They say its your birthday...well its my birthday too!

I honestly can't believe it. Maya and Ivy are a year old. This has been the longest and the fastest year of my life. How that is possible I do not know, but I know it is true. It seems like just yesterday that I was going in for three-times-a-week ultrasounds to ensure they were developing as they should, and now I watch them before my eyes getting incedibly smart, beautiful, funny and sweet every day.

We are planning a big birthday bash for all three of our January babies at the end of the month, but we had to do something to make this milestone day extra special, so tonight we had some of dearest friends come over for cake and pizza. We appreciated the fun company, and I have to say watching a one year old enjoy her first cake is one of the cutest things you can enjoy doing. Here are some photo highlights:

The girls and I had a balloon/dance party in the day.

Maya and Ivy had their first pizza party.

And then we brought out the cakes.

They both enjoyed it.

But Ivy seems to REALLY enjoy it (which is actually kinda funny since she really doesn't eat much of anything...except apparently sweets).

After we cleaned them up we let them unwrap their gifts (a little people circus set and some circus Legos pieces, a toy phone, a wood blocks train and second swing for the patio -- so they can both take a turn).

Here are some of the great things these amazing girls do/enjoy that I want to remember about them at one year old:

Maya Bear:

• Maya's brain seems to have just "clicked" in the last five days or so. No exaggeration, a week ago she could say "Dad," "Dada," "Mama," "Quack" (as in duck) and "Ba(ll)." All of sudden her little brain is exploding. She attempts to mimic the words we say and does really well at "Duck", "Anpa" (Grandpa), "Nana", "El" "Hi" (always while holding a phone, or anything that resembles a phone to her ear...today it was sweet potato) and "Look." 
• She all of the sudden points at things she is interested in or that we are talking about. 
• She is starting to get a great sense of humor (knows when she is being funny). 
• Maya has the best smile ever, the kind that you just can't help smile with her.
• She is our quiet, adventurous girl (she likes to climb on to tables, onto couches and chairs an up the stairs, which she makes a mad dash for as soon as the gate is opened) and she is BEGINNING to recognize danger as now instead of falling off the table she'll sit and scream for help until I rescue her. She also really enjoys opening and exploring the cabinets and drawers in our house.
• Maya is totally content crawling. While she will traverse along furniture, she really makes no attempt to break free and walk independently. But, the girl can cruise on her hands and knees.
• She is a good eater. She is really enjoying trying all of the "big people" food we've been offering her and does really well feeding herself.
• Maya loves to kick back and relax, literally. She'll find pillows, people, chairs or anything to lay back on and get a big smile on her face. 
• Along the same lines, she is the best cuddler we have. She'll give good, long hugs and her sweet little cheeks are super kissable. Maya also gives good kisses in return and even makes the em--waw sound when she kisses.
• Maya loves music. If we turn on the radio, walk past a store that is playing music or activate a toy that plays music she'll instantly start bopping her head and smiling.
•  She takes short naps (like two 45-minutes naps a day), but is great about going to sleep at night. She used to sleep all night, but all of the sudden the last week she is waking up at about 4 a.m. and wanting to cuddle/eat/sleep with me the rest of the night/morning. (This started when she was not feeling good last week.) She likes to be rocked until she is soundly asleep.
• Maya folds her arms for prayer and keeps them folded throughout the prayer. She is such a good, good girl.
• Her favorite places in the house (besides the stairs on the top of Eleanore's art table) are Eleanore's bed and beanbag where we read stories and the curtains where she likes to play peek-a-boo or kick back and rest. She is also found of the refrigerator. As soon as I open the door she'll climb up and stand in the doorway.
• She loves her Daddy. As soon as she hears the door open in the evening she books it towards the door saying, "Dad!"

Ivy girl:

• Ivy is mommy's girl. She makes me feel like a rock star as she prefers me to anything or anyone, hangs on my legs and gets super excited when she sees me walk in the door or room. There is nothing like a baby's love.
• Ivy has been walking for about six weeks now. She is a fast, comfortable walker now.
• Ivy gives great open-mouth kisses, and once she starts kissing me she'll do it about 30 times in a row.
• She does this funny thing where she bends down (kind of in downward dog position) and looks back through her legs, if she sees someone looking at her she'll start laughing.
• Ivy loves her big sister Eleanore. She'll cuddle with her, play with her, follow her around and even let big sis dance with her, pull her around and attempt to carry her. I think these two are going to be close.
• Ivy is a sneaky one. If I ever leave Eleanore's bedroom door open she'll be in there tearing the decals off the wall or if I leave the bathroom open she'll be in their throwing things in the toilet.
• When Ivy does something great and we cheer for her she really relishes the moment and get a very proud look on her face.
• Ivy loves to explore the fridge when I open it to get something out.
• Recently, Ivy has gotten good as just laying down to go to sleep when she is tired (which is exactly opposite of how she used to be when we had to rock and rock her and then hold our breath when we laid her down).
• Ivy makes a "ooo" face when she is exploring or trying to get me to notice something. She doesn't really say much of anything yet (except mama and dada once in a while) but she communicates physically.
• Ivy doesn't care to eat much of anything but mama milk, however she does LOVE vanilla wafers and even opening the box makes her get super, super excited.

A note to my babies on their birthday.

Ivy and Maya,
I want to you to know how loved you are. I spent much of today reminiscing about this day, one year ago, when you entered my life. I thought about the joy we felt when we saw your sweet faces and heard your first cries, the fear we felt when Maya struggled in her fist moments of life, the way it felt to hold you for the first time, the stress I felt about trying to figure out how to feed each of you (Ivy always fell asleep and Maya was on a feeding tube), the way it felt when we were finally all together after eight days and the love we instantly saw in Eleanore when she met you. As I looked at pictures of you from the last year, I was actually shocked to see how much you have grown in a year's time. I am glad we have pictures to document those changes that seem to happen without us noticing in the moment.

It has been a long, crazy year, and yet it has been a whirlwind. We can't go anywhere without being noticed and I am nearly always told that I have my arms full. It is true my arms are so full, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have my arms full of girls that I love more than life and feel so blessed to be able to have you in my care...to keep me busy. I hope you two and Eleanore are three of a kind and always very close, I know from experience that sisters are the best kind of friends to have.

You amaze me and you make me want to be a better mom and person. I hope you always feel loved, special, individual and important, because you are. I often finish my day with a bit of guilt because it is impossible to give two babies the amount of attention that I would give if I only had one, but I hope you know that that fact does not change the unlimited amount of love I have for each of you.

Happy fist birthday, babies. I can't wait to see what the future brings to us.
Love,
Mom