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Picture In Landscape 5x7 folded card

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BEAUTIFUL BABY BOYS

I am in absolute love with this amazing drawing of my twin baby boys by the gifted and incredible Pastor Russell Allan Reed. I am truly in awe of his amazing talent. Thank you, Pastor Reed, for this precious keepsake we will treasure forever. Looking at it touches my heart and puts a smile on my soul!

WILL'S FIRST STEPS

Will took his first steps tonight! Way to go, big boy Will!

1 YEAR CHECK-UP

The boys had their 1 year well baby check with their pediatrician this afternoon. All went great. They are happy and healthy little boys, just as we already knew. We are so thankful.

They had three shots in their legs and then to the lab to get their fingers pricked for a blood sample. Poor little things. Will was screaming and crying even before the finger prick because he heard other babies crying. :( Sensitive little guy. But they both did fine the rest of the day.

Elijah
21 pounds 3 ounces - 24.12 percentile
30 inches long - ? percentile (They measured him at 31 inches, which would be the 83rd percentile. But we noticed they measured incorrectly. We measured him again at home and only got 30 inches. So that's what we are going with!)
18.5 inch head circumference - 68.25 percentile

Will
21 pounds 5 ounces - 24.72 percentile
29.5 inches long - 39.55 percentile
17.75 inch head circumference - 13.95 percentile

IT'S OFFICIAL - WE'RE FORMULA FREE!

It may very possibly be one of the best days of my life so far. I’ve been waiting and anticipating for this day for almost a year. I am proud to announce that the Vincelli household is officially FORMULA FREE! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Eli and Will made the switch from formula over to whole milk cold turkey last week, just a few days after their first birthday. Eli takes it just fine and Will simply needs his warmed up a bit to take the chill off.

Next up...bye bye bottles, hello sippy cups! (Unfortunately this is not doing as smoothly as the switch over to whole milk! Oh well, I’m just grateful they are liking whole milk! I guess I can deal with bottles a bit longer.)

But the real question is...what will do with all our extra money now?

Buy more diapers I guess.

A YEAR'S WORTH OF GROWTH

One year ago today we brought our teeny tiny preemies home from the hospital. Elijah weighed in at 4 pounds 15 ounces and Will at 4 pounds 11 ounces. I remember thinking, "They are really going to let us leave with two babies? I have no idea what to do with just one baby!"

But one year later and they have both more than QUADRUPLED their weight! I guess we must be doing something right. :)

Every month on the 13th, I took individual photos of the boys next to this big teddy bear. (Looking back, I wish I had taken these photos with them in diapers each month instead of clothes because you'd be able to see more change and growth. Oh well, too late now!)

Enjoy looking at the growth of my little dudes...

In the first photo Elijah weighed 4 pounds 15 ounces. And in the last photo, he weighed 21 pounds 3 ounces.

Elijah - Zero Months


Elijah - One Month


Elijah - Two Months


Elijah - Three Months


Elijah - Four Months


Elijah - Five Months


Elijah - Six Months


Elijah - Seven Months


Elijah - Eight Months


Elijah - Nine Months


Elijah - Ten Months


Elijah - Eleven Months


Elijah - One Year!


In the first photo, Will weighted 4 pounds 11 ounces. And in the last photo, he weighed 21 pounds 9 ounces.

Will - Zero Months


Will - One Month


Will - Two Months


Will - Three Months


Will - Four Months


Will - Five Months


Will - Six Months


Will - Seven Months


Will - Eight Months


Will - Nine Months


Will - Ten Months


Will - Eleven Months


Will - One Year!

TWICE THE FUN IS TURNING ONE!

And we're still celebrating...

There are two babies so celebrating for two days makes sense, right?

Eli and Will’s actually birthday yesterday was a hectic day. Both boys are sick with colds so I spent most of it wiping noses every 2 minutes and cuddling little whiners. Not that I don’t enjoy a good cuddle, it’s just hard when it’s times two. I spend most of the time feeling guilty that I'm not giving enough attention to one or the other. I need more arms and a bigger lap!

Side note: I was so happy because I though I was going to be able to say that Eli only had 2 colds in his first year of life and Will just only had 1. But then of course they both came down with colds just 2 days before their 1st Birthday. Seriously?!?!? GRRRR!!!!

This is what our day consisted of: drugs, Vicks Baby Vapor Rub, a thermometer, and TONS of kleenex!


But the sweetest part of our day was when I heard the boys giggling and looked over to see them both playing peek-a-boo and chasing each other around the ottoman. So adorable and so sweet!

Eli's Birthday Cupcake


Will's Birthday Cupcake


Also, I had made a precious commitment to my Bible Study group, so I had to leave when Nick got home from work. Therefore, no time for celebrating all together.

So...we celebrated a little bit today too. After all, they don't know when their real birth date is anyway!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY

My baby boys are 1 year old today. It's true what is said about how the days go by slowly, but the years pass on by. Even though some days seem to drag on forever, (oh come on, it's true, every parent feels this way from time to time!) how is it that one year has passed by already? Exactly one year ago today, my miracles arrived one month early. My life was suddenly and forever changed. I'm still adjusting. But I'm surviving. And that is something to be grateful for...

