BIRTHDAY FUN!

Whew!  What a weekend!  I think the girls had a great birthday weekend.  I know we did.  :)  First of all, on their actual birthday, Ryan, Kara, and I took the girls out to eat for the very first time at a regular restaurant.  We opted for the new Claim Jumper in town. (which by the way is a great place to bring kids for anyone who has a little one!  They give you a plate of food for free for your kid!  So great!)  Anyways, so the girls made a humungous mess but overall, they did pretty good!  We ate pretty fast and it wasn't your typical peaceful, relaxing night out for dinner...but we did have fun and it was great to try it for the first time. :)  Here we are waiting to be seated. :) 

Then, we had a birthday party with 40 friends, family, neighbors, and NICU nurses!  Needless to say, we had a house full of love and celebration. :)  I do have to say though that it is a challenge trying to be the mom, the hostess, and the photographer!  The girls each got their own cake like any normal kid would...and I decorated everything with "their colors" that they've had since they were born.  

(below) I hung up their preemie outfits for decoration.  I still can't believe they fit in those.  :) 

Surprisingly, the girls didn't even notice they had hats on.....
Alright - and here's the info that everyone is dying to hear.  The cake.  :)  Well, it's pretty funny that they all reacted differently - just like their little personalities.  :)  Hailey - well, she pretty much freaked out when all 40 faces were staring at her and laughing and watching the girls eat.  She had a meltdown  - poor girl.  She just wanted to eat her cake in peace with no one watching her.  I don't blame her! :)  Don't worry - later on in the night she did get to her cake and ate a lot of the frosting. :) 
Addy on the other hand is a lot like her dad.  She LOVES food and will pretty much clear every little crumb off of her tray when she eats at mealtime.  Cake was no different.  She dug right in and ate a TON of it . She smiled the whole time....and she even tried to reach over and steal Emily and Hailey's cake as well.  She was a mess!!!  :) 

And sweet Emily - she just stared at her cake for a while at first and had to get used to the idea.  She was very detailed and observant about the whole thing like she usually is.  Then, she preferred to be fed in the more ladylike fashion. :)  With a spoon. :) 

Addy started dancing when everyone sang happy birthday...

Then, today we had their 2 hour long Dr. appt for their one year check up.  The girls are doing amazing as far as growth goes!  They are right in line with a normal one year old for height, weight, etc!  So great!  Here's the latest weigh ins:

Addison 22 lbs 1 oz.

Emily 20 lbs. 10 oz.

Hailey 20 lbs. 12.5 oz.  

And as far as development goes, they continue to do AMAZING and VERY well for 31 week preemies.  However, their development is still right in line with a 10 month old which is totally normal as we shouldn't expect them to fully catch up to babies born at full term until they are 2 years old.  Overall, they are doing fabulous though and have I told you that I love them?! :)