The Big O-N-E

We made it through the first year with twins!!!  That is no small feat, my friends.  In order to do the event justice we invited our families over this past Saturday to help us celebrate Suzette and Ian turning one.  We've had some great friends support us this past year, but nothing compares to the unconditional love and unending support all of our family members have shown us as we transitioned into being a family of four.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by them on such a special day to us.  

Really, I don't know how we would have done things without having each of them around to help.  You think I'm kidding?  All of these we got for free from family throughout the twins first year- diapers, wipes, bottle liners, babysitting (including 2 overnight stays while Dave and I went on quick get-a-ways), a place to live, baby clothes and toys, nursery furniture (2 bassinets & 2 cribs!), professional photo session, dinners, groceries and the best of all words of encouragement and love.  Dave and I know full well we couldn't have gotten to this point without them ... at least couldn't have gotten to this point with our sanity still intact without them.  We are forever grateful.

Without further ado, here are the details of the big day...

The Decorations

Since we have quite a few stairs in our new place I thought it'd be nice to give guest something to look at on their way up.  At the bottom of the stairs I put up letters that spelled out - It has been the best year of our lives! - followed by 8x10 photos of each month of Ian & Suzie's life.  At the top of the stairs I put their 12 month photo where they each got their own picture on display in addition to the one together.

For the wall by the refreshments I used some of their nursery decor.  The canvas photos and framed names (done in a flower and tool alphabet, so cool!) usually hang above each of their cribs, but it worked perfectly to help display a #1 photo collage.

A close up of the amazing banners my mom made for each of them

The Food (and food prep helpers)

Thanks for assembling the fruit skewers, Uncle Phillip & Aunt Karen!

The name of the game was finger food that was simple and scrumptious.

The cheese ball I served with crackers and crunchy veggies was a hit!  Naturally it was a recipe from OBB

vanilla cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting

sparkling punch w/ raspberries

 The Birthday Girl & Birthday Boy

 Playing peek-a-boo with GGPa

Ian with my dad (aka Grandpop)

For some reason Ian thinks he has to scrunch his nose when he smiles.
I think it's cute, but really it just makes him look kinda funny.

 The Main Attraction - Cake Time!

 At first they were each a little hesitant and curious as to this odd thing placed in front of them, but then they quickly realized this was a free for all and went to town!

Ian is SO BIG!

And I couldn't leave out a photo of their sweet cousin Reese who came to play.  She just turned 7 months old and has the cutest cheeks you'll ever see!

Once the massive wipe down of Ian and Suzie was completed after cake time we opened presents (I was a bum and didn't think to get any photos) and enjoyed watching them explore all their new toys that everyone was so generous to give.  It's fun to see them get excited about and try new things.  Overall, a the party was a big success!  

And now on to the next step (when I say it out loud it still sounds crazy - because it is!) preparing for the arrival of baby #3...

Good thing we've got our families!

Twelve Months Old

Official Stats-

Ian - 23 lbs. 12oz. (84th %tile) / 31 1/4 inches (93rd %tile)

Suzette - 26 lbs. 9 oz. (98th %tile) / 30 1/4 inches (86th %tile)

Well, it happened.  Suzette and Ian turned one on Wednesday, September 26th, 2012.  My babies are no longer and somehow I have two toddlers in front of me now.  Everyone says it, but really until you live it there is no way to truly understand just how fast it all goes.  So many other years of my life passed by without much thought, but this one has been big - for all of us!  How amazing and awe inspiring it has been to see two tiny babies come out of my body, enter this world and grow into little people with personalities and characteristics all their own. 

Ian, what's that silly thing on your head?

Let me take it off for a closer look!

Blessed.  I feel it in abundance these days.  Suzie and Ian are so full of life and laughter, curiosity and charisma and love.  I have such a deeper understanding of what my Father in Heaven feels for me now that I have become a parent.  An amazing journey filled with joy and the best part - it's only just beginning!  These little munchkins are doing so much these days.  Biggest news is that Suzie is walking!  She took her first steps the day she turned 11 months and within the next 7-10 days she was walking all over the place.  Ian's cognitive abilities have come a long way too.  When playing with his stacking ring toy he will now put them on in order of size and then clap for himself.  So amazing to watch him just figure things like that out on his own.  While both are good eaters, surprisingly Ian has been the more adventurous one with trying out different foods.  Which I love!  Suzie gets picky with what textures she likes to eat and if it's not an enjoyable feel on her tongue she'll promptly scoop all the food out of her mouth with her hand.  Bibs are critical.  Now if there was only something that would make all the finger food that ends up on the floor easier to clean we'd really be in business.  Maybe it's just my 8 month preggo belly that is starting to get in the way a bit more than before.  Suzie LOVES books and will often just sit for 10-15 minutes with one book flipping through the pages and sometimes even "reading" it to herself.  Ian's attention span for that is much shorter, but he loves to fill and empty containers, build towers of toys and figure out where and how things fit together.  Ian and Suzie have had a few playdates with my friend's son who is 8 months old and it's been fun to see how they interact with another child close to their age.  Makes me excited (and nervous) to see what they'll be like with the new baby around.

