Almost a year...

We are just over 2 weeks shy of Riley & Ryan's first birthday! I can hardly believe how time has flown by right before my eyes. As I reflect back on this first year we've come so far. I'm still amazed by them each and every day as well as being blessed with such a wonderful partner in this journey. Kevin is not only a great daddy, but he had gone above and beyond what most men will do these days. We are truly partners and for that I will be forever grateful. Riley is on the verge of walking. She is pulling up on everything and "cruising" from one thing to another. Ryan is getting more and more vocal each day - even sometimes repeating after me. He especially loves to talk (very loudly) when we are in the car. Riley has learned to let us know (right away) when she is done with something or is no longer interested. Ryan still loves to cuddle and just relax with you, while Riley is up for any new adventure. Ryan is tender hearted while Riley is tough as nails and very determined. They both have great smiles that can light up a room and the very best belly laughs that only I can get out of them on demand. They love to eat (just about anything) and are great sleepers. They love to be out and about and experience new things. They are happiest when we are on the go (just like their mommy).

I went through their many many hand-me-downs tonight and was going through some old clothes and just had to reflect. I remember very clearly this time last year looking at the 3-6 months clothes thinking how huge they were and now they are so very tiny. Someone gave us a pair of 12 month pants for Ryan when he was born and I thought - he will NEVER wear these - and he wore them today. They have grown so much in size but it's also been amazing to me to see them develop mentally. They catch on to things so well now and are sponges. I realize the responsibility we have and I am almost overwhelmed. How will we ever teach them everything they need to know? ...but I know we will. We've almost survived the first year of twins, right? So many people say that if you can survive the first 18 months to 2 years with twins that the hardest part is behind you. I've thought all along that this has been fairly easy (considering we didn't really know how we would do this a year ago), but mobility has brought on new challenges. I've been more overwhelmed and had more feelings of helplessness and sheer exhaustion in the last few weeks, but also had a greater sense of joy from my time with them. I guess the good times are getting better and the hard times harder...thus the theme of parenthood. Can't wait til their teens!

So enough of the reflection... just wanted to capture some of my feelings since we are almost at a milestone! We had the fall festival this weekend at their school and it was a fun time. Gramma and Grandaddy came to play with us and the weather could not have been any more perfect. I worked with the silent auction, so I was preoccupied toward the end, but I think overall it was a success and everyone had a great time. Ryan has some long patches of hair, so we bid on a gift certificate to SuperCuts and won! We will be making a trip there this week so he'll be stylish for the big party! We will leave on Saturday for a week in Destin, FL with our friends, Joy & John and their 2 boys Candler and Palmer. It should be an interesting week, but we are looking forward to a change of scenery and the beach should be beautiful this time of year. We'll see if they take to the sand any better now than when we went 6 months ago. That's all I have for now. I'm off to bed to get some much needed rest!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080909HangingOut#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080920Play2Grow#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080920FallFestival#

Mr. Mom

I was out of town all week at a conference for work and Kevin did an amazing job playing Mr. Mom. He always makes it look easy. We've done a lot of resting and catching up this weekend and we're about to head to bed again soon. I'm trying to catch up on all the rest I've missed preparing for and going to this conference. It was a success, but as usual, I'm glad another one is behind me. The kids were excited to see me when I picked them up on Friday. They've been a lot of fun this weekend. Ryan started pulling up to standing on his own yesterday and Riley's top teeth are visible through her gums - any day now! We went to Katharyn's and Tatum's 5th birthday party yesterday at the horse park. Riley & Ryan loved watching everyone ride the ponies. Everyone was so well behaved. We were amazed to watch 17 little ones ride ponies without a hitch! Gramma returned from California last night so she and Grandaddy stopped by on their way home from the airport. It was nice to see her after 3 weeks!

Web Albums Added:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080906Play2Grow

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080906KatTateSBdayParty#

Labor Day Weekend

Grandaddy arrived home from China on Tuesday and brought Riley and Ryan some neat gifts. He brought them each a traditional Chinese silk outift. I can't wait to see them in the outfits - once they get a bit bigger.

