#1

The boys turned one today and we had a great day. I found a tradition online where you layout several items in front of the child(ren) with no other things around to distract them and whatever items they pick up with determine what they are into when they get older. I understand it's totally hypothetical, but I thought it would be interesting to write in their baby books and see how it pans out for the future. Here's how they ranked:

• Computer/Technology (represented by a computer mouse) - Isaac's 1st choice; Eden's 2nd choice
• Food/Farming (represented by a granny smith apple) - Isaac's 3rd choice
• Academics/Love of reading (represented by our baby owner's manual :) from Cassy) - Eden's 1st choice; Isaac's 2nd choice
  
• Musical Skill (represented by a drum head from Joey's kit) - neither picked it at all (sorry, that's my fault. 0 musical talent here :p)
• Wealth (represented by a $1 bill) - Isaac's 4th choice
• Athletic Skill (represented by a tennis ball) - Eden's 3rd choice

I'm sure they would have eventually picked everything up to inspect but it was fun to see what they ended up gravitating towards. I tried to make everything as similar or dull in color as to not make one thing or another stand out, which is more than likely why neither of them went for the drum head. Lord knows anything that can be banged or makes sounds or music is played with multiple times on a daily basis.

We then gave them 3 of their gifts, a Radio-Flyer rocking horse (my mom already had one at her house that they loved to play with so we got another one from a consignment shop down the road); a huge bead maze (also have played with on smaller scale and enjoyed, also gotten from a consignment shop); and a tunnel from Ikea, and so far it has been the favorite. We knew Isaac would enjoy it since he's up and crawling on over and now through everything. But what surprised us is how much Eden has gotten into it and if anything, motivated him to get moving! He's been military crawling in addition to his usually rolling to get where he wants to go, partly in frustration of watching Isaac goes wherever he pleases. But when we put him inside the tunnel and he figured out what to do, it was hard to get him out. He'd roll inside it and it would follow him, he'd crawl through it and then turn around and head back in. I always refer to him as my baby bear, and it suits him even more now because he loves his cave!



We had an appointment at 11 in Acworth with Jennifer Harris for their pictures and I can't wait to see how they turned out. It was the first time the boys got to ride forward facing in the car and they spent a good amount of time just looking out the window, I guess at how different everything is now. I don't know why some say it's harde to get them in an out of their seats, I guess it depends on the car, but I thought they new way is great! We ran a little late, but the boys got a little extended nap in and were raring to go when we pulled up. The cupcake pictures were hilarious but Isaac got overstimulated pretty quick, meanwhile Eden picked frosting off him and ate it :) We brought the video camera but in all the excitement, never even pulled it out! I guess we'll have to wait for the professional pics :)

On the way home, we stopped by Southern Regional NICU to drop of the donation we plan to make every year. Since we didn't have any extra money right now, we bagged up some of the smaller footie pj's, blankets, and hats and included a recent picture of both of them in the thank you card. It was a little overwhelming when I first walked in, but as soon as I heard the old familiar voice of the guy at the desk to let me in, I felt at ease. He remembered me and we exchanged salutations and I briefly looked around to see if I knew anyone, but just said goodbye and headed out. Even the smell of the hand sanitizer brought back a flood of memories from the month I spent going back and forth to spend time with my babies while they were healing and growing. There will be a reunion in September and we are really looking forward to revisiting with everyone and showing off how well the boys are doing now.

After getting home, it was life as usual, late lunch, followed by a nap (yes, me too) and then dinner, playtime and bed. It was weird how they even looked older today, almost like little boys instead of babies. I'm not feeling an overwhelming sense of emotion like "Oh no! Their not babies anymore!" like I thought I would. I think mostly I'm just happy and proud of how far we've all come, individually and as a family, and I'm looking forward to the next year and beyond.