The Big 0-1

Better late than never...

Will and Henry celebrated their first birthday surrounded by friends and family. What lucky boys!

The Whitley twins helped our twins celebrate and Will and Henry could not get enough of them. Apparently they love babies!
The obligatory cake :)
Could there be anything cuter than 2 babies celebrating their first birthday! They were so excited about the hats and singing!
Especially Henry.
Will was more excited about the cake!
This picture sums up their different personalities so well. Will devoured his cake and smashed it everywhere. Henry, on the other hand, touched it with one finger :)
It was definitely a celebration worthy of these 2 angels.

Up Next, Mount Everest

The babies can climb! Jack NEVER climbed like this. Sure he would try to get onto the couch or coffee table, but Will and Henry have taken it to a whole new level. Just a few examples:

--within 10 seconds of turning my back, Henry scaled the bar stool and was standing backwards on the seat and jumping up and down

--Will used the bottom 2 drawers in the kitchen to climb halfway into the 3rd drawer in an attempt to get onto the kitchen counter

--Henry climbs on the outside of the staircase and usually gets 3 to 4 stairs up before anyone notices

--they work together all day long to move toys around so that they have leverage to climb onto the couch, coffee table, toy chest, or end table. They honestly try to help each other climb higher and higher

The worst part about all of this is that there are 2 of them and it is impossible to be in 2 places at once. One of them inevitably succeeds in his accent while we are catching the other!

Just Call Them Chandler and Joey...

(please tell me I'm not the only one who gets the "Friends" reference...)

Jack really loves to play games. Currently we are rotating between Little Einsteins Bingo, Uno Moo, Toy Story Yahtzee, and Go Fish. Now we have a new game to add to the mix and I can see the frat boy in Jack slowly emerging. That's right. Jack now plays Foosball with Daddy!

Christmas at the Spillmans

Christmas was such a special time for us. More than anything, it reminded us how truly blessed we are to have such a wonderful family. Seriously, how did we get so lucky to have such genuinely amazing children who brighten our lives in an indescribable way. Seeing Christmas through their eyes is a true gift. Even though the presents are great, Christmas is about so much more to them and Jack was so excited about every aspect--the lights, the cooking, Jesus' birthday, his Advent calendar and so much more. So so fun.

Will and Henry absolutely loved their rocking dog from Santa.Jack and Chyann on Christmas morning.
Yes, he got a Snuggie. What's next? Shamwow or a Shake Weight?
Bumper Cars!

Aunt Alison Came to Visit

We had so much fun with Aunt Alison! (And just so you know, it is no easy feat to hold both boys at once!)

Can't Catch Me

I'm the Gingerbread Man! A giant one at that.

I'm quite certain that Jack ate more frosting and sprinkles than actually made it on the man of gingerbread but he had fun none the less.

Brothers??

You betcha!

The first 2 pictures are of Jack taken the morning of his 1st birthday. The last 2 pictures are of Henry the week before his 1st birthday. I'm still holding out hope that one day my house will actually be clean :)

Jack's Christmas Program

Jack's Christmas program at WAVE was so cute this year! They introduced each class by playing a video of interviews with the kids about what Christmas meant to them. Jack was such a ham (big surprise!) and once he caught a glimpse of himself on the big screen behind him he didn't face the audience again!

First Birthday!

Today our sweet baby boys turn 1 year old. Seriously, how did we get here so quickly? It doesn't seem possible that it was 365 days ago that these two bundles of cuteness blessed our lives by entering this world. It was, without a doubt, the most crazy year of our lives but there are no words to describe how William and Henry have changed us for the better. The world is a far better place because they are in it and we are honored to be called their Mommy and Daddy.

It is truly amazing to watch them grow into their looks and personalities, and they really could not be more different. They look so different and act like complete opposites. One is calm and one is feisty. One is a walker and the other is a talker. One is a Mommy's boy and one is a Daddy's boy. In all honesty, we wouldn't have it any other way because they are individuals who have the unique gift of a being a twin and always having a sidekick.

So how really different are they?

William (a.k.a Will, Willie G, or Wilbur) is intense, funny and the more physical of the two. He is walking and now walks everywhere with a look of excitement and pride on his face. He is a daredevil who dives head first off of couches, chairs, toys, etc without giving it a second thought. He loves water more than anything else on Earth and already tries to "swim" in the bathtub by laying on his stomach and kicking his legs while putting his entire face under the water. He is fairly fearless and is not afraid to go after what he wants, which is usually a toy that Henry is playing with. He is a brute who will fight his way to the top and yet has a smile and laugh that will melt you on the spot. He is the messiest eater you will ever meet which means that every meal consists of him taking his food and rubbing it all over his head and face and then spitting when he is finished. He loves solid food, especially avocados, American cheese, blueberries, strawberries and biter biscuits and he is starting to dislike baby food more and more. He can only say a few words and uses them sparingly. Those words include Mama, Dada, and Baba (bottle). He still has reddish hair and blue eyes and now has 6 teeth. Out of all of these things though, the one thing that really makes Will different from his brother is his cry/scream that is so loud and high pitched it has been known to make dogs in our neighborhood howl at the sound of it ;) Speaking of dogs, Will LOVES the dogs. He shares toys with them, cuddles with them, and generally adores them :)

So what about Henry? Oh, sweet sweet Henry. He has one of the most gentle spirits I have ever encountered and he cuddles like no other. His hugs will fill you with such a sense of love and peace. He is very vocal and when he isn't saying actual words, he babbles as if he is really trying to tell us something. He can currently say Mama, Dada, Jah (Jack), Dah (dog), bye bye, Nana, all duh (all done), and-as of yesterday-hot. Unlike Will, Henry thinks before he jumps. He always seems to be pondering something and looks at us as though he knows way more than he should. He'll be walking soon because all he needed was to see Will do it first, think about it a bit, and then just do it. He is also very stubborn (Daddy says he comes by this honestly!) and will NOT do something if he doesn't want to, especially sleep. Overall the twins' sleeping patterns have improved drastically (they sleep 12 hours at night and are on regular naps now) but Henry is less likely to take 2 naps a day. Luckily he is so easy going so the lack of sleep doesn't bother him too much :) Even though Henry is laid back, he has a serious jealous streak and gets very frustrated if someone else is getting the attention he wants :)

Having twins is such a special treat and on a daily basis we experience things that we wouldn't get to otherwise. They genuinely love being with each other and aren't nearly as happy when the other is still napping or not in the room. They even seem to have their own language and communicate with each other in a way we can't.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest boys around!