A Whole Lot of Baby Bloggin' Going On: Royal Babies, Thompson Style

With all the excitement surrounding the birth of His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge,  I find it only fitting to share with the world my own royal babies.

because

it's all about babies in the Thompson family this year.  In the short course of one year, we have gone from one next-generation member to four.

Ethan, (see HERE,  and HERE, and HERE) once the only baby, has now been joined by his little brother Drake and his twin cousin-cousins Max and Madi.  And while Ethan was definitely the King of the Hill for three years, I must say he has handled the new additions gracefully, allowing all three of them to share his royal spot at the top of the Thompson empire.

Sara Hadenfeldt Photography

jbiggers photography

Read more about His Royal Highness Drake Richard (DRAKE BLOG!) and Their Royal Twins Maxwell Apostoli and Madison Lee (MAX AND MADI BLOG!) to see my million plus four reasons to believe!

The Drakester

tiny

snuggly

mellow 

sleepy

PRECIOUS

I wrote these adjectives in my journal after I met Drake for the first time, and now that he is three months old, they would still be the exact same words I would use to describe him.  Drake Richard, born on my niece Jill's birthday (his cousin aunt),  is the soft, warm blanket wrapped around our family.

Maybe it's because Drake was born on a snow day (well, at least in Colorado!) or because he wasn't quite ready to greet the world (two weeks early, C section and all), but for whatever reason, from the start, Drake has loved being held and cuddled close.  He didn't want to open his eyes much in the beginning, preferring to sleep and snuggle. 

Drake in the hospital with his mommy (Micki) daddy (Tyler) and big brother (Ethan)

Fortunately for Micki--and the rest of us, too--Drake's arrival was so much less stressful than his big brother's.  Micki had a scheduled routine OB appointment that afternoon.  It was at this appointment that her doctor decided it was time for the baby to join us, and he was born about three hours later.  I got a FaceTime call from Ethan in which he shyly told me it was "a boy baby"!

Jimpa and gg meeting Drake at the hospital

I got to meet Drake two weeks later.  My mom and I made a quick trip to Kearney--to meet Drake and also celebrate Ethan's third birthday.

The weekend was spent passing Drake around, getting as much baby-holding time as possible.  I don't think he cried once--he was constantly snuggled in someone's arms and content as could be.  We got to see him in some adorable baby outfits, including my favorite one below--his Born in the USA t-shirt!

the youngest Springsteen fan in the family!

Since his arrival, Drake has snuggled in the arms of many of his family members, including:

Mark and Joy

Jill, Uncle Jake, Lynne, Andy & Ana

of course his mama and gg

Drake's sweet spirit has already captured the hearts of all who meet him, reminding us all that we need snuggles and warmth and reasons to believe.

seriously irresistable

Thing 1 and Thing 2

WE HAVE TWINS!

Maxwell Apostoli and Madison Lee came into our lives on June 7, 2013, born to my nephew Andy and his gorgeous wife Ana.  Even though they arrived six weeks early, the wait for these two miracles seemed eternal.  That story is their parents' to tell, though, and Andy and Ana both will be posting on their blog Danger! 10,000 Schultz as soon as they catch their breath.  In the meantime, the twins have captured the hearts of all who have met them.

Beginning in the NICU . . .

Max and Madi spent several weeks in the NICU before they were strong enough to come home.  After all, they did arrive six weeks early.  They never really looked like preemies--they both weighed in the five pound range at birth.  Because they didn't quite have the strength to eat enough, they required their bottle feeding to be supplemented with tube feeding.

I couldn't wait to meet the twins, but I didn't want to intrude on private moments either, and so I had settled on the idea that I would see them when they got home.  Fortunately, I didn't have to wait that long--Andy and Ana invited my mom and me to come to the hospital on the babies' one-week birthday!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into their little private room.  Truth be told, I was pretty nervous about meeting them.  I didn't know if I would be able to keep it together, seeing all the tubes and wires.  As it turned out, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.  The only wires were little heart and oxygen monitors to make sure all vitals were measuring normal (and they were!).  Both babies still had feeding tubes in one tiny nostril, but they were so small and transparent, they were hardly noticeable. 

Greeting us and making everything even more okay were Andy and Ana, already expert preemie parents and looking proud, happy, and beautiful.  They were eager to share their little miracles with us, letting us watch them change and feed the twins.  They definitely had the process down, and I beamed from a safe distance as Madi almost finished her tiny bottle (she just needed the last few drops in her tube).  Max also finished his bottle, albeit at a much slower pace than Madi.  He kept dozing off between sips!

 

Madi and Max are home now and growing quickly.

These two little miracles are already loved by so many . . .

Their mommy and daddy

Their beautiful Aunt Amy

Their Grandma Lynne

and Grandpa T

Grandma Tina and Grandpa Foti in Macedonia!

Grams! (Madi's middle namesake, Lee)

cousins aunts, cousin cousins, and so, so many others

and ME!

(their great aunt)

That eternal wait for Maxwell and Madison Schultz is now a distant memory.  It seems as if they have always been a part of our family--just two more reasons to believe!