Happy Birthday Olivia & Ezra!

It's official. Our babies are ONE year old! We had an astounding and fantastic birthday, complete with cake, presents, family, friends, and my brother's return from a year long tour of duty in Afghanistan! (Uncle Z wasn't able to be at the party, but he made it stateside on their birthday... what a treat!).

Today, Ezi & Livi had the wonderful fortune of having their 1 year well baby exam. That included FOUR shots each from their new pediatrician... an event to remember! :-) Thankfully, the art of distraction is one I excel at, so shortly after the offense, each of them were tear free and enjoying the new pediatrician and nurses once again. Four shots though, poor babes.

Here's their current stats. Prepare to be amazed!

Ezra
Height: 30.75 inches (80%)
Weight: 22.06 lbs (45%)
Head Circ: 18.11 inches (45%)

Olivia
Height: 29.75 inches (75% - up from 25-30% range!)
Weight: 19.25 lbs (25% - still a lightweight!)
Head Circ: 18.11 inches (75%)

So, as usual their head circumference is the same, Ezra is taller, but not by quite as much as before, but he's GAINING in weight much faster and is now almost 3 pounds heavier! They keep on growing, but still are not the "huge" babies people seem to think they are. :-) Close, but not quite. The new pediatrician seemed really nice, and the kids liked him well enough. Well... Livi exhibited her typical stranger anxiety (pouty lip, running for mommy, near tears), but Ezra was ever the champ. He was a nice guy, and I think we'll like him. The exam room was GREAT... at least twice as big as our previous pediatrician, and plenty of room for the two of them to run around in their diapers, look out the window, and admire the planes hanging from the ceiling. With two toddlers, having some room (and a safe place) for them to run around makes a HUGE difference.

Now, back to yesterday and their birthday party! We were afraid my parents and uncle wouldn't be back from my brothers' welcome home party (scheduled originally for 01:45 am at Fort Reilly... a good 8 hour drive from here - delayed until 5:00 am!), but they got here in time for cake! Hooray! It was a nice, cozy party with their grandmas, papaw (my dad), their great uncle Marty, and friends Tracy & Sean (currently awaiting a twin referral from Adoption Avenues!!). We had a lovely time and other than Livi getting a bit overwhelmed with being the center of attention, the kids had a blast. I gave them REAL cake (GASP) with REAL icing (BIGGER GASP), so I'm sure the sugar high was a whole new experience for them. Ezra is such a boy... dug right into that cake with two hands and began shoveling it into his mouth. Livi, however, was so bothered by having her hands all goopy and sticky. She was much more reserved and delicate, leaving part of her cake for Ezra to inhale as well. Yikes. That boy had some serious cake yesterday!

Thank you to all of our fabulous party goers, it wouldn't have been the same without you! Thank you ALSO to Tia Claudia who made an overnight appearance on a long layover in Denver so we could visit and catch up. We love you Claudia!

Now, on to the good stuff... pictures!