Last month I went to Florida for my good friend Rachel’s 40th birthday girls’ trip. By myself. It was pretty awesome.
I was gone for 5 days, and nobody came with me. Zero children. Zero traveling partners. A couple of the girls flew on the same flight, but then the rest of us all just met down there. We went to Anna Maria Island, so most of us flew into Sarasota then took an Uber to the island.
It was the first time I’ve traveled alone since any of the kids were born. Actually, I think it’s the first time I’ve traveled alone since I lived out east. Almost 16 years ago. Crazy.
It was really fun. There were 10 of us in the house we rented, which was right on a little lagoon. It had its own private pool, which was all I was looking forward to. It was a shared townhouse, but we never heard the family on the other side at all. They had their own pool, too, and it was on the opposite side of the house from ours.
We stayed just blocks from the beach, so we walked over there each night to watch the sunset and grab a cocktail. Unfortunately there was really only one beachfront restaurant near us, but we found some other fun places for dinners. We grabbed coffee and breakfast each morning at a little local place, then we either walked to other close-by sandwich or burrito shops for lunches or just snacked by the pool.
I got some sun. I got some sleep. I made new friends. I read 1 entire book! And, surprisingly, I missed everyone back here terribly. I couldn’t help but think the whole time how perfect the place we stayed would be for a family vacation with Ryan and the kids, because it really was.
I couldn’t believe I actually made a solo vacation work! It was a great time with some fantastic people, and I’m so glad I went. It’ll probably happen again in about 20 years. 😀
On the day you were born, first Nat then little A,
The fear I’d been carrying just melted away.
Watching you grow every day, your eyes filled with wonder,
Makes it clear that our headcount of children is simply a number.
You’re both cautious at times, then other times brave;
You have filled to overflowing the love that my mama heart craves.
The last first birthday we’ll celebrate here,
And these moments with you two I’ll forever hold dear.
Nat and Avit are 1!! And yes, that happened a month and a half ago, but you know full well how this blog works. And actually, we just had their 12 month well check last week, so I do always like to put those stats in the update posts when we have them. So there you go, not so late after all.
To start, here are the twins’ official 12 month stats:
Nat
Weight: 22 lbs. (53%)
Height: 30.5″ (56%)
Head: 46.6 cm (57%)
BMI: 16.6 kg/m2 (48%)
Avit
Weight: 24 lbs. 6 oz. (84%)
Height: 31″ (75%)
Head: 47.2 cm (74%)
BMI: 17.8 kg/m2 (79%)
Ok, so a couple things here. Avit is obviously heavier than Nat when we pick them up, so it was fun to finally see by exactly how much. Also, Avit is definitely not taller than Nat – they were squirming around on the table when the nurse tried to stretch them out to measure height, so that is wrong. When they stand next to each other, Nat is clearly taller, and I even told the doctor those measurements are off. I was instructed to take their daily milk amount down from 30-32 oz. to 24 oz. (they still have 4 bottles of whole milk daily mixed in with their 3 meals of real food, so i’ve just knocked them down from 8 oz. to 6 oz. each). The doctor said this might help with Avit’s terrible dry skin and maybe even out their weights a little. Nat’s head still has its obvious flat spot on the back right side, but I read that kids’ heads have years to round out before they’re permanently fused. The pediatrician has never been worried about it or instructed us to do anything about it, so hopefully it will round. I can’t help but worry about it, but it hasn’t impeded his development at all so far.
Otherwise everything looked great! Avit ran around the exam room in his diaper, which the doctor loved to see, and Nat crawled right on over to the little chairs, pulled himself up instantly, and started walking along the furniture just like he does here, which made her very happy also. She said he’s so close to walking she has no worries at all.
It’s still hard to believe that we have 2 one year olds in the house! These little guys are crazy, hilarious, adorable, and so full of love that I can’t stand it. They both chatter all day long. No real words yet – lots of da-das, ba-bas, little melodic songs, but of course no mama (the only time one of them even came close to something that sounded like mama was after they got their shots at the doctor last week, ha!) – and like I said with the others, I can’t wait to hear what they’re actually saying once they do talk. They both love to snuggle into you when they’re sad or sleepy, and sometimes they just come over, want to be picked up, and just be with you. They both bob up and down dancing; Nat claps; they wave; they play peek-a-boo; they love to blow spits and raspberries; they’re getting good at signing “all done,” “eat,” “milk,” and “more”; they play with their toys all day long; they wake up full of smiles in the morning eager to see you and give you hugs. I love them to pieces.
The onesies I had made for their birthday could not have been more perfect. Avit was “Wild 1” and Nat was “Mild 1.” Any more fitting would have been impossible. I loved it!
Within the past week I’ve replaced the dueling jumpers with the big playpen, which they actually enjoy. I think they like being able to play together when they have to be contained instead of just hanging separately with nothing really to do. I’ve also swapped out the infant bucket car seats and put in the rear-facing convertible seats, so they’re really getting to be big boys! It’s so crazy to watch the daily progression.
Last night as I was getting them ready for bed, I was thinking about how this time around all the baby milestones don’t seem nearly as bittersweet as the others did. Probably because we’re doing it twice at once this time. Probably because I know for sure it’s the last time we’ll be hitting them all, whereas with Morrison I always had the “hmm, I wonder if…” in the back of my mind. Either way, I like not really having that pit of “awww… we’ll never do that again…” in my stomach each time we hit one of their milestones or leave a certain baby phase. It’s nice for a change, instead of feeling a longing for not being able to turn back time. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love the baby stage and it is kind of weird knowing there will never be babies born in this house again, but that’s ok. I have no doubt that is how it’s supposed to be, and I feel it with my entire being this time. I’m good. We’re full.
Otherwise, they’re just getting more and more into the groove of being part of a 5-kid family every day. They absolutely adore their big brother and sisters, and hearing the big kids make the babies laugh is the sweetest music ever. They still take 2 naps a day, morning and afternoon, and really neither seems close to dropping either of those. They’re into mostly size 18 month clothes, wear size 4 diapers and size 5 overnights, have finally been sleeping through the night since around 11 months (they still wake for the occasional pacifier replacement, but nothing like it used to be since i stopped nursing them), and generally entertain us daily. They both hate sippy cups and are just now starting to drink their bottles cold, which is driving me nuts. I know I never warmed a bottle of whole milk before for any of the other 3, so these guys aren’t getting warm milk anymore either. Sorry, charlies, cold milk is where it’s at now. They’re getting better at drinking it unheated, but they don’t guzzle it down nearly as quickly as when it was warm.
Twins. One-year-old twins! Definitely never someone I pictured walking and crawling through this house, that’s for sure. But it’s pretty great having them here. And now that we’ve made it through the first year, I think we’ll keep them. These little guys have totally captured my heart and, along with their big siblings, make it overflow every single day.
Happy 1st birthday, Nat Jennings and Avit Jerome!! We love you guys so very, very much, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you two every step of the way!
Here are the big 1 year comparison posts and pictures. I still don’t think any of these 5 look alike. Some resemble each other, yes, but there aren’t 2 who I’d say oh yes, you’re definitely related.
