2.75 years

My babies are not babies anymore! Soon, they'll be turning three. I'll try to savor these last few months of year two while they last :)

Language
The highlight lately, for sure. They are always cracking me up with the funny things they say! Here's how they say things, creatively.

Counting: 1, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3
Any letters or numbers: Hey, ABCs!
Sideways: sidewards
Slippery: slippy
Peanut butter: pea burr
Milk: nilk
Smash: mash ("cars no mash me" they say in the parking garage)
Motorcycle: sa-sy-oh (I think? I never have any idea what they are saying for like the first 3 attempts, so then I guess "motorcycle?" and I'm sometimes right)

Some of their favorite expressions include "more" or "too." Example, "more pillows!" says Gibson, every time he's building a fort. They object to things by using too + adjective. Gus didn't want to try gyoza because "too slimy." They can't get on an elevator because "too much people." I have to get the fruit snack off their finger after they squished it up because "toooooo sticky!"

They've figured out the pronouns "you" and "me." Their current favorite fight in the back seat of the van is to mock the person in the sun by saying, "You sunny side! Me shady side!"

Understanding the World
They are convinced that animals pee out of their tails, so they think tails are really funny. I've tried explaining animal anatomy to them, but they don't believe me. However, I'm wary of proving my point by Googling "anatomically correct pictures of animals"...

They remember stuff that surprises me. We had a doctor's appointment, and a week later they remembered the doctor's name, which I'd maybe said twice. Whoa!

They love to laugh! Yesterday, we were watching a show with a couch that sprouted propellers and starting flying around, and they were literally falling over laughing about that. I didn't get why it was so hilarious, but I enjoyed listening to them giggle :)

They understand when I am not happy. But, sort of annoyingly, they ask me about it by saying, "Mommy happy mommy?" This most often happens when I'm scowling about the food they just dumped on the floor or similar events. I've tried responding along the lines of, "No, I'm not happy right now. You are not responsible for my emotions. I'm feeling frustrated about this mess." We recently made a calm-down corner with soothing toys, so sometimes I take a break there to calm down. Meanwhile, the boys just want to fight over the sensory items I got, so yeah, work in progress still...

We tried to convert their cribs into toddler beds a couple weeks ago. It was a disaster. The four crib walls are solidly back in place. Sometimes they ask for "no crib" now but I tell them we're going to wait till they're a little older to try again. They just could not stay in bed - the two of them egg each other on to increasing levels of chaos. And I don't like them frolicking around their bedroom in the dark for all the reasons you can imagine, plus some you can't. For example, we have a rocking chair that spins. One kid climbs into the chair while brother runs in a circle to spin him around, until the runner trips over a toy, or crashes into the wall, or the passenger decides he'd like to exit the ride without alerting the operator first...

Physical Milestones
Gus is solidly jumping now. It's kind of a gallop/jump, where his feet lift off the ground 1-2 instead of simultaneous, but I think it counts.

We went to a St. Patrick's Day festival on Saturday where they tried Irish dancing and managed to lift up and kick one leg without falling over. Then they started freestyling with spins and such :)

I recently took them to a park with a tall boulder climb. It was maybe 8 feet at the top. They both scurried right up the rocks, but only Gus was able to scoot back down; I had to rescue Gibson. I'm taking this as a good sign that he's starting to understand the effects of gravity.

They can go up and down stairs without holding the hand rail, albeit precariously. I wish they would hold the rail, especially in our apartment stairwell that we sometimes use as a short cut, but that rail has been deemed "too dirty, Mommy".

It's been a good few months here in Salmonista land. Having twin babies is insanity, but twin toddlers are pretty fun!

Not the Same, but Similar

Awhile back, I had the realization that my life completely changed when I had kids. (Yes, I know it seems obvious!) But when I wrote that previous post, the boys were one year old. They were walking, though still wobbly on their feet. They stuck EVERYTHING in their mouths. When I said that my life would "never be the same," I was envisioning a future where I hovered behind two small people forever, trying to catch them before they toppled over and bonked their heads while simultaneously removing all choking hazards from their line of sight.

Now that the kids are rapidly approaching their preschool years, well, life is changing again. I'm seeing some glimmers of hope for the future in which I am not always a human helicopter!

On Friday, we participated in the local festivities known as Art Night Pasadena. It was, briefly, not a disaster and even sort of enjoyable! We walked to a local restaurant for dinner. Then, we watched a dance performance at Lineage where the boys managed not to create a scene, even though they were super excited about all the different colors of lights shining in the studio. From there, we caught a shuttle bus over to Kidspace. The museum was really packed, but the boys did not totally freak out. When it was time to go, we wound up having to wait like 20 minutes for a shuttle back to our neck of the woods, but again the boys managed to keep it together. They loved riding the bus, too!

Ok, now that I've written it all out, it doesn't sound that exciting. Let me elaborate - at dinner, DF and I were actually able to eat our meals, and the boys also ate food (we didn't have to resort to the emergency peanut butter crackers in the diaper bag). At the dance studio, we all watched the dancers together - the boys sat in chairs, rather than running amok/climbing furniture. Now, pre-kids I wouldn't have chosen to go to a children's museum so that part of the night was different. But dinner and local entertainment? That's totally something DF and I would have done before our little guys came along!

So yes, my life is different now, but that doesn't mean it has to be COMPLETELY UNRECOGNIZABLE from my previous life. If I liked doing things before kids, chances are, I'll be able to find ways to incorporate them into our new reality as a family of four.

Hooray for things being different...and the same!