love mommy

Wow I can not believe it has been a year already. Everyone tells you that time flies but you really don’t believe them until you are in the middle of it. What an amazing, wonderful, fantastic year. I never knew I could love someone so much that it feels like my heart is going to explode.  I look at our beautiful baby boys and feel so blessed to have them it often makes me cry tears of joy and thankfulness.  I don’t know if I appreciate them more because we had to work so hard and go through so much to get them or if I would have appreciated them and loved them this much no matter what. If it was all of the effort that helped me to feel so unbelievably blessed then I am so grateful for everything that we went through in order to get to this place. All of my life I have dreamed of being a mother, of holding my own children and never having to let them go or give them back to anyone. That day is here and it is everything and more than I ever dreamed it would be. Our little angels were born 3 weeks and 2 days before their due date. They were 5 lb 3 oz (Jared) and 5 lb 4oz (Caleb). Looking at them today it is so hard to believe that they were ever so small. Everyday they grew stronger and bigger! I remember sitting on the couch with Suzanne one night, I believe the boys were around 3 months old and Jared began cooing for the first time. We both burst into tears, we were so overcome with joy in that moment and there have been many many more of those moments over the past year. The boys learned to smile, laugh, coo, babble, and roll over, wave, crawl, cruise, and stand. Jared uses sign language to communicate, he knows the sign for more, please, all done, milk, and eat. Caleb would rather vocalize then sign.  He says baba (bottle), mama (when he wants to), more, and ty ty (for Tyler). We often think that he is saying other things as well, as he loves to play with making different sounds. Since Caleb was very little he has said uh huh, it is almost always following a question addressed to him or someone else in the room. I think he knows a lot more than we think he does.  The boys are learning prepositions such as put it in the bucket, or take it out. Jared has started taking steps and climbing everything. Caleb is not far behind as he is pushing our hands away and wanting to stand on his own.  Both boys are vehemently independent (ha don’t know where that came from) wanting to do everything on their own. They are beginning to use utensils, have mastered object permanence, their verbal comprehension is growing every moment, they understand simple associations, they are playing peek-a-boo, playing simple games to make each other laugh, dancing, experimenting with cause and effect, playing ball and tug of war with Tyler, climbing stairs, and much much more. Jared and Caleb have very different personalities. Jared is a leap without looking kind of a guy. He craves constant input from his environment. The more that is going on the better. He is very physical and loves to roll around and climb. He smiles and waves at everyone but would rather not be picked up and held by people he does not know. Even though he is really busy he will seek out the people that he loves, to give hugs and kisses and enjoys being held for night time bottles. Caleb is often quite and reserved in public. He likes to focus on one thing and can be overwhelmed by chaotic or noisy environments. He is very silly and affectionate especially one on one. He reserves his smiles and waves for people that focus on him. He is very inquisitive and will often figure things out on his own before showing others that he knows how to do them. Caleb loves to make us laugh and will do silly little things in order to make us laugh. He loves rough housing and will squeal with glee when held upside down or tossed in the air. This past year has been the most wonderful precious year of my life. The best part about all of it is it just keeps getting better. This past weekend Suzanne and I spent a great deal of time just playing with the boys. They are so so much fun. They are constantly giving kisses, laughing, and climbing all over us.  They are so happy, inquisitive, loving, and active little boys. I want to thank Suzanne again for allowing me the opportunity to stay at home with them this past year.  It has been a wonderful year and I can not thank her enough for the sacrifices she has made to make this year possible. I pray that we never forget the joy our children bring us, that we remember to cherish each moment, take time to play with them and enjoy them. The house can wait, the laundry can wait, and the errands can wait. As we have learned this past year…..time flies…..they grow so fast…..I hope and pray that we take the time to enjoy it and to be present each and everyday. That is the gift that I want to give them and us this next year and all of the years to follow. Happy Birthday my beautiful wonderful boys. I Love you so very very much!!!.