My sweet new nieces

My sister had her twin girls two weeks ago, Friday March 23. The day before Ellie's birthday! She was 33 weeks exactly. My sister had been on bed rest for a few weeks because of pre-eclampsia and a few other things. We were really hoping she could make it longer but it got to the point where it was dangerous for Melissa if they didn't take the babies. So she got a ride in an ambulance to Utah Valley hospital. I went over as soon as I got off work and got there just before she got back to the room. I'm very glad I was there and my parents arrived from Vegas a few hours later. My sweet nieces are Carly, who weighed 3 lbs 11 oz and was 17" and Grace who weighed 3 lbs 7 oz and was 16". They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. They are still in the NICU at UVRMC. They are so tiny! I thought Miller was small, which he was, but not this small! They are so precious and I am lucky enough to get to visit them when I can find a sitter for Miller. Standing by them and holding them brings tears to my eyes. It brings back all too familiar feelings of when Miller was in the NICU. It's quite the personal journey and even though I have been through something similar I feel like I can't do much to help Melissa and Rob. Sweet baby Grace was born with Trisomy 21-Down Syndrome. Knowing this has made their journey a bit more difficult, just dealing with unexpected thoughts and emotions. We all know they will be great parents to this sweet angel, we just hope we can offer the support and love and strength they need. Conference this past weekend was so powerful we felt like many of the talks were just for us to grow and learn from. I'm so thankful for my family and for the opportunity to be a new aunt to two more precious, sweet, and perfect tiny baby girls.

Here is my dad holding Carly Lynn and a bunch more of her.

Sweet little Grace Ann

Look how tiny she is!

Once the girls were stable enough they were put in the same bed. Here they are just relaxing in the light. Shortly after I took these pictures their bilirubin levels were low enough they could go off the lights. So now they are all swaddled up, I need to get some more photos! Since my mom has gone back home I haven't made it in to see the girls. Miller isn't allowed in but I'm hoping to figure something out and go soon. It's so nice to see them in the same bed. They get all cuddled up together, legs all crossed and arms interlocked. So precious!

And finally some random photos of Miller at the hospital. When my sister was still in the hospital he took a nap in her bed.

We were having lunch outside the hospital one day and Miller decided to feed himself some carrots.