Fun Day Planned

Today should be a fun one. We were invited over to the O'Brien's house. Yep, Trinity and Kinsley, fellow former 24weekers and NICU neighbors. We haven't seen them since Blake and Jenna got released from the hospital. This will be our first official playdate. We couldn't be happier that it will be with Trinity and Kinsley! Can't wait to see how they've grown and how beautifully big they are.

We may also get to visit another fav nurse, "Auntie Janice". She was Blake's primary night nurse starting the very first day they were admitted and were with the twins all the way through their stay. We have kept in touch with her and check in with one another nearly every week. Her birthday was Tuesday and we are so sad that we let it slip our mind! She called yesterday and invited us to dinner tonight. So we have tentative plans to see her today too!

As part of their first birthday celebration, I wanted to take Blake and Jenna to Build-a-Bear and get them some very special birthday bears made. Jason and I decided we were going to have a doctor bear and a nurse bear made in honor of a few of the most influential people in Blake and Jenna's first year. However, since it rained pretty much all day we wanted to try and avoid the messy roads as much as possible. It's okay though, we had a full day of fun nevertheless. We plan to take them for their birthday bears early in the week.

The kids are up and are playing with their bday balloons this AM. It's pretty cute to watch as they try and grab ahold of them. They keep watching them float around so they bat at them and everyonce in a while are able to "tackle" one to hold. Jenna has one of "those" looks on her face. The kind that says, "I'm warning you, I am not happy about your alusiveness!" Lastnight she kept trying to taste the balloon. After she realized it just wouldn't fit into her mouth, she gave it an angry growl. This morning I see that she has learned to grab it's string and pull it closer to her!

Watching Blake stroll around in the walker this morning has put a not so pleasant thought in my head. As I watched him grab onto the bar of the stationary jumparoo that Jenna was sitting in and pulled himself close to her causing the walker to recklessly balance on two wheels. All the while looking at me with the biggest happiest grin. If he is anything like daddy, and oh how he IS, he will be a fearless and daring child that will frequent the ER for injury accidents. When daddy tosses him in the air, he throws all concern and fear to the wind, laughs a deep tummy laugh and smiles ear to ear. Jason and I were talkeing lastnight about how Blake is such a different baby from what he was in the NICU. While in the NICU, his moves and actions were cautious and thought out. You could see on his face that he would think about what was going on around him and to him. He frequently had looks of "what's going on here?", "where am I", and "what are you all looking at me for?" He was often labeled our thinker. Now, however, he is still a thinker but since he has gained a *few* pounds and grown into his body and has gained some confidence and comfort, he has thrown most fear out the window. He is laid back and rearely gets mad, is always looking for the nearest opportunity to socialize, loves to laugh and can be seen with a big boyish grin from ear to ear. tha is if you can keep up with his constant motion.

Jenna is a lot like she was in the NICU. She was deemed our "little firecracker", "little spitfire" and most of all, our "spunky one" who wasn't afraid to tell you what she thought. I am so glad that still rings true. We love her little spunky attitude and that she wears her emotions on her face. You can't always read her looks, as she has many to decifer. She, too, is laid back in many ways but she knows what she likes and knows how to let you know when she is not impressed with something. One thing that has changed is that she is just so much happier and "smiley". After about two months of being home, it was as if she turned a new leaf. From a serious and some what unsure manner to a much relaxed and happy one. We were so happy to see her face frequent a big beautiful smile. She is very attentive and can focus on a "task" for a pretty impressive amount of time. She has a cute sense of humor too! She really enjoys laughing and being tickled. She quickly becomes our little "giggle box" when you get her going by tickling her tummy. Here lately she has been quite the "talker". Her latest is, "babababa". Momma especially likes when she is absent mindedly working on something like folding laundry and hears an "uh!" only to look up to see her little ray of sunshine smiling at her, her whole face lit up so brightly.

Well, guess it's time for me to stop marveling and hit teh grocery store. A much less enjoyable time spent. Oh well, the faster I get it done, the faster I can be back.