Yikes! The Twins Turn Two!
What does terrible two look like when twins, who look identical, flip their personalities daily? I could never predict my confusion and joy in grandparenting twins. I watched countless videos about twin antics and read numerous parenting books about twins before they were born. I worked with lots of families of preschool siblings when teaching early childhood education classes. Nothing, however, prepared me for the craziness that twins love to share by confusing their family with their many antics.
Funny Antics
Here are some of their silliest moments:
- When listening to music, Maria rocks and sweetly shakes her tambourine while Anna loudly blows her flute. Does the music of both toy instruments sound cohesive along with their abundant giggles?
- When getting ready for an activity, one twin runs in one direction and the other runs the opposite way. Anna hides quietly behind an unlatched door. Grandpa has quietly called for Anna while he hunts for her throughout the house without Anna making the slightest response. Maria, meanwhile, giggles and follows Grandpa on this great hide and seek adventure.
- Food, pacifiers, and cups are exchanged and shared by both girls. When one is feeling ill, how can a parent identify the owner of each item to control the spread of another virus?
- When getting ready for an outing, one twin will hold my hand and walk with me to the car. The other will run in the opposite direction back into the house to hide. Do you pick up one to chase down the other?
- Finally, it is time for a nap (your nap time also) and the twins are safely tucked into their cribs with their lovies. One happily goes right to sleep. The other proceeds to scream until you sneak into the room and hold her for comfort. The sleeping twin wakes up and screams because you have disrupted her sleep. Nap time is over in 15 minutes!
Two Year Old Twin Milestones
Although these examples can become overwhelming, the twins are truly a delight at two. They have achieved the following milestones:
- Call to Grandma with much enthusiasm and love
- Sing happy birthday days before a family member’s birthday
- Play for hours without a care when they entertain each other as they explore their wonderful world
- Beg for “uppies” and hug me to death while the other twin whines for added attention
- Snuggles with me at night in the rocking chair instead of going to bed
I would not trade in my role as Grandma of twins. Their love and care is a treasure to behold. They are the best of friends and occasionally will drive each other crazy.
I just laugh at their nonstop antics of imitating each other and flipping their personalities. I will never know who is doing what at a given time. They know that they are loved and treasured. The twins’ love is beyond my wildest dreams of parenting and self-fulfillment as their Grandma.
Share your silliest parenting stories!
Love and care,
Mary Ann
Copyright © 2017 by GenParenting
Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.