Birthday Party, 12 Month check up

I know, I know... finally we have a birthday party and 12 month check post! Between weddings and my parents visiting and me feeling pretty lousy with a bad sore throat in the evenings (turns out I have reflux) I have been really late with this one. Oh, and my dog ate my homework, I didn't know about the assignment... After re-reading I didn't mean for that to sound so much like a list of high school excuses, but anyway. Since I am up with my son at 5 am (darn storm!) I figure I will try and finish it.

The first adorable pics are form the kids' actual birthday. It was just the 4 of us and Grammy (Aaron's mom) for cupcakes on March 11 and we all had a great time... the kids eating and the grownups laughing!

Oh wait, now there's Lola crying to get out of her crib. What the heck?!? It's 5:15 am.
I will finish this post today. I will finish this post today. I will finish this post today.
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Fast forward 3 days, that was Friday morning and now it's Sunday and I WILL FINISH THIS POST TODAY! Well, at least I will post whatever is finished at the end of the night.

We just had our 12 month check up and all is well! Lola and Jackson are both growing strong and hitting all their milestones. They are walking, pointing, imitating our actions, eating big kid food, drinking out of cups (except for milk which continues to be a battle), and generally behaving like budding toddlers.

First Jackson's stats:
Weight: 21 lb. 5 oz. (25-50%)
Height: 28 3/4 in. (10-25%)
Head: 18 in. (25-50%)Jackson is a bit stocky as he's a tiny bit short for his weight. Really this isn't of consequence except to explain why he seems so much bigger than Lola (She is tall for her weight). Both the doctor and nurse commented on how strong he is, which made me feel both quite proud and justified for struggling with dressing and diapering him. The nurse and I had quite a time giving him his shots.He has started playing ball which is absolutely awesome and hysterical. He holds the ball up in the air with one hand and tries to throw it (which more resembles dropping it) and sometimes it rolls in my direction. When I get the ball he gets very excited and waves his arms in the air until I roll it back. If I don't roll it back fast enough, which I guess he wants to happen instantly, he stands up and starts walking toward me. This results in him standing directly in front of me and me more handing him the ball than rolling it after only a few turns. It's really great. Any one who can should really come over and play ball!

And Lola:
Weight: 18 lb. 11 oz. (10-25%)
Height: 28 1/2 in. (25-50%)
Head: 17 in. (10-25%)
Her height/weight relationship is the opposite of Jackson's. She is tall for her weight which makes her seem, at least to me, much smaller than her brother. She is only 1/4 in. shorter than he is but 2 1/2 lb lighter.Lola is really starting to develop a sense of humor. She likes to run/crawl away when anyone comes at her with a clean diaper or cloths. She looks back and cackles and then turns to run away. It's a pretty slow chase, but Lola definitely thinks she's making an escape. Sooo funny! She has also started coming up behind me and tapping me then laughing. I turn around and say, "Who's that?... Oh, it's Lola!" and she laughs and laughs. She also pretends to talk on the phone and just today started shaking her head no. The head shaking seems to be starting like waving, not really in response to anything. She just walks around and shakes her head. I guess I feel like doing that some days too :)

Both my kids absolutely refused to have their hearing tested at their appointment. The nurse explained that the test is sometimes difficult to give to 1 year olds (they give it at 1, 2, and 3) because she has to keep this small device in their ear for 30 seconds while the child sits still and quiet. Ha, yeah right I warned her. And sure enough both kids yanked that thing out so fast she had to laugh. The Nurse tried several times with Lola, convinced she might wear her down. No luck. She only tried once with Jackson before we both admitted she might as well be trying to get him to sit still while giving him a full makeover. So I told her I had no reason to question either child's hearing. They respond when spoken to if they are in the mood and if they even a little bit awake will pop their head up and the first sound of their door cracking open. Plus they had their hearing tested in the hospital. So we will try the test again in a year.

We have been doing Gym Rompers class every Tuesday for the past month and the kids LOVE it! There are about 10 kids or so in the class and Lola and Jackson are among the youngest (the class is for 1-2 yr olds). The don't play on the equipment (riding and climbing toys) as much as the older kids but they really enjoy the big space to run and play. Jackson loves carrying around all the balls (some big like kickballs and it looks like he might topple over at any second) and cruising behind the walking toys (lawmower, grocery cart, etc). Lola gets more into the group activities than Jack and really like getting in the middle of the group during circle time. All the kids sit with their mommies in a circle and sing and clap and there's Lola in the middle laughing and waving her arms. So charismatic!
Ok, marathon post over. There are more birthday pics I'll get to soon. We had a small family birthday party last weekend and had a really great time. The kids played outside with some fun outdoor birthday presents and I'll post some pics of that soon. No, I really really will. You'll see. :)