Adventures in Twinning: Preschool Edition

All mothers know how quickly the years pass and how hard it is to remember all those sweet and funny details about each stage of life with children. As the mother of twins, this is doubly true. 

My beautiful baby boys are now in preschool, and life has changed a little bit for us. The boys turn four in just a few more months. I can’t believe it. They started preschool this school year and have gained a bunch of independence. Here are some updates on our adventures with the twins.

adventures in twinning preschool twins

Boys Are Gross

Thanks to having a big brother, my little boys have learned some gross habits. They think it’s funny to make toot and burp noises (real and fake). The laugh hysterically after making said noises. Nothing says fun like listening to bodily functions in surround sound. One of their favorite toys is a fart gun from Despicable Me. Thank goodness we only have one of those! 

Having potty-trained boys has pros and cons. Pro: I no longer have to buy diapers or remind little people to go to the bathroom every other hour. Con: the boys think they are big enough to pee standing up, and they can’t aim. This means my bathroom constantly smells like urine and I am constantly cleaning up pee. If anyone has any tips on how to kill the smell besides bleaching the bathroom everyday (already doing that!), please pass them on!

Speaking of boys going pee, mine have figured out that trying to race or shoot each other’s “streams” is a funny game. It’s all fun and games until someone accidentally gets peed on and all the extra splashes go all over the floor. (That was sarcasm. I hate this game!) Who would have thought that I would have to yell out, “Don’t pee on your brother!” at least once a day? Like I said, Boys are GROSS!

What’s Personal Space?

Personal space is something that I hold sacred. Apparently the boys see that differently. They prefer to be touching most of the time, whether it’s holding hands or falling asleep on the couch using each other as pillows. They also prefer to sleep in the same bed, which cracks me up because they each have their own beds. (On the plus side, it saves me some laundry.)

adventures in twinning preschool twins

My guys’ favorite game is wrestling. This happens all day long in every room of my house and sometimes even in public. Wrestling also leads to injuries and hurt feelings, so that means there are lots of “I’m sorry” hugs. It took a while, but we’re finally getting good at the “I’m sorry”s around here. It’s pretty sweet to watch whoever did the hurting to ask their brother, “Are you ok?” and then to watch them say, “I’m sorry,” and give a hug. The not-so-fun part is having to repeat this whole thing every other hour. Thank goodness they usually stick to beating on each other and not on their friends.

When the boys aren’t wrestling, they are cuddling, which is just the cutest thing to watch. Their new favorite thing is getting their back tickled, and unfortunately for them, I have four backs (five if you count my husband) that like to get tickled and only two hands. This has lead to them taking turns tickling each other. It melts my Mommy heart, and it’s about the cutest thing you have ever seen.

 

Support System

Since day one, my boys have been each other’s support system. They never needed pacifiers or security blankets, because they had each other. Now they are each other’s support at school. The first day there were no tears because they got to go in together. I loved peeking through the window and seeing them stick by each other. Don’t worry–they also enjoy doing activities separately, but if they start needing support, they find each other.

adventures in twinning preschool twins

When you have a twin brother, you get to do fun things like make up your own language. Now that they are getting bigger, my boys have expanded their vocabulary to words that we all can understand. I love sitting back and just listening to them talk to each other. The other morning they were laying in bed next to me talking to each other. Brooks was telling Brigg that because he had a cough, he was going to need a breathing treatment.

Some days the attachment can get a bit extreme. If one of the boys walks away from the train table while they are playing, or if one wakes up before the other and forgets to wake his brother up before leaving the room, you can bet there will be one ticked-off brother who shows up accusing the other of leaving them. It’s sad and funny all at the same time. I don’t know what it would be like to constantly feel like you need to be next to someone, but I sure do love watching that bond between my guys. Especially because I know that someday they will probably want their own space and make their own friends, maybe even be in their own classes at school.

adventures in twinning preschool twins

Double the love

I love watching my boys (actually, I love watching all four of my beautiful babies) grow and change as they get bigger. They are learning so much every day. Every stage that my children have gone through has brought with it wonderful memories and challenges, and each kid has handled it differently. Watching two kids hit the preschool age together has been a lot of fun. I really can’t believe they are already (almost) four. Watching language develop and independence blossom is really kind of magical in its own way.

I can’t wait to see what awaits us in this Twin Adventure!

 

Ashley Breinholt
Ashley is an Iowa transplant from Arizona and a busy mom of 4. She spends most of her day chasing around her little herd and hoping to catch a glimpse of her main squeeze when he gets a break from the hospital. She has a bachelor's degree in Communication from Arizona State University and is currently the Vice President of Iowa Medical Partners where she helps plan events and service projects and runs the blog. In her free time, Ashley enjoys running, reading, cooking, and decorating (and redecorating) the house. She loves everything about Iowa! She and her family like to explore everything that Iowa has to offer in every season. Life may be crazy but she loves every minute of it!

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