Today is Blake’s birthday – he’s 34! Today he said, “Man, I’m old.” My response was, “No, you’re just right.” And I honestly feel like all of the sudden everything is just right. Instead of writing something sappy and vague, I decided to share some things I wrote down while we were still in the hospital. They were just some things I wanted to remember about Blake in that time, and I’m glad I wrote them down because looking back now it’s all just a blur. Blake Lewis Nyman - Family

I will always remember…

 

How he was genuinely so excited the second he found out we were having twins. His excitement and positive attitude has been contagious ever since.

 Blake Lewis Nyman - Family

How he always told me how good I looked when I was pregnant (even when I felt awful and huge) and he really meant it.

Blake Lewis Nyman - Family

How calm, comforting, and supportive he was when I went into labor. (And how cute he looked in his white scrub suit!)

The way he found a tissue and wiped my tears for me when I held Romy for the first time, and then again when I held Piper.

The way he pushed me in my wheelchair while I was on bedrest and after the babies came, even though he was way too tall and had to hunch over every time.

How he helped me to the bathroom. So many times ;). When I was on bedrest and on magnesium, I couldn’t walk. He’d have to help me to the bathroom, where I had to measure my urine. He never once acted grossed out or annoyed!  And then after my C-Section, he had to help me again. All that blood, and he didn’t care one bit!

The way he planned his day around me while I was on bedrest in the hospital. He’d work from the hospital, or if he had to leave he’d make sure to get there in time to take me on a sunset walk with my half-hour of wheelchair privileges.

How he slept on the most uncomfortable pull-out bed at the hospital with Lo for so many nights, just so I could have both of them near me.

 

The way his big hands make the girls look even tinier as he tries so hard to be gentle every time he changes their diaper or picks them up.

How he always helps me wash my pumping stuff. And how he was so proud to carry the bottles of milk into the NICU for the nurses to give the girls.

I had such a hard day when I was discharged from the hospital and we had to leave with the girls in the NICU. I’ll never forget how he ran and bought supplies to print special photos for the girls and then made them a collage to hang in the NICU. In the collage was a photo of their room, our dog Lo, Blake and I, and a special card my sister had written them. It meant the world to me.

How he suddenly listens to a lot more Tim McGraw.

How good it has felt to share with him how I’ve been feeling about everything going on with the girls and have him say, “Me too.” Or when he has opened up to me about how he’s feeling – it was always so validating and kind of him.

The way he reaches out and makes it a point to get to know the other parents in the NICU. He remembers the other Dad’s names, brings them coffee in the mornings, learns about their babies and pulls for their progress.

The way he tells me I’m tough even when I feel like I’m the furthest thing from it 

The way he cried when we got Romy and piper’s first piece of mail from the social security administration – he loved seeing their names printed!

How proud he is of his two NICU hospital bands we wear to get into the NICU. I swear he never wants to take them off!!

 There were so many more things he did for me, and he continues to take more and more on now that the girls are home. I’m sure this is not where Blake imagined he’d be as he turned 34 – surrounded by 4 girls everyday (us and Lo!), responsible for so much, and possibly facing his first season of not skiing AT ALL – but we love him for it and know that we are SO lucky.

Love you for at least the next 34, Blake Lewis Nyman! 😉

xx

Jen