ONE YEAR OLD!

Good morning, beautiful babies! Happy First Birthday!

Beckett must have gotten the memo that many babies walk by their first birthdays, because Saturday he just decided to start walking. Theo, who hasn't walked since about three weeks ago when I posted that video, kept right up with Beckett. Now we have two walkers on our hands! Now that they are proficient crawlers, they can transition quickly from walking to crawling to cruising and back to walking, but seem to prefer crawling and cruising still unless an adult is cheering on the walking. It's incredible to watch how quickly Beck went from tentative first steps to wandering ably around the backyard unaided, between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. It's great to be able to have them outside in the yard so their inevitable falls on their butts (and sometimes faces) are not so painful (or embarrassing!).

 In the last week or so Theo and Beckett have gotten much more interested in the bookcases and, more importantly, in taking books off the shelves.

 They sure do love their new cups, from Tricia. I thought there would be more of a learning curve on the sucking from a straw, but they both took to it right away. They can each drink more than 8 ounces of water at a time!

 We all enjoyed a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa Leibowitz this weekend. They got to watch right along with us as Beckett took his first steps. He was practically running by Sunday!

We hosted the first of what we hope will become a biweekly block party tradition among a small group of neighbors here. Everyone brought something to share, the kids were in and out playing among all the backyards, and the babies happily toddled around, mostly with Mark and Mindy and their kids!

 Waiting for the guests to arrive for their party!

 Theo enjoying a cupcake with our good friend Mark (and his son Jordan).

 Beckett enjoying his cupcake with Mama.

 Exploring a wonderful and exciting package from the Lloydhorsts in Chicago! What a fantastic sampler pack of fun toys and books!