This morning was our 12-month well-baby appointment.  Thankfully, M was able to come with me, since it involved two shots and a finger stick (plus, you know, two wriggly babies missing their morning nap).  Both are doing well, though neither gained as much weight as I might have guessed (both were up about a pound and a half in 3 months).  Daniel was 21lb14oz and 29.25″ long, which is about 45th percentile for both.  Rebecca was 17lb10oz and 28.5″ long, which is around the 4th or 5th percentile for weight and the 28th for length.  They were otherwise pronounced A-OK by our beloved pediatrician.

Though neither of them are big babies, it’s still amazing to me how much they’ve grown in a year.

Daniel, impossibly small (and we thought he was so big, compared to Rebecca), at one week old.

Daniel gained 15 pounds, twelve ounces, since his birth weight, and grew 11-12 inches in length.  He has eight teeth, can almost stand on his own, walks with help, “talks” constantly (just not in English), and waves at everyone (or, possibly, is making the sign for “light”, it’s a little unclear).

My big boy, on the day before his first birthday.

He loves strawberries and blueberries and bananas and waffles and cheese and tortellini with pesto.  He’ll at least try almost anything, though he’s getting into the unfortunate habit of purposefully dropping stuff over the side of his high chair.  He loves to ride on the red and blue car we got from Snick, or even laugh when he sees his sister get a ride.  He laughs at everyone. People who see him ask me, “is he always this smiley?” Not really, but he puts on a good show! He does not especially like to go down for naps, but sleeps very well overnight and sucks on the corner of the blanket his grandmother made for him.  He loves to shake toys, and insists the dog lick him right in the face.  Though he can still be fussy and whiny at times, he really is just my sweet, sweet boy.

Rebecca gained thirteen pounds, two ounces in the first year,

Teeny tiny Rebecca, 10 days old

nearly quadrupuling her birthweight, and also grew 11-12 inches.  She has six teeth, the four top all sprouted in the last month.  She is trying hard to stand up without even pulling on something, and is very purposeful in her direction when walking with assistance.  She will turn you to wherever she wants to go.  While pretty independent and even-tempered, she has started to throw honest-to-goodness kicking-and-screaming temper tantrums.  Usually if she wants to walk but you aren’t fast enough to get off the couch and help her.  She chit-chats and shrieks a lot, and I officially deem her first word to be “cracker.”  She even did it spontaneously at the doctor’s office this morning when she saw the snack cup in my purse.  She eats like a bird much of the time, and is wary of new flavors and textures.  She does seem to enjoy my new “Chicken a la Mommy,” though (cut up leftover chicken thrown in the microwave with cheese – my kids are the anti-Kosher).  While at home she can be a total ham and very silly and smiley, she’s not as quick to smile for strangers.  The best word for her, we’ve decided, is “scamp.”  She’s a little scamp.

Rebecca at one year, hanging on the couch with the dog (having stolen her toy, of course).

Or imp, if you prefer.  She’s a much better sleeper than back in the 45-minute-nap days, but still wakes up and cries for a few seconds or a minute or two in the middle of the night.  Can’t tell why, but I’m experimenting with leaving a nightlight on in their very dark room.  When playing, she likes to push things around the room on her knees (diaper surfing was popular while on vacation), and loves nothing more than chasing the dog, stealing her toys, and then offering the toys back to the dog.  She is a very funny girl.  Quite the comedienne.

It really is amazing how much has changed in the last year.  I don’t really stop and think about it that much, or wax poetic about how my life has changed.  Despite this whole blogging thing, that’s not exactly my style.  That was always the case, I suppose, but being a mom of two babies has made me even more pragmatic.  I just roll with things and deal with them, and plan as best I can.

Wait, did I say babies?  Well, they aren’t really babies anymore, are they?  Yikes!  Toddlers!  Sure, they aren’t walking yet, but they sure don’t seem like little infants anymore, either.  Amazing, these two little people who used to just be mouths screaming for more formula.  Though it obviously hasn’t happened overnight, I do think that the one-year point marks a notable shift in parenting, too.  The first year, though there are enormous changes in all areas of development, feels like it has largely been about “taking care” of them.  Making sure they eat and sleep and have clean diapers.  Certainly it’s more fun than just that, but a lot of the things they learn in the first year are so basically fundamental that you don’t sit and say “I’m going to teach you to trust today!”  “Let’s spend an hour working on rolling over!”  There are exceptions, of course, but a lot of these things just seem to happen.

Not so much anymore.  Now it’s time to really teach them things.  Like not throwing food off the high chair, for one. But things like words and walking and counting and games and jokes and rules.  We’ve made it through a lot of the fundamentals (eating, sitting, crawling), now it’s on to bigger and better.

Buckle your seatbelts.  I have a feeling it’s about to get exciting (and scary!).