one year.

one year ago my life changed. my heart grew. instantly.  from the very first cry. i was a different person. i went from being selfish to self {less}. it was no longer about me. but about the two blessings that i had just given birth to. on one day, in one minute, all of my wishes and dreams had come true {double time}.

i had become a mom. it was a day i will never forget. a day i had longed for. and just like that i was holding two precious, healthy, babies. skin to skin. i still remember those first moments. i remember being in awe that within seconds of holding them, they both were searching and with a little help, found their food.  how awesome to see the whole miracle {start to finish} of life unfold. and the natural instincts that kicked in within mere seconds - our God is an awesome God.

i remember never wanting to forget any of those first moments. first days. i was in complete and utter love with these two little guys. and it happened with those first cries. i hadn't even seen them yet. it was the cry that connected me to them in a way that is so hard to put into words. a love so deep and pure. 
 

it's hard to believe that a year has already passed. it seems like yesterday that i looked like something out of the circus. and i was meeting my loves for the first time.  but, it wasn't yesterday. it was a whole year ago. 365 days ago. and we have all survived the past year. it actually wasn't that bad either. sure, we dealt with the normal newborn issues {x2}. lack of sleep. gas issues. hiccups. but due to me being a super scheduler freak, our life with newborn/baby twins wasn't bad. we got them to sleep through the night {and have never looked back} when they were 9 weeks old. we got them on a good nap schedule {which allows for plenty of 'mommy time' during the days}. they have been good eaters from the git-go. they are really happy little guys. overall, i don't think we have much to complain about.

one year well check......

ledger:
weight: 21lb 12 oz
height: 30

holden:
weight: 21lb 1oz
height: 29.75

 both boys are walking these days. and really have been for awhile. holden took his first steps at 10.5 months. and had become a pro right at 11 months. ledger took his first steps at 11 months and become a pro about a week later. they both prefer walking to crawling. they can bend over. pick up toys. and keep going. they both still need help getting up from the ground to get going. i'm sure they'll have that conquered soon. it is still celebrated around here, just for fun, sometimes. because everyone likes an attaboy sometimes, right?!

some of our favorite things to do these days are: open and close doors. any and all doors. they really aren't picky. and when they are playing this game. they like to add in peek a boo to go along with it. it's very fun and entertaining. until one of them gets hurt. ledger enjoys banging things. throwing things on the ground. basically making loud noises and being destructive. we have now nick named him mr. destruct-o. he also loves taking any and everything away from his brother. he enjoys tackling his brother. pulling his hair. i've said it before, and i'll say it again....he's the one i'm gonna have to watch extra extra close! sweet holden still enjoys his books. he can sit and look/flip pages of books for minutes on end {until his brother takes it from him. not because he wants to read it. nope. he wants to demolish it}. he also still enjoys balls and blocks. and they both are in awe. memorized really by none other than....mickey mouse. i turned on the mickey mouse clubhouse one random afternoon to see if they would be interested. man, were they! all i have to say is mickey mouse and they stop what they are doing and turn to the tv. and when it's on. nothing else matters but mickey. i'm not sure if this is a good thing. but, we watch him. once a day.

holden has a new best friend these days. with all of adam's traveling lately, we have had the opportunity to spend all of our evenings with grammie and grampie. and that sweet holden lights up from ear to ear when he hears grampie's whistle coming from the garage door. and the feet start a moving just as fast as they can to get to him. and as soon as he is picked up, he immediately looks and points to one of the two family pictures. as he wants grampie to go show him the pictures up close. grampie has also showed him the big foyer light. and that too, is a must see as soon as grampie comes in. the pointing and the oooh's start a coming. and when we go out in the back the windmill is his favorite and a must see as well. it is so neat to see this happen. to watch as he now can identify people with things. i am with him all day. everyday. and he never wants me to show him the pictures. or the light. or the windmill. it's just a grampie thing.

grampie really should be in this picture.

as far as changes in sleep around here goes. they take two 1.5-2 hour naps a day. and i'm not thinking about combining these into one afternoon nap anytime soon. they still love their sleep. and i still love my 'mommy time.' they have pushed their bedtime back to 7-7:30 and i'm totally ok with that. my evenings don't feel as rushed anymore. they still wake between 7-7:30 in the mornings.

teeth: ledger has 7 {as of today...one had popped thru and i didn't know it}. 4 on the bottom and 3 on the top. holden is trying to catch up {all at once...yikes}. he currently has 3. 2 on the bottom and a snaggle on top. this morning, the doctor said she sees 3 more coming in. i knew about one...had no clue of the other two on the bottom. time to keep that kid doped up.

they still take 4 bottles a day. i always thought i'd be the mom to throw the bottles away as soon as they turn the big ONE. but, i'm not ready and neither are they. wayyy too many changes about to happen to the walters within the next month. i'm not stable enough to conquer the toss'n of the bottles today. nor tomorrow. so, for now. we still take 4 bottles a day. {i promised my husband that they will not be going to kindergarten with a bottle}. our doctor said to try to get them down to 2 a day and aim for 18 months to have those gone. thank-you doc. i can work on that!

as for foods. they eat anything and everything. that's pretty much it on the food category. if we eat it. so do they. but if they could decide on what food group to eat from at.every.meal. it would hands down be any kind of fruit. these boys would turn into a strawberry if i let them. and they would only eat fruit if i let them. guess it could be worse!

my babies are no longer babies anymore. they no longer want me to hold them tight against my chest. they no longer sit still for any matter of time. they are busy little guys these days. they are on the go from the moment they wake up until the moment they fall asleep again. they love to play. make noise. and throw occasion fits now and again. they have changed in every way possible. we have entered a new chapter. full of so many more firsts. i never thought i'd say this. but, i'm ready for this next chapter. i love those boys seriously so much it hurts. i am honored and it is a privilege that i was hand picked to be ledger cal and holden ray's momma. we've got a big big year ahead of us. our whole family does. ready or not the pages in the walters' book is changing. the Lord has big plans for us. i'm thankful to be on this ride with my three boys.