2017

Rather than the week in review, today I've decided to write about the year in review. These kids have changed so much over the last 12 months, but since we see them every day, sometimes it's hard to notice.

But take a look at them last January, and you'll see what I mean. Here's Marty, age two months:

He's so big and fat and round and okay he's not all that different. But still, he barfs on himself considerably less than he used to. He couldn't walk, could barely sit up, and woke up every few hours at night. 

Here he was yesterday, staying home from church with a cold.

"I AM KING OF ALL BABIES," he seems to be saying. He was pretty miserable yesterday, but wearing his gold medal for Best Baby seemed to cheer him up. I think it also helped him that Edie wasn't around all day. They like each other, but it was nice for him to get to play with his toys without Edie running up and snatching them out of his hands.

He looks more or less the same as he did when he was a baby, but I see him walking around and grabbing stuff now, and he looks like a little boy more than a baby. He's still just a year old, so it's not like he's all grown up or anything, but it's clear how much he's grown in a year. If there's one thing he's learned more than anything else this year, it's that he has an enormous butt, and that he doesn't need to be afraid to use it as a weapon. He has a special talent for backing it up.

Edie's come a long way in the last year, too. Here she is last January.

She couldn't say very much in January, so she did a lot of screaming and throwing tantrums. It's only a year ago now, but it's striking to me how much she still looked like a baby. There's still some baby fat in that face.

Here she is just this morning, showing me how she brushes her teeth:

Still wearing pajamas, but this is a whole new girl. She can say pretty much anything she wants, which makes her a lot more confident. She's still shy around people she doesn't know, but there are so many more people she's gotten to know this year. She goes to school and plays with her friends, she's talkative and active at church, and she's no longer terrified of our families, which is such a change from last year.

They've come a long way, baby.

Just imagine what we'll be saying about them this time next year.