The arrival of my "back to school letter" today made me a little reflective about how fast this summer has gone. I know that many teachers complain about the summer flying, but for me, I have never experienced time going so fast. As of today, Hope weighs in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and Gracie, 6 pounds, 11 ounces. Both girls are 19 inches long. Putting this in perspective, Hope was close to 5 pounds when she left the NICU and Gracie was about 4 and 1/2 pounds. In the short time from June until now, both girls have grown tremendously. The home nurse today said she couldn't be more pleased! And to think, starting this summer, both girls were in the NICU.
Whose socks are whose? Hope and Grace sleep in pretty much the same position.
Daddy and Gracie enjoy some much needed shut eye.
Gracie is happy (for the moment) in her bouncy seat.
What's the Hopester looking at???
Here are some things I've learned in my first summer as a dad.
- Sleep is a valuable commodity and something to be cherished.
- Take joy in simple things... watching my daughters smile and look at me wide-eyed is about the coolest thing I've ever experienced.
- Nothing makes me feel more joyful than seeing Hope and Grace happy... likewise, nothing makes me more confused, and at times sad, than seeing them upset and not knowing what the problem is or how I can fix it.
- Twins are a lot of work... twins also bring a lot of joy. It is cool seeing a friendship develop between grunts and squawks in the Pack 'N Play or watching them scoot close to each other when enjoying their "tummy time".
- Having the girls on monitors is not nearly as scary as it seems.
- A peaceful, uninterrupted meal is a thing of the past... for some reason both girls like to squeal, squawk and cry whenever we're eating.
- I never knew how much I could do one handed.
- Staying up to watch the Brewers night games when they're playing the west coast teams is easy... the "graveyard shift feeding" after you've been asleep for 4 hours is hard.
- My buddies have become "uncles" and where their visits year ago involved grabbing my golf club and trekking out to a course for the day, their visits now include taking lots of pictures of the girls and in some cases swapping stories about each others' kids.
- Miracles work. For a long time I didn't think the day would come that these girls would be home, let alone growing and doing well. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to God for this blessing and for the hundreds (and maybe even thousands) of people who have held our little family in their thoughts and prayers.
