Being One is Fun!

Chris (L) and Aiden (R)having fun in the play kitchen at the museum.



Grammie and Aiden playing in the mirrors!



Aiden holding on to Grampie



The museum crew



Aiden checking out his birthday card. He appears to actually be reading it!



Chris is one happy birthday boy!



Aiden and his cupcake



Chris and his cupcake. This picture doesn't do his mess justice!



Daddy, Mommy and birthday boy Christopher.



Grampie tackles the challenge of feeding Aiden!



Aiden enjoys his fuzzy birthday card with Grammie.



Christopher is now a big boy!



The boys birthday cupcake catepillar!



Christopher the morning of his birthday before he was officially one!



Aiden the morning of his birthday before he was officially one!



What a week! Aiden and Chris has quite the celebration for their first birthday. The boys knew it was a special day on Tuesday from the time they opened their eyes. Auntie Laura and I snuck around on Monday night, decorating the house to surprise the boys. Aiden caught us in the act as we snuck into the boys room after they went to bed. Auntie and I got very good at performing the "quick duck," hitting the floor every time he heard us. The look of pure innocence and amazement on their faces when they woke up was worth every minute of preparation. They stared in awe at the balloons, streamers and banners and couldn't have been sweeter. They certainly knew it was a special day!

To continue the fun on their special day, Grammie & Grampie Hopkins and Mike and I ventured out with the boys to the West Hartford Children's museum. I wasn't sure what to expect with their attention spans, especially since we had no idea what the museum would have to offer but it was a top notch afternoon. The museum had several animals (owl, raccoon, spiders, lots of snakes, alligator, chinchilla, African cat), a neat bubble display, a computer room (heaven for Aiden!), lots of hands on activities and a special room dedicated to toddlers with a play kitchen, small slide, mirror, puzzles and more. I think Aiden and Chris enjoyed the play house and kitchen the best. I was thrilled to find that they were offering finger printing/child identification services. Chris and Aiden are now officially identified with cards for their wallets and all! We stayed about and hour and a half and went home with two tired, happy toddlers!

Last night, we had a small birthday celebration with the grandparents, GG Mimi and Auntie Laura. The cake was enjoyed but the frosting was a HIT! Blue was definitely Chris's color! Poor Aiden had yellow frosting that didn't do him justice in the pictures. They loved their presents and were very spoiled.

Today was the boys one year check up. We celebrated their first official full day as one year olds in style by eating cupcakes for breakfast. I was hopeful that this might help with the weight gain but after our appointment, I am not sure it made any difference. Poor Aiden and Chris had a long, stressful afternoon. The Dr's was running behind. There is nothing worse than trying to entertain two active one year olds in a small room where you really don't want to have them touch anything for fear of germs. Thankfully Grammie Pt came along to give me an extra set of hands. I never could have done it on my own! Thank you Grammie!

The good news is that we survived and the boys are both healthy. They weren't happy by the time we left but I can't blame them. Aiden is 28 inches long and weighs 18 pounds, 11 ounces. Chris is 27 inches and weighs 17 pounds, 2 ounces. Aiden is on the charts in the 2-5 % but poor Chris is not on the charts, even when his age is adjusted to account for his early arrival. Dr. Hoberman gave us several new suggestions to try for food choices so we will see how that goes. The Dr. still wants us to see an eating specialist and they did quite a bit of blood work to be sure that nothing else is going on for Chris. There is nothing worse than having to hold your baby while two other full grown adults pin his arms and attempt to draw his blood. Chris has very small veins and they had trouble taking a sample, then had to switch arms to get enough. I think that was the longest 10 minutes of both of our lives! Aiden also had blood work but it was a simple finger prick. Both of my tikes also had a shot in both legs so they went home tired and unhappy. We will be anxiously waiting to hear the test results.

Although the afternoon may have ended on a rough note, the evening certainly made up for it! I got home and looked down to realize that I was wearing two totally different shoes. Aiden and Chris go out of the house better dressed than their momma! We got home, we settled in and tried pudding for the first time at the recommendation of the Dr.. Aiden was sold... love at first bite, but Chris could have cared less about it. Auntie Laura also brought home Haagen Daaz vanilla ice cream as a treat for them. Yum! They will soon learn to LOVE ice cream I am sure! Grammie & Grampie Hopkins also stopped over with Aunt Martha who came to shower the boys with more birthday presents. They loved their new books and I LOVED their adorable new hats!

Our agenda for tomorrow is to try Pediasure, whole milk and mini meatballs. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the transition will go well! Thank you everyone for the wonderful thoughts and birthday wishes. They are certainly well loved!