Nature took its course and delivered one Army couple a second set of twins who were coincidentally born 11 years later to the day after the family’s first set of twins.
The newest set of twins, Connor and Camdyn, belong to Sgt. David and Kimberly Shores.
Camdyn came into the world at 8:45 a.m., Aug. 8, weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces and 16 inches long, and Connor - at 4 pounds, 2 ounces, and 18 inches long - arrived three minutes later.
Having a second set of twins was unbelievable for the Shores.
“You got to be kidding,” Kimberly said when medical personnel informed her there were two hearts beating during an exam last December.
“We were both shocked again,” David said.
After the first set of twins - Tyler and Austin - Kimberly said she wanted girls this time. Although the boys are fraternal, they strongly resemble each other.
“There better be a little girl in there,” she recalled saying.
Her wish came half true as this set of twins would be a boy and a girl.
“I felt complete … our family,” she said. “I felt experienced, but I do feel I’m starting all over again.”
David is an intelligence analyst with Headquarters Company, Combat Aviation Brigade (Rear), 4th Infantry Division. He’s been a soldier for five years and has served a tour in Iraq and will eventually be deploying again - once things settle down.
David knows times are going to get tougher once he leaves.
It’s “more stressful, I guess, for her,” he said. “It’s definitely stressful for me.”
But, thanks to technology, the family will be in communication via Web cam, e-mail and telephone calls.
In preparation for the newest set of twins, David said the family reorganized its household by turning a playroom into a bedroom. They also bought a different car - now a Nissan Quest minivan to accommodate the larger family. And, Austin and Tyler are now in bunk beds.
Kimberly works as director of a daycare center and will be off for three weeks and then plans to go back part time for three more weeks before going full time again.
The position in the daycare center works well for this family because Austin and Tyler often go there after school. The second set of twins will go to the daycare center with their mother.
As can be imagined, birthday celebrations for the children will take on a whole new dimension for the Shores family.
This year, Tyler and Austin celebrated their birthday a week earlier because of the impending births of their siblings.
Asked what future birthdays will hold with four siblings celebrating on the same day, David initially answered with confidence, “We’ll plan accordingly.” But in the same breath, the reality of it sank in. “Honestly, I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do.”
