A Year Ago and Who They Are Now

A Year Ago.

I still remember this time last year like it was yesterday. I remember David leaving for work, I remember rolling over in bed and thinking, "Did I just wet myself?" As I got up, I then knew for sure that it was my water breaking it was, 5:30 AM, January 29, 2008. I remember dialing David and telling him to turn back around (he was already on his way back, turns out there was a crazy snow/ice storm and the roads made it nearly impossible for him to even leave our neighborhood.) I remember calling the hospital and telling them I was 37 weeks pregnant with twins and my water had just broken--they said to come in immediately...it took us and hour and a half with the unmanageable roads, it should have taken 30-40 minutes. I remember triage and David nearly fainting when my IV was inserted. (He has needle issues.) I remember the conversation I had with him, "David, snap out of it, I will judge you the rest of our lives, by your actions today, I need you." He snapped out of it. I remember the whole 22 hours at the hospital very clearly, the four times is took you get my epidural to work (I still don't think it took), the lack of food (they only let me have clear liquids, I was STARVING--I would have snuck in a Big Mac had I known.) I remember the excruciating pain and begging the nurse to check me, she took a look and said, "Don't push!" A few minutes later David was in a jumpsuit and funny hat and I was being surround by people, they wheeled me down to the Operating Room, just in case I had to have an emergency C-Section, if Baby B (Braxton) decided to move around once there was more room. In the OR this angel of a lady walked in and said, "I'm going to coach you through this, listen very carefully to everything I say." I did listen, she counted and I pushed and 12 minutes of pushing later out came Brinkley Jada, my heart exploded and so did the love I have for her, 6 pounds, 3 ounces--I'd never loved something so small, so much, so immediately. It was 4:32 AM , January 30, 2008. I remember they took her right away to the other side of the room and I kept saying, "Shouldn't she be crying?" They reassured me that she was fine and then the doctor said, "Amanda, I need you to focus, baby B is ready." The angel of a lady starting counting again and I started pushing and 8 minutes later at 4:40 AM, out came Braxton Reese, they handed him right to me, he was crying and so was I. It was the first time I ever held my own child, I loved him so much, so completely, he was 6 pounds, 7 ounces of pure joy.

So here I am a year later, what a year it's been. David and I did it by ourselves with no help, we rose to the occasion, I'm so proud of us. We learned very quickly that our lives were no longer about us, but about "them." The two most precious and beautiful, creatures I had ever seen. We've been taught so much in such a short time and we are truly thankful for the journey. We're very imperfect people, but I know we do our best to teach them and love them. So here's to them my baby B's--thanks for making all of my dreams finally come true!

Who They Are Now

Brinkley Jada

She is so funny. She's loves checking people out and is still very nosey. She's got 6 teeth and has become a bit of a biter and has a major under bite. She doesn't like to eat, but she'll try anything and has a terrible gag reflex which equals barfing, a lot! She LOVES her bottle. She loves to jabber, but doesn't say much, I'm afraid she and her brother are creating some twin language. Whenever I go into their room in the morning she always greets me with a huge smile and most of the time, giggles. She walks (January 12, 2009) and still hates socks, so shoes aren't really an option. She's got a ton of hair and because Braxton usually removes her bows for her, it's typically messy and in her face. She's learning to pick her nose---yuck! She's perfect.

Braxton Reese

He an explorer and expert walker (January 1, 2008). He loves getting into everything: the dog's food and water and the dishwasher (he can turn it on), he loves shutting doors and playing with door stoppers. I think I yell David' name too much because when I do Braxton repeats me! He loves to wave and clap and has become a bit of a flirt. He's got 6 teeth, but kicked it with only 5 for the loooongest time, he just got the 6th one this week. He loves to eat and throw his food. He isn't easy to wake up--I'm already dreading him as a teenager. He's very sensitive, tough and smart. He has a mullet and he has such huge smile that he has to squint his eyes--but never for a camera. When he does something wrong he'll look at me a say, "No, no!" He's perfect.