It's Fall 2012!!!

Once you become the mommy or daddy in your child's world, it is the only world in which you exist, no matter how much you fancy there is a separate world of your own.  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

Yay for the beginning of fall!  Woke up to frost on the ground this morning with a cool crisp day to follow.  We are still getting used to having one in school and being able to enjoy getting to spend alone time  with the girls getting to know them. 

I was able to take a moment and sit with the girls while they ate their breakfast this morning.  It was interesting to see how nice they can be to one another when they are seated far enough apart that they cannot be mean.  Emma handed Izzy pieces of cereal that she didn't want and said "dere ou go" each time she would hand off another piece.   The first one even got a "tank ou" out of Izzy.  I really had absolutely no idea they could be so polite to one another. 

When I first had twins it was an emotional roller coaster between being in shock that there were two babies to grateful they are healthy, to overwhelmed because there are two of them.  There are times even now that I look at my girls and think "they really aren't much different to raise than their brother was" and other times I look at them and see how mean they can be to one another and I realize how much easier things are without sibling rivalry.  In the end I always see their pretty smiles flash across their precious faces and I know the bond between each of my children will overcome any rivalry and be an asset to them in their lives.

It does bother me how much twins do seem to fight at this age, though it seems to be commonplace in twin households around this age and beyond.  I have seen Emma grab Izzy by two fistfuls of hair and then by the shirt to finish taking her down, she has kicked her sister off the couch, taken things from her and pushed her down.  Now Izzy, tough she is usually on the receiving end of things, can also dish it out., she just seems to be more subtle and not as easy to catch.

J and I were talking about taking the girls out of their cribs and how we will transition them to their next bed, for Aiden we did this around 16 mos old if I remember right, because he was climbing out of his crib.  Luckily the girls have not done that yet, but just incase it happens soon we have been tossing around different ideas.  Since Izzy likes to jump off anything she can get on top of (just like her brother) we were thinking of just putting their crib mattresses on the floor until we could get them each a twin bed.  Then I read another story about a mother of twins that tried that and her twins found it to be too much like a total play area and they had to play till they fell or be separated before they would go to sleep.  Sooooo, then we started discussing putting them into a toddler bed next to give them something that reinforces bed time.  I think I will also head the advice of another mother that chose a dim nightlight so that it is, hopefully, too dark to play.  I like the idea of a constellation nightlight, but I am still thinking on the best way to accomplish a calming darkness that is not too dark and not too light (maybe I should call Goldilocks LoL).  When we do get there I will be sure to share our strategies and how effective that they are or aren't with our twin situation.  If any of my readers have gone through this I would love to know what worked for you and what didn't. 

The trouble with having a stubbornness contest with your kids is that they have your stubbornness gene.  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com