This is Alyssa & Paula's special birthday that only happens once in a lifetime: today on 2/2 they're 2 and on 2/3 tomorrow, they'll be 3!!!
So it looks like this blog and I only meet once a year on Groundhog Day... how ironic.
The last year just flew right by. Let's start off with the girls' 2nd birthday party at which they did not cry, no longer were afraid of people, played and jumped and had a blast and were actually thrilled when everyone sang them the Happy Birthday song. Definitely a huge change from their first birthday, to say the least.
This year's theme will be Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars. The girls are excited about it as they love the nursery rhyme nightly as well as anything blingy... like stars.
It's obviously very hard to describe a whole year in one sitting. Let's just cover the basics. Terrible 2s mostly are not so terrible. The first half of the year they're actually still very baby-toddler like, as in even when they cried or said no a lot or refused to do stuff or were cranky, it all still seemed cute and super innocent. Now the closer we've been getting to 3, the more real the tantrums have been getting. They yell louder, cry longer, set off way easier, much more sensitive and can say some rude stuff too. I said it last year and I'll say it again, cute little babies who just cry because they're tired or their tummies hurt really are much easier in a lot of ways than demanding and cranky toddlers who truly stress you out and can sometimes awaken the beast in you. I definitely have a lot of moments where I can't keep my cool with them. It is pretty agonizing when you do nothing for yourself over the weekend, but only the things that you think will entertain the kids. You plan, you pack snacks and essentials, you get ready, then they don't want to get dressed or they don't want to put on a jacket or shoes then they don't want to get into the car, basically every step of the way is a battle. Then finally you take them somewhere and they have a good time, but have tantrums when they get tired or can't go where they want to go. Lastly you try to take them home and now they don't want to leave so you have another tantrum on your hands and a scream fest all the way home. They are becoming much more specific with what they want to wear, where they go, what they eat, what they watch, you name it. For those with kids, you know exactly what I'm describing.
At the same time, their ability to do a lot of things on their own is both fascinating and helpful. It's fun to take them out to eat now because they feed themselves (finger foods mainly for now) and they take a while to eat, so we have time to eat as well, of course as long as they watch cartoons on the phone. They can be watching TV for hours on end if necessary. They play together for a while too without adult involvement, until of course someone pushes someone or takes something away from someone. Basically you have to referee a lot. They're also super snuggly when they want to be. Their curiosity with their surroundings is amazing. They ask a lot of interesting questions, not just annoying "why why why" and I love that. They're really making sense of a lot of things and making memories. They remember a lot and ask me all the time if I remember that one time when we went somewhere. They fully know we speak two languages and although they speak 100% in Russian right now, they fully understand English and actually ask to translate almost everything they hear that they don't know. They point at everything and ask what is this in English. That type of curiosity is really cool. Obviously them like this is way more fun than infants.
This winter has been pretty rough with sicknesses, bad flu season. Girls have been getting sick monthly and passing it on to all of us. We had a horrible New Year's Eve. Our parents, me and the girls all got the flu. Paula's fever was so high, she threw up on NYE repeatedly and I felt like crap myself. When we were all getting better, Pavel got sick too. It all lasted for a while. Definitely a memorable start to the year, but not in a good way.
We are not and have not been in a rush to have our babies grow up. We have our routines and we follow them and if it works we continue doing so. We try not to fix what's not broken. We are definitely not those parents who face the car seats forward when the baby turns 1 or convert the crib at an early age. If they're not complaining and they don't know any better, why speed this process along? The older they are, the easier it will be to reason with them during these transitions. So this year will definitely be full of big changes for the girls and us. We will have to transition them to big girl beds sometime in the coming year as well as potty train them ASAP. We haven't rushed the potty training process because they haven't been ready and it's really hard to train two at once and then convert our short outings into endless hunt for dirty public bathrooms or deal with travel potties, etc. The girls are still at home, so therefore we haven't felt rushed to do that. Our first order of business is to face their car seats forward. They haven't asked to do it, they don't fight to sit backwards because like I said above, they don't know any better. They're the same age so they don't see another child facing forward. And right after turning 3 we must potty train. They're also enrolled in a home-based preschool for later this year. That will be the biggest change of all. It'll be expensive and tough on us all, but they desperately need it. There's only so much knowledge we can provide for them at home and they get so bored with being home so much. They need an outlet, friends, social exposure, discipline, organized activities, etc.
I am curious to see how the next year will go and how much they'll change. Hopefully I will check in before next year's Groundhog Day.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars
Three years old is what you are
Where has the time gone
Flies by when you're having fun
You're definitely sassy little ladies
To us, you'll always be our babies
Your personality shows more and more
And the little people you are, we adore
Sure we get frustrated sometimes
Especially with singing at nap times
Your tantrums can be so much drama
And yes you got it from your mama
Your terrible Twos weren't even bad
You didn't do anything to make us mad
It's the closer you have been getting to 3
That the real toddlers in you we can see
Just like all the other phases, this too shall pass
Of course sometimes you'll be brats full of sass
But we know you're so funny, loving & sweet
Spending time with you is such a precious treat
Preschool is just a few months away
Hard to believe you'll be gone all day
We kept you home as long as we could
Making friends and learning will be so good
So let's bring on the terrible Threes
Hopefully we can maintain the peace
Lots of changes are ahead this year
We'll tackle them all, have no fear
Happy 3rd Birthday, our little twinkles
May this year be full of happy sprinkles
We all wish you the best and more
And we all love you forevermore
