William & Henry Turn ONE!

On June 16th our perfect little boys turned one.  Many people comment to me about how hard twins must be and if I can survive the first year, I can survive anything.  I certainly see the truth in that and honestly feel like the last year was mostly a blur.  A blur that left me happier, and more exhausted, than I ever could have imagined.  I had a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy with the twins, worrying about everything from the difficulties of a multiples pregnancy to the challenge of managing three children born within less than two years.  How will I grocery shop? Will I ever get sleep?  How do I take care of all three at the same time?  The questions are never ending and always evolving.  BUT.  While it has been crazy, it has been more lovely than I ever could have hoped.  The pride I feel when I look at my family is the most rewarding thing in my life and I express gratitude every day that these are my children and I have the gift of being their mother.

Back to their actual birthday.  We jam packed their birthday with all their favorites, starting with their first donut for breakfast, and then a few presents. 

 

After the twins woke up from the morning nap my mom came over and we took the children to Washington Park to play and have lunch.  Reese and William had a blast and Henry eventually warmed up to the water.  It is so fun seeing the beginnings of the relationships with one another emerge and watching them become true friends. 

 

 

One thing I have learned in my nearly three years as a mom is to quit while you're ahead, which is exactly what we did. We made it home in time for afternoon naps and Tom surprised the kids by leaving work early.  We treated the children to Alagamesis Ice Cream and a stroll through the toy store.  Alagamesis is a special place for us; we used to take Gouda there and also took Reese for her first ice cream when she turned one.  It was only fitting Henry and William got to try it as well!

Turns out, they weren't too impressed with chocolate ice cream 😀

Happy Birthday to the dynamic duo!  You keep me on my toes in the most wonderful way and you are so, so loved.  I hope you had the best day. 

Weekend Update

We had another great weekend for the books!  We kicked off Friday with a trip to the Red Balloon Play Cafe.  Now that the boys are getting older and more mobile they can join in on the fun instead of watch big sister from the stroller.  This is where things get a little easier for me!

Reese was too busy playing/eating/making friends for pictures but she had a great time!

After the boys woke up from their morning nap on Saturday we packed up and headed to the zoo.  I usually take the kiddos there by myself during the week so it's super nice to have an extra set of hands when Tom can come. Plus who doesn't love when dad is there??

I think we saw 3, maybe 4 animals, before our own little zoo started to lose it and it was time to head home.  My current parenting motto is "quit while I'm ahead" so I always try to wrap it up right before the first sign of meltdowns.  The rest of the day consisted of kid naps, a trip to the grocery store that wrapped up with an epic public tantrum, and everyone in bed early!

Sunday was spent hanging out on the porch and an afternoon date for me and Tom while his parents (who also made us dinner I might add!) stayed with the kids.  We have really come to love day dates because a) it gives the kids quality grandparent time b) it eliminates the stress of having someone else handle dinner/bath/bedtime c) we're honestly too tired to hang late night like we used to so we can really enjoy being together during the day. Ah, the life of parents with young kids!