The Baby Byrds are Toddler Byrds now!!

I guess it had to happen at some point. Somehow a year has passed us by and those two amazing little baby boys that we were blessed with on March 31st, 2009 have turned into toddlers. I cannot even begin to explain how this last year has made me feel. This year was the scariest, happiest, saddest and craziest year of my life. At around 8 in the morning on Tuesday March 31st, 2009 my water broke. I was 34 weeks pregnant, and though it was VERY early, I had already known that they would be coming that early. At 9:59 that night, little Graham Evan was born with a full head of black hair and the loudest scream you could imagine. At 10:00 that night Killian Garrett followed his brother, and didn't cry or scream, starting off his life completely calm, the way he has been throughout his first year of life.






Unlike most parents, we didn't get to bring the boys home right away. Graham spent 11 days in the hospital and came home on Saturday April 11th, while Killian spent 13 days in the hospital and came home Monday April 13th, the day after Easter. The first three months were a blur. Clint and I were just trying to figure out how to be parents to TWO brand new babies. They ate every two hours, which meant we would sleep for one to one and a half hours at a time. It was rough and I really don't know how any of us really made it through alive (you know, like the boys falling out of our bed when we fell asleep feeding them). Things started getting easier for us around five months when Graham's colic went away and the boys started developing personalities. Milestones started happening, traveling got easier, they ate less often, slept in their own room and had bedtimes and slept ALL THE WAY through the night! This is the time that we really started turning into parents who seemed to know what they were doing. The last six months really seemed to fly by us as the boys became busy little explorers. From rolling to sitting to crawling and now cruising, they are nonstop and keep us on our toes.




So what are they like now? Well, they talk a lot. To us, themselves, each other. They play independently, with each other and of course, with us. Killian is a rough and tumble little guy. He is very aware of his strength and uses his brute force on everything, including his brother. Killian is a very happy baby, loves talking and moving and playing with toys. He eats everything and loves holding onto faces and never stops smiling. He has two bottom teeth, three top teeth and one other top tooth growing in. Graham is the exact opposite of Killian. I call them night and day twins. The only time Graham is ever louder is when he is crying, which he still does a lot :) He is a big wimp and a Mama's boy but still so unbelievably adorable when he smiles and giggles and snuggles deep into your arms. He loves books and has really began to love exploring things outside. He has two bottom teeth, one top tooth, and two other top teeth breaking through. It's pretty funny that he has one top tooth and one "vampire" tooth because it makes him look all snaggletooth and like a little hillbilly. We call them little cavemen because of how they explore the world around them, the way they talk and are in their own little worlds. Every new month is my favorite age and 12 months is so far my favorite.







I can't say it hasn't been easy. We've had a lot of bumps along the way. We lived on one income for twelve months, Graham had colic and was miserable for five months, Killian wore a helmet for two months. We've been through a milk protein allergy, ear infections, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, an ambulance ride, an egg white allergy, and two weeks in the NICU. Being new parents has been rough because no one can ever prepare you for being a parent, especially being parents of twins. I can still remember the horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach the night that we roomed in the hospital with Graham. The feeling of dread set in and I thought to myself, "What have we done? We have no idea what we are doing. I am terrified." But one year later, I think we've done pretty well caring for the boys the first year of their life.

So the new stats on the boys? Graham's stats are only okay because he's had a rough few weeks and lost about three pounds due to the pneumonia and week of exploding diarrhea (as well as reaction to the egg white allergy). He was born weighing five pounds and eight ounces and was eighteen inches long. Today he weighed in at nineteen pounds ten ounces and was thirty inches long. His weight percentile was only in the 10th and he doesn't have a true weight gain number because of all that he has lost, but his height was in the 60th percentile and has grown twelve inches in one year! Killian is my healthy chunky boy. Though he was born at five pounds seven ounces and was eighteen inches in length, today he weighed in twenty-two pounds and six ounces and was thirty and a quarter inches. His weight was in the 60th percentile as well as his height. We are starting milk this week and hoping Killian does not have any reactions. The boys have been completely off bottles for a few weeks and are great little table food eaters. We are looking forward to Spring and Summer where we will be playing in the backyard, biking to the park, playing in the water and really enjoying being a family.





In closing, as I reflect over this last year, I have to say that I think I have done a great job as a mother but that I wouldn't have been able to have done such a great job had it not been for the love and support of my family and friends. The boys are the most amazing things that have ever happened to me and I feel so blessed to be able to call myself Graham and Killian's mom. My life is so incredibly different now