Twins?

Ha! You didn't think I was pregnant, did you? Very much not so. And if I was pregnant with twins, you'd probably know way before a blog post because you'd hear my scream of panic from wherever you live.

Anyway...

Since Friday evening, I have had TWO same-aged toddlers under my care. Almost like twins! My cousin (who lives down the hall from us) got a job in Arkansas starting this summer and went on a house-hunting trip with his wife and baby, leaving his two older girls split between me and another friend. Thanks to a bunch of very kind and helpful friends who have taken shifts watching Campbell during the day, this week has gone pretty smoothly.

This boy was SO excited to have a full-time playmate!

I have to say, it has been crazy to see what life is like for parents of twins. For five days now, we've had two almost-two-year-olds exploring every nook and cranny of our little apartment. Sleeping in the same room. Waking up in the middle of the night to chat with each other (probably about their crazy dreams and secret crushes and whatnot). Eating off the other's plate. Starting spontaneous yelling contests.Wrestling like mini-sumos. Throwing food and expensive electronics. Alternating time-outs. Trying to share my lap. Fighting over sippy cups (and pretty much everything else). And whining because they're only getting half of the attention they're used to.

But even though it's been double the dirty diapers and double the mess, it's also been double the kisses and hugs and giggles. We have had some pretty fun little moments this week.

Josh has been the sweetest big brother. He's only about six weeks older than Campbell, but he's taller, so I think he feels like the big kid. Saturday morning they were eating together and, at the first opportunity, Josh whipped out his pointer finger and sternly said "Campbell, no, use your fork!" Then yesterday, after she had a time-out for hitting the TV with the remote, Josh acted really concerned with lovingly teaching her a lesson. He walked over to her, bent his face down so he was looking right into her eyes (touching noses, in fact), and said "Campbell, did you hit TV witta mote? No no, Campbell. No hit TV, okay?" Then he kissed her on the head. So cute. I think we have a bossy big brother in the making.

Mmmmm....nothing like a swig of luke warm bath water to help you unwind before bed.

For the life of me, I could not get them both to look up at the same time. I might just Photoshop these two pictures together.

So my reason for creating this post:
You know how some days with your kids are so wild and reckless that it's almost unbearable, and you almost  can't remember why you decided to procreate in the first place? Then after they've gone to bed, you see a few pictures you snapped during the day that captured a sweet little face or an angelic moment...and you melt a little bit because you remember. For me, pictures help me hold on to the best moments of the hardest days. I once forced myself to carefully scrapbook a whole summer of my life just so I would remember the GOOD parts, hoping the negative memories would fade away. Sometimes it works. This week was challenging because, honestly, toddlers are just tough. So I'm glad to have these pictures. Thank Goodness for digital cameras!