Fall Greetings

Seems odd to be doing a “fall greetings” post when the ground is covered in snow, but I’m doing it anyway. Just wanted to share a few of our fall traditions.

Every year we get pumpkins at the pumpkin patch near our house and take pictures by this tractor. This year they had this little picture spot too:

We also made these cookies. It was fun, but I remembered why I haven’t made them for years. Lots of work. But cute.

On Halloween, we’ll make doughnuts and caramel apple cider. I really love all the good autumn food: pumpkin waffles, apple dumplings, dinner in a pumpkin, it’s great. Just not so great for the thighs. Oh well.

The best things about having twins

Having three-year-old twins is insane. Add to them a five-year-old brother and it’s really insane. I’ve written plenty about how much trouble these guys get into and how hard it can be, but honestly there are some great things about having twins. So, in no particular order, here are some of my favorite things about having twins.

• 2 for 1 pregnancy I’ll admit it, it’s a pretty nice thing to be pregnant once and get two babies out of the deal. Granted, it was a really hard pregnancy (those babies were 7 1/2 lbs. each!) but it still lasted the regular 9 months and now I have two little boys out of the deal.
• Built-in playmate They always have each other. True, they fight with each other, and wrestle, and argue over toys, but they will always have a friend their own age.
• Easy to compare It’s kind of fun to compare and contrast my two boys’ personalities and strengths. I compare them with my oldest too but I have to think back to how Kevin was at their age, and with the twins they’ll always be the same age.
• One birthday I’m all for consolidating. But I do make sure that they each get their own cake. They may have to share a birthday, but I’m not making them share a cake.
• Good example There have been times that one of the twins refuses to do something, or try a new food. Then if he sees his brother do it, he’ll follow suit. Unfortunately it works the opposite way too, but this entry is about good things so I won’t go off on that.
• Dropping off at nursery isn’t a problem They don’t mind being dropped off at nursery, or at a babysitter’s house because they still have each other. My oldest didn’t mind being dropped off at nursery either, so it might be in their personalities, but always having a familiar face around doesn’t hurt.
• Twin club I’m not a member of any official club, but there is a kinship that I feel with other parents of twins. It also gets me immediate sympathy/compassion when people find out I have twins. “You must have your hands full!” Yes. Yes I do.
• Sharing My boys have had to learn to share since before they were born. Not that they’re that much better at it than any other three-year-old, but they have lots of practice time.
• Deals for twins When they were born, I found all kinds of deals that companies have for parents of twins. This clown at the state fair even offered to come do a birthday party for half-price when he found out they were twins. Troy was pretty terrified of the clown though, so we didn’t take advantage of that.
• Tattle tales Sometimes they get together and get really quiet, and I know they’re in trouble. But sometimes one will get into trouble and the other will rat him out. Twin brother is always watching.
• Clothes I’m still in charge of what they wear and it’s so much fun dressing them in coordinating outfits. I don’t often do matching outfits, but sometimes I do. My sister had some cute onesies made for them when they were babies too. They wore “Thing 1” and “Thing 2”, “Troy did it” and “Jonathan did it”, and “I’m the cute one” and “I’m the smart one.” It was super cute.
• Makes one kid seem easy Enough said
• Experiment with parenting styles Obviously, what works with one kid, doesn’t work with another. With twins it’s the same thing. I get lots of practice with parenting styles.
• Efficiency I’ve had to learn to be really efficient. When it’s bath time, I try to get all the clothes and towels ready before they even get in the tub so that I can accomplish the task easier. It takes more prep work, but it definitely is easier to do things with the twins at the same time; feeding, changing, washing, etc.
• One bedroom We never had to think about which kids to put together in the same room. The twins get to be roommates. And luckily, they love it so far.
• Double the cuteness, double the hugs, double the love Definitely the best thing about having twins.

I should have probably titled this entry “The best things about having 3-year-old twins” because I haven’t been a parent of twins for very long. But I’m sure it will continue to be an adventure.