One Year of Amazing Moments

I look back at this past year and I am absolutely amazed at how quickly it went by.  I am also absolutely amazed at how much two little people can grow and learn in one year.  I am also absolutely amazed at how much I have grown and changed too.  I will forever be grateful to these two little people for making me a Mommy.  When you enter the realm of parenthood you have no idea how selfless you will become.  At some point it may bug you to give up everything that was "yours" but after a while all of that doesn't matter anymore.  Life is about your kids, as it should be.  I am thankful my children took away my selfishness, my tendency towards a "high maintenance" life, and my need for things.  All I need now is my little family and what an amazing family it is!

After watching the twins for us recently my Dad said to me, "Your Mom and I think that raising twins is more then double the work of one."  I laughed.  I have no idea if that is the case but it got me thinking about the past year.  I could measure this year in the insanity of raising twins.  That would include the number of dirty diapers x 2, hours of lost sleep x 2, hours of crying x 2 (me and them), bottles washed x 2, finished cans of formula x 2, and the list goes on and on.  Most parents probably measure the first year in milestones: smiling, laughing, eating, sleeping well, crawling, playing, getting teeth, waving, pointing, walking, talking.  While I do measure this year in those wonderful moments I get to add another layer of celebrations to it.  These are the celebrations that come with raising twins.   I remember the first day I was alone to care for the twins.  All the help (read: Grandparents) went home and John was back to work.  I was so nervous and thought I wouldn't be able to handle all the needs of two tiny babies.  We survived and I celebrated it!  I will also never forget the day I mastered the double feed.  We suddenly had 45 more minutes every two to three hours to do something else besides feed.  I celebrated that!  I remember working so hard to get them on the same nap schedule which was the best gift I think I've ever received...a moment of peace during the day.  I celebrated it!  I remember a day when John was home from work and the two of them started chasing each other and laughing for the first time.  John and I were dying laughing and I turned to him and said, "How boring would this be if there was just one?  There would be no one to chase."  That day I truly celebrated my life with twins.  This list could go on and on and on.  I guess the point is while some parents of multiples call this first year "The Haze" or "The Fog" because they were so bogged down in the work of it they don't remember most of it.  I choose to celebrate all of it.  Every minute of it.  Every accomplishment made by us as parents and by the twins.  Because while it is double the work, we are the lucky ones, because we have double the blessings!