Seeing Double: Cameron is 1!!! Lucy is 1!!! One year update!

I'm a little behind getting this post done but it's been a crazy busy month with celebrating their birthday and sicknesses in recent days. The important part is that the twins turned a year old on May 4th! :-) I can hardly believe I'm writing this post already!! Cameron and Lucy have developed into these amazingly entertaining and funny little creatures. They are full of laughter, life, and all things wonderful as far as we're concerned. They are also full of sass, orneriness, and their own little opinions, too. Boy oh boy, there's no doubt about it, they are determined! We've known that since they entered the world though! :-) Over a year ago!! :-)

Let's start with their one year doctor's check up. Dr. Emm reported they are 2 healthy and happy 1 year olds! Lucy is 26 1/2 inches tall (<2%), weighs 20 lbs 10 oz (65%), and her head is 18 3/4 inches (98%). Cameron is 28 1/4 inches tall (5%), weighs 22 lbs 5 oz (70%), and his head is 18 1/2 inches (75%). They each got 3 shots at the doctor's appointment and the doc said it would be okay to hold off until 15 months for the chicken pox vaccine. Other updates...bedtime is a firm 7:30 most nights, preceded by their baths and reading/quiet time in the nursery. Most nights they are more than ready for bed by then and fall asleep quickly. Their bed time is good for them because it ensures they get ample sleep each night. Wake up time in the morning is around 6ish with a bit longer on the weekends. They've quickly become big kids with their eating! They love real food and have tried everything from watermelon and mac n' cheese, to chicken nuggets, and Theo's soup (the best combination ever of sweet Italian sausage, veggies, and tortellini), to lemon bread, and even ice cream! They still get some fruits and veggies out of baby food jars but mainly because we're trying to use up our cabinet full and also ensure they get plenty of fruits/veggies each day. At their one year photo shoot that included a smash cake session, they had their first taste of frosting. They HATED it! I'm not sure if it was the shock of the pure sugary sweetness or the texture of the frosting, but they both lost it. Our photographer managed to snap some good shots before the frosting mayhem broke loose luckily ;-) On the evening of their real birthday, Jeremy and I gave them a little vanilla ice cream. It was a hit! They happily ate it right up. Aside from those 2 occurrences, we're trying hard to steer clear of sweets so they learn to enjoy the nutritious foods before becoming addicted to the sweets! Hey, we can only control some things for so long right?! They do great with their sippy cups and really like drinking water from them. We've started the transition to whole milk. The initial attempts at introducing it cold turkey didn't go so well so we're slowly sneaking it into their formula. They're both contently in 12 month clothing. It's amazing the range of sizes between brands but overall the 12 month stuff fits perfect.

In addition to the 2 bottom teeth they each have, they both have 4 top teeth coming in! Holy cow! We've had a couple tough days where it's been apparent their mouths have really bugged them. The new teeth have also led to some crib chewing. Cameron particularly appears to have a little woodchuck in him! His poor crib rail! We need to invest in the covers they make for crib rails one day soon I think. We started brushing their little teeth each day. I was nervous to see how this might go over but they get so excited to brush their teeth!! It's so darn cute!! I think they really like the taste of the toothpaste (it's fluoride free) and also like the way it feels getting their teeth/gums brushed.

Cameron and Lucy are both really good at giving high fives. They each wave in their own little way. They still clap all the time whenever they hear "yay!" or get excited. They have learned to shake their heads no. It's more of a game than anything else. Lucy can say uh-oh, except it usually comes out as "uh!" without the "oh!". Cameron gets excited and growls. It's like he's doing a dinosaur impression! He opens his mouth and eyes wide and goes "whooaar." They can both say doggie in their own little say. Lucy says "dahdee" and Cameron says "dgeee." They love their doggies very much (ours as well as the ones at my parents'). They give big open mouth kisses and take delight in kissing their bath toy creatures or their stuffed animals.

Now on to the birthday celebration!!! The day of their birthday we gave them their gifts from Jeremy and I. They had fun playing in their ball pit and checking out their new books (these 2 seriously adore their books)! We also let them play with their new pool toys even though the pool was water free in the basement. After morning naps, we loaded them up and headed off to Miller Park Zoo. We met my parents there and Andrea and Ben. We pushed the twins around in their stroller and also carried them through some of the exhibits or let them walk around with our help. Their first trip was a big success!! Cameron particularly had fun chattering to some of the animals he saw. He probably could have stayed another hour contently. Lucy I think had more fun trying to explore and walk around. On our way out of the zoo, we let them each pick out a stuffed animal. Cameron picked a furry brown bear and Lucy picked a stuffed Yorkie. Pretty funny considering you don't usually find Yorkies at the zoo! These toys have become favorite night time play things. Cameron will pick them both up at once, shake them around, and growl a bit. It's pretty entertaining! The evening of their birthday we had my family over for dinner as well as Jeremy's mom and Bussy. I made baked spaghetti for dinner, with salad, and cheesy garlic bread. We opened up gifts after that and then had brownies with ice cream for dessert. The twins didn't have brownies though, just ice cream! It was a great day for them! The Saturday after their birthday we had a party here at the house for them and had immediate family over and close friends. There was around 50 people here, including 11 little ones, so thankfully it worked out for us to be in the backyard as well as the house/garage. Jeremy, my dad, and our friend Brian put together a swing set in the backyard for the twins, complete with pink and blue baby swings. They swing set was a hit at the party with Cameron and Lucy's little friends! Their party was circus themed! Pictures below. They are truly blessed (as are we) to have such wonderful family and friends. Cameron and Lucy received so many nice cards and gifts from everyone. They have some things to play with now and some things that they will love in a couple months or even years to come. Grandpa John and Suzanne got them 4 wheelers and little helmets to keep them safe. For now we push the twins around on the 4 wheelers and they love it!!! Lucy especially wants to ride hers daily and she bounces up and down in the seat while we push her around. Cameron gets this little excited look on his face that just seems to say, "whoa! I'm pretty cool huh?"

Now on to the mobility factor! Both twins are still crawling. Cameron still army crawls (quite fast) and has learned to crawl on all fours as well. They can both stand by themselves for little bits of time. Cameron loves to stand and then gets super excited and lunges for one of us, then just laughs. Lucy can stand by herself for a little longer and will then lunge back on her bottom or lunge for one of us. Even though this should technically be a 13 month update (but I have no clue when I'll get the next blog done) so I'll just announce now that Lucy can walk! On Friday, May 17th, she took a few steps all by herself! She can go about 4 or 5 steps all by herself now. It makes her very proud! We're certain Cameron won't be too far behind because he's become really good at walking with our help or pushing the barnyard musical walker around.

That about covers the one year update although I'm sure I'll post this and then remember about 10 things I forgot! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm just amazed by these 2 little peanuts. I cannot believe how far they have come since they entered the world at 4 lbs 15 oz and 5 lbs 1 oz. They were on feeding tubes and IV's and lived their first 12 days in incubators. They have grown so much, and to look at them now, you wouldn't even know they had any challenges at first. Cameron and Lucy, your daddy and I are so darn proud of you and couldn't be more blessed than to have you both!! Happy first birthday sweet little ones! We can't wait to see what's in store for this next year!!!

Picture time! Lots to share this month! You only turn 1 once!!! :-)

Cameron's 1st birthday collage!