uncle Ryan and Jacob

 Auntie Lesley and Liam

 Sis in Laws and the boys

 Jacob being silly after breakfast

Till next time...

Changes

Over the past month, it feels like there have been quite a few changes in our lives. Little and big. We had about 3 weeks that seemed like a whirl wind. Nick worked some 16 days straight with the moving company. He would leave by 7 or 8am and come home anywhere from 8pm - midnight. 3 of those days were spent on an out of town move. Looking back, I have no idea how I made it through those couple of weeks. Pure adrenaline, family, friends and yes...wine. Each day both Nick and I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He got a job working at Cintas, and the position comes with a set schedule!!! We knew he was finally saying goodbye to the Moving Company and starting a new adventure. I should add, that this set schedule includes being home by 3:30pm and having weekends off! This is a whole new world for us!

Around the 2 week mark of Nick working every single day, we decided to call my Mother in Law for some help. GG happily flew into town a week later and stayed for 5 nights. The boys loved spending time with her. I think we can all say we enjoyed having her here! We had a few fun outings, Nick and I enjoyed a date night, I had a few outings to myself and a lot of home cooked meals. We were all happy! A few days into her trip, we got a great surprise. Nick's brother Ryan, was coming to town from NYC. So we all got to spend 2 evenings with Uncle Ryan. All in all, it was a great week.

Nick began his new job last Monday. We're both enjoying his new schedule and the good quality family time we're finally able to get.

The boys are changing so fast and simply seem like such happy little guys. They're now babbling at each other with huge grins on their face. They love to be in their excersaucers right next to each other so they can chat away. Liam's new thing is to "fake cough" and Jacob loves to eat his feet. Their personalities are so different, yet I can tell as each day and week pass, that they have this connection with each other that is beyond anything I've ever seen. Such a gift these boys are.

As each new stage of the boys' lives presents itself, and as a new season comes upon us, I look forward to what it will bring our family. More outgrown clothes will be put into the "outgrown clothes bin" and their favorite toys will get boring. But as our little family has learned in the nearly 2 years since we've lived here, change can be pretty fabulous.

Where does the time go?

Yesterday, the boys turned 7 months old. Every time we hit another month, I'm in complete awe of these 2 little creatures and the new things they're learning. This week, Jacob finally figured out how to actually jump in the johnny jump up. Liam's finally taken to solid foods and is now a lover of all things edible. Every day they make me laugh! The other night, Liam and Jacob were playing on a blanket and Liam (my little chatterbox) was talking away. It was pretty clear he was "talking" to his brother. Especially when he patted him on the back, as if Jacob wasn't paying attention. I could see Liam saying in his head, "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Yes, I'm that nerdy mom who tries to do something special on their "month birthdays." I remember when they turned 2 months old, I got a cake and we had it at my parents house. My mom said to me, "are you going to do this each month?" Why yes I am.

Yesterday we had our friends Courtney and her sweet 7 week old daughter Maya over for a play date. This was the first time they met and we kept telling the boys that they'd be fighting over her one day! Then we went out to dinner with Gramma & Grandpa to our new favorite pub. Poor Nick's been working an insane amount of hours this past week so he couldn't join us. This new place is kid friendly and the perfect place for 2 babies. I'm so grateful to be able to take them pretty much anywhere (if we time it right!) and they always do so well. We can't wait to see what this next month brings us!!!

 Liam loving his food

 The boys having fun in their bumbos

Jacob loves to put his 2 fingers in his mouth. After every bite of applesauce, he'd stick his fingers in his mouth. Such a funny little guy!

Double The Joy

she said "so! you're a stay at home mom..." in a way that insinuated she wouldn't be caught dead in that job.. and i laughed until i cried because i knew she wasn't qualified

Here I am, attempting to create a blog. I first started this in March when the boys were 8 weeks old. Clearly, it was an unrealistic idea at the time. Now with naps actually happening and a killer bedtime of 7pm, I finally have a little extra time to be able to maintain (we'll see) a blog. My hope is that this will allow family and friends near and far to be part of our lives as we go through this amazing (and some days challenging!) journey of parenting twin boys. Each day brings something new. There are so many moments that I wish my family who lives far away, whether it's California, Virginia or New York City, could be part of the little things. Little photos taken on my cell phone, sent to a far away place, just doesn't do it.. Photos posted on facebook come without stories. Trust me, the stories are the best. I always say the twins and I have become bipolar. One minute we're crying (sometimes screaming) and the next minute we're all laughing. Finally, it seems as though there's more laughing than crying these days. Which if you ask Nick, is a VERY good thing. Happy hour doesn't start in the middle of the day anymore :-)

So, to begin my blog. On February 2nd 2011, our lives changed forever. After waiting, praying, patience and faith, Jacob Dair & Liam Thomas entered our lives and immediately enriched our hearts with joy and love. They'll be 7 months old on Sept 2nd and nothing has been more awe inspiring that watching them discover the world. From their first smiles, to discovering their toes,  first laughs to now anticipating who will crawl first. It will be any day now!

Nothing is more rewarding than reading Goodnight Moon at bedtime, watching the boys smile as I sing "You are my Sunshine" and then kissing my them good night. Another day complete. Then, in the morning, we wake up to smiling faces and we start all over again. I've learned that their smiles mean we're doing something right.