Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
So Big
Where has the time gone? Skylar - when did you grow so long that you fill up the length of the bath tub? When did all your pants become two inches too short? When did you start carrying your dishes to the counter with a smile and a proud "I did it!" ? I look at you sometimes and think, what an amazing little person. So beautiful. So sweet. Am I really responsible, however partially, for creating you?
Paige, you crack me up with the way you adopt funny accents to spin the routine phrases into comedy. "Mommy Terri!" you call out in the morning, from your crib. But it comes out "Mama Tehrrah!" slightly louder than necessary and with an almost fake-threatening urgency. I am giggling and smiling as I climb out of bed to come get you, and that's sayin' something, given that it's sometimes 5:30 am. :-)
Gramma Rotzie and Papa Tom are here for a week and both girls are full of glee over it. They LOVE their gramma and papa. Skylar threw herself into Papa's arms the minute she saw him. So amazing to watch. Tomorrow they're all going to AC Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem. Lots to do and see! Cousin Jocelyn, who is three, is arriving Wednesday night. Hurray for family and holiday fun!
Paige, you crack me up with the way you adopt funny accents to spin the routine phrases into comedy. "Mommy Terri!" you call out in the morning, from your crib. But it comes out "Mama Tehrrah!" slightly louder than necessary and with an almost fake-threatening urgency. I am giggling and smiling as I climb out of bed to come get you, and that's sayin' something, given that it's sometimes 5:30 am. :-)
Gramma Rotzie and Papa Tom are here for a week and both girls are full of glee over it. They LOVE their gramma and papa. Skylar threw herself into Papa's arms the minute she saw him. So amazing to watch. Tomorrow they're all going to AC Gilbert Discovery Village in Salem. Lots to do and see! Cousin Jocelyn, who is three, is arriving Wednesday night. Hurray for family and holiday fun!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Structure vs. Spontaneity
We generally have a pretty set routine and give our girls lots of notice if something is going to change. Skylar, in particular, is never excited about last minute changes (unless they involve jumping on mommy, drinking juice, or piggy back rides). This is especially true in the more ritualistic parts of the day like getting ready for bed. So, we spend a fair amount of time planning how to make daily life go smoothly and keeping things consistent.
Droll, you say? Boring, monotonous, even anal-retentive? That is where the silliness comes in. Tonight, after dinner, Paige decided Daddy Jim should get piggytails. She ran down the hall to get him some ponytail holders, then once he had two on his head, she decided he really needed three, so he could be a triceratops (which she pronounces perfectly). Doesn't Jim look adorable with his purple hair adornments?
Skylar wanted two blue ones, and then Paige needed to have four (Quadraceratops?)
And just to prove I am fine with getting messy, here's a pic of the girls helping me make muffins and licking the bowl. Yum!
Droll, you say? Boring, monotonous, even anal-retentive? That is where the silliness comes in. Tonight, after dinner, Paige decided Daddy Jim should get piggytails. She ran down the hall to get him some ponytail holders, then once he had two on his head, she decided he really needed three, so he could be a triceratops (which she pronounces perfectly). Doesn't Jim look adorable with his purple hair adornments?
Skylar wanted two blue ones, and then Paige needed to have four (Quadraceratops?)
And just to prove I am fine with getting messy, here's a pic of the girls helping me make muffins and licking the bowl. Yum!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Yes, one's curly and one's straight
The most common comment about Paige and Skylar is, hands-down, "oh. One has curly hair and one has straight." Yep. "I can tell them apart easily that way," I respond. The follow up question is almost always "do twins run in your family?" and sometimes "did you know you were going to have twins?" To which I mumble vaguely dissatisfying answers like "I have second cousins who are twins..." and "I found out really early in the pregnancy." Because people just don't need to know the details, you know?
Yesterday morning, Skylar wanted piggy tails in her hair, and her favorite bear, who she carries around swaddled in a blanket, patting night-night, has little ears that perfectly accommodate two ponytail holders. Sky was elated that she and bear could share orange-bedecked piggytails. The experience combined two of that girl's very favorite things - bear, and the color orange. It was pretty darn adorable.
