Family Vist to Maymont

We recently went to Maymont, a huge estate/park, for a picnic and animal petting excursion.  The pictures speak for themselves, but I do what to mention this was the first time the kids fed the animals...even Ryan (he's never wanted to until now).  Owen couldn't get close enough to the animals!  Watching their excitement was priceless...

 

 

 

The Joys of Twins

Having twins has been a whirlwind.  I always thought 'once they get older' things will get easier. After all, how can it get any harder than having 2 screaming newborns?  Right?  Wrong.  It turns out that having 2 one-year-olds is harder.  Now I fear having 2 two-year-olds might be even harder.

The worse thing someone can say to a twin mom is "I know what you're going through I have 2 kids a year (or 2) apart."  I want to scream in response, but instead I just smile and nod.  Having 2 children at the exact same developmental stage is, quite frankly, nothing the same as 2 singletons, no matter how close in age.  

I was talking to mom of triplets and I mentioned how I was thankful my multiples were only a pair.  She said she was thankful she didn't have quads!  The fact is we handle what we're given.  

Here are our current trials...

~ They constantly take what the other has and then the accosted cries as if the piece of junk just taken was his favorite teddy bear.  Once or twice a day, ok.  Sixty-two times a day, not ok.  It is utterly exhausting.  They aren't old enough to work it out, so I constantly intervene.  Keep in mind when this happens one baby is left wailing as if his kitten just got run over, so ignoring the situation is virtually impossible.

~ Ethan is a big time mamas boy.  Fortunately, Owen accommodates this by being flexible in who helps and comforts him.  The problem is if there's a slight chance Owen needs or wants me, Ethan runs and jumps in my lap.  And let me just say, those boys do not like to share my lap.

~ We don't have a fenced yard.  In fact, we play mostly in the front yard and driveway.  It's mostly fun and games, the problems is there are 2 of them and they're constantly into something or trying to escape into the street.  It's a constant workout keeping up with them.  And don't even get me started with the issues with one always running in the garage...

~ Every 1 year old is learning to test their boundaries.  The twins have each other to help them do so.   For example, if one has a bright idea to pull something off a shelf, they have a buddy to help them reach it or help them destroy it when they get it.  The bigger problem is when I punish one, the other laughs causing the one in trouble to smile.  Talk about inefficient discipline.

~ Getting outside and into the car with only one adult proves to be quite a challenge.  I really should poll other twin moms on how they do it.  First, just getting them out the door is difficult because they can't walk down the couple stairs leading outside.  And I have to keep my hands on both of them or else they bolt.  How am I suppose to get one strapped in his carseat while the other is loose?  Well, it is possible but not easy.  Fortunately, with my mom here, it's not often I take the twins out alone.  By the way, it's much easier to get them out wherever we're going because I can put them straight into the stroller one at a time.

~ They are copy cats.  Say one takes his bib off while eating, a favorite past time of Ethan, Owen sees and copys.  Now I have 2 toddlers with food in their hair and on their shirts!  Hopefully, they will copy positive things too.

~ We often bathe them together now.   Getting them both out of the tub and into their room before someone pees on the floor proved to be quite a challenge!  The fix: diaper the first one out of the tub (in the bathroom) while the other one is still in the tub.

Of course, having twins is also a blessing.  They have a bond many people never experience.  The love between them is obvious.  They kiss each other sporadically through the day.  They are so excited to see each other after having been separated, even if it's just through naptime.  And I foresee this bond only to get stronger as they get older.

And there is nothing like raising 2 little ones in the exact same stage of development.  It's so often just freakin adorable!  I mean, really, is there anything better than watching 2 one-year-olds run to each other just to give sloppy kisses to one another?  And it's fascinating to watch how different they are, physically and emotionally.

If Ryan is asked which is his favorite he says "Ethan and Owen."  Such a good big brother.

1st Broken Bone

A couple weeks after Ryan turned 3 he was about to go upstairs, by himself, and I said, "Be careful." He responded with, "Why do you say that."  "Because I want you to be careful on the stairs."  "Why?"

Fast forward 3 minutes.  I'm sitting on the sofa at the bottom of the stairs and I hear it.  Ryan falling from the top of the stairs.  And worse, I watched him, unable to do anything.  I yelled for Chris as I went to Ryan.  He said Mama and started crying.  For a brief moment my training kicked in and I thought about not moving him.  Then my instincts kicked in and I asked what hurts, "my arm", and then I scooped him up.  He clung to me as Chris assessed his arm.

A few minutes later he sat on my lap saying nothing hurt while I held his boo boo bunny (a cold stuffed critter meant to ice ouchies) on his arm and watched Clifford the Big Red Dog.  Afterwards Chris reassessed the arm and determined it was likely broken.  Fortunately, Nonna was there to stay with the sleeping twins while the 3 of us headed out to an urgent ortho clinic.

Simple radial fracture.  While a splint was being applied Ryan was a champ.  No seriously, he was like a little adult.  The tech continuously commented on how well behaved and accommodating he was.

Four days later, after any possible swelling, he was casted.  Again he was a champ.  He, with a little encouragement, chose an orange cast.  And thank goodness for water proof casts!

The cast doesn't slow him down a bit.  It's as if it isn't even there.  However, a 3 year old and a heavy cast is a recipe for little brother injuries.  He simply doesn't realize he has to be gentler.   Luckily everyone has escaped anything major.

Speaking of escaping anything major, I'm well aware Ryan's injury could have been much worse.  A broken arm, while inconvenient, is so very minor.  We are very thankful.