Washington, Nov 22: They are the world's first surviving septuplets and they have now survived long enough to achieve a major milestone. On November 19, the seven children born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1997, completed 21 circles around the sun and it was a moment of pride and achievement for the siblings as well as their family.

The McCaughey siblings (four brothers and three sisters) celebrated their special moment on Monday at various locations ahead of a family celebration on Wednesday, November 20, TODAY reported.

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"I think that we're all becoming very independent and finding our different talents and different skill sets. It's cool to celebrate this different milestone," Kelsey McCaughey, the fourth-oldest of the siblings, was quoted as saying by TODAY.

The seven siblings made the headlines since they were born nine weeks prematurely and yet survived. Their picture had also appeared on TODAY just a few days after their birth.

The siblings still share a close bond. "Since they were very young they've had varied interests. They still have a very close bond to one another, but they also enjoy doing things with their friends and also exploring those different activities and different classes," Bobbi was quoted as saying by TODAY.

Of the seven, Kelsey, Nathan, Natalie, Joel and Alexis are attending Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri, which offered all the siblings scholarships upon their birth. Kenny Junior, on the other hand, is attending a vocational school while Brandon is deployed overseas serving in the US Army.