1 Year Milestones

SHAYLA

-Weight: 13.4 lbs (.05%)

-Height: 26.75 inches (.84%)

-Head Circumference: 16.4 inches (.84%)

-Teeth: 2 bottom teeth

-Likes: Putting on necklaces, opening doors and drawers, CLIMBING in drawers and up anything she can, drinking water, table food, baths

-Dislikes: Anyone but Mommy after waking up

-Understands tones of voices -- I jokingly called her a bad girl one day and she started crying 

-Can climb down the couch, bed, and stairs -- I never taught her how or showed her, she just started doing it

-Will take steps if she's in the mood -- you can't force her to practice

-Tries to draw with crayons on paper because she sees Kinsey do it

-Switches sides every 3 seconds when nursing

-Probably prefers Grandma Walker over Daddy

Climbing inside is more fun than pushing this toy.

What movie should we watch tonight?

Climbed to the top all by herself. 

SCARLETT

-Weight: 12.21 lbs (off the charts)

-Height: 26.15 inches (.14%)

-Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (1.37%)

-Teeth: 2 bottom teeth

-Likes: Giving kisses, placing items in and out of boxes, dancing, music, practicing walking, table food, touch and feel books

-Dislikes: Strangers, crowds staring at her (like at a 1st birthday party)

-Takes direction well -- I can point and ask her to give me a toy or tell her to put a toy in a basket and she will do it

-Practices her balance on the stairs (apparently she likes a challenge)

-Mimics you if you shake your head or blink your eyes

-Great napper!

-Has a soft spot for Daddy -- she crawls right to him when he comes home from work

First pigtails for this doll. 

Placing toys in the basket. 

Getting lots of attention at Costco for being so darn adorable. 

Shayla is my quirky, specific, and moody baby. Scarlett is my easy-to-please, overly sensitive baby. Add some sickness into the mix and we have a ball! Add a sick Kinsey into the mix and it's like I have triplets. They both love their big sister very much and tend to follow her around the house to see what she's up to. 

We're all a fan of mac and cheese around here.

Some days Kinsey is the sweetest big sister ever. 

 They both have such strong, individual personalities. I like a good matching outfit for my girls, but we tend to coordinate their clothes and not put them in the same thing because they are two very different people. 

This is probably about the cutest thing in the world. 

They both love going outside to play. It will be so much easier when they can run around on their own.

Celebrating their birthday week by going out to eat. 

 All the Walker cousins were together the week before the girls turned 1. We had a little photo shoot for all these cuties. 

Don't mess with Scarlett too close to bedtime. 

This past year has been so amazing and exhausting with my three beautiful girls. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for these little ones.

We've Had A (1st) Birthday!!

My babies turned 1 year old on Saturday!! I can't believe it. I still think of them as 6 months old because they are just clingy little monsters and are tiny, but more on that in a different post. This is about their balloon birthday party! 

Like I did with Kinsey, Scarlett and Shayla's first birthday party was for family (and my BFF, Julie). I wasn't sure what to do for a winter party, but eventually came up with a balloon theme. I made a banner in girly colors that just happen to work perfectly for Valentine's Day too, minus the happy birthday part.

Happy 1st Birthday!

As usual, I used some ideas from Pinterest. We've been taking monthly pictures since the babies came home from the hospital and decided to hang it up for the party. They are still very small, but it's amazing to see how much they've grown in the past year. 

I also found this idea on Pinterest. It was hard picking out the pictures because there are so many cute twin pics of my beautiful angels!!

Now time for the birthday girls! Despite Scarlett waking up at 4:30 that morning, she was a pretty happy girl...until the guests arrived. 

This poor girl was very overwhelmed by all the people around and was ultra-sensitive (she bawled when her great-grandma sat next to her). 

Shayla was a little on the tired side too. She didn't smile too much and wanted to stick close to her mommy and daddy in the beginning.

But once she had food in her, she warmed up quite a bit.

We had a waffle bar for the food and the girls enjoyed their very first waffle!

I took a shot at cupcake decorating. I think they turned out pretty good for my first try, but it only lasted on half the cupcakes because the frosting started getting too melty. 

While eating, our entertainment arrived! That's right, I hired a balloon artist. Eric thought I was crazy when I told him about it, but this guy was awesome and a lot of fun for the kids. We will definitely hire a balloon artist for future parties.

He made Christian a Thomas the Train balloon and Grant an adorable car. They looked amazing. 

Kinsey got a Mickey Mouse, which she decided she didn't want once it was complete. 

Shayla likes to be a big girl at the table.

He made Shayla a crown because she's a princess. 

And Princess Scarlett got a crown too. 

And then Kinsey was upset she didn't have a crown, so she got one too...

even though she refused to put it on correctly. 

Christian, Kinsey, and Grant all got a sword and had a blast sword fighting. 

Christian looks hardcore right here. 

Then we headed outside in beautiful high 60 degree weather so Kinsey and Christian could race balloons. 

Kinsey in the lead!

Up next, the girls opened their presents. Our families sure do spoil these babies, and we don't mind! They had tons of presents which Eric and I opened because Scarlett and Shayla were about ready for their nap.

