Video! First Santa Visit

Enjoy! It's too bad this isn't bigger because Nathan's face when he first looks up at Santa is priceless ("what on earth is THAT?").

Nathan and Kenna are one!!

Yes, it's true, last week my little babies turned one! I feel so great that we have somehow figured out how to raise two babies from birth to a year. I can't imagine having been less knowledgeable about babies when they were born than the two of us were. It sort of blows my mind we have managed to figure things out and all four of us are happy and healthy. :) I have to say I'm excited now about this new phase of their lives - entering toddlerhood! It's so fun to see how they are developing cognitively right now. It's amazing.

That said, their first birthday didn't pass without a few feelings of sadness. I'm a really sentimental person (Bryan would write "overly dramatic" instead of sentimental), so the night before their birthday I totally felt like it was a big moment. I knew when I put them to bed, they would wake up and never be considered "babies" again. I put them to bed that night and when I walked out, I definitely felt the pangs of "my babies are growing fast". I know, I know, technically it is just one day of a difference, but the birthday makes it official. :)

We had a birthday party for them on Saturday and it was SO much fun! I was STRESSED leading up to it. We had about 50 people here, including adults and kids, and I just had no idea how it would all go with so many little people. I'm relieved to report that everything went great! We had pizza for lunch (N & K both had a piece too!), then we opened gifts, then we had cake, and that was it. We had a Pooh 1st party theme, since it was gender neutral. The highlight of the event was the cake eating. Bryan is going to edit a little video for me to post. Nathan picked up the whole piece and ate it like an adult would eat a banana. LOL He just kept it in his hand and kept smashing more into his mouth. Kenna took the plunge and put her face straight into it on her tray after figuring out she couldn't easily pick little pieces off. Nathan's face was so covered in cake and icing that at one point my mom became genuinely concerned that he was unable to breathe!! I had doubts leading up to this party that we should have such a big event but I must say that it was worth the stress, money and planning. We had a really great time and it was so memorable. It's true, first birthday parties are more for the parents than the kids, but that's OK! It was just wonderful to be surrounded by our close friends and family to celebrate that WE MADE IT!

I will post first bday pics ASAP, and also I have some big news to write about...Nathan is WALKING! More on that to come soon, but I want to go ahead and get this one up. :)

Countdown to one year?!

Nathan and Kenna will only be babies for six more days! OMG! This is crazy to me. My little munchkins are almost official toddlers. We refer to them all the time as "the babies"...now what? It sounds weird to call them "the toddlers". lol

End of the day sighs

By the end of the day, I just feel worn out. I put the kids to bed, close the door, and breathe a giant sigh that I made it through the day. But I realized today that generally speaking, things go pretty well until the last couple of hours. Then it's downhill. They are tired, I am tired. I've lost patience. They've lost patience. By the time I put them to bed, I feel almost a little sad that we didn't all "part" on the happy terms that we usually have the rest of the day. Generally, small battles have been waged for the last couple of hours. Yes, the last half an hour of getting into jammies and snuggling is a nice positive end to the day, but it doesn't totally make up for the crankiness (theirs and mine) that precedes it. I guess there is not much I can do about it, given that we are all tired at the end of the day, but I just feel frustrated that each day starts so great and then just progresses to meltdown between 5-6:30.

Then, there is the BIG battle some nights. Kenna eating vegetables. SIGH. DOUBLE SIGH. TRIPLE SIGH!!! Granted, she eats more vegetables than most kids her age are probably willing to - peas, spinach, corn, potatoes, sometimes carrots, sometimes zuchini. But there are nights when she just refuses the vegetables. Like tonight. I gave her a mix of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and zuchini. She picked at it, ate a couple of pieces and refused anything else. I am adamant that my kids will eat what is put in front of them. Mommy knows what they need to be healthy, mommy will give them what they need, and they will be grateful that they have food on the table. That's it. End of story. Now of course they can't get the gratitude part yet. Or understand what healthy means. Right now, they just need to learn that they must eat what I give them or they will go hungry. When they are older, they simply won't be allowed to move from the table unless they have eaten every piece of food I have given them. But, I can't do that yet or Kenna would never go to bed. :) (Of course if there is something they find revolting, I respect that! But they can't categorically tell me that vegetables are revolting!)

I ran into a lady at the grocery store this afternoon in the baby food aisle. She had a 13 month old and was asking if I had any advice on getting a baby to eat solid food. She was still giving him a diet of almost all milk with just a couple of fruits because he would cry when she tried to give him anything else! She said her doctor told her to just make him go hungry until he starts eating consistently what she gives him (good advice!), and she said she could never do that because it's mean. I really don't understand when parents are afraid to be "mean" (in their perception) and won't do what is best for their child because of it. I will always do what I feel is best for my kids, even if they kick and scream about it sometimes. To me, it's "mean" to let an infant "decide" on important things like their selection of diet when they don't have adequate knowledge to make those decisions. My job is to be stronger than the frustration that comes from the crying. It sure is more tiring than the avoidance of "appearing mean". But for me, it sure is worth it. Even on nights when I'm so flustered that I decide to write a blog post about it. :)

Off to a good book, a soft couch, a cuddly blanket, and a glass of wine!