Moments in Time

Today I was looking through some photos from our trip to Florida back in 2012. Alex and Evan were 19 months old. They were so chubby and cute and their little baby faces brought tears to my eyes. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, and then there are moments when it seems like forever. Time goes by so much faster than we realize and sometimes I feel like things get lost in the shuffle.

I know I am not going to get these years in their lives back, so I really try to capture moments in time with them so I have it to reflect on later in life. Besides the photos and videos of them, I have a notebook for each of them that I have been keeping since they were a few months old. In them, are little moments like the first time they laughed, the first time they rolled over, certain moments we shared as a family, words they have said or funny little things that they have done that I may not remember 10 or 20 years from now. It is all hand written, and each year on their birthday I write them each a letter to tell them how proud I am and I list out their accomplishments over the past year.

I have always enjoyed writing and have kept a journal myself for years. These are like journals of their lives. My plan is to journal the first eighteen years of their lives and give them the journals when they graduate from high school. I hope they will enjoy them and appreciate them as much as I do.

I just found out today that I have to go next Wednesday and register them for Kindergarten. This is bringing a lot of emotions out of me that I didn't think would. Because of Alex's delays, they have both been involved in school since they were 18 months old. First they attended an Early On program, and two and a half years of preschool. I wasn't sure if they would start school this year or next because they are going to be a young 5 - having a July birthday and all. I also wasn't sure if they would be ready, but after getting Evan's progress report today, and completing Alex's IEP for the next year, that seems to be the plan. Evan is one of the top students in his class and the teacher doesn't seem to have any qualms about sending him onto Kindergarten. As for Alex, his team doesn't feel a need to hold him back from going either since they will be modifying his lesson plan to fit his needs as he will be in a General Ed classroom.

It is crazy to me that this moment has come. Even though they have been in school for some time now, it is still very humbling for me to reach this moment in time. I feel like they are growing up so fast and because they are the same age, this is happening for me all at once. I don't have a younger child to do this with all over again in a couple of years. This is it and it is somewhat sad for me.

Having twins creates a busier than normal life; Having a child with Cerebral Palsy who is a twin creates a life 10 times busier than you would ever expect. That is why I like to create moments and memories with my boys that are going to last a lifetime. I don't want to ever hold back on giving Alex and Evan the life they deserve and I also don't want Alex to feel like we have to slow down or that he is holding us back from doing certain things. Just like his teachers, we will make modifications so he gets to experience life in every way possible and we will record these moments in time for him to remember forever.

Here are a few pics from Cocoa Beach in February 2012 with our babies.

Cocoa Beach 2012

Eric and Evan

Me and Alex