Yesterday and Today, More Birthday Fun

So since Michael isn’t eating wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, or nuts right now, I had to come up with something nontraditional to put a birthday candle in.  I did a little searching on Pinterest and found a banana muffin I thought I could pull off.  I put chocolate chips in it and applesauce on top of it.  It was actually not so bad.

The babies’ faces here are hilarious.

Here too – ha!

The babies thought the birthday muffin was pretty delicious.

Thomas especially thought it was wonderful

The big kids all got one too!  Natalie liked hers.

James ate some of it, then just licked the rest of the chocolate chips out and threw the muffin into the bushes.

This one thought it was okay.  I think she ate the whole thing.

Thomas thought it was good to the last crumb… then he ate some of his brother’s.

But then we told him it was completely gone.

He wasn’t pleased.

“Pays to eat slowly man.”

Thomas got some Cheerios.  He was happy again.

Yesterday evening we had dinner and choir at the church.  I brought my camera, thinking I might take a couple of pictures of the birthday boys eating dinner, but I only managed to get this one of Thomas, completely covered in sweet potato and applesauce.  The boy eats with style.

This afternoon the boys opened up a few presents.  This push cart has become Michael’s surfing machine.

While I was taking pictures of Michael, Thomas kept fussing at me to take his picture.

So back to the surfer…

He’s hilarious.

“Sup Daddy?”

Thomas is so musically inclined, he can play the xylophone upside down.  :)

I love this scrunchy faced smile.

I sure do love these boys.

Two One Year Olds and Pumpkins!

Yesterday I took the babies back up to the pumpkin patch for their official 12 month photo shoot.  When we went the first time a couple of weeks ago, Thomas didn’t want to have anything to do with sitting on the pumpkins or putting his bare feet on the ground.  Not so this time!

He did want to crawl and stand on them though.  :)

Mike-o:

Michael’s like “Dude stole my gourd.”

They’re adorable, amiright?!!

Thomas:

A side smile from Michael.

Twins are nothing if not entertaining.

He looks like he’s saying “eh?” It’s a very Michaelish kind of face.

They were so great posing for me in the pumpkins! 

I guess I should take this opportunity to write a few things about these adorable guys at ONE YEAR OLD!!

• Michael is a lot smaller than Thomas.  I kinda think he may even be smaller than Miss Joanna the Tiny at this age, which has me the littlest bit worried.  They have their well checks on Monday, though, so I’m not dwelling.  :)  He’s proceeding through all the developmental milestones, just not super quickly.
• Michael’s “crawl” is still on the belly.  He pushes himself with one foot and pulls with one arm.  He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks, but doesn’t really put one knee in front of the other, if you will.
• Both boys clap and wave and have wonderful deep laughs.  Thomas’ wave looks almost identical to his sign for milk, so you have to use context clues.  :)
• They love to sit up in the shopping cart when we go to the grocery store.
• Thomas does not love being put into the car seat.  He arches his back and screams.  He’s strong too!
• Michael could absolutely wear 6-9 month sized clothing if I let him, but I don’t need three sizes in the drawer, so he wears 12 month size, and it’s just a little big.  Thomas can also wear 12 months but also fits into 18 months pretty well, so we have those two sizes in the drawers.
• Thomas wears his diapers on the mid-rise snap with four rows of snaps showing in between the tabs.  Michael can wear diapers on the mid-rise snap, but they fit better snapped all the way down.  There are usually two rows showing in between.
• Thomas is pretty close to standing/walking.  He cruises on everything and will walk with a walker, chair, ottoman, laundry basket, whatever. I’ve seen him let go and stand for a second not holding on to anything.
• Michael is a super snuggler.  He fits right into my neck and chest.  He lays there and sucks his thumb.  If only he would let me sit down in the rocking chair and be just as happy, we’d spend all day like that.
• Thomas isn’t as much of a snuggler, but he will lay his head down on you for a second at a time.  It’s soooo sweet.  He has also started crawling over to me when I sit down and get the pillow ready for nursing.  Yay for not having to gather two babies to nurse!
• Thomas gives fives and is very close to blowing kisses.  I see him really thinking about it.  He will lean into me when I ask “Can Mommy have kisses?”
• They’re both toying with drinking out of cups.
• They looooooove those disposable baby food pouches.  Mostly, they eat what we eat, but some times that just doesn’t work out, or if we’re not home at meal time, they’re a super easy alternative.
• Last week I decided to start an elimination diet for Michael and myself to see if it will affect his eczema for the better. I’ve eliminated wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, and nuts.  I have no definitive answers yet, but am gathering data.  :)  And I think I miss butter the most.
• The babies usually go down between 6:30-7pm for bed (but here it is almost 7:30 and they’re up and happily playing).  They wake up at some early hour of the morning, nurse, and occasionally go back down for a couple of hours.  But sometimes they don’t, and we’re all up at that super early time of the day.  Because of this, I try to put myself to bed early, but it’s hard.  :)
• Thomas loves to dance.  His favorite jams remain the theme song and the ending credits song from The Gilmore Girls.  It’s adorable.  He’ll dance to lots of great tunes though.  He also loves to play music and have you sing to him.  He claps along and does a little break dance thing.  I have video.
• Michael sucks his thumb, and I’m perfectly happy about that.
• Thomas has six teeth I think – four on top and two on the bottom.
• Michael has five – three on top and two on bottom.
• It feels like they’re constantly cutting teeth.  :)
• They have started sleeping with their loveys, and it’s very sweet.
• Basically, they’re down to one nap a day.  When it’s nice and long, all is right with the world.  If it’s short, I have really grouchy babies in the afternoon.  They both (but Thomas especially) fight that afternoon nap so hard they won’t usually take it.  Today Matt was off work and took them on a looooooong walk, and they had a stroller nap.  They might also take a car nap if the conditions are right.
• They are so incredibly loved by so many people.  I’m so glad God sent these amazing babies to us!  Happy birthday Thomas and Michael!!

James’ 4th Birthday Party!

Saturday (before last) we had the grandparents over to celebrate James!

I’m not sure what I was talking about, but I’m so expressive.  :)

Much fun was had by all!

It’s so good to have sisters to help you out.

James sure does love his Thomas the trains.

I love having a kiddo who reads!!

Natalie modeled James’ new superhero duds for him.

He got a chance as well though.

Cookie cake is one of my very favorite things in the world, and thankfully, I have passed that love on to my children.

Grandpa David, Nana, and I were all taking pictures at the party, so there are three angles of James blowing out his candles!

Love it.  :)

It was so nice visiting with everyone, and James sure loved getting very spoiled.

The babies wore their OSU duds to support Popo’s team.

The babies were asleep at this point, but I made everyone else pose for a grandparent shot.  I love it!

One Year of Twin Babies

I’m going to print these and put them up in the house for a little bit to remind us of how far we’ve come! But I thought they needed a spot here as well.

Newborn:

One:

Two:

Three:

Four:

Five:

Six:

Seven:

Eight:

Nine:

Ten:

Eleven:

Twelve: