Happy 1st Birthday to my Christmas Miracles!!

Clara and Ellie are ONE!  My sweet miracle babies are celebrating an important milestone!

Clara is sprouting her 7th tooth!!  She has just suffered through her first bout with RSV, and was a champ!  Clara is VERY expressive!  She has several "Clara" faces ... one of my favorites is the scrunched up nose and pursed lips.  She will do that to me when she is mad, or trying to be funny.  She has mastered clapping and playing peek-a-boo.  She is great with a sippy cup, and is a fairly easy eater (although she does NOT want you to break things in little bites--she wants to do it herself!).  Clara is getting more and more comfortable standing up on her own, but can only make it a few seconds before she realizes what she is doing and squats down.  She loves bathtime and playing with Eve.  She is very adventurous with the stairs, and loves to crawl away from you quickly if she thinks you are coming after her :)  Clara is definitely a vocal little girl.  She squeals in a VERY high-pitched voice when she is happy, mad, or sad.  She and daddy love to sing together, "Everybody Ought To Know...".  She has captured daddy's heart and knows how to draw a crowd with her laugh and smiles.
Clara wears 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
Her favorite toys are baby dolls, cookies from Eve's barbie kitchen and a ladybug rattle.  

She weighs 19 pounds, 15 ounces.   

Ellie is an eater!  Daddy affectionately refers to her as "slim".  It doesn't matter if you give her bite-sized pieces of food, or the entire cracker, roll, piece of bread, etc. she is going to shove as much food as possible into her tiny little cheeks.  Ellie only has 2 teeth, but that has not slowed her down in the food-department at all.  She will catch up to Clara in no time!  Ellie is up to 16 pounds, 12 ounces.  She has several tricks.  Her favorite is "how big is Ellie?" "soooo big" with both arms straight up in the air.  She is also a pro at waving and saying "bye-bye".  We never go very far away from her beloved pacy.  That is a life-saver!!  Her favorite toys are the elephant rattle, a green stick from a flower, and anything musical.  Ellie LOVES to dance, to any music.  She immediately starts swaying back and forth as soon as she hears it.  Ellie is a happy girl who loves her momma.  When mom is holding her face to face, she'll lean her forehead towards mine and just sit there for a minute with a huge grin.  She loves to snuggle and give kisses.  If someone is sitting on the floor while she plays, she will eventually crawl over to them, pull up to standing, and just hang out there...holding on to a shoulder.  Ellie LOVES Clara.  The girls have really started interacting with each other... usually culminating in Ellie giggling at something Clara is doing or a face she is making.  Ellie is very good at telling Clara "no no" with her pointer finger wagging.  As it stand right now, Ellie seems to be fairly submissive and obedient; while Clara likes to test her boundaries.  Our biggest battles right now are the toilet seat, the blue birds Nonny gave to Eric and I on our entertainment center, and the digital box.

Ellie wears 9-12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.  

Her smile lights up a room.

           

Happy Birthday to my sweet babies!  Mom and Dad are so in love with you both, and are amazed at how much love God continues to give us for our growing family.  We are excited about the weeks, months, and years to come.  We are eager to watch you learn and grow and develop into the beautiful girls of God He has created you to be.  You are a joy.  The Lairsey's are blessed!!