Now that Hudson & Hallie are older....

Now that the twins are getting older, is it getting easier? That’s the question I get all the time these days. I usually pause to think about it and then say some canned response of “yeah, I guess it is”. This past weekend someone asked me that and I gave some lame answer I am sure. Then on the way home from my parents’ house I had a long time to think about it and may have an answer now…

No…it’s not. When they were smaller I had two babies that cried at the same time, wanted to eat at the same time, needed to be held at the same time, had to be loaded in the car at the same time, pushed/carried to and from the car at the same time, changed at the same time, etc. I think you get the picture. Now that they are about to turn two I still have the same issues. Except now when the two cry at the same time they FOLLOW me around the house instead of me being able to put them down and walk away to get a bit of a break. When they are hungry they sometimes help themselves to the pantry and to the open bags/boxes of cookies and chips where I will inevitably find the contents poured onto the floor. When they both feel like mommy is the “only” thing that will do…it’s 50+ pounds to juggle. When we have to load up to get somewhere they now have opinions about which car seat they get instead of them just being glad I didn’t forget them! Getting out of the car poses another issue…who do I get out first? Which one is more responsible to STAY where I tell them to stay when I get the other out? Who will freak out when I ask for them to hold hands and who will say “no, I do it MYSELF?” And the diaper/clothes changing…well now they have opinions about what clothes I put them in and fight me every step of the way if they are just not ‘ready’ to get ready.

So there you have it… it’s not easier, it may even be more difficult. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. These two keep me on my toes. They keep me humble…I mean how can you not be when you have two two-year olds throwing simultaneous tantrums in the church parking lot? They keep me entertained. How cute is it to hear them asking each other if they want one toy or another? Or when I hear them giggling with each other in the morning. They keep me alert… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at the mall playground and keep counting “one, two, three” just to make sure all three of my kids are accounted for. They make me proud when I hear them concerned for the other when he/she is hurt, crying or sad. They keep me laid back…because you just can’t be another way when you’ve got twins. It just isn’t going to go “as planned” most of the time. But most of all, they love me and it just doesn’t get better than that.