Twincident June Update - Chatterboxing
Updated: Nov 9, 2022
Hello sunshine! 🌞 If we hadn’t spent so much time outside enjoying the weather the last few weeks I think we might have resorted to running laps around the house. The twins are so full of energy, fuelled by constant “(s)nacks”, which they shout constantly whilst circling us like velociraptors!
Additions to the site this month:
Practical Parenting
Getting twins to go to sleep on their own - We have finally got a bedtime routine in place that only requires one parent, and means that the twins go to sleep on their own!
Month in a minute
Months 7 and 8 videos are now up!
What's been going well?
The other day our dishwasher popped open at the end of it’s cycle without us noticing, and we found TB gingerly removing the glassware and putting them on the counter, while TG had taken the cutlery tray and was putting it in the cutlery drawer (not in the right compartments, but come on!) 🤯 We assumed that the dishwasher was too delicate a task for the twins, what a great reminder to not underestimate them and how much they learn just by watching!
Both of the twins comprehension and speaking continues to improve. They both love talking to us about their day and what they did with who, which is really cute - "baba (grandad) lift up see man black dog" is a biggie at the mo as we see our neighbours and their pets over the garden fence, as of course is anything involving the mop, duster or washing machine (the "roundandround")…!
This also means both twins are getting better at understanding what we are saying. There are some uber sweet moments when we ask for help or for them to look after each other and they emphatically do, there are also some other times....
What’s been hard and what would we have done differently?
...when they definitely understand what we are saying, but gleefully run off and do the exact opposite. TG continues to smile at us and laugh as she does, which can be massively cute or infuriating depending on the situation. TB seems to have noticed this and will often tell TG off!
TB is having tantrums which are more intense than anything we have seen before, often these are due to fairly innocuous things (or nothing!). Following respectful principles - being present and comforting without resorting to distraction or minimising his emotions and saying “everything is ok”, when clearly to him it’s not - is super hard.
TB also goes through phases of being a bit "hitty" with TG. This is upsetting and means that we need to keep quite a close eye on them despite them being very independent at this point. It's hard sticking to respectful principles here too, which say it is important not to shame the child that is “misbehaving”- their behaviour isn’t malicious, it’s them learning to experience and process new emotions and test boundaries (children neurologically cant even start thinking about things from another persons perspective till they are at least 3). Trying to stay calm, separating the twins if necessary, and narrating the situation in a compassionate but neutral way while they both work through their feelings takes a lot of self discipline when you just want to shout STOP!
Whilst these challenges definitely make me understand where the expression "the terrible 2s" comes from, what really stands out is the incredible pace the twins are learning. Every day they "get" something new and surprise us by saying or doing something that seems absurdly grown up, it's a total delight, although its also occurring to me how quickly then next couple of years are going to go! 🤔
We hope you are enjoying the summer, albeit with less tantrums!
Ranj and family.