Brithday Party-Part II

Here is some of the early party fun. Hannah loved the balloons and just kept staring up at them.

Kate planning who knows what on Hannah
I love this picture! Kate is looking at a balloon Hannah's holding

"See my balloon, sissy?"

"May I have your balloon, sissy?"

Cooper-Hannah & Kate's friend

Kate & Aunt Erin

Mommy & Hannah

Mommy & Hannah

Daddy playing with Kate

Hannah

Hannah & Rachel

Kate

The Happy Family (well, at least, Mom and Dad are)

P.S. For those of you who live out of town and are wondering if that's a new haircut I'm sporting, you are quite observant. Thanks for noticing. I love it!

Birthday Party-Part I

We had so much fun at their party! It went by really quick because obviously with one year olds, there is usually only a relatively short window of opportunity to fit in lunch, presents, and cake before some sort of meltdown occurs. However, we were successful. We ripped through presents so quickly that I had to go back through them during naptime to actually look at what they got. As most one year olds are, Hannah and Kate had no interest in their gifts, but to eat the tissue paper. Here are some pictures of the gifts being opened:

Radio Flyer Wagons have come a long way since I was a kid
The singing Happy Birthday bear

Daddy & Hannah

Since it's easier to upload pictures into separate posts, I'm going to chronicle each aspect of the party into different posts. Make sure you look at all of them!

Happy Birthday to Them, happy birthday to them...

Well, folks, it's been quite the year. Full of many ups and many downs, many surprises, many discouragements, many tears, many accomplishments, but most of all FULL of God's faithfulness.

Let me take you back to a year ago. It was a perfectly "normal" day on bedrest in the hospital. I had many visitors because it was Labor Day (how ironic) and there was no hint of any coming excitement. I downed my Chick-fil-a fried chicken salad and perhaps maybe even overate (what pregnant woman doesn't?). The reason I can tell you that I may have overeaten was because I was re-tasting that salad as I lay on the operating room table wanting to pass out. Then what none of us had prepared for, yet God foreknew, quickly came to happen. I can still remember it like it was yesterday, yet it seems so long ago. I still remember the nurses coming to whisk me away to labor & delivery to monitor me...No, wait...to deliver me. I can still remember George talking on the phone to our parents saying, "It's go time." All of this just after 11:00 p.m. I remember all of the poking and prodding and my body going into what I can probably only explain maybe as shock as I began to shake uncontrollably. I remember waking up and feeling an excruciating pain and my babies being gone, but honestly, no desire to see them. I often look back on that night and think, "Lauren, these were your firstborn and long prayed for children. You didn't even know if they would survive the night. How could you not be ripping out IVs and catheters to go down to see them?" I've talked myself down from the guilt knowing full well that I was on some strong pain medication and was just coming out of anesthesia. Then, when I finally did get to see them, not feeling much connection with babies (but they were MY babies) laying inside a little glass box. Then after many weeks and daily trips to the NICU, I finally got to bring those babies home.

What a year it has been...BUT GOD HAS BEEN ENOUGH. Do you ever just have one of those years where you look back on it and wonder where all the time has gone and how in the world you got through it? I remember days feeling like they would never grow past 3 lbs and then 8 lbs. They would never learn how to roll over or we would never get through a day without projectile vomiting and spit up. Now I can barely even imagine what it was like to hold a 1 lb and 2 lb baby. I feel sad that it's hard for me to remember those moments (thank God for modern technology), but am so excited to see Hannah and Kate grow up. They are precious. I love being their mom. God couldn't have blessed me with two sweeter girls. Had you told me that one year ago tonight at 11:55 that the teeny babies being pulled out of my stomach

Hannah

Kate

would bloom into these two beautiful girls

I wouldn't have been able to imagine it.

I love you, Hannah & Kate. You make me so proud to be your mommy! I couldn't imagine my life without you and I pray that your smiles would continue to light up people's hearts and be a reminder that HE IS ABLE!

P.S. Still working on their birthday party pictures. Should be up soon!

Sneak Peek

I have A LOT of pictures to sort through so here is just a sneek peak of Hannah & Kate's 1st Birthday Party!!!! We had so much fun!

Kate going to town on her birthday cupcake

Hannah being little Miss Dainty eating her cupcake so politely

Don't worry. I have tons more pictures & video to share. Stay tuned...

A Real Go-Getter

This has been happening for a while. I've just never been able to catch it on video until now. It's kinda cute...maybe from Kate's point of view. If she wants something, she takes it. We'll start working on correcting that. I won't always think it's cute.

And I don't normally let her take from Hannah without correcting her. Just this once...to get it on video.