March for Babies!

It's that time of year again....the March of Dimes March for Babies!  Our family (Paul, me, and all three kids) will be walking this walk April 28th.  I loved doing this last year.  Going to and participating in this event sure was a reminder for how lucky we are to have two healthy girls.

As a recap, our identical twin girls were born at 30 weeks gestation, after me being on bedrest for 6 weeks (3 at home and 3 in the hospital).  They had TTTS (twin to twin transfusion syndrome) and we really had no idea what their outcome would be.  Hailee spent 6 weeks in the hospital and Hannah spent 8 before they were ready to come home.  As we realize how blessed we are today, we still constantly pray for their growth and development as they get older. I can only hope that our girls and their story will be an encouragement to other moms with preemies!

I have attached a couple photos of the girls from two years ago and today.  I have also attached the link to our personal page if you would like to help support the research and development for other families with premature babies. 

http://www.marchforbabies.org/HHClark

Hailee, at about 3 days old.

Hannah, at about 3 days old.

Hannah, a little over a week old.  Take a look at her diaper.  This was a preemie size (smaller than newborn) and was still huge on her!

Hailee, a little over a week old.

Hannah, about 4 weeks old.

Hailee, about 3 weeks old (right around Valentine's Day).

Finally home together!  Hailee had already been home for 2 weeks while Hannah was still in the hospital.  This was the first day they were home together.

Finally snuggling together again!

Hailee and Hannah today!  Two years old!  Babies, you have come a long way and continue to amaze me every day!

Our two little two year olds!

Since our girls turned two, I have been dreading taking their photos.  I have said before and I'll say it again, that my own kids are thee toughest subjects to get good photographs of!  Kids always listen better for other adults and moms play a big part in getting good photos, so me trying to be the mom and photographer is not easy, to say the least.  One morning last week while Ella was at school I decided to conquer the task and get it done with.  No, I did not get an exceptional happy, smiley photos of my wild and crazy girls.  But, I did capture their sweet (rotten) personalities and now have some photos of them that will always remind me just who they are at this age.

The girls are so, so, so CUTE and funny lately.  They have conversations with each other all the time.  I don't know what they are saying (except for a few words here and there) but they talk and respond to each other as if they know exactly what the other is saying.  They hug each other, kiss each other (see below), and of course tease each other all the time.  Having twins at this age is really like nothing I would've ever imagined.  I feel that they share a bond like no other.  They are just so amazing and I love them to pieces.  Enjoy these photos of our two sweet, and ornery, two year olds!    *Note* Hailee in the blue and Hannah in the pink.

Hailee and Hannah's 2nd Birthday!

Hailee and Hannah's 2nd birthday is today!  I cannot even believe our little babies are now two years old!  It is so crazy to think about the past two years.  These babes have been such a joy in our lives.  They have made everything a little more crazy for us and they definitely keep me on my toes!  But I would not change anything one bit.  I am so in love with our big, crazy, happy family.

If you remember last year, we had a 1st birthday party planned for our sweet girls and they ended up in the hospital with RSV over the party date.  You can read about that experience here.  Hailee and Hannah having no party thrown for them as of yet was the perfect reason for us to go all out for their 2nd birthday party!  I have been planning their party for weeks.  I had one goal in mind for the party:  I wanted them to have FUN!  I really wanted the spotlight to be on them for the day.  I wanted to have their favorite food, their favorite friends, their favorite everything.  I prayed and prayed all week that no one would be sick.  With all of the flu and illness going around, I was terrified someone would wake up with a fever or something.

The day was really perfect!  Everyone was happy, well, and excited for the party!  Ella was SO excited too!  She helped me with preparing some things which was cute.  The weather was fine, as I always get worried about some unknown snow storm.  My family came down and helped us to get ready and get everything to the venue where the party was.  We had the party at Firefly Play Cafe.  Hailee and Hannah LOVE going to Firefly.  They always have so much fun.  I think it is perfect for two year olds.  The theme of the party was Sesame Street.  They both love Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie, Abby, etc.  Everything turned out so cute!

I wanted tons of photos of the party!  If I wasn't taking pictures, I had delegated someone else to take them.  Enjoy!

I made this sign for the outer door of the venue.  Yes, this photo was taken on my fridge, but I forgot to snap a photo of it yesterday and wanted to include it!

I love the fun details!

These fruit kabobs added a measurable amount of stress to my morning, but turned out super cute.

H, 2, and Elmo cookies.  No, I did not bake them ;)

Abby Cadabby cake!

Waiting for the party to start..

and for friends to arrive!

Ella!

Hailee and her cheese face.

I wanted everyone to know who was who.  I'd say 85% of the friends we and the girls play and hang out with cannot tell them apart.  So, they wore shirts with their names on them.

Love this photo!  All ready in their party outfits!

Giving my Hailee some love.

I think this photo is so funny.  It's like she's saying "My mom hasn't gotten me food yet, and I'm the birthday girl, so can I have some of yours?"

Needless to say, I hurried up and fixed each of them a plate!

Mmmm, chicken, cheese, and fruit!

"Look at me, mom!"

The best we could do for a photo of me and both girls..

Sweet girls

Hannah LOVES going down the slide on her belly!

They were both hilarious at cake time.  While everyone sang, they just sat there, with no expression at all. 

Wondering what the heck was going on and why everyone was singing..

also unsure.

Family photo!

Our kiddos with their cake!

Nom, nom, nom.

Mmmmmm

The kids love the bounce house!

Cheese!

Lots of friends to help celebrate!

What a fun day!  We carried Hailee and Hannah out, kicking and screaming when the party was over.  Even after two hours of fun and excitement, they still wanted to play!  I know they had a great time!  Happy birthday sweet girls!  You are so loved!