Happy "Welcome Home Day," Ryan

One year ago today we welcomed Ryan home. After 89 long days our oldest son was home where he belonged. There was a little back and forth about his discharge date, and he was actually supposed to come about a week before he did. The DAY we were supposed to pick him up we discovered that he had a hernia and it had to be repaired before he could come home. So, September 4th it was. A day we had prayed and waited for. Our Ryan, the Little King, was home at last. This picture was taken right after we got home from the hospital.

His first nap at home!

And here we are one year later. Our big boy is a happy, healthy, smart, sweet, funny, feisty, active one year old! What a difference a year makes! Nobody told me babies grow up so fast!

To celebrate, we bought Ryan a balloon that said "Congrats," hey had a special breakfast this morning, and I made cupcakes for dessert! This was my first time making cupcakes from scratch and they were delicious. I got the recipe from a great blog, http://divascancook.blogspot.com. Check out this blog! You'll find lots of great recipes. I love that she does videos too so you can see exactly how to prepare some of the recipes.

The cupcakes were rainbow colored and Ryan doesn't look too excited to be eating green, yellow, and blue food.

As you can see he got over it! He LOVED his cupcake!

We had a great day celebrating Ryan. Each year we will celebrate Ryan and Evan's "Welcome Home Day." They're too young to understand all this now, of course, but we always want them to know how special they are, not to mention how very very much that they are loved. On their special day each year Ryan and Evan will be able to choose their favorite meal to have, or the family activity that they want to do, or the place that they'd like to go. Of course there will be gifts too! I think its a good thing that they each will have a day that's special. They share a birthday, so they both get to have an extra special day all to themselves. So Ryan, here's to you my sweet boy! Each and every day with you is a tremendous blessing, and we love you more and more each day!

No More (Random) Tears!

The probe is over and we are back home. As I type, Evan is upstairs running around playing with his brother. Everything went as planned. I was able to stay with Evan until they put him under. In total, I would say the procedure lasted 20 minutes or so. When Evan woke up he was FIGHTING mad! They told me to expect him to be cranky, but my goodness! He settled down after a few mintues, drank some milk, and fell fast asleep in my arms. We'll spend a relaxed weekend at home just watching him and making sure he's ok. Thanks for your prayers.

:)

I have been SUCH a horrible blogger lately! Things are quite busy, but that's nothing unusual. I recently started back working, and I have been ty-yurd! Here a few pictures from last week. I finally got a new camera! Now if I could just figure out how to use it...

These two were supposed to be taking a nap. Instead they wanted to share a little brotherly love.

Not sure what was so exciting about this shoe, but Evan climbed in Ryan's seat to check it out.

The boys enjoyed their roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. Ryan is amused with himself because he managed to rip his bib off...again.

Note the food in Evan's hair! They insist on feeding themselves now.

Well it's official. Ryan and Evan are walking! Having TWO walking babies is a lot of work. I mean a lot. A lot, lot. Sometimes I just sit back and watch them and smile. I won't complain at all. I won't ever wish that they'd just sit down. We came too close to not having these moments. That's one thing that prematurity did for me. It made me more thankful, and less whiny. I am in constant awe of these two miracles among us. And I KNOW it's nothing but the Lord.

Please keep Evan in your prayers. On Friday he will have a surgical procedure to open blocked tear ducts. His eyes tear all the time because the ducts are blocked. It's quite common and has nothing to do with being born early. Sometimes the ducts clear on their own, but his would have done so by now if they were going to do it. The longer we wait to have this done the more major the surgery will be. He'd have to be intubated and they'd have to put tubes in if we wait. I've already put it off long enough. This procedure is outpatient and should take about 20 minutes. I think it's similar to what happens when babies get tubes put in their ears. Still, it's a procedure, and we're praying. I'll be glad when it's over so my baby boy can be done with this.

No pictures...

but I do have a cute story to share! As much as this blog serves as a photo album it's also a journal for me to record stories about life with the Ryan and Evan and raising twins so I can share them with the Peas some day. Ryan has been taking more and more independent steps lately. He can walk for however long he wants to if you hold one of his hands. He's constantly walking around the family room, but he feels like he has to hold on to something. Last night I noticed some movement and wouldn't you know Ryan was walking holding my shoe! The boy was walking around with my shoe thinking he was holding on to something! As soon as he figured out what he was doing he stopped. It was hilarious! Just this morning he was dead set on getting to Nanny J, so he left me and walked to her!

