12 months = 1 year

It has been an amazing year of ups and downs with the boys from bringing them home from the hospital and not really knowing how much of a SHOCK we were in for in terms of being new parents and twins at that.  The reality of what we were in for hit almost hours into the first night at home. After getting the boys down in their cribs, Michael muttered the words "it really isn't that bad at all, is it??"  I oh so wanted to agree with him but it was harder than we ever expected.

The nurses in the hospital kept on talking about a plan.  What plan??  We definitely didn't have one but with the help of family, friends and the generous gift of a doula from my office, we made it through my maternity leave and things started to click.  Kim, Christine and Gina were part of the routine and the boys started sleeping more and more and we started to get the hang of it.  It is truly amazing how things start to get easier and then something changes the entire process like teething, the introduction of foods and sippy cups, working out a nap schedule that works and the hopefully not daunting task of taking away the bottle.

Did we make mistakes and second judge ourselves?? Of course, all the time but it is a learning experience and we made it through with two amazing little boys.  Did we see some amazing firsts?? Sure, smiles, teeth (for Jackson, that is), sitting up, first bites of real food, picking up food and feeding themselves, rolling and crawling, standing and Jackson walking.

Do the sleepless nights and frustration with naps and feeding make up for it?? Absolutely.  I can still remember the first time that all of those firsts happened and it humbles me so much in terms of how we often look beyond the little things that we, as adults, take for granted, and to think that we got to experience it not once but twice --- makes it even more amazing.

We opted to celebrate their actual birthday with a pizza and cookie party.  The party was attended by Gina, Tony, Andrew, Kim and Christine.  The boys and I picked up the cookie cake at the mall and were able to negotiate out of the mall without anything falling (big thing people if you have ever negotiated a double stroller and a large pizza box without under carriage storage).



Getting ready to get their pizza on...





Those eyes.



Happy 1st Birthday Jackson and Connor!!