They even had some cute cards to "read." 

We saved the cupcakes for last because I knew these girls would get messy. I admit, I never even considered the possibility my babies WOULDN'T like the cupcakes. Kinsey devoured hers when she turned 1, so I figured all kids were like that. 

It started out okay with the exception of Scarlett wanting to go to sleep. 

And then Shayla choked on her frosting and refused to touch the cupcake again. Poor girl. I'm not even sure how that is possible. Maybe it was too sweet for her?

Nice action shot of Shayla. It's so sad. 

This picture is classic. Both babies crying about eating cake. Who does that? 

And then Scarlett was starting to dig in and enjoy herself. 

And then she noticed everyone staring at her and started crying all over again. 

It's a pretty accurate depiction of life with twins! Even with two overly emotional one year olds, the party was a blast. We are so grateful for everyone who attended and everyone who was there in spirit! Happy birthday to the cutest one year old twins!!

The Twins at 11 Months

Holy cow!! My babies are going to be 1 year old in one month!? This is just so crazy considering they still wear 3-6 month clothes. A lot of big things have happened this month, reminding me yet again how blessed my little family is. 

The best change is we finally moved into our new house on December 17th. WAHOOO!! It's been a long time coming and we have worked our butts off to get here (thanks to the renovation), but we made it. Much MUCH thanks to Eric's parents for either working at the house or babysitting the kids every night so we could work at the house. There are still a million little projects to do here and there, but we've come a long way. Once it's a little more decorated I'll do a separate blog post. 

First morning in our first home.

Then we were able to spend Scarlett and Shayla's FIRST Christmas in our house (a separate post on that). Could my girls get any cuter?!

Christmas Sunday

We had a Christmas surprise--the first REAL snow of the season. Scarlett was able to play outside in the snow for the first time with her Daddy and Kinsey while Shayla was sick. It's probably for the best because I only have one snow suit for them. Haha. 

The day after Christmas.

And then the last biggest, and not so fun, thing to happen to us was getting struck with the cold and flu bug. Since Christmas we've been passing the two back and forth to each other. It's been sad watching all the kids sick and lethargic. They've been super clingy, obviously, making this the second hardest month since they've been born. Luckily, I was only down for one day so I've been able to take care of them. Kinsey was a trooper. She was her normal self until right before throwing up and then she'd be happy again.  

Poor babies would just lay there with no energy to move.

When the babies aren't sick, they are little busy bodies. Their curiosity grows more and more each day. Future basketball players? We shall see!!

Scarlett and Shayla tend to be more adventurous when Kinsey's around, otherwise they like to stick by me. They watch her play and sometimes follow her around and join in. Kinsey isn't always welcome to them taking her toys away, but the days when they all play together just melts my heart. Their differences are big now, but the 17 month age gap will only get smaller as they grow up.

I find myself comparing them to puppies A LOT. They'll follow us around, stay near our feet, and then pull themselves up onto our legs. And yes, they will beg at our feet when they see us eating. These girls are OBSESSED with food!

The babies could care less about TV, thankfully, but when a song comes on they are all eyes and ears!! Future musicians? It's so fun to guess what they will do when they get older. 

Teaching Kinsey how to play the Wii. 

They still enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror. It's adorable watching them smile at their reflection. 

I bathe all three girls at the same time which is a HUGE time saver. They just play with their toys and whoever gets fussy first is the first out (usually Scarlett). I bring their diapers and clothes into the bathroom with me so I can do it all myself. Shayla is in love with baths. When she hears the water running she will crawl right up to the tub with a huge grin on her face. Kinsey likes the bath until I start pouring water on her. 

The babies go through many phases, but their obsession with me is still going strong!! Kinsey's clinginess wore off a lot when she started walking, so I'm anxious for that to begin. Of course I love being their number 1, but they each love to be held and don't love being held at the same time. You can see where I'm going with this...

Whenever I sit down all three girls congregate to me.

The biggest change, besides Scarlett's adorable ponytail, is the girls starting to eat table food. Their absolute favorite is Club Crackers (just like when Kinsey was little). Scarlett shoves the whole cracker in her mouth at once while Shayla nibbles away on her cracker until it's gone. They are so dang funny. They also love bananas, pickles, and Kinsey's food she drops on the floor/hands to them. Who knows what's in their system with that stinker!?

SHAYLA

I really thought there would be more advancement in Shayla's walking, but she has shown zero interest this month. She'll still walk with her toys when she's in the mood, but whenever I stand her up to practice she'll just plop back down. Shayla can stand for however long she wants and is EXTREMELY controlled when she goes from standing to sitting. I'll just have to wait for her to be interested again. What she REALLY loves right now is climbing. It's not uncommon to find her in a drawer. Yes, inside the drawer. She will do a headstand to get out. 

SCARLETT

Scarlett enjoys walking practice, she's just not quite stable enough to walk on her own. She can't walk with her toys yet either, but she LOVES to stand. She is still a little angel and cuddle bug. I absolutely love when she wraps her tiny arms around me and gives me a hug. She's also my great sleeper. Scarlett won't wake up until 6:30 am every day. It's still too early for me, but it beats Shayla's 5:30 wake up call.