The Carlos Family

We decided to take Clayton and Chloe to Disneyland for their 1st birthday. It was so much fun to experience a place both Ryan and I love through the eyes of our spunky little one year olds. We never knew how much there was to do for little ones at Disneyland. Fantasyland is full of age appropriate rides and then of course Small World is just magical. They both loved it...in fact Clayton cried when we had to take him off of the horse on the carousel. It was heartbreakingly adorable! Later on that night, our families came over to celebrate Clayton and Chloe's birthday. Papa Jim made them their favorite meal (and mine!), pasta and meatballs. For dessert, they both enjoyed a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. Chloe dug right in, but it took Clayton a few bites to get used to the cold texture. They were spoiled with gifts...their favorites were their sand and water table, mini pools ( a blue and pink one!), instruments, ball popper, tool bench, money, clothes, and Pottery Barn Anywhere chairs. They are two very loved babies!

It's hard to believe that our two little peanuts are now two busy, smiling, happy one year olds! This time last year I was holding my handsome little man, Clayton Joseph in my arms while my sweet little girl, Chloe Grace was being monitored in the NICU. It was such a bittersweet couple of days, but so worth it to know that my bugaboo was completely well. I made a slideshow (500 pictures later) of Clayton and Chloe's first year. It's incredible to really reflect on the year and all of the changes that have happened. I'll never forgot my beloved Papa saying, "Kimberly, when are they going to do something" as he held Chloe for the first time to now watching them take their first steps, get into everything, talk, giggle, have conversations, eat real food and give kisses (open mouth, of course). People love to ooh and awe over Clayton and Chloe when we are out and about and always say comments about how hard raising twin babies must be. While there have been challenging moments, it really hasn't been nearly as hard as the majority imagines. I think it all depends on your mindset. While the challenges are there, I am eternally grateful for them and thank God everyday for them. Maybe it's the infertility speaking or the growth I've made as a human being, but nothing is about me anymore and I truly wouldn't want it any other way. I've learned to accept that my house will not always be perfectly in order and that 8:00 pm is a great time to tidy up, that nothing else matters nearly as much as the happiness of my children (and husband!), that it's okay for one baby to cry (just a little) as long as I know they are full, clean, and not in pain, and that faith is my driving force.

I also want to acknowledge the most important people in Clayton and Chloe's life. Thank you Mom (Nonnie) for changing your career path to love and care for my babies. The sparkle in your eyes and the joy in theirs every time you see each other is beautiful. Thank you Dad (Papa Jim) for your daily phone calls to see how your "best friends" are, "Hello" song, and waterskiing game. I know they know how much you love them. Thank you Tracie (Grammie) for always being so available to care for Clayton and Chloe. You have the magic touch with getting the silliest giggles and sweetest smiles out of both of them. Thank you Louie (Papa Louie) for lighting up every time you see them. It doesn't matter how tired you are, you are always so thrilled to see Clayton and Chloe. And most of all thank you, Daddy (Ryan) for being such an incredibly loving, supportive, devoted Daddy to our children. You are so in love with your Brutus Man and Princess. I love watching them light up when they see you. It's a true testament to how very much they adore you.

Now on to their 1 whole year big news...

Clayton's News:
*Clayton is 21 pounds (25th percentile) and 30 inches (55th percentile).
*He walks from one piece of furniture to the next and even took his first recordable steps from one person to another on his birthday! Within the days following his first birthday, he has taken off. Clay walks all of the time now and even stops mid walk to wave his hands and has the most prideful little grin on his face.
*Clayton wakes up every morning with so much to say. I'd love to decode his baby language because he's so animated when he talks and often uses his hands to emphasize his "words." He also says "da da" and "ma ma" deliberately.
*He makes many silly faces, including pursing his lips in a kiss and sticking them way out. Clayton also sticks his bottom gum out with his big teefers and squints his big blue eyes.
*Clayton has 6 teeth now...2 on the bottom and 4 on top.
*He hates to be fed, which makes using up all of Mommy's organic pureed food quite difficult. The trick is to give him something chunky like chicken and then spoon feed him a veggie, starch, and fruit combo.
*Clayton has two of his three bottles out of a sippy cup now and does so much better than Mommy anticipated. The key was to give him his morning bottle when he's absolutely famished in the sippy. He's been drinking water out of his sippy cup since about 6 months old, but whenever I tried milk in the cup, he'd toss it and cry. He can have his third bottle in the sippy cup too, but Mommy isn't ready to give up that nighttime bonding quite yet.
*He loves food, especially cheese, yogurt, toast, and most of all pancakes. Whenever the freezer is open, Clayton heads straight for the box of mini frozen pancakes and helps himself!
*Clayton loves to be outside and especially loves the garage. He gets this determined look on his face and crawls at rapid speed when he hears the door open. Clay heads straight for the tires on Mommy's car, causing his perfectly pink hands to turn black, then to Roxi's food bowl (he seems to really enjoy her food!) and then to Daddy's tool chest.
*He has definitely discovered what he wants and what he doesn't want and throws a complete tantrum when he doesn't get his way.
*Clayton loves Chloe and loves talking to her. Every morning he heads straight toward her crib, stands on the top of his bumper and talks to her. She talks back, they giggle, they scream...it's absolutely precious.
*He is a blankie and paci boy--both are such perfect soothers for him.

Chloe's News:
*Chloe is 19 pounds (25th percentile) and 29 1/4 inches (50th percentile).
*She started crawling right after her 11 month birthday! Chloe had just had her morning bottle and crawled all the way across the hallway. It was so exciting! I knew she would, but like all of her milestones, Chloe does it in her time, in her way, when she's ready. And when she finally does her new trick, she does it perfectly. Her little crawl is adorable because it's so strategic. She looks like a little puppet moving across the floor.
*Chloe crawls to our legs now and pulls on our clothes to be picked up, which never gets old.
*She has transitioned from sucking her thumb to sucking two of her fingers backwards. It seems so awkward, but she apparently her perfect little fingers are her magic soother.
*Chloe is so cuddly. She loves to be held and when she's tired she snuggles on your chest, which melts my heart every time.
*She talks a lot, still doing lots of "ahs" especially when we are in a quiet place and says "ma ma" all of the time, specifically when she's mad about something! Chloe definitely deliberately says "da da" and "ma ma."
*Chloe loves to clap for herself when she does something exciting. It's so cute because she gets the most dynamic grin on her face too.
*She loves Clayton and loves talking to him. Every morning she crawls to his end of the crib, gets on her knees and starts talking, giggling, and screaming with him. It's priceless and I wish I could video it, but the dialogue stops the second I walk in because they are ready to eat.
*Chloe climbed the step from the family room into the hallway for the first time on her actual birthday. She loves hanging out at the step and finally figured out how to get up it!
*She flaps her hands and kicks her legs when she gets excited. There's nothing better than seeing her arms and legs bounce up and down when she sees you. I used to do this too as a baby, so it's pretty cute that she does as well.
*Chloe eats chunky, solid foods really well, but being a princess, still prefers to be spoon fed. She loves whole wheat macaroni, cheese, organic baby yogurt, cut up fruit, and buttered toast.
*She drinks water and juice out of her sippy cup perfectly, but has made it abundantly clear that she isn't ready to drink her milk out of the sippy cup yet.
*Chloe can wave hi and bye and it even sounds like she is trying to say the words too!

Here's some pictures that capture Clayton and Chloe's eleventh month...

It was so nice to have our good friends, The Kline's, back in town. Clayton and Chloe miss their little friend, Paige!