A Thing or Two

Oh, twins.

I get one of two reactions whenever I'm out and about with the twins... one is the really naive and slightly eccentric younger woman who tells me how she ALWAYS wanted twins (!!!!), and the other is the older, more experienced woman on her third cup of coffee for the day, who is bothered by the sight of adorable tiny people, who rolls her eyes and tells me how full my hands are. So, all these encounters have really got me thinking---I should probably share what it's actually like having two-year-old twins, for anyone who has ever wondered, or who will ever have the great pleasure of experiencing this, too, someday.

Tattling.
-"Peanut, where is your diaper?" (apparently, my children are nudists)
-"Hawy did it."
-"Henry took your diaper off?"
-"Uhu!"

-"Peanut, where are your shoes."
-"Hawy has it."
-"Henry took your shoes off?"
-"Uhu!"

-"Henry, what happened?"
-"Mimi (what he calls Juliette) uh, uhu, hu, oo. (Now pointing at her; pause) Mimi."

Pretending.
The twins love to pretend to be cats or puppies. One starts meowing and purring and crawling on the ground, and the other one immediately follows, right behind the other. They then find me, climb up on me, and both of them lick me, while purring and nuzzling against me. A few minutes later, and they have both become puppies. They do the exact same thing, but as puppies this time, barking and panting until I pat them on the head and tell them what good puppies they are. They also love to pretend to be sleeping. They crawl under the covers of my freshly-made bed, close their eyes, and pretend to snore. Then they laugh and laugh at each other, because they both think there is nothing on this earth more funny than pretend sleep.

Sharing.
Oh man. This one is HARD. They always want the exact same thing at the exact same time, and even when I buy two identical toys for them, one twin ALWAYS takes them both and runs away, while the other twin cries. When Henry is the culprit, Juliette chases right after him and rips the toy from his hands, which then makes him cry, too. And when Juliette is the culprit, Henry melts into a puddle of tears on the ground until I come to his rescue. Each time, I make them come together, hug their twin, and say they're sorry. Talk to me in a year, and I'll tell you if they have finally learned to share!

Empathy.
They really look out for one another. If one twin falls down and gets hurt, the other twin is right by their side. Juliette will say, "Uh oh, Mom. Hawy sad. Ouchie, Mom. Beendaid, Mom? Medcin, Mom?" And then she'll sit down next to him until he is completely taken care of, and give him a hug or a kiss. This is also true if an older sibling isn't being kind--- The twins will come and tattle on London or Elle if they aren't being inclusive to their twin. Juliette will say, "Mom, Ellie shut da door. Hawy sad." And Henry will say, "Nunun (London) uh, uh no, no Mimi (Juliette)."--which means that London did something to Juliette, and I have to investigate to find out exactly what he's trying to tell me.

Cuddling.
Yep, this is a category all its own. I really don't know of anything sweeter than two cuddly two-year-old's(*except maybe cuddly newborns). Henry and Juliette love to climb up on my lap, one on each knee, heads up against my chest, to read a book with me. Henry will brush my hair out of the way, and reach his hand up to touch my face, while I read Florabell over and over again. On Friday, when I put them down for their nap, the twins both laid on their tummies, and reached one hand out of their cribs to hold my hands. It was such a normal, no-big-deal hand-hold, but that moment really struck me. I don't know why. Maybe it's because they both did it at the same time, and maybe it's because we had had such a fun morning together and I was feeling extra grateful, but I teared up then and told them how much I love them.

Fun.
It is really really fun to have two little buddies all the time. This year, Elle goes to preschool two mornings each week, so I have six whole hours just to be with the twins. We play at the park, we color, we go to Petco to see all the animals, and we pretend and imagine together. They entertain me endlessly: Henry, who is always trying to make me laugh and has never followed directions in his life, and Juliette, who is so sassy and rules the entire universe with her bossiness.

Exhausting.
I crawl into bed each night. I am perma-tired. I can barely form a coherent sentence when I'm trying to speak to another adult. The attention, answering questions, teaching, diaper changes, naps, breaking-up of fights, snacks, drinks, outings, re-directing, playing, and all the crazy loving of two very different two-year-old's for 14 hours each day is some serious work.

Love.
This year, at the twins' birthday party, I was completely overcome with emotion. When the dinner started, I tried to welcome our family, but as I began to speak, it got caught in my throat instead. Looking back now, I think it's because there is SO MUCH LOVE--a kind of love that I never knew I could feel, for these two crazy little twins. Sometimes, the feelings come like waves, and sometimes, the feelings overwhelm me like a flood, and I can't believe how special it is that they are mine.

When people ask me what it's like having twins, I usually say, "It's the hardest and most wonderful thing in the world. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, and yet, I wish that everyone had the opportunity to be a twin mom, because there really is nothing better." Do you see what I mean about the coherent sentence thing?! And even though this doesn't actually make any sense at all, I promise you, it's true. I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it...