The twins are here! And are now almost three months old!

 I know I am way behind and I can't believe I haven't posted about the babies yet!  We welcomed Luke and Anna to our family way back in the middle of October.  That may tell you something about life with twins; it has been crazy and wonderful! We doubled our family size in one day :)  They came a whopping  six weeks early and were in the NICU for just under a month. That was a hard month,but sure made us appreciate taking our babies home. We now have them home and love watching them grow every day.  Here are some pictures from the day they were born up to now!

 Luke had to be on a machine called the cpap where oxygen gets forced into his lungs.  He had a hard time breathing since he was so early.  Thankfully he was only on it for a day and then was ok with a little oxygen blowing into his nose.  He had a lot to conquer, but pushed through and did so well.  We were so proud of all the progress he made so quickly. He is a fighter too.  I am amazed at how strong these children are; they amaze me.

 Little Anna.  She was growth restricted in utero because her placenta was failing, so she was only 3 lbs 1 oz. It was time for her to come so she could be out where we could help her grow.  She was a fighter from the beginning though. She is our feisty little girl with a ton of spunk.  She didn't need any help breathing and had no other complications.  She just needed to be kept warm since she had NO fat to do it. 

 Daddy with Anna.

 On the operating table for the c-section.

 Anna really is our little peanut.

 Luke on his machine

 Anna loved to sprawl the minute she was born.  She kicked her legs straight out behind her and loved to spread her arms out wide. I think she was tired of being cramped and underfed :)  

 Our little Luke man.

 First family photo.

 First cuddles :)

 Anna had her eyes open a lot from the very beginning.  This little girl doesn't want to miss a thing.

 Papa and Granny's first visit.

 Aunt Loree

 Aunt Jessica

 Ben's first time holding both babies together.

 So tiny.

 Our first time bathing the twins.

 The twins were in the NICU for Halloween so we dressed them up as jailbirds.  The crib they were in together after a few weeks even looked like a jail cell.  They "broke out" from the NICU a few weeks later. 

 The first time Anna's hair started to look red to us :)  

 Just a comparison of Anna's size to a Costco card and a tie.  And this was even four weeks after she was born.

This is so classic Anna.  She always lifts her hands above her head or straight out in front of her and spreads her hands out.  She has such a funny personality.

Luke is our gentle, sweet little guy.  He is a cuddle bug and has been from the start.

                                                

 Granny in Utah helping us all survive the first few weeks at home.

 Great Granny and Grandpa Carter

 Aunt Jessica came and helped me with the twins while Ben was out in Ohio interviewing for residency. 

 Sweet little girl.

 Aunt Jessica (Ben's sister) and her daughter Isabelle also came out to help with the babies.  

 The babies' first Christmas.

 Papa with Anna

 Merry Christmas!!!!!

 Luke has great smiles now.

We have had so much help with the twins. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped!  We absolutely love these little babies and have had a blast seeing so many friends and family!  These babies are a miracle and we are so grateful for them.