You know I just realized I never posted pictures from the birthday party. So like they say better late than never, right???

The party was awesome, the kids did awesome and were gracious as the guest of honor. They devoured their cakes as to not disappoint as that is the highlight of attending a 1 y/o birthday party. We had about 35 people here and lots a kids. It was a perfect day and the perfect first birthday party. We even had some surprise guest show up just as the party was starting...mema and papa....those little stinkers didn't tell a soul they were showing up and then knocked on the door promptly at 3:00, I guess their arrival was a big enough surprise that they didn't need to be fashionably late to make grand entrance. I will say though that with their arrival Evan and Taryn's birthday was just that much extra special because Evan and Taryn had all of their Grandparents here. My parents were here, my mother came and Chad's parents....I don't think it gets any better than that and I know Chad and I felt so blessed by their presence that it wouldn't have mattered if another soul showed up. So thank you to Grandma and Grandpa, and Grandma and Mema and Papa for making our special Angels first birthday so gosh darn special. We LOVE all of you more than you will ever know and we are so grateful that YOU are our parents and that YOU are Evan and Taryn's Grandparents. We are so BLESSED!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Morning Happiness

These pictures really weren't taken today but they popped up on my computer screen when I plugged my phone in and I got a dose of cuteness so thought I would share it w/you. I took these photos on Friday, we were trying Taryn's new 'no slippy, hair clippy's' on and I think she looks darn cute :-). Sorry no pictures of E-Man but I am not about to put bows in my little boys hair LOL. I will have to try to get some pictures of him today, he does look awfully cute in his soccer overalls :-)

Precious Moments

We have shared and witnessed a ton of precious moments since April 2, 2009 but I have to say that I think last nights events topped them all. I have experienced so many tender moments w/Evan and Taryn over the past year. There is nothing like seeing your child learn a new skill and practice it over and over until the conquer it. First it was rolling over, then sitting up, crawling, standing, cruising and then eventually first steps turn into walking across the room and standing up under their own power w/out any assistance from a near by object. These have all been wonderfully proud moments for us. And then there were the moments when Evan and Taryn first gave us hints that they realized the other existed. At first it is nothing more than a glance at each other an occasional smile as they grew that turned into full out laughing at each others babble. As they got more mobile the more unpleasant parts of having a sibling started to show themselves such as knocking each other over, stealing toys and having to share mommy and daddy's attention. Those were all fun moments to witness as well. Well, except the part where I am playing referee :-). But last night Chad and I got to witness their bond and got a glimpse of what the future will be like (well at least we hope so) on a whole new level. Evan and Taryn's interaction w/one another grew leaps and bounds. I really wanted to get it on video as it was such an amazing and special encounter that I would have loved to have it on video but I was afraid if I moved and got the camera it would all be over and I was in too much awe just watching them to want to disrupt it, so I will do my best to describe it. I guess I should preface this by saying that up until last night their interactions w/one another are mostly brief and usually only last seconds. They are so busy exploring and discovering their world they don't have time to discover and explore each other LOL. So last night they were playing w/one another in a whole new way, chasing each other sometimes on their feet and other times crawling w/their heads down and ramming each other and then they would lay on top of each other and wrestle and then nuzzle and then give their baby "kisses" and then they would grab at each other all the while both of them were just giggling non stop w/so much joy and delight. It went on for maybe 5 minuets or so. It truly was the sweetest thing I have witnessed thus far and something I hope to witness time and time again. My reaction to seeing them play w/each other hit me in a way that I did not expect. I expected to feel proud and weepy when they hit a new milestone after all first steps and first words are huge milestones that you know will come one day and you know you will be so proud of your child in those moments. I however, had not expected to be overcome w/so much emotion just from seeing them play w/each other in such a delightful way :-). These truly are the joys of parenthood and the most precious moments.

Bad Hair Day???

Taryn's crazy hair has been a source of laughter for us since she was born. And today was no exception...look at the cutie pie that greeted me this morning :-)

Good morning, momma!!!

We are still doing bottles 2 x a day until they get more consistent w/their sippies but they are making great progress :-)

Still cant decide whether she is blond or a red head...I guess it depends on the day :)

This photo is just because he is a super cute boy :-)

Look Who's.....CLIMBING!

The past few days I've felt like I'm a contestant on The Price is Right and there looks to be many more ahead for us. If you've ever seen the game "Cliffhanger" that they have on the show...well, that's our E-Man....just climbing right up and I'm just-a-guessin' where next.

The V-Tech Sit-to-Stand Walker that their Aunt Gina gave them has been their favorite toy thus far. We've tried "Take a number", First come First Served, Timeshare....everything, but it still has two drivers everywhere it goes! Sure, we could buy another one...but it has almost become too much fun to watch that thing move around the room under the direction of two drivers...amazing what a two twinpower motor will do :-) I'm sure that Taryn, our little analyzer, thought up the plan, having carefully mapped out the structural integrity of the VTech walker as well as it's max load capacity...and then let E-Man be the actuator. So now, it's not only their favorite TOY, it's Evan's favorite TOOL. To him, it's the V-Tech Sit-to-Stand-to-Climb Portable Ladder. Our little man has taken to rolling that thing up to Dad's Lazy-Boy recliner, the sofa, the ottoman and any other scalable structure in the living room and begins his ascent. The piano keys at the bottom of the ladder don't offer much help, but he's mastered utilization of the barn door and the cog wheels to know be able to get up into Dad's lounge and kick back a little bit himself. His first attempts were with the huge box that holds the Water Table they got for their Birthday...while he could "Man-up" and move that big 'ol box around, he decided to work smarter not harder and use his VTech to provide the necessary assistance.

