Happy 4th Birthday!!!

Today, we celebrate Camryn's & Lauren's 4th birth day. This morning, they ran into our bedroom and woke me up screaming 'Mommy, I'm 4 today!' and holding up their 4 little fingers to show me what 4 looks like. It was so precious. And, then as I was changing Peyton's diaper shortly thereafter Camryn pointed to her legs and said 'Mommy, look I'm a big girl because my legs grew and are long like Daddy's.' The excitement in her eyes was priceless. She is always trying to be just like her Daddy. This was an extra special morning because the girls were able to pick out the cereal they wanted instead of the cereal Mommy insists is better for them to eat. As a special treat, they took a trip to the grocery store with me yesterday to pick out that special cereal that Mommy never lets them have. Luckily for them, they picked out the variety pack that has all kinds of yummy cereals packed with lots of sugar. So, this morning, they decided that Froot Loops would be the lucky cereal of the day. Who wouldn't be drawn to the bright colors and Toucan Sam on the front of the box? They started out loving the new yummy, colorful O's and then decided after a couple of bites that it wasn't so great after all. (I don't know why....Froot Loops is definitely one of my faves!). So, they then asked for a different cereal. I figured it was their birthday, so why not. We then switched to Cocoa Krispies which was a hit since it has chocolate in it. But, again, they took a couple of bites and then turned their noses up to it. I guess tomorrow we'll go on to Pops or Frosted Flakes until the variety pack is all gone. That will be a sad day when all the yummy cereal runs out because we'll go back to the boring Cheerios that they have grown to love. The rest of the day consisted of going to school and then a couple of surprise visits from family and friends. My mom and dad dropped by with a couple of presents and hugs. And, then the girls' best friends, Jordan and Jacob, came by to give the girls balloons and cards. They were so excited to see their friends and play for a while. And then as a special treat, Daddy treated us all to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. It was quite a fun day for our little girls. Tonight as we were tucking them into bed, they asked us if they were going to be 5 tomorrow. We had to break the news to them that they would have to wait a little while before they would turn 5, but we reassured them that they would still be 4 tomorrow and how wonderful it is to be 4 years old.

Wow! It's hard to believe that they are already 4 years old. Where did the time go? I think back 4 years ago and remember the day they were born so clearly. It was a day of mixed emotions...we were filled with excitement to finally meet our baby girls, but we were overcome with worry and anxiety knowing that our babies would be 7 weeks premature. My water had broken 2 days earlier and I was just hanging out in the hospital waiting for the girls to be born. The doctors informed me that they could be born within days or weeks, but they would just monitor me continuously to make sure the babies were still thriving. The doctors were hoping for weeks since I was only 32.5 weeks along at that point. I remember my doctor rushing into my hospital room around 2:30 in the afternoon on July 8, 2004 asking me where my husband was because she was going to have to perform a c-section ASAP because Camryn's heart rate was declining. I remember my heart just dropping and then immediately sobbing because I was so worried about Camryn and any complications that our girls might have due to their prematurity. I was so overcome with my emotions that I couldn't talk, so Dr. Norton had to call Brad at work and leave a message for him. I remember her saying that she would 'try' to wait for him, but it was critical to get the babies out. I couldn't imagine Brad not being there to hold my hand and tell me it was going to be okay as they wheeled me into surgery. Luckily, he made it and was right there before they took me into surgery around 4:30 that afternoon. Thankfully, I had an anesthesiologist that was quite a jokester. I think he could feel the tension and worry in the air and felt that he needed to calm my nerves. He made jokes about my epidural and how he had never done one before and made several other jokes throughout the procedure (none of which I can remember, but I do remember laughing out loud on the operating table). The next thing I remember is my doctor starting my c-section and then Camryn coming out first and Brad saying 'Oh my goodness, she is so tiny.' And, then Lauren made her way out 1 minute later. Camryn weighed 3 lbs. 11 oz. and Lauren weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. We were able to take a close look at both girls for a minute before they were rushed off to the NICU. Lauren ended up staying only 1.5 weeks in the hospital and Camryn stayed almost 2 weeks. Those 2 weeks were the toughest weeks of my life. I was a complete basket case after leaving the hospital and coming home without our babies. But, as a look back on those weeks, we were truly blessed by how healthy they were despite their prematurity. I am overwhelmed by God's goodness as I look back on how well God took care of us and our baby girls during that trying time.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girls. It has been such a short 4 years and I know the next 4 will fly by too.

That was then....

This is Today......Happy 4th Birthday, Baby Girls!!! We love you!!