Remembering....

This picture was taken in December to give to Grandma for Christmas. Aren't they cute???

My babies at one day old snuggled close together in the bassinet in our hospital room! Can you see why its my favorite picture of them?

This post started in my head yesterday as I dropped my boys off at a roller skating party. I remember thinking that I myself had a birthday party at a roller rink. I also remember many other parties that I went to there and thought how weird it is that I'm the mom dropping the kids off while they get to skate. The scary thing though? Even though its a totally different rink...it smelled the same and brought back all the memories that I probably haven't thought of in over 20 years.

I thought of my friends who I had back then and now three of them thanks to Facebook are somewhat in my life again. Another friend Tamie has been consistent but I can't remember if her and I were ever at a skating party together. I do remember Dawn and Jenny G. being there. I even remember a confrontation I had with Jenny's sister before my own b-day party. I also remember her and I finally making up at this party. Weird how I thought about that yesterday.

I was also going through pictures for Matthew to bring to school since he is Star of the Week this week. Bailey was King Bee last week (same concept different name.) He wanted a copy of my all time favorite picture of the boys. They were a day old and to this day I remember seeing my boys snuggled together in the bassinet in the hospital. I remember staring at them in awe and disbelief that they were real. I remember thinking I get to take them home and love them for the rest of my life and although I was scared to death I was ready for the challenge. I remember feeling so full. My family had doubled in the matter of hours (there is 2 hours and 15 minutes between the boys), and I felt complete.

Packing all of their stuff up and getting them bundled for our first ride home made me almost giddy. I was scared because it was snowing out and we had a 45 minute ride. I wanted to sit in the backseat between them but I knew I couldn't wedge myself back there so I sat in the front and my neck was strained by the time we got home.

People ask me all the time how I handled twins. My answer has never wavered. I didn't know anything else. Being a first time mommy with twins was no different than just being a first time mommy period. It was new, it was an adjustment, there were times I cried because I thought I couldn't do it but I did. I do tell people that the first year is a blur and for the most part it was. I can look at pictures and remember certain ones others...not so much.

I remember some of my fondest memories of Dave in those early days were him sitting on a chair in our loft feeding one baby with me on the futon with the other. We were both trying to stay awake yet not fully so we would be able to get back to sleep. I remember falling in love with him all over again knowing that other people weren't as lucky as I was to have their husband help with these kinds of things. Dave and I have always been a team but were more so with newborn babies.

Those babies have grown so much in the past 8 years. Ironically we ran into their preschool teacher at the grocery store this afternoon. In the three years since preschool ended we have not ran into her living in the same town. Today I laughed as the boys told her what they are now into and Mrs F told me that they look exactly the same except taller. Bailey almost didn't remember having glasses when he was in preschool so he questioned her on it. She asked them about school and asked if they liked it. She told them she was glad that she got to see them. It really was endearing.

My boys are halfway through second grade and have soared yet again. I was surprised at how well they scored on the comprehension standardized tests they took this fall. I am amazed how sometimes listening to them I think I am already living with preteens. When I look back at the pictures I can see them toddling through our town house, taking their first steps, speaking their first words. Looking at them now as they get ready to make their first reconciliation to prepare them for their first communion I see the beginnings of little men. To me though....they will always be those cute babies snuggled up together in the bassinet.