Happy Birthday Babies

Today is Alice and Claire's 1st birthday. I can't believe how much they have grown and how smart they are. This year has been difficult, challenging, and rewarding. I never knew how much fun my girls would be, or how I would enjoy their discoveries and milestones. Having twins is an amazing experience and is so different from having one baby. The most interesting thing about twins is having the side-by-side comparison to realize how different they are. There are so many thing they do that could be dismissed as a "baby thing," but seeing the other one, I realize it is just their personality. Since we are at a critical birthday, I thought I would document a few things they are doing right now.

CLAIRE

Claire knows her mind. She knows what she likes and doesn't like and wants things her own way. She is ready to be a big girl and has little interest in baby things. She hates drinking from a bottle or being fed. If we want her to drink her milk it is out of a straw or sippy cup. I can feed her from a spoon if she is in the right mood, but mostly she wants to feed herself. Her favorite toys are the things Mom and Dad play with (i.e. the TV remote or magazines). She crawls everywhere and cruises the furniture. Claire hates to be left alone and gets very upset if you leave the room without her. Claire loves signing and loves it when you understand what she is conveying. The signs she has mastered are milk, eat, all done, more, outside, dance, bath, Jesus and book. Book is her favorite sign and reading her favorite activity. She does the book sign all day and wants to be read to constantly. Most kids want to eat when they wake up, but Claire wants to read. We will see if that translates to a love of reading when she is older. She likes to make animal noises and can do a chicken, elephant, fish, dog and lion. She is very smart and it is so fun to see the cogs of her mind turning.

ALICE

Alice is very silly. She giggles all the time and is constantly cracking herself up. Because of her feet problems, she is not crawling or walking, but she can get herself sitting from laying down. Even though she doesn't crawl she somehow manages to get where she wants to go. She is very close to crawling and any day now we expect her to take off. Alice knows all of the signs we do, but won't do them unless she has to. She assumes you know what she wants, and we usually do. If you ask her if she is all done, she gives you a look like "of course I'm all done, get me out of here." She doesn't perform tricks for anyone, what she does has a purpose. She will do the outside, bath and Jesus signs pretty regularly. She also likes to make chicken and elephant noises. Alice is a great sleeper and very easy to put down for a nap. If you disrupt her while she is trying to go to sleep she get upset with you until you leave her alone. Alice loves balls and is pretty good at tossing a ball back and forth. Alice is still wary of strangers, although she is improving. She will smile at people if she is being held by someone she trusts (me, Marc, or Marc's mom). Alice is a Daddy's girls. She loves her dad more then anyone. When she doesn't feel well, she only wants Marc and even I'm not a good substitute.

We love our girls and feel so lucky to have them!