Dear George,

My world brightened the moment you entered it.   When you were born your lips were pursed as if ready to give us a kiss.  With your full head of hair you were the most handsome little guy I had ever seen.  The NICU nurses loved you.  You were so easy going.  You ate like a champ.  You loved to be cuddled.  Their only complaint was you could ruin your entire bed with just one diaper change.  Oh the joy of boys!  You ate. You grew. And you came home to two very happy parents ready to take care of you all on our own.

We would characterize you as an "easy" baby.  You barely cried unless you were very hungry.  You slept well at night by six weeks old.  You loved to eat but with that came the spit up.  Gallons of it.  I think it was normal to change your clothes (and mine) three times a day when you were little bitty.  You were strong too.  You rolled over at just four weeks old.  You smiled at us often and giggled for the first time playing with your stuffed animal that looks like our dog Bailey.  Love that sound!  For a while you had a love affair with ceiling fans.  When it was finally warm enough to turn them on you were enthralled.  Your arms and legs would move all over the place as a huge smile spread across your face.  Your Grandpa Quinn said when you grew up you would be a ceiling fan mechanic...if that even exists.  You also loved your activity mat.  You would go after the toys with arms flailing and legs kicking.  When you got more control, you would grab hold of the toys and would not let go.  When you figured out you could change the song by kicking the mat, you went nuts.  You kicked it so hard it fell onto your sister!  You could entertain yourself for an hour.  You were a joy!

Sitting up and crawling were later milestones for you.  I think you just liked the view of the world flat on your back (probably those darn ceiling fans).  Once you got something, you really got it.  One day you weren't sitting up alone and then the next day you were.  One day you weren't crawling and the next day you were crawling so fast I could barely catch you.  As soon as you made your mind up, you did it 150%.  This should be an interesting trait as you get older.  Once you were mobile the sweet little man became a mischievous little man.  The fireplace, the cable box, the TV screen, the trash can, the cabinets all became your personal playground.  It never mattered how many times I redirected you, told you no, or distracted you with a toy.  You always gave me this sneaky smile and kept on doing what you wanted.  Sigh.  This too will be an interesting trait as you get older (as I type this your Dad is practicing his "mad" face that will scare you into submission).  You also love the outdoors.  Taking walks, crawling in the grass, or sitting on the porch make you smile.  You already had your initiation with Texas Fire Ants.  Twenty one bites and not a peep out of you.  What a champ!  You point at everything and say, "Da?" so we will name whatever it is that has caught your eye.  Sometimes you even repeat the word to your mother's delight!  At a year and a week old you have five chompers, a few words, and just figured out how to walk.  You love your sister and you show this affection by taking all of her toys.  Don't worry.  She returns the favor.

There are so many wonderful things about you that I adore.  Your goofy smile that frequents your face.  Your persistence.  Your absolute adoration of both of your grandfathers.  Your love of exploration and the joy you display when you discover something new.  You are the little boy that I dreamed of having.  Thank you so much for blessing our lives.  I love you more then you can ever know.

Mom

First Birthday Party

I am finally posting pics of the big first birthday party.  It was a wonderful day and we were so happy that our best friends and family could be there to celebrate with us.  Happy birthday George and Clara!

Birthday Boy!

Birthday Girl!

It was a sweet celebration!

George and Clara's Sweet Shoppe

Lollipop cake and the twins' smash cakes

Our sweet boy

Our precious girl

Playing with Great Aunt Sandra

Ready for cake!

Happy Birthday to You!

Yum!

Loving his cake!

The Family

Thanks so much to Christina, Sayed, Sandra, Pam, and Jay for traveling in to celebrate with us!

Thank you 3E photography for the wonderful photos!

One Year of Amazing Moments

I look back at this past year and I am absolutely amazed at how quickly it went by.  I am also absolutely amazed at how much two little people can grow and learn in one year.  I am also absolutely amazed at how much I have grown and changed too.  I will forever be grateful to these two little people for making me a Mommy.  When you enter the realm of parenthood you have no idea how selfless you will become.  At some point it may bug you to give up everything that was "yours" but after a while all of that doesn't matter anymore.  Life is about your kids, as it should be.  I am thankful my children took away my selfishness, my tendency towards a "high maintenance" life, and my need for things.  All I need now is my little family and what an amazing family it is!

