Happy Birthday Amigos!

Luke, Zach and Eli getting their first taste of the sweet life!

The baby boys had their very first birthday on Saturday, October 30. They are so awesome! It's amazing to see how they've changed over the last year, and to imagine what changes the rest of their lives will bring.

Talking about changes, where did those tiny babies go? I used to be able to pick up two at a time no problemo, but now a couple of boys (who shall remain nameless) are breaking their Mama's back! Here are the stats from their 1 year appointment, which was Monday:

Luke: Weight - 21 lbs, 6 oz; Length - 31 in

Eli: Weight - 25 lbs, 6 oz; Length - 32 in

Zach: Weight - 25 lbs, 10 oz; Length - 32 in

They're all doing really well - no major health concerns. The biggest thing to come out of the appointment is that we're done with formula!! AND we're supposed to give milk in a sippy cup, so we should technically be done with bottles as well. For anyone who's visited, they know the burden of bottles and formula (To all my bottle washers, I am forever indebted!) This made me think - "wonder how much...?" So here are some approximate stats for the boys first year:

Bottles drunk: 5475

Bottle parts washed (5 parts per bottle): 27,375 (Thank goodness we had some help!)

Meals fed: 1638

Diapers changed: 5475 (Funny how that's the same as the # of bottles!)

Wipes Purchased: 0

Can you believe it? I wrote in an early blog about how our church neighborhood group had done a diaper drive when the boys were born. They brought over a truck full of diapers and wipes. Well, we didn't buy a diaper until the boys were six months old, and we haven't bought a wipe yet! Isn't that amazing? My theory is that when the wipes run out, the boys have to be potty trained! (I think we better start conserving!)

So it has been a busy year, but the result is three awesome, beautiful, healthy, sweet boys who have changed my life completely. I'm just going to write a little about each one, so you can know how special each guy is.

Zach

This boy is so sweet and lovable! He loves to curl up on your lap and watch anything from Baby Einstein to football, and he gives hugs that make you not want to ever let him go. He's very laid back and isn't walking yet, but he doesn't mind at all. From very early he has been an imitator, and he imitates facial expressions and sounds. One day while driving, we were listening to music and "Men in Black" was playing. John looked in the rear view and started laughing. Zach was bobbing his head to the music right on beat! Too cute! So we were all car dancing - Luke and Eli sway from side to side!

Eli

Eli is his own little man. He is so assertive and definitely will not be lost as the "middle child". He is just an outgoing, boisterous, adventurous little guy. He was the first to walk and is now practically running. He still wears a helmet to help the shape of his head, and the bad side effect of this is, it has made an already wild child less inhibited, because he can run into things with his head and not feel it! He will run into something almost on purpose because that's easier than sitting down on his own. Hopefully he has a really hard head by the time the helmet comes off. Just this morning (Friday now!) he went and got his own cup of milk (not from the fridge - it was sitting out already) and got himself settled down to drink, because I had both Zach and Luke on my lap. What a little rock star!

Luke

Luke has never stopped being the inquisitive, observant guy that he was when he was born. He really is so alert to everything that's going on, and picks things up really quickly. The boys got a Scout dog for their birthday, and you have to press its paws to make it do things. I noticed last night that he already knows to push the paws and to let go, so that a whole song plays, etc. The other guys play with Scout, but that involves mostly chewing on his ears! Luke is so sweet too - he pats your back when you're holding him, and he gives very solemn kisses. He is a joy.

OK, and to fit one more thing into this tremendously long blog, the boys had their first real Halloween! Last year they were in the hospital so that doesn't count, in our book. We went around in the stroller (just the boys - I pushed) and saw all of the neighbors in our area. It was really fun, and the boys were so good. They didn't get to eat their candy, though. Daddy and I took care of that for them :) Happy Fall to everyone!

Superboys!