On The Eve of "One"

For some reason I feel compelled to get the "We Are Turning One!" post just right, I want to touch on what I've learned this year and do justice to both the ups and the downs of life with twin babies. For tonight though, on the eve of their first birthday, I think I'll just jot down some haphazard notes on Thing 1 and Thing 2. That well-worded post about what life looks like for us right now can come later :)

A little bit about Elijah:
Eli, 'Lijers, LieLie, Lijah, we're a fan of nicknames around here and I'm afraid poor Elijah might be known as "Lie" from here on out...It's just what comes out of my mouth! He is the definition of "such a sweet boy," he has time for cuddles, plays great on his own with just a couple of toys, and offers up the greatest smiles and giggles. He has three "words" that come out repeatedly but I'm afraid are rarely used properly: "Mama," "Dada," and "Nana." He loves to repeat the wrong one back at us when we tell him to say one. ie. "Elijah, say "Mama." ......."Nana." :) He's not a temper-tantrum thrower, rather when he doesn't get his way he places his head on the floor and gives the most heart-wrenching cries you've ever heard from a little boy, complete with crocodile tears and big gulps for air. The best is when he does this from a standing position and ends up like a little pyramid in the middle of a room. He's walking (started at a little over 11 months), is great at shape-sorting, and loves LOVES to walk around with something stick-like in each hand with which to bang on things. At church nursery he heads straight for the little play structure where he can drop balls in and watch them travel through the toy and come out at the bottom. He likes to tackle his sister now that he can walk, and does so with all the intensity of a true wrestler (hands around the neck!), perhaps he's found his sport of choice. He's a total binky-baby with at least one in his hands and one in his mouth at night, more if you'll allow him. He even sucks on his sister's binkies- upside down. Elijah is a picky eater (his chosen diet is short enough to list: sausage, hot dogs, bread, blueberries, yogurt, granola bars, and cereal) thankfully he'll take any veggie pureed on a spoon so I try to pump those into him as much as possible. He's not that big a fan of the sippy but often pushes the bottle away too. The kid lives on air and carbs...we are working on this. Praise Baby is still a great distraction, especially if he's tired- he plants himself as close to the tv as he can get and just sits there with same game-face his daddy got when he used to play xbox. Another thing to note is that he is drawn to light like a wayward mosquito. Once he learned that pulling the little cord on the fan makes the light go on and off he literally climbs whoever is holding him to reach for it, straining with all his might with the biggest smile and widest eyes you've ever seen. Balloons get the same reaction and I just love his little head full 'o staticky curls. He is totally Mommy's little man.

Evelyn...Evie, Evs, Evie-Lyn, Evlyns...this girl has a got a lot of names as well. She is pretty much anti-talking right now, though she loves to use all kinds of inflection in her voice when she babbles (usually "Ba ba ba ba"). She can kill ya with a smile, open-mouthed and almost toothless (she has two bottom teeth). She is a seasoned walker (started at about 10 months), but look out if you get in her way- she is a temper tantrum thrower and loves to throw them when she gets underfoot and falls down. She has an ear-splitting cry when she's mad and often gives herself the hiccups because of it. Thankfully her redeeming qualities are plentiful- she's a pretty good sleeper, though every night we get a wake-up call at 11pm- just a couple whimpers and she's done -she eats like a champ (her diet is a bit more extensive but her favorites are: hot dogs, canned green beans and carrots, peas, cheese, lunch meat, strawberries, grapes, and today she ate a giant mushroom off my pizza). She too loves her binkies but is not as attached as her brother. She loves to lift heavy things, it's sometimes a bit shocking what she thinks she can carry around (the top of Nana's activity table? tipping over a huge laundry basket full of clothing to get at a pop can? no problem), and rarely plays with toys. Give this girl a spoon and the lid to a jar and she's content to walk the house just lookin around. Evelyn is truly glued to mommy's side, or rather, calf, and if I'm gone from a room more than 27 seconds she'll set out to find me. She also thinks she's a big kid and loves following the hoard of neighborhood kids up and down the block- no looking back at mom, off she goes the moment her little fat feet hit the concrete. I am slightly afraid of what adolescence will bring us with this little girl. She's a smarty pants, and already cops a little 'tude when we tell her what to do. While her brother can sit entranced by Praise Baby for the full 45 minutes, she lasts about 2 minutes before finding something else to do. She is a Daddy's girl all the way :)

Things I'm enjoying right now:
They love the dog, Elijah especially enjoys lounging on him, and Evelyn prefers to stand next to him and pat, pat, pat him on the neck. They both like to kiss and snuggle him.

While the past month has been extremely trying for me with this transition into the fall schedule, new nap schedule, and the occasional pop-up cold, I'm loving that we really are more flexible now adays. We have more things to distract us than ever before if we need to be out and about when one or both of them would prefer to nap: people are more interesting, food is a good option, even just a sippy of water can earn me minutes of calm.

Finally it feels like we can begin to enjoy those things that are supposed to be fun with kids- playdates, the park, holidays and outings, while we are still a long way from getting the most out of these activities it is so much fun to see them interact with their surroundings and the excitement at new things!

We're just loving our two little one-year-olds, despite the trials and tribulations of every-day life with two infant/toddlers, they are such a blessing and so much fun!