I have one-year olds in the house!!

It's true. They boys turned one year on June 9!!!! We had a really fun party for them. Arlo's party theme was alligators & Josiah's was lobsters. They wore appropriate animal shirts, had matching party decorations & matching cupcakes that spelled out their names. I'm sure they were unaware of the party planning, but maybe next year!
This past year has flown by so fast and I need time to slow down. I cry when I think about them growing up, going to school, missions & getting married & having their own kids..... I try really hard to focus on the present & enjoy every minute of them TODAY!

Some of Arlo & Josiah's many talents:

• They are not quite walking, but are certainly on the right path towards the goal.
  
• They seem to understand everything I say and even TRY to mimic some of my words, like DOG & TREE & BEAR & UP. They have mastered a few words like 'mama' & 'dada' & bah bah' & 'ball'
  
• Excellent at shaking their head 'no' and sometimes nod for 'yes' (mostly 'no'!!).
  
• Eat pretty much anything now.
• Can fall asleep in their cribs without being rocked or without a bottle.
  
• Can make the popcorn motions for the song "popcorn popping"
• Can give you "Five"
  
• Clap when you say "YAY"
• Wave when you say "BYE"
• Can dance when there's music. (aka: bending their legs & bouncing)
  
• They lift their arms when you change their shirts & "switch" hands on the bottle when you strap them into the car-seat.
• Arlo's new favorite food: GRAPES. Josiah's favorite food is still: BANANAS
• Arlo's favorite pastime: sitting on mommy's lap reading books. Josiah's favorite pastime: exploring. (aka: NOT sitting still)
• Love swinging at the playground, but are both scared of the slide.
  
• They both love bath-time, but Josiah is always the first to get out.
• Love to climb UP the stairs, but are still working on going down. (& scare their mama to death!)
• When they wake up from naps, they spend 10-20 minutes just passing toys back & forth between the crib slats & laughing.
  
• Both boys absolutely LOVE LOVE dogs & are not scared of them.
  
• Give kisses by biting your nose.
• Both love mirrors & give themselves kisses on the mirror. (yes, our mirrors are ALWAYS dirty)
• Josiah is a stuffed animal lover & gives hugs & kisses to all of his animals. Lobster is still #1
• Arlo loves any toy, but is attached to burp-cloths & uses them to suck his thumb.
  

the fam at the party



Arlo's table decorations



& Arlo with his cupcake


Josiah's table decorations


Josiah & his cupcake


Arlo hitting the beach ball pinata



Josiah's turn at the pinata


After all the kids did their best at the pinata, Jason took care of business!