Shaun T Writes Touching Message for His Twin Sons' Surrogate as She and Her Family Meet the Babies
Before Shaun T took his twin boys home, there was one last thing he had to do.
On Wednesday, the celebrity fitness guru and husband Scott Blokker introduced their surrogate — and her own two children — to their sons after receiving news that Sander Vaughn and Silas Rhys, who arrived early at 32 weeks gestation, had finally been released from the hospital.
“MEET OUR SURROGATE, Ashley!” Shaun T, 39, wrote alongside a series of photos capturing the emotion-filled introduction, in which both their surrogate and her children held the newborn babies.
“First I wanna say, ITS UNBELIEVABLE how one person can completely change the course of your life!! Ashley is that person for us,” he continued. “We’ve had many people help us along this journey and when Ashley offered to carry our children, many of those same people rallied behind her to give her the love, support and encouragement to help bring our two boys into the world.”
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“With that said, before going home we had one last VERY IMPORTANT thing to do. Have Ashley’s kids meet the babies that they’ve seen grow over the course of 32 weeks and 5 days. The excitement they had when touching and kissing the babies for the first time was unbelievable and unimaginable,” he continued.
“Ashley, her husband Michael and their children are such selfless people and no words can describe our appreciation for them helping us build our family! So here’s to you Ashley!” Shaun T added.
“You are courageous, strong, empowered, driven, powerful, dedicated, and such an amazing human! SO THANK YOU for being everything we needed and more. #FamilyForever#FriendsForever #ForeverConnected.”
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The couple welcomed their first children on Nov. 17 — and on Wednesday, they shared their happy news that Sander and Silas had finally been released from the hospital, following their graduation from the NICU on Sunday.
“After 5 years the emotions finally hit Scott as our boys were discharged from the hospital into our full time care!” the fitness trainer and author of T Is for Transformation wrote on social media. “Thanks for your love, prayers, and thoughts. Our boys will soon be home! #TWINSANITY”
Since the birth of their children, the couple have both been open about the boys’ health progress.
“The good news is they’re off the respirator, which is great,” Blokker told PEOPLE shortly after the birth. “They sometimes use the feeding tube and sometimes use the bottle to feed, so we’re actually moving in a great direction.”
“We celebrated some movements last night — meaning from kids into the diapers — so that was a big day for us,” he added with a laugh. “I just didn’t know how to say that. So there are small victories that are amazing.”
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The small victories are likely just the first of many throughout Sander and Silas’ lives. As Shaun T — a sexual-abuse survivor — told PEOPLE in early November, his kids will “have a blank canvas” to grow from.
“I want to be the best dad ever. I know Scott is going to be an amazing parent. I’m just excited,” he explained. “I guess this is the nervous parent talking.”