Big Kids Now!!

The big day has arrived! Our miracle babies turned the big 0-1! We kicked off the festivities with a private family party on their actual b-day. They had their first ever cupcakes.

Aidan was very enthusiastic:

Perhaps a bit TOO enthusiastic:

Maddie had a slow start with cupcake #1 ending up on the floor:

But eventually she got the hang of it and clearly didn't want to waste a crumb (that's her bib she's eating):

Then off to the tub for an extended washing!

Saturday afternoon we had the family over for a soiree. M&A, as always, thoroughly enjoyed playing with their big cousins (all 6 of them).

Aidan riding one of his gifts (isn't he dapper?):

Maddie mixing it up with the big boys (who were mysteriously enthralled with all of the baby toys):

A little later on it was out to the backyard for the cake (Mommy learned from the prior cupcake extravaganza and subsequent clean up)!

We forgot the party hats until the very end, but they still looked adorable! Aidan hated his, but Maddie was happy to wear anything pink and fluffy. This was her third outfit change of the day after all!!!

Aidan lost his pants somewhere along the way:

All in all an absolutely fabulous birthday! A bit teary for Mom & Dad who still can't believe their teeny, tiny preemies are such whoppers now.

Just for comparison, here's how they started (those are preemie sleepers they aren't filling out):

WHOA Nelly!!

Now that Maddie & Aidan are about to turn one, we decided it was the appropriate time to pull down some of the hand-me-down toddler toys from the attic. This morning was their first ever horsie ride!

Aidan had a blast - of course the chunky monkey barely fit in the harness:



Maddie did okay for the first few seconds:



But then got upset and asked Aidan to help her escape:



Okay - so it is actually a zebra. Here in Mansfield we call it a horsie :)

Food Frenzy!

Slowly but surely we are introducing our twins to new foods. Today we gave them some watermelon. It is crazy how even their styles of eating watermelon reflect the differences in their personalities!

Aidan contemplates his attack:

He takes his first bite:

And he DEVOURS it:

(sorry about the purple bib buddy, but desperate times call for desperate measures)

Madelaine takes a tentative bite of the rind:

Bleck! Ptewey!

Splat!

So Daddy cuts the rind off for her and then she goes to town:

Always an adventure!!!

Lazy Days of Summer

We have certainly enjoyed having Daddy home with us these past days!! I am not sure how I'm going to go back to getting up at 6am every day!

Friday we were in the house quite a bit due to napping schedules, etc. So late afternoon we decided we'd take a drive to the town soccer fields/playground. After discovering that the playground was infested with wasps, we spread out a blanket on the fields and let the babies go to town.

We've discovered Maddie has a bit of a shoe fetish:

I was hard pressed to get a photo of Aidan w/out something in his mouth:

Maddie practiced walking:

Cut to AJ still chewing:

Maddie was entertained by dada doing cartwheels:

Can you tell the poor guy is teething:

Water Babies

Kurt took a couple of days off this past week to make for a long Labor Day Weekend. Thursday we met Auntie Deb and cousins Morgan & Vivi at Davis Farmland for a rip roarin' good time. M&A were more interested in all of the big kids than the animals, but Aidan couldn't have been any more pleased by the hayride we took. He kept screaming out in delight and giggling...so cute! After lunch we put on swimsuits and headed over to the sprinkler water park. After some splashing at the big kids water table, we moved over to the baby area. We were concerned that lack of nap would make for a difficult time, but M&A had a blast!!!

Aidan was very curious about the sprinklers:

No matter how many times he got a blast in the face, he kept going back to figure that darn thing out. Our little engineer in the making:

Maddie was more interested in the drain. But doesn't she look fabulous!

Keeping this blog is such a great thing for me because it gives me a chance to put everything in perspective. Some days raising twins is just so very difficult (i.e. today) with the coordinating of schedules, differing personalities and general crankiness. But when I look through all of my photos and create these posts, I remember just how much fun we really are having!!!

Aidandini

Over the past few weeks, we've noticed that Aidan REALLY seems to enjoy sneaking his way into tight spaces. We often find him under his high chair or behind the recliner. One morning I left him alone for 30 seconds and came back to find him with his head lodged under our armchair. We're guessing he'll be a fort building type of guy and dada already has major plans for the family treehouse.

His latest deathdefying act:

The mood changed once he realized the seriousness of his predicament. Maddie to the rescue:

I have to tell you, we are so very blessed to have twins. Watching these two interact is such a joy!!!