I have been reflecting a lot on the past three years and am completely amazed that my tiny little preemie babies are now strong, healthy, thriving three year olds. The past several months they have started to play together a lot more, and make up games and pretend scenarios and entertain each other for twenty or thirty minutes at a time, uninterrupted!! When it is very quiet and I go to check on them I hear, "mommy's coming!" Wonder what that means?!
Jack is such a strong, gentle soul. He loves others, and if someone is sad or upset he is right there asking why and offering a kiss and a hug. He is intrigued by how things work and loves to take things apart. He loves raking leaves and working in the shop with daddy. He throws piles of wood together and tells me that is his "house." He pretends to go to work on his motorcycle and says, "love you, see you later, I'm going to work." Jack loves music, he recognizes Jack Johnson when we listen to him and he often dances, plays on the piano and sings or hums songs. He loves to count things and reads books to his baby dolls. He loves cars and trucks of any kind, especially fire trucks. He loves to play with the water in the kitchen sink and help to "wash" the dishes. He has been through so much the past several months with his surgery and has completely amazed me with his strength and resilience. I have no doubt he will grow up to be an amazing boy and I am so proud and happy to be blessed with such a special little boy.
Madelynn is a very independent, strong willed little girl. Brad says she reminds him of someone else he knows :) Madelynn loves to read and she has memorized practically all of our books. She sits for twenty or thirty minutes at a time "reading" her books. She has an opinion about everything from what she wears to letting me know recently that she "prefers to be called Madelynn, not Maddy." She loves to help me cook and bake, her favorite part is to "mix, mix mix," as she says. She also enjoys playing school, she is the teacher and I am the student. She points to the calendar and tells me what day it is and reads books, showing the pictures on the pages to each of her students :) She also enjoys making cards and pictures for her friends and relatives. She has been saying lately that she loves her teachers and mommy and daddy and Jack because they are all so smart! She likes to growl like a lion and try to scare us, she laughs hysterically at herself when she does this. Madelynn lights up the room with her sparkly eyes, dimply smile and giggles. She is such a joy and definitely keeps us laughing.
Here are some photos from the last several months...