After watching the twins for us recently my Dad said to me, "Your Mom and I think that raising twins is more then double the work of one."  I laughed.  I have no idea if that is the case but it got me thinking about the past year.  I could measure this year in the insanity of raising twins.  That would include the number of dirty diapers x 2, hours of lost sleep x 2, hours of crying x 2 (me and them), bottles washed x 2, finished cans of formula x 2, and the list goes on and on.  Most parents probably measure the first year in milestones: smiling, laughing, eating, sleeping well, crawling, playing, getting teeth, waving, pointing, walking, talking.  While I do measure this year in those wonderful moments I get to add another layer of celebrations to it.  These are the celebrations that come with raising twins.   I remember the first day I was alone to care for the twins.  All the help (read: Grandparents) went home and John was back to work.  I was so nervous and thought I wouldn't be able to handle all the needs of two tiny babies.  We survived and I celebrated it!  I will also never forget the day I mastered the double feed.  We suddenly had 45 more minutes every two to three hours to do something else besides feed.  I celebrated that!  I remember working so hard to get them on the same nap schedule which was the best gift I think I've ever received...a moment of peace during the day.  I celebrated it!  I remember a day when John was home from work and the two of them started chasing each other and laughing for the first time.  John and I were dying laughing and I turned to him and said, "How boring would this be if there was just one?  There would be no one to chase."  That day I truly celebrated my life with twins.  This list could go on and on and on.  I guess the point is while some parents of multiples call this first year "The Haze" or "The Fog" because they were so bogged down in the work of it they don't remember most of it.  I choose to celebrate all of it.  Every minute of it.  Every accomplishment made by us as parents and by the twins.  Because while it is double the work, we are the lucky ones, because we have double the blessings!

Guess who is walking?!

The video is a little dark but you can still see the little man take some great steps.  We are so proud!

Happy First Birthday George and Clara!

On November 11th we celebrated the twins first birthday and it was quite a celebration.  We had SO many surprises.  John's Aunt Sandra flew in from London as a surprise.  My brother flew in from Atlanta as a surprise.  And while we knew John's sister Christina was coming her husband Sayed surprised us too!  We were overwhelmed with how loved these two little people are.

George David November 13, 2009

George David November 11, 2010

Clara Elizabeth November 14, 2009

Clara Elizabeth November 11, 2010

We had a great family celebration on the twins' birthday this year.  Here are a few photos from their big day:

 We love our Aunt Christina!

Our Great Aunt Sandra always spoils us when she visits!

Presents!

Mom and Dad gave us our own red wagon

The Whirlygig Cake - A Family Tradition

Grandmas with our first taste of cake

Happy Birthday To You!!

 Yum Yum!

 Yum Yum!

 Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Pictures from the first birthday party to come...

My Birthday

I had such a wonderful birthday weekend.  We enjoyed a day of house hunting on Saturday while my parents watched the twins.  We found three contenders and are headed back to walk through again on Friday.  John and I had our first date in two months Saturday night.  We went to this little wonderful french restaurant called Chez Nous to celebrate my birthday.  We stayed the night with my parents and then went to brunch on Sunday morning with my parents and John's parents.  It was a beautiful day and we ate outside at an Italian restaurant on Lake Houston.  On top of all of these treats, my wonderful husband let me put my feet up and relax way more then usual.  I was one spoiled lady!  Unfortunately we were not so great with the picture taking but we did get one good one with Mommy and the twins!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Halloween Weekend

We had such an amazing Halloween weekend.  The weather was perfect so John took the day off and we went to the zoo.  It was the twins first trip and they really enjoyed it.  Here are a few photos:

 Daddy's Little Girl

 George loved loved loved the carousel ride

 Clara was a little unsure about the carousel

Clara loved this cow

 Happy Babies!

 George was fascinated with all the fences...who know why.

Georgie loved the aquarium

On Saturday Daddy carved a pumpkin with the twins.  George didn't mind the mess of cleaning out the pumpkin, but Clara was such a priss and wouldn't get those cute little hands dirty!

The finished product...

Our Happy Family

On Halloween our parents came over to spend time with the twins and see them in their Halloween costumes.  They were Pebbles and Bam Bam from the Flintstones.  We even went to a few of our neighbors' houses to Trick or Treat.  I think the twins enjoyed their first Halloween!

 Happy Halloween!

 Trick or Treat

 Candy!  Maybe next year kiddos.

 Bam Bam

Pebbles