1 Year Anniversary

It is Garland Squared's one year anniversary and this is post number 101! I cannot even begin to put into words how happy I am that I did this! I get to remember what our days were like, what Drew and Anna Kate's personalities were like at all of their different stages, funny stories, and new experiences from throughout the year.   I have to be honest that I doubted myself and whether or not I would keep it up. I wasn't sure what I would write about. But it is for sure that my two little sweeties will always provide the material. I certainly plan to keep the blog up. I hope that one day Anna Kate and Drew will appreciate it and think it is special that they have so many of their experiences documented. I know I will cherish it. I already do. I was just reading my first post. I would not be able to tell you what we did last January 1st if it weren't for the blog. I feel confident that it has fully served it's purpose. It is mind blowing to see what we have crammed into one year's time. I can only imagine what 2013 will be like.
Here are some fun facts to close out our year.

• According to our doctor visits last week, Drew weighs 27lbs. & Anna Kate weighs 23lbs.
• They have started watching a little bit of TV (TT as Anna Kate calls it). They LOVE Barney. We must to watch "Catepewars" (Gold Rush, a reality show about gold mining in Alaska) every night before we go to bed. Drew likes to watch football and when Anna Kate gets up too early in the mornings, we will put her in bed with us and she will request to watch the news. That will last for a little while until she decides she would rather watch Barney.
• Drew's favorites are building with blocks and his trucks and "caterpillars" (bull dozers, diggers, etc...). He likes anything he can pull and will try to make just about anything into a trailer. He really combines all of his loves when he makes a trailer out of his blocks and then hooks it to his truck.
• Anna Kate's favorites are her babies. She is a very good mother. She puts them in her high chair to eat, gives them a bottle, covers them up, and will even try to put a diaper on them. She also likes jewelry and clothes and likes to dress up. She still enjoys looking at her books and she loves to get my phone and look through pictures and watching videos I have taken of them.
• Drew and Anna Kate both enjoy drawing and using their imagination. They will scribble something and then tell you what they have drawn (a tractor, a tiger, a sun, letters, numbers, etc....).
• They are both very smart. They can sing their ABCs, identify primary colors, count to 10 (they both sometimes skip 4 &5), and Drew can identify all the capital letters of the alphabet and several numbers. Anna Kate knows several letters and numbers as well! They can work a smart phone, tablet, and remote control better than their grandparents. :)
• Anna Kate loves to sing and dance. She picks up on songs very quickly and is just getting to where she can sing songs correctly all the way through. Some of her favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. If there is music on she will usually dance and always wants Drew to dance with her.
• Drew's favorite song is the "bitsy fider" (Itsy, Bitsy Spider). When I start to sing other songs, he will start yelling, "NO, bitsy fider!".
• Neither one are very good eaters. We still haven't found their favorite food. They like pizza, macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets (they call them chicken lovets!) ham deli meat, green beans, broccoli, and corn but it is never a guarantee that they will eat it. They really like yogurt and most any kind of fruit. Breakfast seems to be their favorite meal of the day and Drew will usually request oatmeal or a muffin and Anna Kate will ask for pancakes. They could eat their weight in fruit snacks.
• Anna Kate is in general more demanding and temperamental than her brother but he has a stubborn streak like you've never seen. Once he makes his mind up about something, he is a hard nut to crack. Most of our big fights have been over what he is wearing. He has a couple of t-shirts that have a motorcycle, a digger, and a dump truck on them and getting him to take them off are like an act of Congress.
• Both of them will "pet" their lovey when they are sleepy and when they are going to sleep.
• Both are very happy and sweet spirited. They love to laugh and give hugs. They still won't give kisses but will lean their head in so you can kiss it.
• They both have wonderful manners! They say please, thank you, and will say bless you when someone sneezes.
• Drew likes to go and usually wants to go "bye-bye" at least once a day. Anna Kate seems to be more of a home body and is usually more content to stay in. She has just started requesting to go home when she is tired even if we are DotDot and Grandaddy's where they normally nap.

Their little personalities are awesome and change daily. I love seeing the little people they are turning in to.

A picture of our New Year's Day breakfast. John Clay's band played New Year's Eve so the babies and I had a slumber party at DotDot and Grandaddy's house. Our New Year's Eve and Day were much more low key than last year but that is okay. I am excited to see what my post will be like on December 31, 2013!