Almost a Year...

It's difficult to believe that Elaine was still pregnant a year ago. Obviously much has happened since then and almost none of it according to plan. (Almost?) But, I'm going to avoid any big attempts at a cathartic, long-winded post about the "long journey." Well, maybe just a little. And speaking of old times, there was another article about the kids in the Alta Bates Community Connections along with some nice photos.

Milo is sitting in his swing right now, and I'm looking over at him. He's grinning. He supposed to be napping, but he woke up after 30 minutes. So now he's downstairs with Dad, while Mom is upstairs trying to catch up on the hour of sleep she lost last night when Maddy woke up hungry. Thankfully, midnight awakenings have become less and less common. And I remember right after the babies were born -- when we had no idea what was going to happen -- wishing so badly that I could see a year into the future and know what the future held. And here I am. The future is here and the babies have beaten the odds by and large. How I wish I could travel back and let everyone know it's going to be ok.

For old times sake, I just took a spin around the internet to look at the statistics on 25-weekers like M&M. I used to Google these stats almost every day -- just look back at some of the early blog posts and you'll get a sense of how much time I spent online. The percentages are still all over the place. Some peg survival as low as 50%, some as high as 90%. Some peg permanent disability as low as 25% some as high as 75% and all define disability differently. If only I could look ahead a couple years and know everything is going to be ok.... For now, Milo has finally fallen asleep in his swing, and things look pretty good. Enough ruminating.

So here's a terrible picture of Maddy & her brother but it's important nonetheless. Take a look at the Cheerios on their trays. That marks another important development for the babies -- they can now pick up the little Os with their fingers and pop them in their mouth. True, most of em' end up buried in the bottom of the high chair, or stuck to their clothing or the floor, but many of em' also make it in the mouths.


Yesterday, M&M attended their first birthday party in advance of their own. Their friend and former NICU buddy Molly turned one. Maddy in particular was mesmerized by Molly.

Giant Molly the birthday girl with her Mom Krista. Molly is enormous and has a very impressive set of teeth already.

Molly's Dad Bill hangs out with Madeline. Interestingly enough, Maddy showed none of the usual stranger anxiety.

Milo enjoys his favorite activity in the world during the party, riding the swings.

Elaine and the babies hang out and celebrate.

The babies and Mom and Dad are finally over a long string of colds that have plagued the house for the last few weeks. We really haven't been able to get out too much, so other than a few outings, it's been playtime at home an awful lot of late.

Maddy munches on her toy cell phone. She likes it, but not nearly as much as the real thing. Ditto remote controls.

I love this shot because it's one of those terrible pictures that makes Milo look like he's had a few. Yah, I know that's bad, but it's hard not to laugh a little.

A slightly better Milo photo. The boy hanging out in the living room during a play session.

That's right, big smiles, everybody's happy.

Maddy and Dad.