Suzie said her first word (besides mama and dada) a few weeks ago, but has yet to say it again as clear as she did the first few times so I'm not sure if it really counts.  But for documentation sake I'll record it here.  It's only fitting her first real word was BABY!  She got pretty close to saying book, but not quite there.  When she said 'baby' though it was clear as day.  Haven't really been able to get her to say it again though.  Ian is sticking with the mama and dada for now.  He has gotten pretty close to saying 'ball'.  What Ian is doing now that is WONDERFUL is drinking from a straw sippy cup!  I am soooo happy he is doing well with it and hope Suzette soon follows his lead.

On Wednesday, their actual birthday, my mom (who is a public school teacher) happened to have the day off.  I couldn't say no to her plea to see her grandchildren on their birthday so we drive out to  my parents house after their morning nap.  Since I was saving the cake experience for their party on Saturday my mom got some ice cream to introduce them to.  Well, re-introduce.  Anyone who knows my husband well knows of his passion for ice cream.  Needless to say Dave has already exposed Suzie and Ian to the goodness that is Cold Stone.  It was still fun for my mom to see their reactions to the cold sweet treat she got them.

One the way back to our place I wanted to do something that Ian and Suzie would enjoy for a special birthday outing.  Okay, well maybe not so special, but it's something I know they love and what better thing to do than something they like on their birthday?!  Get ready for it...our special trip was to COSTCO!!!  

They did a good job of containing their sheer excitement in this photo, but honestly it never fails that the second they get out of the car and into the awesome Costco cart the happy giggles and swinging feet come out and they are all smiles!  So we headed in for some pizza and frozen yogurt sundae, mmm mmm good.  The big purchase of the day was whole milk.  No more formula for these babies toddlers.

Ian and Suzie had their 12 month check up on Thursday and we had to say goodbye to Dr. Hirsch - a pediatrician whom I love!  I just couldn't switch pediatricians before he completed at least their first year with them.  He was such a good fit for us as new parents with twins.  Very through, gave down to earth advice that is always medically sound, comfortable to talk to and ask any questions and always so quick to respond to e-mails and phone calls.  There are 2 main exam rooms at his office that are decorated perfectly for kids - the zoo room and the fire station room.  This visit we got the fire station room.

 

With Ian and Suzie being so mobile now it was perfect and I couldn't help snap a few shots of them exploring.

Ahhh, good times.  I sure do hope to find a pediatrician I love just as much here in Virginia.  We had fun celebrating during the week and now it's time to get ready for their big birthday bash tomorrow!

Mischief Makers

I seem to have some mischief makers on my hands these days who love getting into laundry baskets, under end tables, behind curtains...

emptying the nursery shelves (over and over and over again), pulling down the place mats off the table to see what else may come down with it...

cool toy - look at all these buttons!

getting into the tub that was leaning up against the wall in the hallway for a day time bath and the all time favorite of playing with Daddy's shoes and ties!  And pregnant mommy can only keep up with them for so long so there is bound to be a lot more of this to come from these little rascals.  

 It's a good thing they're cute!

Seven Down, Two More To Go

32 weeks with baby #3

Yesterday I entered my 32nd week of this pregnancy, the beginning of the eighth month.  It has been an enormous blessing that this pregnancy has been so much easier for me than the twins was.  Mainly I've noticed that carrying only one baby has allowed me to have more energy and a bit more ease in moving around - go figure.  Heart burn, while it still comes at times, isn't nearly as intense or frequent as when I had Ian and Suzie squished in there together.  The hormones that come along with pregnancy are definitely still there it's not quite as amplified as it was with multiples.  Ian and Suzie are of course keeping me pretty busy so I don't have too much time to think about all the "what ifs" and "how will we" with this baby as I did with them.  I think that is pretty typical with a second pregnancy though.  

Last night I felt the baby hiccuping for the first time.  Such a neat feeling!  I am pleased that this baby doesn't seem to have the need to keep mommy awake all hours of the night and early morning by doing acrobatics like the twins did (mostly Ian since he was on top and had the most room to move around).  We'll see if that translates to it's personality once outside of the womb.  Dave's guess as to the gender changes almost weekly and I freely admit to having no clue.  I've had no dreams or promptings one way or the other.  For me it's nice to not know.  That way I don't favor one twin over the other knowing there will be a playmate of the same gender for one soon.  And really - is there any better surprise?!  This is a pretty exciting time in our lives.  I mean how many people do you know that have these two books as current reading material on their nightstand?      

Yup, that's right.  Simultaneously reading the What To Expect series for pregnancy and the first year.  Good stuff.  And just for comparison sake this is what I looked like at 32 weeks with the twins - 

32 weeks with the twins

  While you may be looking at my belly, I'm looking at my short hair with blonde highlights.  Ahh, those were the days.  But who has 1 1/2-2 hours and $150+ to spend on upkeep like that - not me, anymore.  And that's okay because look what I get to have instead...

I'd say it's a pretty good trade off, wouldn't you agree?

And yes, those are boxes that are still packed full of dining room books in the background.  The hoisting the large bookshelf over the back balcony idea has yet to come to fruition.  I can't blame Dave for focusing his "extra" time on more important things like studying for his PE (Professional Engineer) exam - which less than 7 weeks away (you can do it, babe!).  Oh well, the boxes will get unpacked one day...

In the meantime I'll continue to grow this little human in side of me and take care of the two bigger ones that are now practically running around in circles in front of me.  These are the days :-)