My TWINS 2nd Birthday Part One..

BACKGROUND:  For those of you that have been following my page for the last 12 months, you will know all about my Identical Twin Daughters, Aurelia Violet and Indiana Torah Oliver.  For those of you that are new to my page, this is a short story about them.

For me, Christmas has always been about family - getting together with the people you love.  But after what my husband and I have been through, I know not everyone can celebrate.  For some, Christmas is the hardest part of the year.

Christmas 2009, instead of decorating our home and gift shopping, we were huddled over two incubators in the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne.

"Do you think they'll make it?"  I asked my husband James almost daily.  We were positive they would but who knew?  Nobody did.

It all started in November 2009, when at 25 weeks pregnant, my waters broke.  James rushed me to hospital, where baby Aurelia arrived, followed 9 minutes later by Indiana.  At 15 weeks premature, we were give a frightening statistic that only 50% of babies survive when born at this gestation, and most would have severe disabilities.

We clung to hope.  

With Aurelia weighing 910g and Indiana just 695g, little more than a can of soup, there was every chance my babies wouldn't make it the four weeks to Christmas.  We made the 100km round trip daily to see each tiny step they made towards survival.  James and I learnt to take every precious moment as it came, cherishing every cuddle, every feed, every nappy change.  

Christmas Day was the first time I was allowed to dress my girls in a romper that was still too big.  They had their photo with Santa, but only Aurelia was well enough to come out of the incubator. 

Four months later, both my girls were allowed to come home.  Indy was on 24 hour oxygen at home, and both girls have undergone heart surgery, but they are alive, have no permanent disabilities and are so strong willed that I am constantly looking at them in awe.

Their first birthday was last November, and they were only 8 months old {corrected}.  They could not yet sit in their high chair.  So we decided to go to the zoo for the Heart Kids Christmas Party instead.  We had a great day but I missed not seeing them smash a cake or play with wrapping paper.

So, this year...they are 2 in November.  Or 20 months old {corrected}.. they can run around and sing and play...and they are going to LOVE their Party.

I have decided to post BLOG updates to give you a sneak peak on what I am doing for the twins party and how I manage my time line.  This will give you a background view of how many {approx.} weeks prep time it could take you to plan your own Event.

I hope you enjoy seeing the twin's party come together.  I cannot wait to show you all the sweet details in upcoming blogs.

Lil xx

Aurelia one week old

Mikayla feeding Indy Christmas Day 2009

Indy Christmas 2009

Aurelia Christmas 2009

Aurelia, first time in her romper

Indy

First twin cuddle

Mixi wrote special messages for her sisters every visit

100 days old

The first time in Autumn Leaves this year!