Celebrating Tuesday: Identical twins, tutus and a trip down the aisle for 2-22-22

It’s “Twosday,” and there’s no better day to whip out your tutu and tie-dye. In fact, there won’t be another day like this one for another century or two.

Across Sonoma County, many celebrated the date 2.22.22 on Tuesday.

Among those who made the day memorable were kids who wore tutus to school and learned the two-step, couples who got married and identical twins who were born at the Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Birth Center.

Twice the joy

Two identical twin girls couldn’t quite wait it out until the clock hit 2:22 pm, as the James twins were apparently in a bit more of a rush.

Ke’ziah James was born at 1 p.m. at 3 lbs and 15.9 ounces.

One minute later, Ke’lizah James was born, weighing in at 4 lbs, 9.6 ounces.

“It’s a very special day,” said the twins’ mother, Tiana Brisco, who’s from Santa Rosa. “The date is all twos, and I have twins, it’s Tuesday and then it’s also my mother’s sixth-year wedding anniversary.”

Brisco happens to be a fraternal twin herself, so she plans to use her knowledge of being a twin with her sister, Tiara, to parent them.

“We were going to choose yesterday, but it was President’s Day so we didn’t want them to be born on a holiday,” Brisco said, and Tuesday just happened to be the “perfect day.”

“It’s a blessing,” said the twin’s father, K. James, who was talking quickly with excitement. “It’s a perfect day, a special day. It’s the only day you’re going to see like this in a century.”

James said when Brisco went into labor, he held her hand, made her laugh and comforted her. When he decided to take a peek, he saw one twin’s head and then another one minute later.

“I just didn’t expect it to be back to back like that, but I really didn’t know what to expect at all,” he said.

“I’m very grateful to have a family,” James said.

Dr. Natasha Kahl, an obstetrician with Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, who delivered the girls, said throughout her career she’s definitely never delivered twins on a date filled with twos.

“Even after 25 years, it’s always new and it’s always exciting,” Kahl said. “I love being a part of it.”

Delivering twins is always exciting, but also comes with worries about increased chance for complications, Kahl said.

Leading up to today’s birth, staff were worried because Ke’ziah was not getting enough nutrients towards the end of her mother’s pregnancy, so inducing birth was the best option and it happened to be on a day significant to the parents.

People are always looking for meaning through dates, Kahl said. She recalled the excitement for parents and hospital staff delivering babies on 7-7-77.

“I love anytime we can bring attention to the specialness of bringing lives into this world,” Kahl said.

Tying the knot

Lauren Harrison and Aaron Barnett decided to celebrate their two becoming one by getting married at the County Recorder’s Office Tuesday.

“It was just a good day ― and easy for him to remember,” Harrison said, as a small group of the couple’s friends and family laughed outside the county building.

Harrison, 25, and Barnett, 28, are planning to have a destination wedding in Cancun, but needed to get married in the U.S. so they decided to schedule their ceremony for Tuesday at the county recorder’s office.

“It’s good luck,” Harrison said.

Tutus in schools

Some schools across Sonoma County also celebrated the significance of the date which is a palindrome ― it reads the same forward and backward ― and turned it into a learning opportunity.

Valley Vista Elementary School in Petaluma had a "Tutus, Ties, and Tie-dye Day" theme throughout the school. Kids played with play-dough, learned how to tie-dyed socks, practiced writing their number twos and made paper hats with twos on them.

Meanwhile, kids at Mattie Washburn Elementary School donned tutus as they hopscotched, hula-hooped and hoofed it to the two-step outside the Windsor school to celebrate "Twosday.“

The next full “Twosday” won’t happen until 2.22.2222. It won’t be quite as special as this one though, that one is on a Friday.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.