12 months

On May 6, Henry and Norah turned one. I found myself very emotional all day, thinking about how tiny they were, how they arrived so early and we weren't prepared to have two babies that night, how they spent so long in the hospital. I get a little sad when I see pictures of moms holding their brand-new babies in the hospital because I didn't get to see mine in person for hours after their birth -- and I couldn't hold them until they were nearly two days old.

But then I think about how blessed we've been over the past year. You'd never know these two weighed only 3.5 pounds at birth. They struggle with allergies and eczema, but for the most part they're healthy. We love our beautiful twins so much!

Here's what they're up to at 12 months:

Henry:

• Weighs 22.5 pounds and is 30.5 inches tall (about the 80th percentile for height and 70th for weight)
• Has unfortunately started biting his sister, Andrew and me, so we're trying to teach him not to do that (and for the most part are failing)
• Says "mama" and "baba" and is starting to realize that I'm mama and will come when he yells for me
• Wears mainly 12-18 month clothes but still fits into some 9-month onesies
• Eats EVERYTHING and always seems to be hungry, though he does not like pureed green beans and refuses to eat them. He loves baby food pouches and will slurp them down in a minute or two.
• Still likes making his "Wookie" noise, which is also similar to the sound the planes make in The Jetsons (and I have no idea how he makes that sound)
• Has really bad eczema on his tummy and face, but it seems to be a bit better when we don't give him dairy. He also suffers from seasonal allergies (which is why his eyes were so red in this picture).
• Is lactose-intolerant like Norah, so he can only have lactose-free milk or formula to drink
• Still has just four teeth but drools all the time, so he's probably working on a few more
• Loves climbing on things and standing to rattle the baby gate
• Has decided sleep is overrated and screams every night when we try to get him to bed
• Is obsessed with laptops and phones and has a sixth sense about when they're going to appear
• Has begun standing for a few seconds on his own and loves to stand and play with chairs in the kitchen
• Absolutely LOVES bath time and splashes all the water out of the tub (and all over Norah)
• Is generally happy and has the best giggle when we tickle his tummy
• Loves to swing at Grandma's house and gets sad when we take him out of the swing
• Is not a big fan of sugar and refused to take more than a bite of cake on his birthday
• Has the sweetest little curls on the back of his head and has pretty thick hair

Norah:

• Weighs 19 pounds and is 29.5 inches long
• Finally has three teeth (we noticed the first one on her birthday), two on the bottom and one on the top
• Has been much happier since getting tubes in her ears at the end of April and can hear much better now, too
• Mainly wears 9-month clothes but is starting to fit into 12-month clothes
• Still has teeny feet and fits into her 0-6 month moccasins
• Has the gross habit of pulling fibers out of the couch and eating them (which is so weird!)
• Loves bath time like Henry does, though she prefers to be in the bathtub alone because Henry steals toys and tries to play with her
• Has stood by herself a few times but prefers to scoot along the baby gate or push a walker around (and she's really fast at it)
• Can steer her walker around and make it out of the kitchen and living room, even when she has to squeeze around furniture
• Has learned to say "uh oh" (most likely from me) and "mmm-mmm" (the non-word form of uh oh) as well as "baba" and "mama"
• Is still pretty bald, but her hair is starting to grow in the back
• Has discovered she can pull off her headbands, so we're getting more "Oh, you have two boys?" comments since she won't keep them on
• Loves the swing at Grandma's house like Henry does and giggles nonstop when we push her
• Has refused to eat more than a few bites of solid food besides puffs up until the last few days and is now finally eating baby food pouches with carrots, applesauce and sweet potatoes
• Is lactose-intolerant like Henry and gets a bad rash on her face when she eats dairy
• Takes great naps during the day but usually wakes up once at night
• Loves to have other kids around and got really excited with all the cousins at her party
• Has an adorable giggle when we tickle her or throw her in the air

I'm hoping to get some photos of their party up soon! These two get more and more fun every day.