To start off the Labor Day weekend, we had Katharyn and Paul over for "kids" dinner. All 4 of them sat at the table and ate like big kids. It was such a sight to see! :) We went to Play 2 Grow on Saturday morning and then took a trip back to Memorial Park on Sunday. Riley ran errands with Daddy and Ryan with me. It was nice to have some one on one time together. We've spent a lot of time at home this weekend trying to get a few things done around the house. I think Riley and Ryan are bored being at home so much. We are just not as entertaining as they are used to. Grandaddy came over on Sunday to play with the kids and then he stayed over and let us go out to dinner with some friends. Grandaddy is on his way over again to go to dinner to night for Labor Day. I'm off to Memphis tomorrow and Kevin will be keeping them by himself until Friday. I'm sure they will have a great time! We're tired...Hanging out with 2 11 month olds is quite a job!

Photo Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080826GrandaddyBackFromChina
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080829DinnerWithTheBigKids
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080830Play2Grow
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080830LaborDayWeekend

Growing up FAST!

Riley & Ryan are really enjoying their new class and new schedule. We tried to keep with the same schedule this weekend and I think going to 1 longer nap is going to work out great. I feel like we did a lot of napping and eating this weekend, but they were happy. I think the feeding themselves part is taking them a bit longer than when I just fed them, but they are getting better each day. Sable & Sam are LOVING this stage. They get lots of cheerios and other dropped food and get the leftovers.

We went to the park yesterday with Lori, Katharyn, Paul, Alli, Tatum and Owen. They were on the swing for quite some time and squealed with joy the entire time. I think they would have stayed there for 2 hours. I went to a consignment sale yesterday with Jenni and got some great things for them. One of which is the rocking horse they both had to try out today. They liked being on it, but it will be heavily supervised until the get the hang of it. Riley also took a few steps walking behind the "walker". I had my hand right behind her, but she took at least 3 steps without me touching her and she was pushing right along. I think she'll be walking soon. She wants to stand up all the time and pulls up on anything she can. She just pops right up without much effort. Ryan is crawling like he's been doing it his whole life. He is so much happier now that he can get where he wants to go. He's drooling like a mad man, so I'm assuming that means more teeth!?!? Not sure but he's always been a drooler and this weekend has been much much more than usual. They are enjoying their new sippy cups too. They are babbling more and more, still mainly saying da-da and ma-ma with an occasional ba-ba. They have both started putting their hands on their head and patting it like they have a headache. Kevin has started saying "oh my head" and Ryan immediate grabs his head and cracks up. It's amazing to me that he can hear that and know what to do. They will be 1 year old in 6 weeks - unbelievable. Life is just blowing by us!

We got a message today that their teacher from their last class, Ms. Jada, had her baby boy this weekend, so we'll miss getting to see her at school for a while. I'm sure they'll be glad to see her when she returns. Grandaddy gets back from China on Tuesday, so I know they are all going to be so excited to see each other. Grandma is still in California and returns on Sept 6th. It will be nice once everyone is back home again.

Web Album Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20080823MemorialParkRockingHorse

Ryan has joined the "Crawlers" Club!

No pictures tonight, but I had to post about Ryan's big accomplishment this week! All of a sudden on Monday morning Ryan just started crawling, He has really taken off. He's crawling as good or better than Riley who has been crawling for a month. We have officially entered the world of mobility and it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be...yet! We've only had a few incidents with the dog bowls and one night I thought Riley was headed straight for the stairs, but besides that we've been remarkably good. They stayed home from school on Monday with Daddy, due to their "digestive" issues, but headed to their new class at school on Tuesday. We were snapping a picture of them on the couch, when Ryan dove off - head first onto the rug. He bounced off the ottoman first and then hit the ground. It scared me to death, but he's fine. Just a few battle scars, but I'm sure it's just the first of many to come. They are enjoying their new class and have been eating the breakfast, lunch and snack that the school provides. It blows my mind that they are big enough to eat "school lunch". After we get them off the bottles/formula, we will be able to just send them to school - no food. That's crazy to me when you see what we pack each day. The babies are growing up before my eyes and I have to say I'm one proud mama!