January 2009

I have to be the proudest “the mama” on the planet.  My little micro preemies are now preschoolers I cannot even describe how I felt today

They were so sweet.  We dressed them in their new outfits (as I told Aaron- everybody must have a new outfit for the first day of school), with their backpacks on and they were excited!  We were early (as much as I kept giving Aaron a hard time for taking the long way) and had to wait outside the classroom but it also gave us the opportunity to meet the other families.

We had a few shy moments but sure enough when Ms. Joy opened the door- in ran Trent (the first student).  And then I started to cry.  Poor Jenifer (Tia) she had told me if I cried she’d cry so sure enough we both welled up.  I always had the visual of our first day of school and I am so happy that my dream has come true.

They loved school!  No crying just a big ole “bye mom, bye Tia, by Papa” when we left.  The festival of toys and new friends.  

How far we come!  The poor folks at Apple.  I just had to tell everyone everywhere I went that” I WAS THE MOTHER OF PRE-SCHOOLERS” in every single meeting I had today.  It’s funny though how life turns out.  As I was leaving an Apple building tonight that I probably am in once a week- I ran into a women who had the locker across from me at the Apple gym for years before I was pregnant, knew me through my pregnancy and knew me after the babies came. She hadn’t seen me for over 3 year but was suddenly yelling in the hall- “ you had twins and I never knew how it turned out”.  It was so special to be able to tell her that they’re 3 ½ and Preschoolers.  She then told me that I made her whole week.  We are so blessed!

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Deep breath!!! Tomorrow is the first day of pre-school.  I feel like a commercial.  Tonight as I was driving home I was rolling down my window and telling people at lights “ My toddlers are going to PRE-SCHOOL!!!!!!”   I think people just hoped I was on Bluetooth and by the chance I wasn’t (and I wasn’t) they chose to ignore.   I also screamed it as I walked in the front door when Aaron was on the phone.  “Tell whomever you’re talking to that I am the mother of soon to be PRE-SCHOOLERS,” He said yep and that is the whole reason his mom had called.

Wow. Here we go.  I have had this dream for so long.  I remember when we went to get pregnant (IVF you know) and as I went out the front door that morning and saw my neighbor Jean whom I ended up going for a run with that morning- when she asked what I was doing that day I said “ Oh, I’m getting pregnant today”.  From my mouth to God’s ears.  Thankfully he heard. 

But sometimes as life has it – things don’t’ go as planned, and my dreams of getting good and fat with my pregnancy didn’t happen and my dreams of delivering my babies naturally didn’t happen, and the picture of holding both my twins immediately after birth didn’t happen but… .Lots of other things did and while they were hard and sometime really crappy- it taught Aaron, myself and the very special in our lives- a whole lot about life. 

And here we are.  Pre-school!  I had lots of conversations with myself about how much to tell the school about Trent and Sophie.  I want them to know about Sophie’s issue but also don’t’ want her to be marked as a special needs child.  So after much anguish, I finally told the teacher about her shunt, hydrocephalus and epilepsy.  I could tell she got a little more apprehensive moment by moment as I spoke but.. Like most wives – when Aaron asked if the school was ok with everything I just said “ hmm yeah.”  I figure- why get him nervous too? I know the teachers are amazing and we’ll all just work through it together.

San Jose State- Here we Come!!!!

And so 2009 is upon us and our very special babies will be turning 4 in just 2 short months.  Where has the time gone?

So  2008 had it definitely ups and a few downs.  Ups- overall an incredible healthy year for Trent and especially Sophie.  Lots of holding our breath in October for Sophie (which historically has been filled with shunt issues), but thankfully she made it through with absolutely no issues. We were so relieved. We were also blessed with lots of continued development. Trent appears to have completely caught up from his early birth (although his colds hang on longer because of his chronic lung disease) and Sophie continues to make incredible progress. In fact, we’re starting pre-school at the end of January at the San Jose State development program.

Potty training has been quite the drama though. Trent is getting it and though we’ve had to tell him everyone we know wears “Diego underwear”  (our poor neighbors have just had to go along with it) it seems to be working and he’s proud to be a big boy. Sophie though continues to struggle with it.  We’d been told that she might have issues because her hydrocephalus and sure enough she does. Unfortunately we can’t get into the urology doctor at Packard until March so… I’ve had to do a little negotiation with the pre-school (offering a letter from neuro) to ensure she doesn’t get thrown out. The plan though is to have an ultrasound and determine is she requires some sort of surgical repair (typical I guess in kids with hydro) so that they can “sense” when they need to use the bathroom.  I remember my greatest day of accomplishment since they were born was the day I put Trent’s feeding tube in all by myself. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a sense of accomplishment since. However, I’m now wondering if day Sophie can finally “close the deal” on her own will provide a feeling of similar achievement for both of us.

A 3-year-old Christmas (x2) is about the most fun event any person can participate in. The kids has such a nice time. Trent’s big requests were a saxophone and fire truck and Sophie’s was dolly. Neither was disappointed. Wow- what a morning. And Aaron demonstrated that he was ULTIMATE daddy.  My family always does Christmas eve at my house and this particular one ran late.  So late, that Aaron I made an agreement to get up at 4am to do the “Santa thing” for Trent and Sophie (kind of like when you have work project that is due and you try to convince yourself that you’ll get up at 4am to finish it and then negotiate yourself out of getting up when the time comes).  Well, that is exactly what happened to me. I jolted out of bed at 5am completely freaked only to learn Aaron had done the WHOLE thing as I slept. He put out the gifts, filled the stockings and even ate some of the cookie and carrot we had gotten for Santa and his reindeer. I always knew I had an incredible husband (cooking and cleaning) but Christmas showed me that he was even more special than I knew. I know parents want to make Christmas special for their children but I think for us, knowing how much we wanted them and how long the road has been continues to remind us how important it is to cherish every day.

December was very much a family month- with lots of togetherness. Apple shut down for two weeks and Aaron’s been home on disability with his shoulder surgery (and then laid off due to economic down turn).  Not exactly the December we planned, but we did make the best of it with lots of playground time, blanket tent building, reading, and impromptu musical performances with their new instruments.  We also did a day trip up to the snow. Trent loved sledding with me (Aaron had to observe with his arm in a sling), but poor Sophie just cried and asked to go home. It wasn’t until later that we realized that she probably was reacting to the altitude. I can’t wait until she’s just a bit more verbal to let us know exactly why she is unhappy!

And now…. We’re eagerly getting ready for school, which starts Thursday! I am both nervous and excited. It seems like such a big step. I’m sure both Aaron and I will cry on the first day.

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