This morning, Paige filled her backpack with her little doggy wrapped in her flowered blanket, grabbed her jacket and announced, "I'm going on the bus, mom. See you later. Have a good day!" All right. Pretend play is really fun. Yesterday when we brought a couple of balloons home from the store, Paige held hers behind her back and said, "balloon is my backpack. And here is my tail."
Today we got to go to our friend Nora's third birthday party. There were a couple of other three-year-olds there, some older kids and a one-year-old. Paige and Skylar did just awesome with the three-year-olds, doing things that were new to them - they played pin the legs on the spider (blindfolded!), tossed rings to win toys and candy that their rings landed on, and whacked a pinata. No complaining, no hesitating, just playing right along, watching and participating and having fun. It was awesome! Happy birthday Nora.
Yesterday morning, Skylar wanted piggy tails in her hair, and her favorite bear, who she carries around swaddled in a blanket, patting night-night, has little ears that perfectly accommodate two ponytail holders. Sky was elated that she and bear could share orange-bedecked piggytails. The experience combined two of that girl's very favorite things - bear, and the color orange. It was pretty darn adorable.
This morning, Paige filled her backpack with her little doggy wrapped in her flowered blanket, grabbed her jacket and announced, "I'm going on the bus, mom. See you later. Have a good day!" All right. Pretend play is really fun. Yesterday when we brought a couple of balloons home from the store, Paige held hers behind her back and said, "balloon is my backpack. And here is my tail."
Today we got to go to our friend Nora's third birthday party. There were a couple of other three-year-olds there, some older kids and a one-year-old. Paige and Skylar did just awesome with the three-year-olds, doing things that were new to them - they played pin the legs on the spider (blindfolded!), tossed rings to win toys and candy that their rings landed on, and whacked a pinata. No complaining, no hesitating, just playing right along, watching and participating and having fun. It was awesome! Happy birthday Nora.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
8 pm and I'm Ready for Bed
Parenting is exhausting. It takes time, patience, attention, spur of the moment decision making, watching out for life threatening situations, and physical work. Not to mention, managing to withstand getting poop on your hands and that kind of thing. If you happen to be the parent of a toddler trying to potty train.
Weekends, unbelievably, are more exhausting than weekdays. Yes, it's true, a desk job is sooooo much easier than running after twin toddlers, even with my co-parent around to split the tasks. Of course, it's more rewarding, too - weekends we get up slowly (not any later), loll around in our pajamas, have a video chat with grandparents, go to gymnastics class, the library, and the park, and usually out to eat. But by 8 pm, I am so ready to crash and feel so old you would think I ran a day care FULL of toddlers.
Paige and Skylar are 2.5 now, a really sweet age - their communication skills are ever-improving, they can negotiate new and interesting physical feats, they pass their "ages and stages" development questionnaire tests with amazing displays of hyper intelligence. And I find myself lamenting that they are already half way to three. I want to hang on to two and squeeze out as much fun, love, and memories as I can.
One of the biggest challenges about raising twins is trying to give each girl enough one-on-one attention. P & S are different kids when they are alone with one of us. They have the spotlight, and no one to compete with. It's really important for them to get some one-on-one time at least once a week. In that spirit, I will write about them together at times, and separately at times - and if I start to compare them on this blog, call me on it. I try not to do that.
Weekends, unbelievably, are more exhausting than weekdays. Yes, it's true, a desk job is sooooo much easier than running after twin toddlers, even with my co-parent around to split the tasks. Of course, it's more rewarding, too - weekends we get up slowly (not any later), loll around in our pajamas, have a video chat with grandparents, go to gymnastics class, the library, and the park, and usually out to eat. But by 8 pm, I am so ready to crash and feel so old you would think I ran a day care FULL of toddlers.
Paige and Skylar are 2.5 now, a really sweet age - their communication skills are ever-improving, they can negotiate new and interesting physical feats, they pass their "ages and stages" development questionnaire tests with amazing displays of hyper intelligence. And I find myself lamenting that they are already half way to three. I want to hang on to two and squeeze out as much fun, love, and memories as I can.
One of the biggest challenges about raising twins is trying to give each girl enough one-on-one attention. P & S are different kids when they are alone with one of us. They have the spotlight, and no one to compete with. It's really important for them to get some one-on-one time at least once a week. In that spirit, I will write about them together at times, and separately at times - and if I start to compare them on this blog, call me on it. I try not to do that.
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