What a year! The twins are 1!

We are blessed! The twins are 1 and I can hardly believe it. They are both crawling and pulling themselves up to stand. They smile all the time! They wave hi and bye bye. Brielle says "uh oh" and Corinne claps at every thing Lyla does :)

They are a complete joy and they make me smile all the time.

In reflection of our journey I am saddened that the Dr.'s were so negative upon delivering the news to us that they were mono mono. When I see a result like these 2 beautiful babies I can't imagine being anything but positive. Together with God they chose to enter the world in an unusual way. Aside from conjoined twins no 2 people can possibly be closer. What a special bond they have. What a special journey their life will be.

Now that the first year is over, I can calmly reflect on the scary and stressful times in the NICU. The great joy of being able to hold my daughters for the first time when they were almost 2 weeks old. The fear of bringing them home during a hurricane and how they spent their first night home in a pack and play in our basement as we mopped up water and watched the TV for tornado warnings. The pumping, pumping and more pumping that I did and how I sometimes fell asleep pumping! hahaha... The support from our parents as I recovered from hernia surgery just days after bringing the twins home. The COLIC ohhhh the COLIC. No one can explain to you what colic is until you experience it! The first smiles!!!!!!! Corinne smiled first. I was trying to get her to fall asleep and she looked at me and smiled. That erased all of my frustration that night. The specialist appointments, the fear of test results, the unknown.  Realizing their eyesight was good! Realizing their hearing was good! Corinne not rolling over, Corinne finally rolling over! Their blessed sacrament of baptism! Sleeping through the night! FINALLY! Teeth! More teeth! Babbling, Dada and every once in a while a mama :)...sometimes a yaya (Lyla?) too!!

The twins had a spectacular first birthday party and so many relatives and friends came to help us celebrate. What a special day for all of us! We so much appreciate all of you that braved the heat (102 degrees!) that day in order to honor the girls, their journey and the miracle of their life!

What a year! What a journey! Raising identical twins will no doubt be fun! Thank you God!

As always, thank you to all of you that have prayed and supported us over the last year and several months. It will never be forgotten.

Please continue your prayers as the twins have another cardiologist appointment in a few weeks. We are praying that the hole in their hearts has closed up and that they will not need surgery.

I also want to mention that during times like these it is evident that their is someone missing. The girls lost their Pop Pop (Bryan's dad) a few months before they were born. He would have been so happy to see them celebrate their first birthday. I like to think that he helped and held our hand through the rough journey of my pregnancy and the first weeks of their life. They will never get to meet their Pop Pop but they will always know they have an extra special angel watching over them. He knew they were coming and he was so excited! He showed their ultrasound picture to all his nurses and joked with Bryan about having 3 daughters. I will never forget the smile on his face when we told him they were girls! He will be forever missed.

God Bless!

Best Big Sister EVER!



The twins are 6 months old!

Brielle & Corinne

Well they are actually 6  1/2 months today! They are doing great! When they are not crying they are smiling :). They are the 2 little smiley faces that I dreamed about seeing all those months ago. They LOVE watching Lyla as she prances around to entertain them. They are beginning to roll over now! Corinne more so than Brielle but Brielle is getting there. The Dr.'s are pleased with their growth and development.  They are little peanuts though weighing 10lbs 14 oz (Brielle) and 10lbs 3 oz (Corinne).  I suspect their weight will pick up soon, as they are now waking for feedings at night; a habit they had dropped for a few weeks. They babble now, screeching so loudly at times their happiness can sometimes be mistaken for crying.  The question "Are they happy or crying?" is often asked in our house lately. haha

They have both been diagnosed with a minor heart disorder called ASD. The cardiologist tells us they were born with this and is not related to their premature birth.  He is not concerned about this and there is actually a possibility for this to correct itself in the coming months. If it does not, they will need to have surgery to correct it (they would go through a vein, not have open heart surgery). So we ask for prayers that this does correct itself and we can avoid sending them into surgery in their adolescence.

They have their follow up eye appointments coming up in February but we suspect all will go well. It is obvious that they can see us pretty well. They watch everything from the dogs to the TV with great joy! :)

I wish that I had known a year ago how well this journey would turn out. It has been such a long road but we have gotten here with the help of all your love and prayers.  Thank you to my friends and family for that.  Thank you also to those that we have not met that have heard about us and have sent prayers.  As always we send back our appreciation and prayers to you all!