It seems so strange to try to instill excitement about today into the babies.  They think it’s a normal day.  We make them smile, they make each other smile (and cry), they eat, they play, they laugh, they sleep, they often make me pause and wonder how they could possibly be as beautiful as they are, and things progress normally.  Almost.  I almost forgot their bottles for our lunch picnic with Daddy, and that would have been a disaster.  But we hadn’t left the driveway yet, so I was able to fix that pretty easily and disaster was averted.  My crazy fear that someone will steal my running minivan with my precious children inside it while I’m inside pouring formula was averted too.

We sang happy birthday for them this morning and they thought that was really cool, but they think all music is really cool.  I think they were most impressed that Matt and I both knew something and could sing it together at the same time.  I let them have my shrinking birthday balloon and they fought over it, Rissa won it fair and square though Zach certainly put up a good effort, and then just as she sat reveling in her victory, it popped with the slow fizzle of just giving up.  Riss was devastated at the stringy green blob in her hand!  What happened to the balloon???  The first nap was quiet and much-needed and then we got ready to go meet Da-Da!  “Da-Da??” they queried as they searched my face.  “Yep, babies, Da-Da!  Let’s go see him!”  The picnic was all that we anticipated… they loved it!  The rain started trickling just as we headed over so our outdoor picnic on a blanket turned into a lunch on a covered patio just off the airstrip that we had to cross a grassy field to get to and from.  We had a delicious lunch and shared with the babies because they are the worst kind of moochers — determined!  I got them home and down for their second much-needed nap, and now I’m enjoying some birthday quiet before we venture out again for pictures.  If it stops raining, I’m hoping the swings at the park are still on our agenda.

I have many reflections on how this past year has irreparably changed me.  As much as the babies have changed (they have quadrupled in size!), I think the emotional development of Matt and I during this year is even more staggering.  I won’t go into all of that.  This whole blog is a love letter to our gorgeous children about who they are and how they affect our lives, so you can go re-read a favorite post if you want to reminisce.  Instead, I have some fun new pictures to share as we look ahead to all that is coming our way!