2008 was quite a rough year, for us, as well as for many of our family members and friends. The country has gotten into quite a mess financially, on an individual as well as government and corporate level. It's so widespread, no one seems to be unscathed. Still . . . I count my blessings every single day. 2008 was the BEST year of my whole life because our miracle babies arrived.
On the 1st of January 2008, Chris and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary. I was about 5 months pregnant. We definitely fooled all of you who thought we had a shot-gun wedding, getting married only 6 months after meeting each other! Turns out we were just madly in love then, and still are today, even if exhaustion sometimes muddies those waters. Anyway, singleton pregnancies are 40 weeks, but twins on average arrive at 36 weeks. So, while worrying throughout my entire pregnancy that something would go wrong, and the biggest of those worries was that they'd arrive much too early and get off to a rough start in life, I was also hoping that they'd arrive at about 36 weeks. 36 weeks came and went . . . and we scheduled a date for induction at 38 weeks (April 28). I was confident they would arrive well before then. Well, so much for confidence--we ended up keeping that appointment.
The little dudes arrived on April 29--nearly 3 hours apart. For a blow-by-blow, please see my blog from May 6. Matthew arrived at 5:18 a.m., and Thomas came along at 8:01 a.m. Those first several months were the hardest of our lives. Sleep was not to be had--if the babies were awake, they needed something, and it took both of us to make sure they were getting fed, changed, or held, no matter the hour. During those all-too-brief times when they slept, we were preparing for them--making bottles, doing their laundry, trying to keep the house somewhat clean. Finally, at about 5 1/2 months, we started putting them to bed in their nursery, each in their own crib, and they began sleeping through the nights. And we started to feel human again.
Now, they're almost 9 months, and they have changed so much. They're over 20 lbs and very tall. Each of them now has a tooth on the bottom. They sit up and roll and crawl. They love to eat and will pretty much try everything. They smile and laugh, and don't cry as much as they used to. They are the loves of our lives.
Moving on to what's in store for 2009.
Health & Fitness: Chris still works out all the time--he has a gym set up in the garage that rivals any fitness center, and now it has spread to our former guest room; our treadmill and his stationary bike are in there, with a TV set for easy viewing. He also runs and takes the little guys out in the jogger all the time. He walks the dogs every day, too. He is someone to hold as a role-model for making exercise part of your life--I'm amazed at him every day! I have finally gotten motivated to start exercising again, too, thanks to my personal trainer (aka my sweetie wonderful husband). Though the scale says I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight, health-wise I need to get busy! He has me on a running plan, and I've just finished up my 3rd week. He has me running 2-3 miles every other day, so I figure I've put in about 27 miles thus far. I recently heard that if you're still maintaining your new year's resolutions by Valentines Day, then you're likely to continue. Keep your fingers crossed!
Church: We would like to start attending the Catholic Church near our home--one of these days we'll get our act together and make this happen.
School: Chris is starting a program to become a physical therapy assistant.
Work: Chris has the hardest job--staying home with our boys. It would cost us too much to get childcare for them, and plus, we prefer to raise our babies ourselves. Still, we are struggling financially, so we need to think about how Chris can bring in income, while being at home. I celebrated 9 years with Baker & Taylor on November 1 and am now a few months into year 10. I still really enjoy my job, though the traveling is difficult--I hate being away from Matt & Thomas! I'm working really hard, but libraries are suffering budget cuts in this rough economy. I'm looking forward to our early March sales meeting in Charlotte to get inspired and re-energized. It will be especially fun to see all my colleagues, since I missed our sales meeting last year while I was pregnant.
I hear the guys back from their walk, so need to sign off for now. More to come!
Love, j&c, m&t
