Hands down, they are each other's best friends. As I sit and watch them play together all day, every day, I can't help but think how incredibly boring it would have been for them if they weren't twins. They have so much fun together because they always have a playmate that's the same age. They seldom are bored, because they always think of something they can do together. They'll both play with 'boy' toys, and then they'll both play with 'girl' toys. I'd say 99% of the time they are playing with the same toys, together.
I am their favourite person. I'm not saying that to be boastful, but just because it's true. I am their go-to person, whether they are happy or sad. Matthew has really become attached to me the last couple months, often saying when he's upset or tired that he wants to "sit with me." Jon worries that I dote on them too much...but I just don't want them to grow up too quickly. They are only this young once; time flies and before we know it they are going to be teenagers.
Not only have Jon and I really learned a lot about Matthew and Kayla this past year, but we've also learned a lot about our own parenting styles. We often joke about how completely wrong we were in our pre-marital counseling classes about the type of parent we would be. We always assumed that I would be the tougher, cold-hearted parent and Jon would be the softer one...but believe it or not, we're actually the opposite. I'm the much softer parent. I still discipline (I probably do the majority of it because I'm around them 24-7), but my approach is much different than Jon's. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, they're just completely different. The worst is when Jon punishes them and they come running to me for comfort. My heart breaks for them, but I have to be careful to not undermine Jon. It's tough!
Anyways, for the last week I've been keeping this post as a draft so that I could watch Matthew and Kayla and document some interesting-to-me facts about them...
Matthew:
- Weighs 28 1/2 lb and is 37 1/8" tall. We are working quite hard on fattening him up! He's so skinny...totally Jon as a child
- Wears size 2/3 clothes and size 7 shoes.
- Favourite Expressions: "Oh my goodness"
- Loves playing "Duck, Duck, Goose", "London Bridges", "Ring Around the Rosie", "I Spy", and "Hide Seek"
- Loves playing with his doll stroller
- Can recognize and name almost all of the letters of the alphabet
- Favourite colours: Blue and Green
- Favourite snacks: Fruit, Candies, Stroopwaffles
- Favourite cartoon: Little Bear
- If you ask him who his friends are, he'll say "Elmo"
- Is such a SLOW eater, it's painful. 95% of the time we are getting mad at him for fooling around at the dinner table and not eating. He's great with breakfast, okay with his lunch, and then not-so-great for dinner.
- Loves having crackers with meat and cheese for lunch.
- Loves having veggies and dip, with any meal.
- Has started doing the actions and clapping to songs: "If You're Happy and You Know It", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"
- Started Sunday School in January. The first few weeks he shed tears and didn't want me to leave, but since then, he has been great. During the Children's Message, Matthew's usually in his own little world and it's quite comical to watch. He's definitely going to be the kid at the front that everyone laughs at :)
- Shows that he is three using his last three fingers.
- Likes to pick his nose.
- When referring to himself and Kayla, he says "Me and Mah-yew (Matthew)", because that's what Kayla says when she refers to themselves
- Still has the greatest giggle. The GREATEST giggle. It's so genuine and infectious.
- Loves girls/women in their early-twenties. He always shows off and flirts with them.
- Has a great memory. Last week Jon had said that he was impressed with the meal I had cooked, to which I pumped my arms up in the air (Jon is difficult to cook for). Matthew and Kayla asked why I did that and so I explained. A few days later Kayla asked me why I had put my hands in the air...to which Matthew quickly answered before I even had the chance to, that "Daddy liked Mommy's food".
- Is quite intrigued by the freckles he's developed in the past month. He loves to look at them every time he's getting changed.
Kayla:
- Weighs 33.25 lb and is 38 3/8" tall. Over the last six months she has moved from being in the 25-50th percentile for weight to just in the 75-90th percentile. She is definitely filling out, and is looking more and more like me as a child.
- Wears size 4 clothes and size 8 shoes.
- Favourite Expressions: "Stop talking. You're not listening to me", "One Second"
- Loves playing "Duck, Duck, Goose", "London Bridges", "Ring Around the Rosie", "I Spy", and "Hide Seek"
- Loves playing with her doll stroller. She runs around our kitchen island saying she is "shopping" or "going to her party".
- Only wears her socks about 50% of the time. She takes them off for one of two reasons: 1) Because she runs faster in bare feet, or 2) because her feet are hot (thanks to her Struik genes)
- Can recognize and name almost all of the letters of the alphabet
- Favourite colours: Pink, Purple, and Yellow (in that order)
- Favourite snacks: Fruit, Candies
- Favourite cartoon: Little Bear. Every now and then she'll tell me about an episode that she's seen.
- If you ask her who her friends are, she'll say, "Dora and Princess"
- Can often be seen carrying all of our pink and purple books and toys (Any blue and green toys are automatically considered to be Matthew's. We received a grocery bag full of Little Ponies from my cousin, and Kayla right away gave Matthew all of the blue and green ones).
- Has become an AWESOME eater, 95% of the time.
- Loves having crackers with meat and cheese for lunch.
- Loves having veggies and dip, with any meal.
- Has started to only listen when she wants to. If she doesn't think what you have to say is worth her time, she completely ignores you.
- Started Sunday School in January. I thought she would be clingy and would not want me to leave, but she was completely okay with it.
- When she has her meltdowns, she let's all of her tears, boogers, and saliva fall from her face. It's quite disgusting and we're trying to teach her to control it.
- Is very cooperative getting her hair done. She likes to have as many clips in as possible.
- Loves jewelry. She loves wearing all of her necklaces, bracelets, and rings at the same time.
- Loves order. She likes to have everything in their proper place.
- Is quite intrigued by the freckles she's developed in the past month. She loves to look at them every time she's getting changed.
Our Routine:
7am Wake Up. Watch cartoons (Little Bear), eat breakfast, get changed.
10/10:30am Snack time.
12pm Lunch time
1pm Nap time.
2:30pm Wake Up. They are typically very grumpy if I have to wake them up so I let them watch cartoons (Little Bear) until they are 'awake'.
3/3:30pm Snack time.
5/5:30pm Dinner
6:45pm Bath time.
8:00pm Brush teeth, play a 1 minute game of racing or hide and seek with Jon, read a book, pray, go to sleep.
(Usually they are asleep within 15 minutes of having their light turned off...but I think they're on a post-party high tonight. As I'm working on this entry I hear them talking to each other and singing/chanting "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so...good job *clap *clap *clap" followed by the "ABCs". It's so cute. If I had plans for tomorrow I would be getting angry at them...but it's their birthday so they're okay to stay up late. Is that me being too soft? Jon's probably annoyed that I'm not getting mad at them :) )
"Daddy likes mommy's food" - priceless! Kayla sounds like such a girl - all the clips in her hair! too funny!
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