The Twins Turn One!

Wowee!  I cannot believe the day has come when the twins turn one!  To say it's been a busy year is a bit of an understatement.  A year ago today I was wondering what my twins would look like, what their personalities would be like, how we would cope with five children, etc... and now I know that and loads more.

I cannot imagine our life without Mary Catherine and Henry.  Although the first three months were beyond difficult and the rest of this year has been a learning experience of how to juggle homeschooling and outings, I would not trade it for anything.

Right now, as I write this, Mary Catherine is 'reading' books to herself.  As she turns each page, she says, "uh-oh" because she knows that she's supposed to say something and that's the word she says the best.

Henry is frustrated because he isn't crawling fast enough yet so he cannot get the ball he desperately wants out of his reach.  He is crying and hoping I will rescue him from his frustration.  However, I won't because frustration is a great tool for learning. 

People often ask me if they have differences in their personalities.  I think that is kind of a silly question b/c obviously they do, but at this age it's hard to tell much.

For the sake of memories, I do want to write about how the babies act right now.  Everything changes so quickly at this age.

Henry is a sweet sensitive boy.  He is terribly ticklish.  He will cuddle with you and laughs and smiles easily.  He loves to read books.  He will get so excited if he sees you are going to read to him.  He also loves to play with balls already.  He will dig through the toy bucket to get to a ball.  He shares so willingly and sweetly.  He is always trying to hand us stuff that he is playing with when we sit near him. On the not so cute side, he also cries easily.  He definitely cries more often than Mary Catherine.

Once when I was reading, "The Very Busy Spider" he cried when I made the animal noises.  If there is a loud noise or scream, he will cry.  I think some of it comes from frustration and some from being so sensitive.  If Mary Catherine takes something from him, he is going to cry.  If his plate is empty, he will cry.  You get the point.  I am teaching him sign language, but so far, he has not used it.  Henry is a good sleeper, but does not sleep as well as Mary Catherine.  He wakes up early and his naps are shorter. 

Mary Catherine is a stinker.  Just kidding! Right now, Mary Catherine spends most of her time crawling around leaving Henry in the dust.  She loves to take toys from him and then squawk at him when he tries to take them from her.  She won't cry.  She will just scream and grab it back.  If she doesn't know you then you won't get a smile from her without a huge effort and she might cry when you talk to her.  She isn't a cuddler and really doesn't like to be touched unnecessarily.  She will take your hand off of her if you try to touch her.   

We think she's adorable, especially when she makes this squished up 'cute face' when she wrinkles her nose.  She talks all the time, and one day we will know what she's saying!

We will go to the doctor soon and find out how much they've grown now that they are eating real food so well. I'll post those results next week.  

I'm so very thankful for these little blessings in our lives.  We love them even more than we could have imagined!  It is amazingly true that the love in your heart multiplies for more children, it doesn't divide. 

Happy First Birthday Mary Catherine & Henry!