Lucy and Ellory- Twelve Months.

Lucy and Ellory are ONE! What a crazy, beautiful year it has been. It has been so fun to look back at all the pictures over the last year. Overall, it was a great year. We are glad the first few months are over, as we thought those were the most difficult, but despite going from one kid to three, it's been mostly good! When people ask me if it's hard now, I say I wouldn't say that it's hard, just very busy. We all feel good getting good sleep and being on a schedule/routine. We are also thankful for almost always happy babies! They are so much fun and so adorably sweet.

Stats/Doctor visits: Lucy was healthy this month, but Ellory was sick twice, but thankfully both were just 24 hours. The first time, she just had a fever and we checked for influenza because she had been exposed, but thankfully it was negative. The second time, she got the stomach flu and she threw up four times with a slight fever, but it was amazing that no one else got it. It took her a few days to get her appetite back, but that was it. At their twelve month check up, Lucy was 30” (79%), head circumference 18.25” (85%), and was 18 lbs 13 oz (34%). Ellory was also 30” (79%), head circumference 18” (72%), and was 20 lbs (54%). Their weights were only about one pound apart, where it had been two for awhile. They are growing well too, as their percentages are getting higher on the charts.

Teeth: Lucy got her bottom right lateral incisor, her 8^th tooth, on 2/15 (51) weeks.

Feeding: They are eating a lot more solids now! It's been fun to watch- great that they can feed themselves and sit in their high chairs while we eat, but it's a big mess to clean up afterwards. They are still nursing 4 times a day (well, one of those was a pumping/bottle session to give them a little extra), and had an extra few ounces after their bedtime nursing session, but began to wean that off at the end of the month by quitting pumping and substituting whole milk instead of my milk. I am thankful that nursing went so well and that I was able to make it a full year, and I can tell that it's time to start weaning because I'm not making as much as I used to, and they get grumpy at the end like they want more. It's about 50/50 purees and solids and they get some of both about lunch and supper. We also are mixing a little whole milk in the purees instead of formula, and it's gone well so far. They have been practicing with sippy cups for awhile now, first with water and now with milk too, and they are getting better/understanding to tip it up. They have eaten puffs, yogurt melts, bread, cheese, lunch meat, noodles, and lots of soft fruits and cooked veggies. They still gag some on meat sometimes, as it's harder to chew. We call Lucy the garbage disposal, as she will eat anything and everything. She definitely eats more solids than Ellory and is not selective at all. Ellory loves her milk, and drinks more than Lucy, and is more selective with her foods. She loves her grains, and will pick out the noodles/puffs/bread over the other things.

Diapers/Clothes: Wearing size 3 diapers and 12 month and 12-18 month clothes.

Sleeping: They are both good sleepers- hallelujah! So glad for that. We are still a night owl family and all go to bed late, so they are in bed about 10:30, nurse at 8, and sleep again until about 10. (That will only last for a few more months until we have to transition into more of a school schedule lifestyle when Norah goes to preschool in the fall, but hopefully that transition will fall perfectly into when they switch to one nap). Sometimes they are up a bit earlier if we have a morning activity and they handle it fine, and occasionally they sleep a bit later if we don't have anything. They take a nap from about 1:30-4 and again from 7-8. Their evening nap used to be 30 minutes, but they've been sleeping longer since crawling and now it's an hour.

Words: There is a lot of baby talk going on, but not too many words. Ellory says mama and dada pretty consistently. I hear a lot of M, B, and D sounds with the occasional P. We have done a little sign language, but haven't focused on it as much as we did with Norah. They haven't done any back, but we have regularly been doing thank you, eat, bath, more, up, and all done.

Developments: On 2/21, right before their first birthday, Lucy took her first steps! Her record was four. Lucy is more active than Ellory, so we weren't surprised she was first. Lucy loves to get into everything, dump out all toys, and climb on whatever she can find. When she climbs on something, she just laughs and smiles like she is so proud of herself. Lucy also quit drooling right before their birthday and doesn't need to wear bibs anymore. Both girls love to give kisses and high fives, and sometimes do “so big.” Ellory shakes her head a lot, especially to music. I was also thinking about their personalities this month and remember saying that Lucy cried to be held more, but I think that has calmed down now since she started moving more. She is so happy crawling and climbing, which also makes her require a bit more attention! Lucy can climb up all the stairs, but Ellory can do a couple and then gets scared. Ellory is generally always happy too, but her anger is a little more intense when she's upset. They've already had a few sister fights where they get mad when the other one takes their toy, but they's also had the cutest times where they laugh and play together.

Favorites: Lucy is a daddy's girl and gets so excited and crawls to him when he comes home. Ellory loves to dance when music comes on. Ellory loves milk and Lucy loves solids. Lucy loves to climb and move around. Lucy loves to dump out buckets and Ellory is a bit more careful/particular with toys. Ellory loves dolls. Both of them love to dig into the fridge or dishwasher when it's open, play in Norah's room when she leaves the door open, and get into my tampon boxes in my bathroom when it's open and dump them all out (funny the things they think are amazing!). Ellory is more chatty at home, but definitely more shy/hesitant in public or new situations.

Happy first birthday, Lucy and Ellory! Being your parents is the greatest blessing. We've all learned and grown a lot this year, but overall it's been so good! We are thankful for your sweet personalities and that you are ours. Twins are great!