or Jason (trying to make off with Shawn's nose):
Things are getting exciting now. :-)
Hey there! How are you, big guy? We've heard a lot about you!
As you can see, Jason is pleased as punch that he is sitting on Santa's lap. Shawn was equally as pleased, but he spent most of his time trying to point out mommy to Santa. In the above picture, he is trying to get my attention so I could come meet Santa, too. He liked him that much, he wanted to share him with me! Aww...
The hardest thing about these boys, though, is getting them both to look at the camera at the same time. Sigh. The photographer, Isaac, and I were jumping around, yelling like crazy trying to get their attention. One would look, but the other wouldn't. You get the idea. Lol.
But we finally got them both looking at the camera...
Cheese!
I mean look at those itty, bitty faces! :-) How can you top those looks?
Lastly, I am posting the boy's first Christmas pictures. Here they are in all of their nearly 4 pound glory. They were so tiny, these newborn socks swim on their feet.
(Shawn on the right, Jason on the left)This last shot is one of my all time favorites of the boys. It was the first time I actually got to hold them both at the same time, too. :-)
I know! This one deserves loads more awwws than the others combined!
Man, these guys are cute!
From our family to yours,
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Merry Christmas!
13 months old actual, 10.5 months adjusted...
Shawn jumping in his jumper, smiling like usual.
Jason is blowing raspberries and jumping, too.
Such little cutie pies, if I do say so myself. :-)
Three years ago, my little guys were in the NICU due to their very early arrival at 28 weeks and 3 days.
Three years ago, at this point in their lives we had only held the boys two times--two times even though they were nearly a month old.
Three years ago, our boys had just barely made it to the 3 pound mark.
Three years ago, Jason had just come of the ventilator, without which he would not have survived.
Three years ago, it was common to watch our boys forget to breathe.
Three years ago, we spent countless hours staring at beeping monitors while we anxiously waited for our nurses to come help.
Three years ago today, our hearts tore just a little bit more each day we had to leave our little warriors at the hospital instead of taking them home with us.
Three years ago, Isaac and I were living in a world that fluctuated back and forth between excitement over our two new little miracles and complete and utter fear.
I tell you this because yesterday, November 17th, was Prematurity Awareness Day. November is Prematurity Awareness Month. And as you all know, prematurity is a cause that we hold close to our hearts.
Currently, one out of every 8 babies is born too early, and every year, more than half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States. That is far too many babies born premature!
We must find a way to fight against prematurity. We need to do fighting--because no baby should ever have to on his or her own. Sadly, some babies are not strong enough to fight, which is why premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. Even babies born just a few weeks too soon can face serious health challenges and are at risk of lifelong disabilities.
In our case, we were lucky. Even though my water broke at 26 weeks, we managed to hold off labor for another 17 precious days. Had they been born at 26 weeks, there is a very real possibility that neither of our boys would have survived.
We owe the boys' lives to the work of the March of Dimes. Please remember to support the March of Dimes. For Shawn and Jason. For all the children born too soon.
Thank you.
The doctor said that everything looked good with the baby! Those are such great words to hear!
Oh! We also learned the gender of the baby-to-be. :-) Rather than coming right out and telling you, we thought we'd take a poll and see what you all think baby #3 is going to be.
So which one? Boy? or Girl?
It's a bird...it's a plane...No, it's SuperShawn!
By the time I snapped this shot of Jason, the tears had stopped. Just know it wasn't pretty with him just a few minutes before this.
The tears stopped when we told them we were going to go to the store. As you can see, Jason ans Shawn are up for the adventure!
"Wow! They're giving us candy!??! Awesome!"
"Trick or Treat!"
All done trick or treating. We had a great time!
for actual age/19th percentile for adjusted age). He is still wearing size 24 month pants (he has his daddy's short legs) and size 2T shirts. He also wears a size 3T pajamas.
Favorites: The last time I posted one of these, Shawn loved to snuggle. Well, nothing has changed. He loves to snuggle on people or with his blanket and pacifier (don't judge) if no one is available. He is a big fan of music as well. We always have a radio playing in the playroom, just for him. His favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider." His favorite toys right now are some magnetic letters (he is a fan of the "Q", "C", and "8") and coloring with his crayons. He also loves pots and pans and often will pretend to make things for us to eat. His favorite television show is "Yo Gabba Gabba," but he would prefer for daddy to show him YouTube videos on the computer to watching the actual television.
While these milestones don't seem like much, they are incredible when you take Shawn's rocky start into consideration. For those of you who don't know (and I admit that I haven't said much here on their blog about this), Shawn has had 13 surgeries in his short little life. At about the time he was 7 months old, after one of his surgeries Shawn stopped using his right arm/hand. He kept his right hand fisted and hardly used it. Frankly, it was like his arm/hand were not even there. You can imagine how something like that will affect the entire balance system of your body.
makes me smile each morning. Another thing that Shawn does is that he insists that all doors must be closed. In fact, one of the quickest ways to get him out of bed in the morning is to leave the bathroom door open. He has sonar hearing for the door knob and comes flying from his room so he can close the door. Afterward, he reminds us to thank him even!
...are just about to turn three years old?
THREE!!!!
Not one.
For us, we know that 3 is our magic number.