My emotions have been all over the place today. I'm overwhelmingly happy and sad, all at the same time. I am full of thankfulness for these two amazing gifts we've been given and for this year of precious memories. And I'm sad to say goodbye to this year of my babies. But'd be lying if I said I wasn't thankful that this first year of being a mother of multiples is over! I am so grateful to have survived year one of twins as it's the hardest job I've ever had. So today, I'm celebrating me too. Plus I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Nick with a card saying, "Happy 1 year anniversary of being an awesome mom of twins and just because I love you." Did you read that? Yup, that's right, he said I'm awesome. :)

I'm also celebrating Nick. He is such a loving father and seeing him as a daddy has filled my life with such joy. Together we have conquered year one. And we are filled with confidence and hope that year number two of "toddler craziness" will be just as successful.

...Happy 1st Birthday, sweet baby twins. Elijah Kingsley & Will Clarence, you are loved beyond measure. This year has been filled with ups and downs, but through it all we give thanks for the precious blessings you are. Thank you for picking me to be your mommy and for all the joy you've added to my life. You are my miracles...

And Happy Birthday to my dad, Alan. The babies couldn't have been born on a more special day. They wanted to share with their Grandpa. I love you, daddio!

Enjoy this photo slideshow of memories from Eli and Will's 1st year!

1st BIRTHDAY PARTY

Today was a big day of celebrations. Not only did we honor and remember 9/11, but we celebrated Eli and Will's 1st birthday. We also celebrated my dad's birthday (Eli and Will were born on his 62nd birthday!) and Grandparents Day that was today. And I was so blessed to meet and cuddle my new precious niece, Ryder, for the first time.

It was a gorgeous day outside, a little too warm and windy to be outside on the back patio, but perfect for in the garage. Therefore, the photos aren't that "exciting" looking as, well, you know, it's a garage.

The theme of their 1st birthday party was Safari Animals with blue, green, orange, yellow, white, and brown colors.

The whole theme and color scheme was inspired by these plates I bought.


Here are the adorable napkins:





And the coordinating invites and thank you cards:



In the invites I asked guests to come wearing a shirt that matched any of the colors printed on front of the invitation. I hoped it would make for fun coordinating photos.

I came up with this awesome banner idea and I'm so proud of how it turned out! I wanted to make a Happy Birthday sign, but also wanted to somehow display photos of how the boys have grown by showing photos from every month. In order to save time, I decided to do both in one. Genius! The photos just don't do it justice. It's so cute! Each is a photo from each month, zero through one year!










A friend offered to make Eli and Will's "smash cakes" as she makes cakes on the side and had an idea to go along with the animal theme. She did an AMAZING job! Not only were they gorgeous, but they were absolutely delicious as well. Thanks, Jodi!

Eli's LION "smash cake."


Will's ELEPHANT "smash cake."


The other two cakes she made:
The MONKEY


The TIGER


Cupcakes with white frosting and brown sprinkles I made. I also made the personalized cupcake decorations.


Decorations that were placed on tables:








The Cake Table


Guests signed their names and wrote a special note in the books, "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss for each of the boys. No special significance on the books. It's just the only two hardcover ones I had that were the same! (Originally I was going to find safari animal books to go with the party theme, but decided this book would be interesting for their entire lives.) I'm going to do this every year for their birthdays. (A special thanks to another twin momma, Nicole, for this awesome idea!)



Banner made by Auntie Emily & cousins, Max & Owen


Beautiful driveway chalk art courtesy of my nieces, Ava & Cora.


I made a 35 minute photo slideshow on DVD filled with photos from Eli and Will's first year. There are over 600 photos in this slideshow. (narrowed down out of the 10,000 or so we have from their first year of life!) I know, I'm crazy, but it was hard to choose from all the adorable photos! We had it play over and over hooked up to a TV in the garage so guests could watch as they pleased.

Here are a few fun photos of the guests of honor:

Check out the awesome "1" onesies I found on mega clearance at Target!


Will went for the ear first...


Still pretty clean...


Eli started with the mane...


Then went right for the face...


Eli says, "Take that, you lion!"


"WOO HOO! I LOVE CAKE!"


We helped them chop the cakes up a bit so they could eat some cake instead of just frosting!




Will wonders, "Are you sure it's okay I'm doing this?"


"Okay, then I'll just keep going!"


So much cake, so little time...


Starting to slow down...




Eli exclaims, "This is the best birthday EVER!"


Eli says, "I. think. I. am. finished. now."


Will exclaims "I conquered this cake!"


"Or maybe this cake has conquered me."


After cake discussion: "I made a bigger mess!" "No, I made a bigger mess!"


After a quick bath, they were ready to open gifts...




The Cox Family


Grandpa & Grandma Cox proudly pose with their grandchildren. They went from 2 grandchildren to 6 in less than one year! So blessed!


Our little family


Whew...a lot of work for a quick celebration but it was so worth it. I had dreamed of this celebration for years. Thanks to our families for coming to help celebrate and make the day special.

Happy 1st Birthday my little babies. I hope you enjoyed your party because I'm not planning on doing anything that time consuming for your birthday for many many years! Well, maybe for your 16th! I LOVE YOU!