Happy Birthday to my babies!!!

Oh I cannot believe that my sweet sweet baby boys are one year old today. Gosh it has gone by fast. And, yet there were times that I thought I would never get to sleep through the night again. I am INCREDIBLY blessed to have such amazing babies. We went to the doctor today and Jake weighs 22.5lbs and Jonah is 19.13lbs. And Jonah is 1/4" taller than Jake. I cannot remember off the top of my head their height but it was somewhere near 29"...or something like that.

When the boys woke up today, we let them open their big present from mom and dad first thing this morning. They got a ball pit and boy I think it was a hit! However, the fun didn't last too long b/c we had to get ready to go to the doctor. The boys are healthy and ahead of the curve!!! Dad got to go too and it's been a while since he's been to the dr with us because we usually schedule it when he's out of town...and not on purpose. When we got home, we had a nap.

After naptime, we played some more. Daddy got the boys some sports balls - a little football, basketball and soccer ball. They had fun with those too. After our afternoon nap, we were bursting at the seams with family. Neal's family is in town as well as my favorite cousin, her 10 month old baby boy and my favorite aunt! They were all over as well as my mom, dad and two sisters. The boys had a blast with everyone.

We tried fish for dinner tonight...a first! They were not entirely thrilled but we got some down. THEN we had a little cupcake!!! Jake dove in and mushed it all up into a pile of mush. Jonah was intimidated by the strange object on his tray and didn't dive into it until I broke it up some - and then it was on! We had a great day all in all. We can't wait for our big party tomorrow. I think it's gonna be another great day.

Some things it seems I remember about their birth are in great detail while others are fuzzy. Unfortunately, the drugs of my c/section along with the nerves and exhaustion had me a little spacey after their birth. But it is a day I'll treasure forever!

Neal and I woke at 5am to get ready. We had to check in by 6am. Once we got checked in, I was put into a room by myself and once in my lovely hospital gown, was hooked up to fetal monitors. I was very nervous at this time that all would go well with this day. I did a lot of praying. Neal was in and out a lot, changing into his scrubs and on the phone with family. People kept coming in to my room to do different things, like put in an IV, check the babies heartbeats, etc. Then, my epidural was administered...not exactly as easy as I thought that would be. Once that was done, I remember hanging out for a while. Then, I remember my family arriving. I was so glad they were there. It was still so early and everyone was so bubbly and excited and I already felt so tired. My sister handed me a phone and my cousin was on it. I felt so lucky to have so many people thinking and praying about me and the boys. Then, my doctor came in. She talked with me briefly. I do remember before the epidural kicked in that I felt some pain in my back and she wondered if I wasn't experiencing some early labor. So, the boys may have chosen that day anyway, but I guess I'll never know!

Then, everyone was asked to leave, including Neal, and I was wisked away into the hall. I remember seeing my operating room door and on it was a sign that read: Duylle/Twinkies. I giggled at that. The room was bright and very typical of what I had expected. The nurses wheeled me over and tipped me so far over to get me onto the operating table that I thought, "omg, they're going to drop me!" They didn't. Then, it was all business. So many people were buzzing around me, putting up drapes and from what I could see, getting the beds ready for the boys. One nurse asked me if a nursing student could witness the birth. I asked her if she had ever seen twins being born before and she shook her head no. I couldn't say no to that. Then another nurse came over to my right shoulder and laid her hand on me. She told me that this was her spot and that she was assigned to me. She was a sweet lady. Somewhere in there Neal arrived. He seemed very nervous to me but he acted like he was trying hard to be my rock. I appreciated that.

Then, my doctor and her partner arrived. They said a few words of which I have zero recollection. Before I knew it they were in their positions making small talk. I remember at that point feeling my belly move around like it was full of jello and although I felt no pain, it was the oddest sensation of movements. I don't remember anyone saying that they were getting started. Neal started stroking my head at this point and I kept telling him how wierd it felt. He kept telling me that I was doing great and everything was going ok.

And, then from out of no where...I heard Jake cry. I had no idea they were even inside me yet and I heard this sweet crying! It was startling to me at first. Then, even though it was two minutes, it seemed like 2 seconds later that Jonah was crying. I was in shock at this point I think. I expected to be balling like a baby but I was just utterly in awe of the whole thing that I just didnt get emotional. They told me the boys were good and I had no idea of what was all going on but there was a lot of noise. At this point, I got a terrible pain in my right shoulder and they told me it was an air bubble. I think they gave me some more pain medicing because it went away shortly afterwards but it was sore for days in that area.

The next thing I knew, this sweet baby was laying across my upper chest right near my face. I honestly couldn't believe he was here. I didn't even know which baby it was but I did see that Neal was also holding a baby. And then we switched. It all happened so fast and they were put back in their incubators and wisked away. I told Neal to go with them.

From what I heard, Neal ran to grab my family as they were carting the boys up to the nursery. My fam got to ride in the elevator with the boys and this was their first glimpse. I have several photos of cameras smashed against the side of the incubator to get as close as they could to the boys.

I stayed in the OR a little while longer to get all stitched up and then they took me back to the room that I was in earlier that day. After all the nurses got done moving me around and putting things on my legs for circulation, etc., I was left alone in the room with the nursing student I had let observe. She never said a word and I think she felt a little awkward being left alone with me. I just wanted to sleep at this point. I felt exhausted. So, I closed my eyes and I know I was there for a while in that room resting. Then they wheeled me up to the maternity floor and told me they would take me past the nursery first to see the boys. As I rounded the corner, there my whole family was with video cameras pressed to the glass. Yeah...they were "those" people but it was adorable. As soon as I got there, I sat up to see the boys who had just had their first bath. The nursery nurses held the boys up for me to see side by side. All I could say was, "that was all in me." I could not believe how big my beautiful babies were. And I felt SO blessed to be able to carry them to 37 weeks and 5 days.

The boys stayed in my room with me for most of their hospital stay. It was 4 days of little rest and a ton of action. It is filled with memories as well as a few hardships. All in all, this was the best experience of my life. Holding two babies in me for almost 38 weeks is a feat that not many mother of twins are able to do and I would do it again in a heartbeat. When I found out I was pregnant, I told my sister that, "It better be a boy." And God gave me two!

Jacob Matthew and Jonah Cameron, you are the lights of my life. You hold the keys to my heart now and for the rest of my life. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't know what I did to deserve you. God gave you to me as a gift and I will spend every waking moment of my life loving you unconditionally. I will do everything that I can to make you happy and healthy. I hope that I can show you how to be good people and how to love God just as he loves you. It is my honor to be your mother.