Three Years

The twins turned 3 on Saturday. We had a low-key hoopla sans balloons but with cake and ice cream and pizza. My favorite part of the day was when Daniel opened a Lightning McQueen remote controlled car and gasped. 3-year old gasps of utter joy are fantastic.

I have posted lots of pics chronicling their growth over the past 3 years. I am not a photographer. I got my second lowest grade in college during photography. These pics are not edited because I am lazy. I think I'm trying to make a kind of apology for my lack of artistic ability and my laziness.

Before we gaze upon the wonders that are my twins, here are some facts about their early, early years.

When the OB found Twin B on the ultrasound, I had a (smallish) panic attack. The doctor assured me he was more than capable of monitoring my pregnancy and delivering my twins because he had a lot of experience doing so. His office is strategically located right across the hall from a fertility clinic, and patients carrying twins just sort of drift in.

Daniel was born first, which was good, because his head was facing down. Ella came out second, feet first.

Ella weighed 3 lbs 8 oz and Daniel weight 7 lbs 15 oz.

Daniel had fluid in his lungs and they whisked him away immediately. He didn't cry. They wanted me to push to deliver Ella. It was a very bad couple of moments. It seemed like forever until I heard him cry.

Ella had three skin tags on her face, which John called her "floppies." This was a clue that something might be up with her kidneys. Two of the skin tags were by her ears, and the ears and the kidneys develop at the same time. Weird.

Ella had plastic surgery at six months to remove her floppies. The surgery left a dimple in her right cheek.

I named Ella and John named Daniel. When we were finally able to hold Daniel in the hospital, John gazed down at him and said, "Dan. Dan the man." It was then that I realized he had named our son after Dan Marino. (John is a Dolphins fan.)

I breastfed Ella and Daniel for over a year. Not because I'm a boob nazi, but because buying formula for twins would have bankrupt us.

Before Ella was allowed to go home, she had to pass a stress test. They put her in her carseat atop of a vibrating table and monitored her heartrate. I walked halfway into the NICU to take her home and saw the carseat across the room on the table. But Ella wasn't in it.

"She's not in there," I told the nurse. The nurse panicked.

"What do you mean? I just put her in there!" We walked up to the carseat. Ella was indeed there, her tiny dark blue eyes staring bright and wide at the lights above her. She was so small that the carseat had completely engulfed her, making her invisible unless you were about three feet away.

Daniel and Ella slept next to one another for the first two months of their life.

They slept most of the time.

The preemie clothes were too big for Ella.

I know. The cuteness is a little overwhelming.

First vacation August '07

First trip to see Gigi, my cantankerous grandma in Schroon Lake.

First Halloween.

Fall '07

Valentine's Day '08

Summer '08

Second Halloween

This happens a lot.

Daniel loves gowacks.

4th of July '09

You have no idea what a pain it is to get them down from up there.

First haircut at 2 1/2

I'm a very trusting mother.

3 at last. My friend Katie made the cakes. Ella wouldn't get off her cell phone.

I mean, really. That is so rude.