We've been able to guess good enough right now to keep him from going over the edge...maybe our game-show luck will continue. It's just funny to see how he's added a new "trick" to his repertoire. So now he's pushing everything from one side of the room to the other like he run a moving company and then climbing up intriguing structures when he feels like a challenge. All the while, SweetPea just watches and watches...keeping a good eye on her younger brother. Oh, and it's a good thing she walks so exceptionally good because she spends a third of her time in the play area dodging Evan who zooms by pushing his ATV, the VTech, her shopping cart, the beanbag chair, or whatever other movable item he can find...sometimes in sheer innocence...but sometimes, if you watch real close, with that "I'm gonna get my sister" wry little smile, grinding of the teeth, and squinting of the eyes :-)

.....ah yes, it's climbing time in the Tuttle house!

Easter BLESSINGS!

What a blessing April is...just after celebrating our beautiful angels' first birthday, we celebrate Jesus' ascension to Heaven on Easter. So it's been a joy-filled week and Evan and Taryn are having a blast with all of the new experiences....and having Grandma and Grandpa in town makes it even better. After church in the morning on Sunday and a much-needed nap (with birthday cake now a recent memory) the two of them tackled their Easter baskets and then turned to Easter Egg hunting...taking on what they will find over the years was the easiest one ever! Not really fans of the grass at this point, they took to some strategic walking within a small radius that contained all of the Easter Bunnies' goodies...in a good stroke of fortune from Grandma, Taryn took the early lead 4-1. But the sun must have gotten in her eyes, and Evan took advantage with a four-count that set him in front. After that, it was egg-for-egg down the homestretch....and when all was said and done, it was 12 for E-Man and 12 for SweetPea. A quick handshake and four random noises later, the two had cemented the agreement to battle it out again next year :-) Overall, they had a great first Easter and it was yet more memories for the journey of life.

Happy Birthday

Today is Taryn and Evan's First Birthday...just a refresher Taryn was born first at 1757 weighing 5lbs4oz and Evan was born second at 1807 weighing 5lbs14oz...I endured 27 hours of labor, 24 of which were unmedicated, required a blood transfusion and was required to stay in bed for the 24 hours following their birth. Wow how things have changed in a year :-). Today was much better for all of us than this day last year but nothing in my life will ever compare to those first moments when I heard Taryn's first cries as she took her first breaths and then Evan's that followed shortly after. Nothing will fill my heart w/pure joy they way it was filled in those moments or the many that have followed...my favorites by far are when they wrap their sweet little arms around my neck.

I love my sweet angels so much and I just feel so blessed to be their mom. We had such a great day today. It started w/an early morning wake up, I think they knew it was their birthday and were eager to start the day but, I cant complain, an early morning for us is 7:30 :-). They started their morning w/a bottle and their normal breakfast of yogurt, fruit and whole wheat toast w/almond butter. Then Grandma took them for a nice long walk after their walk they had a little play time w/Grandma and Grandpa before their morning nap. After their nap it was time for lunch and then lots more playtime w/Grandma and Grandpa. Next it was time for their afternoon nap which wasn't nearly long enough, again I think they knew it was their birthday and Daddy was on his way home w/a armload of balloons for them :-). We did presents, snack, and then Daddy went to pick up the pizza. Yes, they had pizza tonight for dinner, it was their first pizza. We figured it was the perfect first birthday meal. We did go a healthier option though, their pizza was made w/pesto, spinach, and tomatoes. And finally we ended the day by letting them dig into one of the cupcakes shown in the previous post. We think they enjoyed it but we will let you be the judge of that. I think their favorite gift by far is their ATV's from Grandma and Grandpa. They made out pretty good scoring great gifts from friends and family alike. Thanks everyone for thinking of us and being so good to our little angels.

Oh So Cute....

Here is a link to our 1 year photos...the photos are posted to facebook but I left the album open so anyone can view.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058623&id=1379771280

Enjoy :-)

Copy Cat

Yesterday at lunch Taryn thought it was funny to shake her head really fast back and forth. At first I thought 'oh great, she is going to refuse to eat her lunch' but as soon as she stopped shaking her head I offered her a bite and she took easily, then I realized she was just playing a game. She would just shake her head and laugh. This caught Evan's attention, he was watching her and smiling and then decided to join her. So I had two kids both shaking their heads back and forth laughing hysterically...these are the moments that make me smile and bring me so much joy :-). It was so funny to see Evan watch her and then follow her lead...wonder if Taryn is going to be the leader or should I say instigator or if they will share this roll :-)

We took E & T to L&D today to see our nurse there, I was there so long that we made a great connection w/the nursing staff :-) and then to my OB...she is awesome and so friendly, she gave me 3 hugs in about 5 min time LOL. She is not a typical dr. but I love her :-). We also brought cupcakes for the L&D staff and my OB's office :-). Things are getting more interesting around here by the minuet. When we got home today I put the kids on the other side of the gate while I prepared their lunch. I had the gate closed and latched but not locked. The next thing I know here Evan crawling on the tile floor, I came around the corner to get him and put him in his high chair and there is Taryn just walking along coming to find me. It is so weird to just see her walking like she has been doing it her whole life. Anyway, the moral of the story is I need to lock the gates because apparently they have figure out how to unlatch them :-)

Regarding walking...they both are walking more and more especailly Taryn...she walks everywhere she can. Her only thing holding her back is she hasnt figured out how to stand up w/o having something to hoist herself up w/i.e. she still needs help standing up. So when she cant stand she will crawl but she crawls and her hands and feet w/her butt straight up in the air...so funny.

I cant beleive they are going to be 1 tomorrow :-)

Here are a couple pictures of the cupcakes w/brought to L&D and our OB. I bought the monkey faces and daisies from a lady on ETSY, she is also doing a monkey cake topper for me for the twins official birthday cake that we will have at their party next weekend.