I Used to Think I Had Lots of Patience, Now I Have Toddlers

I used to think I had lots of patience, really now I'm not so sure.  The boys are almost 2 1/2 now and pretty typical toddlers.  I feel like all I ever say is no.  "No no no no NO!", "Shut the Fridge", "Don't touch the trash", "Stop jumping on your bed", Don't climb on your changing table".  I'm trying to do my best as a parent, but I find myself wondering sometimes if I'm doing everything right, am I yelling too much?  I can't be the only parent who feels this way right???

Don't get me wrong, the boys can be total sweethearts.  Owynn now says "I luf you" which makes my heart melt.  Oliver really loves hugs and snuggles.  And they are pretty darn cute.

So not the most current photo, but I love this one. Oliver and Owynn their first Halloween 2011.

 

 

But then there are days like today where I was counting down the minutes to nap time, hoping that after they get up they will be in a better mood.  (Owynn didn't nap and is quietly hanging out with us in the living room playing with his kindle fire.  Oliver is sound asleep, he really needed it.) 
Or yesterday; the boys woke up and instead of going into the living room and turning on the tv or getting out their kindles, they decided they needed to raid the pantry.  They dumped corn meal all over the carpet in the living room.  Dumped out my baking soda on the kitchen floor, along with onion soup mix, yeast, and other baking supplies I keep in there.  They also got into my little baggie of hershey kisses I had saved from my baby shower that said "It's A Boy", which were almost 3 years old, there were bits of wrapper everywhere.  The boys also got into the birthday candles, we're hoping they didn't eat any of those.   
Or the day before yesterday.  They pushed Oliver's bed up against their dresser so they could reach the stuff on top.  They got down a small bottle of lotion and got it all over Owynn, Oliver's teddy bear, and the bed.

I've been told by other parents of multiples that things don't necessarily get easier, just different.  I can see that, but I'm still really hoping this stage will get a bit easier.  

Big Boy Beds: Update

The boys have been in their new beds for about two months now.  They have been enjoying their new freedom a whole lot.  It has been a challenge though trying to get them to stay in bed at night and especially at nap time.

Nap time right now is the hardest.  They still need a good nap every day, but they have decided that naps are over rated.  It just depends on the day and how tired they are, if they wind up napping.  If they don't nap they usually will play in their room for a couple of hours.  But on no nap days we usually end up with two very grumpy toddlers and Oliver like this during dinner:

Oliver asleep during dinner...again

Bedtime is a bit easier.  We still have to go in and tuck them in a few times before they finally fall asleep.  It usually takes them close to an hour to finally wear themselves out and fall asleep.  Tonight went quickly though.  They didn't nap, were exhausted, and John sat in their room with them until they fell asleep.  Which was a very welcome change from Saturday night when the boys decided that jumping on their beds was a good idea (it was in fact a very bad idea.)  The boys sleep in the same bed just about every night now.  Owynn likes his space, but Oliver always winds up in bed with Owynn one way or another.  I have found though that they sleep much better when they are together.  Owynn used to wake up around 3am every night, but he rarely does anymore.  They also are able to comfort each other better this way.  Occasionally Owynn will wake up crying and 90% of the time Oliver will comfort him and they will fall right back asleep without one of us having to go in to tend to them.  Plus they are super cute snuggled up in bed together!  All in all making the switch to toddler beds hasn't been nearly as bad as I had feared. 

Owynn and Oliver

Oliver at the top and Owynn.  I don't know how Oliver managed to get into bed with Owynn like this without waking him up.

This night was a struggle.  They are both asleep, with Oliver literally on top of Owynn.

Oliver and Owynn.  Owynn declared my socks were his, took them off my feet, and put them on his.  He slept with my socks on over his jammies all night.

Owynn and Oliver

all photos are property of doubleotwins.com

Their Twin Bond Makes My Heart Melt

Some days having two toddlers drives me nuts, but I can't imagine life without them.  They do some pretty adorable things sometimes that makes my heart feel like it's going to burst with love.

We had a busy weekend and so the boys didn't get a nap either day.  (They were surprisingly well behaved though.)  Saturday we spent over at John's parents getting caught up on laundry.  The boys really enjoy going over and spending time with Nama and Papa.  Sunday we spent the day running errands and grocery shopping.  We stopped by the toy store, saw one of our good friends, and left with more toys than we came in with.  The highlight of the day was going to the pet store and picking out more fish for our new fish tank.  The boys love it!

We got home and the plan was to have an early dinner then put the boys to bed extra early.  Poor Oliver was so tired that at dinner he drank all his milk then immediately fell asleep in his high chair without actually eating dinner.  So we let him nap there for awhile while I colored with Owynn.  It's not terribly often that we get to spend one on one time with them.  At about 8:30pm we started getting them ready for bed.  As soon as I put on Owynn's jammies he immediately fell asleep on my lap.  And not just kind of asleep, the kiddo was totally out.  So we put him to bed and spent some time playing with now wide awake Oliver.  Play time didn't last long though, Oliver was upset that Owynn was asleep in bed and he was gated out of their room.  Finally Oliver got his point across that although he wasn't tired or ready for bed yet he wanted his jammies on and to be put in his room too.  He was much happier playing quietly (you know for a 2 year old) in his room while Owynn slept, than to play with us in the living room and watch cartoons.  We gave him strict instructions not to wake up his brother, and he didn't.  He can be such a sweetheart.  I can't get over how much the two of them love each other so much.

Right now it's nap time, Owynn is sound asleep and Oliver is just happily playing in their room.  Satisfied because he is with his brother.  He is usually the one who ends up crawling into bed with his brother at night too.  Every once in awhile he'll open the door just to make sure we are still out here.