Five Times Two

It was a beautiful spring day in Hinsdale. At just about 6 a.m. on April 15th, 2005 I was checking into the hospital, and by 8:38 a.m. our lives had been changed forever. We were no longer a family of three but now a family of FIVE! Madison Grace was born first and weighed 6 lbs. 11oz. & Noah James followed and weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. I could hardly believe that this day had come! As I laid in recovery after an unbelievably quick C-section I was in awe. It was a long road I travelled carrying twins and I was so glad it was over and I was able to hold two precious, perfectly healthy babies.

I can still remember watching James handle both of them in those first few hours. I couldn't do much because I just had surgery, but immediately, after not having any experience with any of this before, James became a natural. In the first few hours of that day I can't remember much but I do remember we received visitor after visitor. I couldn't believe just how many people came to greet the newest members of the Laslo family. But...one thing our family and friends would have to wait 24 hours later for were their names.

Since we didn't want to find out and had absolutely no idea what the babies sex would be we didn't have "set" names right away. It took us well into the evening while staring into their two precious faces to properly give them names. I hate the idea of naming a baby before you see them and meet them. You need to be able to gather a bit of personality from them first. So, no surprise now, but we named them Madison Grace, Grace after my grandmother (and mother) and Noah James, James after, well....James.

The days of caring for infant twins is a complete blur to me. Feeding two babies, sleeping little, bathing them, changing countless diapers, dressing them and getting three children where we needed to go was busy, but looking back now I'd say it went well. We all survived and I'm here today to tell about it;) Over the last five years I could not even have imagined who these little people have turned into. They still amaze and surprise me.

Madison is such a girly girl. She loves to dress up and play pretend. Madison is like a "mini me." She loves to do anything and everything I do. She is always helpful and polite and sometimes shy. Madison is also the comedian of the crew. She is always saying something clever and making me laugh most of the time I want to be serious. Even being as girly as she is she would choose to play soccer or baseball over dolls any day....all while wearing a dress;) She is incredibly coordinated and quick. Madison Grace seems to always have a sneaky little smile on her face.

Noah, or "NoahJamesLaslo" as he calls himself is a pretty typical little boy. He loves to work. Noah has a few tool boxes full of tools that make their way into just about every room. Whenever their is a job to do he is front and center. He is even big enough now to reach into James tool bench/drawers and identify and find us any tool we may need. He really loves learning facts. He is a very protective big brother and is just the sweetest little boy when it comes to his baby sister. Every morning since Mackenzie was born, the minute I bring her down in the morning, Noah is there to give her a hug & kiss and say "good mornin' Kenz." He has such a tender heart.

My little double team is about to turn five tomorrow. I think I can't believe it! They are all registered for kindergarten in the fall and they are both excited to go on "Brett's bus." I can still remember carrying two messy little toddlers up for nap at the same time...one in each arm. I can still hear them giggling themselves to sleep and the sound of them jumping and shaking their cribs in unison to let me know they were up for the day. The days of taking turns giving them bites of food as they each sat in their exersaucers (bc they would scream if one had to wait) and watching all their firsts...crawling, walking, talking...and I don't know if I am really ready to stand there at the corner on their first day of school and wave good bye to them. I want to be ready. I want a little extra time in my day to tend to some things around the house and spend some more time with the two littlest, but, I know I'm going to be sad. How do I already know? I have tears making their way down my cheeks just thinking about it.

What a privilege and blessing it is to be the mom of such amazing little ones. I am so proud of who they are becoming. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for them. They have grown so much as little people and grown in their knowledge of God and His love for them. My prayer for them is that they will continue to grow in Him and seek Him throughout their lives and develop a personal relationship with their Savior. So, Happy Birthday Madi & Noah! I love you more than words can explain and I love being your Mama!