Monday, December 20, 2010

What are we up to?



Our babies are turning into toddlers and it has happened so quickly! I have loved watching the transitions as they discover milestones that we take for granted each day. The excitement when they took their first steps, the smiles as they clap and wave bye bye, the joy of feeding themselves and the sweet hugs with little arms. We are so blessed and thank God each day for our sweet children!

Wright was attempting to "kiss" his sister

Daily activities:
Kate and Wright are into everything and walking all over the place. Kate took the first steps and then Wright seemed to be steadier on his feet, but then Kate took off! She prefers to walk everywhere while Wright will walk a few steps, realize he can crawl faster and drops down to ensure he gets to the toys faster than Kate. They are extremely aware of what the other is doing, who is holding whom and what the other is playing with. Wright is very cuddly and tries to hug Kate, but ends up pulling her down by her hair which usually results in tears (can't blame her one bit)! Kate can hold her own and likes to pat Wrights head...sometimes with more force than necessary. Most of the time their interaction consists of holding hands or laughing at each other and babbling...a language only the two of them understand. I love that they will always have a best friend! Since I have started my new job (3 days a week) I am thankful that I am not leaving them alone. I miss them terribly and know that they miss me, but fortunately they are able to stay in their home with each other! They are with Claire on Monday and Jessica on Tuesday and Thursday each week. It is working out well and I am starting to adjust. I try to plan fun things to do together on the days I am home which can consist of an outing to the bookstore, playdate or music class, but sometimes we just stay in our PJ's and dance and play in the house. They love for us to chase them around the island in the kitchen and they have a loop around the house to push their toys. They love to open and close all doors and cabinets, play with the refrigerator or dishwasher...it seems an internal alarm goes off when they hear the door open to either and they come as fast as they can! They understand "no" and listen fairly well when told not to play in certain cabinets or with a certain Christmas tree. Wright is more tender hearted than Kate and she pushes "no" a bit further than him. They love to be outside and enjoy playing or strolling.


Kate loves to swing, but Wright would rather be out pushing a toy or playing on the slide. Kate loved the swing as an infant and Wright really didn't.












Wright with my mom at the pier in Mt Pleasant.


Feeding and Sleeping:
They are great eaters and would much rather finger feed than have mommy feed them. I still feed them yogurt and cottage cheese (they LOVE both). They love their veggies, especially green beans and carrots! They have started to enjoy ravioli and now eat sweet potato cubes vs mashed. Wright and Kate have both cut their bottom molars without too much pain. Wright now has 10 teeth and kate has 8! They did get their teeth early, but that has helped them transition to table food so well. We cut out bottles completely about 1 week after their 1st birthday without a fuss! Wright loved his bottle especially at night so we were a bit worried that it would be hard, but they took to the milk in a sippy cup...warm milk that is. We do warm the milk just a bit for them in the morning, afternoon snack and then bedtime. They have water during the day and with lunch and are doing great with the sippy cup. They are still taking two naps a day, but the length is different. Wright sleeps longer than Kate in the morning by about 45 minutes which gives us some one on one time. Wright has started waking up around 3 am to be rocked and so he isn't sleeping quite as soundly as Kate. They go to bed around 7pm and wake up anywhere between 6 and 7 am. They take a good afternoon nap from around 1:30 until 3:30 or so. I feel that we will transition to one nap sometime in January, but I am not going to push it. They are so happy and play so well when they are rested and have a full tummy!

Their sweet giggles are contagious and we are always reminded of God's sweet blessings to us!


Decorating the tree in the mountains with Gran

Friday, December 10, 2010

Santa


We LOVE Christmas! We love the time with family, lights, smells, chill in the air and all the festivities the holiday brings! We decorated the tree last weekend when my parents were in town and Kate and Wright are extremely curious, but have done great and have left the tree alone. We were also able to see Santa and this visit was quite different from the year before.


Last year's picture.....











this year's video.....

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Let them eat cake!

Celebrating Kate and Wright's first birthday was a blast! We started on birthday morning with a decorated door and highchairs. Will and I sang to them and gave them decorated homemade muffins which they enjoyed. They both clapped for us after singing!




After lunch we took them to the aquarium...they loved the schools of fish and all the fun colors!

Mid week we had their 12 month checkup and they are doing great! They were both moving around the room, taking a step here and there and turning on the charm for the doctor and nurse...well until the shots :(

Wright: 23 lbs 12 oz (65%), 29 1/2 inches long (30%) and a 93% percentile head
Kate: 19 lbs 8 oz (24%), 28 inches long (18%) and a 70% percentile head

We had such a great time at their birthday party! They were so lucky to be surrounded by family and friends. They had most of their great grandparents, grandparents and some aunts, uncles and cousins!

Wright spilled water on his outfit so was "without pants" for a time period..didn't miss a beat
Kate was REALLY ready to dive into her cake

They really enjoyed the balloons, playing outside and their CAKE!