Evan continues to walk more and more each day too. I managed to get him walking on video and I'll post it soon. These two are pure comedy--there is truly never a dull moment at our house. Everything is an adventure.


Today is my last day of vacation. Even though our summer vacation was actually shortened because we had to make up some days from that freak storm we had last March, I can truly say I had a great break. I absolutely love spending everyday with Ryan and Evan. I am dreading going back to work tomorrow because I won't be able to be with and care for my babies all day. They are truly my entire world. Being a working mother is hard, but I know that being a teacher really is the best case scenario. I'm blessed to be able to spend so much time with them during the summer and holidays. The hours are great too, and I can make a really good living and help provide a good life for our family. I love my school and coworkers. But still...I'm going to miss my babies.

Update

Where shall I begin about the Peas? There has been so much happening lately...

• Ryan and Evan were evaluated by Birth to Three, an early intervention program, last week. They were given an assessment that does not adjust for prematurity. They were both found to be age appropriate. The only area that this was not the case is gross motor skills because they are not walking yet. The test uses 12 months of age for the standard age that a child should be walking. Many full term infants do not walk when they are exactly 12 months of ages, plus Ryan and Evan are both taking steps! Basically this means that the Peas are on par with infants who are their actual age!

• Both boys are taking steps! Evan continues to do so more and more each day. Ryan is becoming less cautious. The physical therapist says that Ryan actually has advanced skills; he just chooses not to use them. Ry-Guy does not like to take chances! Evan, on the other hand, is like, "I may fall, but I'm DOING this!"

• Their new thing is imitating. They try to say what we say and they love to do whatever they see the other doing. If you tell Evan no (which we do quite frequently) and shake your head, he will shake his head back! Evan also pitches fits when he doesn't get his way. I'm talking arms and legs flailing, make his body go limp, and screaming fits. Uh-oh! I always knew I was going to be in trouble with this one!

• They love to wave hello and bye-bye. I mean they LOVE it! They start waving and don't know how to stop. At first they would just wave if you said bye-bye. Now they see you leave and they start waving. Evan waves at almost any stranger he sees, and Ryan is becoming a bit friendlier too. He still has to stare and give you the side-eye for a bit before he decides if you are ok or not!

• They made the transition to whole milk and we all love it! It's so much easier and cheaper! We have to buy two gallons at a time because they can go through some milk! Daddy P always calls home to see if we need anything before he gets there. I told him one day to just pick up a cow on his way!

• The Peas officially eat every single thing and they love to feed themselves. They eat three meals a day, and you better not be late with their breakfast or they will make you pay! Evan is the messier of the two. That boy gets food everywhere! His hair is curly, so you can imagine the fun I have getting food out of his hair. They love to drink out of real cups. The problem is if you start giving them something out of your glass they won't let you stop! We found out while we were down South that they both love sweet tea--with lemon! Don't forget the lemon! What can I say, they got this from me! I gotta have my sweet tea with lemon!

• They can both use their sippy cups and they will drink milk out of it. We are trying to say good-bye to the bottles. Now the binkies are a different story...

• Ryan loves his leapfrog Scout the dog. He turns it on and dances when it sings--it's so cute! Of course he never lets the poor puppy finish one song! He just keeps on pushing the paws ! They both love books, which makes this mama so proud! I often see them leafing through books during their play time, and they love to listen to stories. I was a reading specialist before I moved to CT, so reading is a big deal in our house. A big, big deal. These two WILL be school ready--mama will make sure of it!

• These two are escape artists! We spend most of our day in our family room, and we use the ottoman to keep them going to the door that leads to the deck and the entrance to the kitchen. If you don't place the ottoman just right, though, they can push past it. Well, they wait for any opportunity where that ottoman is out of place and then they pounce on it! They take off and they are fast! They've also discovered that if they both push on it at the same time they can move it themselves. Cahoots, I tell ya!

• They love to play together. You ever want to see the cutest, make-your-heart-melt, thing ever? Watch a pair of twins interacting. These two go off into their own world and they forget I'm even there. They have a connection and an understanding that is theirs and theirs alone. We're not allowed in this club. I love to see them playing, laughing, "talking," kissing, passing the paci back and forth (I know!), and just being twins. It must be great to be with your best buddy all the time, day in and day out. When one of them is asleep and the other is awake, it doesn't even feel right. Sure, it's a little easier to manage and I love having one on one time with them. It still doesn't feel right, though. Give me two any day!

I broke my camera when we were in Destin! :( I've been using my cell to take pictures, but it's not the same. I'll be shopping for a new camera this weekend. Happy Friday!

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