We were in the car, on our way home from Bobby and Maya's birthday dinner at their (and our!) favorite pizzeria, when the clock hit 7:20pm and I was reminded of that moment, four years ago, when they were delivered. They were so big to me and yet, so tiny, at just over 2 pounds each. I remember wanting, so desperately, to hear them cry, but their lungs just couldn't. Reading over their
birth story, I had forgotten that, while Maya was breathing on her own, they intubated Bobby for the elevator ride upstairs (thankfully, they both went to CPAP right away and were fine). I'll confess: it's hard to see pictures of them, so fragile. At the time, they were rock stars and amazing... now, four years out, I can look back and see just how tough it was for them. I'll always be grateful and they'll always have been beautiful from the start, but it is still just so hard to know how rocky their early lives were.
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| Bobby's first hold: 9/13/09 |
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| Maya's first hold: 9/13/09 |
I can look back on each year and remember just how magical their lives have been. From their
first birthday, when they saw the beach for the first time,
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| Happy 1st Birthday! September 2010, Spring Lake, NJ |
to their
second birthday, when they had a juice box for the first time, tried out a classroom experience for the first time (FAIL!), and were learning how to read,
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| 2nd Annual Robert's Run of ALSF's Lemon Run, November 2011 |
to their
third birthday, when they started preschool (gulp) and we began letting them find themselves in the world,
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| 3rd Birthday Party, September 2012 |
to their fourth birthday: twins in PreK with minds of their own who can read, who love to dance and sing, who are nearly as proficient in ASL as I am in spoken English!, and who light up our lives every second of every day.
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| Waiting for Michael... May 2013 |
We've had our ups and downs, but I wouldn't change them or the road we're walking with them for anything. They light up my life and give me purpose. I love watching them grow and change, and I can't wait to see what the next 4 years will hold for us.
Here are a few of my favorites over the last 4 years...
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| September 2009 |
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| September 2010 |
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| July 2011 |
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| August 2011 |
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| September 2012 |
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| October 2012 |
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| May 2013 |
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| September 2013 |
Happy Birthday, my sweets. I love you more today than yesterday but never as much as I'll love you tomorrow. You make my heart grow. You teach me why God made me in the first place. You give me a reason to get up every day. To say that "I love you" doesn't convey nearly as much as I wish I could. You'll always have my heart, and I'll always be yours. Happy Birthday, Bobby. Happy Birthday, Maya. May this new year be your best one yet!
2 comments:
Happy Birthday from someone who has Prayed for you since before you even knew your Birth day! I love u kids and you family. Kandi Ann
Happy belated birthday, guys!! Michele, you are a freaking rock star! You will be back at that 9 minute mile time before you know it, what w/ time flying and all.
ps: I asked Brent what he wanted for dinner the other night and he said quiche. I was surprised he even knew what that was and he's like, I've been really into quiche lately. And I was like, what, since when and he's like, um, since that time at Michele's. So you know, back from November. I thought that was so cute!
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