It’s 7:45 on a Thursday evening and both of my children are asleep in bed. Barring an illness or a bad dream, that is where they will stay for the next 11 hours.
I survey my home and notice that the dishes are done, the laundry is folded, and the floor is as clean as it is going to get today.
This is it … the Promised Land! Picking up my wine in one hand, my bowl of ice cream in the other, I head to the couch. I can see what Netflix has to offer, or even read a book that doesn’t rhyme! It’s a far cry from the newborn days of no sleep and never-ending piles of teeny tiny clothes to fold. The baby days are over, and I love being a mom to two fun-loving toddlers.
I am officially half way through what I feared would be the one of the hardest years of my life. My twins are 2 and a half this month and in the midst of what some people call the Terrible Twos stage. M & M are two little balls of fire with tons of personality and opinions on everything. It is an exhausting, exhilarating time! But, six months into the so-called Terrible Twos, I am loving almost every minute of it.
Here are some of the reasons the Terrible Twos are actually terrific:
Two-year-olds can tell you what they want. Once my twins started talking, they never stopped. The endless stream of chatter may be the reason some parents don’t love this stage, but I find it makes my life much easier. If my son is upset because his snack is in the purple bowl instead of the green one, I know what the problem is and how to solve it! I can give M & M choices and ask their opinions. Giving them a sense of control often helps us avoid meltdowns. When I offer them a choice between a bubble bath or a bath without bubbles, we don’t fight over whether we have to take a bath at all.
Two-year-olds respond to incentives. In other words, they can be bribed. My twins will do almost anything for a piece of candy. Suddenly, tasks that seemed next to impossible are manageable. I can take my son to get a haircut, my daughter to the bank. I was even able to take both of them and our dog to an appointment with our veterinarian armed with just a snack-sized bag of pretzels and two Dum Dums.
Two-year-olds love to “help.” Of course, most of the time their help isn’t helpful at all, but I truly appreciate the sentiment. Most days we have plenty of hours to fill. I am happy to take twice as long folding laundry with their “help” if that means I don’t have to do all the housework after they go to bed. I know their enthusiasm for household chores has a short shelf life, so I’ll take what I can get.
Two-year-olds have a sense of humor. At 2, they already think poop jokes are funny and love to make one another laugh. My son is quite the impressionist. His repertoire includes a spot-on imitation of my mother-in law’s southern accent. He also does a less flattering reenactment of what I sound like when I lose my temper. But even when I am the butt of the joke, nothing is better than the sound of my children giggling together.
But most importantly …
Two-year-olds get excited about everything. Their enthusiasm is contagious. Waiting for the garbage truck on a Tuesday morning is as exciting as the Macy’s parade. They get more thrills out of lunch at Chick-fil-A than most adults would dining at a five-star restaurant. Every day is an adventure! And what is terrible about spending your days with two little people who can’t wait to explore all that life has to offer?
How about you? Were the Terrible Twos what you expected?
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Category: Kids
Tags: Karyn
