Aiden & Andrew

Since I wasn't blogging when I was having babies, I haven't recorded my kid's births and some of the early years of our parenting. And seeing how it was just Aiden and Andrew's birthday (sort of) I thought I would start with them. So here goes nothing.

First of all it took a really long time and too many procedures to count to get Aiden and Andrew here. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I was not a good person during my infertility. I was ornery, bitter, and depressed. I apologize to all who knew me for those 2 1/2 years.

But luckily In Vitro worked for us and Thing 1 and Thing 2 were on their way. You see, we didn't find out what we were having with any of our kids. It makes the birthing day THAT much more exciting. We would recommend it to anyone.

After a long pregnancy with bleeding, preterm labor, pregnancy dermatitis, and all the other fun stuff that comes with being preggo we ended up in the hospital the morning of Christmas Eve. I woke up went to the bathroom and there was a ton of blood (is that TMI?). We drove to the hospital, things were all right and they gave me medicine to stop labor and steroids for the babie's lungs. I had just entered my 34th week and the doctor wanted the babies to stay in for a couple more days for the steroids to do their job. So, yes, I spent Christmas on bedrest in the hospital. But I didn't care. That was the most relaxed I had been since we started the IV process. I had the babies monitored all the time and didn't have to worry about them. The peace of mind was heavenly.

On Sunday the 26th, the doctor came in and said it was the day for the C-Section. I had placenta previa and both boys were breach, so it was my only option. And now begins the story with pictures.

I have mentioned this several times before, but I wasn't one of those cute pregnant girls. I got big, really big. And the medication they gave me made me swell up with water too. I was not a pretty sight. Here I am right before going into surgery. Now remember this is after 2 days in the hospital, so go easy on the looks.

My mom and Trent joined me in the OR. Trent said when they rolled me on the table he couldn't believe how big I was. I am sure I looked like a beached whale. Seriously.

And we're off to become parents. I was so excited and nervous at the same time.

And since no one knew what we were having they were all waiting anxiously in the waiting room. Here is Trent making the big announcement that we had 2 healthly, but small boys.

Introducing Aiden and Andrew:

Since they were so little they went straight to the NICU and I barely got to see them as they passed them through the window. My first sight of my boys was through pics Trent took. It was awesome.

Finally, 8 hours later, I got to hold my boys. It was even more awesome and everything I imagined it would be. And I told you I was swollen. I think even my earlobes had swelled up.

They boys were in the NICU for 2 weeks. They really had no problems other than the fact that they were so tiny. Aiden was 4 lbs 7 oz and Andrew was 4 lbs 11oz. We had to feed them through feedings tubes and gradually work up to 'real' eating. The pump became my new best friend.

The boys had lots of visitors, which made the long days nice. I would put pics up of everyone, but we are already on a marathon post as it is, so Grandma Teri gets to be the lucky one.

Aiden and his slightly less swollen mom.

Andrew and his slightly cheesy dad.

And this is one of my favorite pics from the hospital. Before we took them home we had to do a trial run to make sure the boys did okay. I think they were actually testing Trent and I's parenting abilities. We rented a room and had the boys in with us for a night. Luckily we passed and finally got to go home.

We had long nights and long days, but we were happy. The boys had issues with keeping their food down and would throw up most their meals up. And when I say throw up, I really mean projectile vomit. I would get hosed a few times a day and we went through 3-4 clothe diapers per feeding. It wasn't fun.

Here is the pic I used for the boys announcement. Love Andrew's stroke smile. ;)

Now a quick glance through the years. Don't worry, we are almost done and this will be fast. And kuddos to any of you that are still reading this post.

1st Birthday 2005

2nd Birthday 2006

3rd Birthday 2007

2008

2009

2010

Aiden
Here are a few things about Aiden:

He loves to play the Wii. He would play all day if I let him.

He is my worst eater.

He is a climber. He can get anywhere. Trent was putting the Christmas lights up one year and all of a sudden Aiden was on the roof with him.

He is a good reader.

His favorite food is spaghetti or cereal.

His favorite color is green.

He wants to be a Jedi when he grows up.

He loves to be outside, hiking, camping, playing, and "hunting" the deer in our back yard.

He loves to be rubbed.

Andrew
Andrew is our emotional boy. Very sweet, but easily annoyed.

He is our eater. he will eat most anything. The only thing he WILL NOT eat is mashed potatoes.

His favorite color is red, although I would disagree and say green.

He wants to be a dentist when he grows up.

He would live outside if he could and he also likes to "hunt" deer.

He has excellent penmenship for a Kindergartner.

He is so cute with babies/toddlers.

He loves to cuddle.

His favorite food is also spaghetti and cereal.

And as you can see by the above picture, Andrew always has to have all his buttons done up.