What I have discovered about twins is the best thing is that as a twin, you have a built in playmate. But also have a person who is with you almost 100% of the time (at least as a child) and they get on your nerves, they know all of your buttons, and they take joy in pushing all of those buttons. Alex and Olivia are no different, in fact they are really good at pushing each other's buttons. But starting at a young age they never really interacted much with each other. We always assumed it was because they were so different in their personalities.
Then there was a day in November that both kids were home sick with a stomach bug. I stayed home from work with them and besides the effects of the stomach bug, they were perfectly fine. I had planned to play/hang out with them in the morning after we ate breakfast. The next thing I realize, I am int he basement trying to get some things done and Alex and Olivia are playing together. Yep, it was one of those times that if Ben was there I would have turned to him and said quietly "hey look, they are playing together, and so nicely." Yep, that is how rare it is in our house. Typically playing together for Alex and Olivia means arguing or fighting over toys (2 - 2 1/2 was a rough time which is probably why there are no blog posts, we were EXHAUSTED!). But this day, it wasn't just 5 minutes of playing nice with each other, it was more like 3 HOURS!!! I couldn't believe it, and at one point I found myself kind of bored since I am usually breaking up the fights while trying to get my own stuff done.
So 2 years and 8 months, in my mind, is the magical moment a twin sees their twin as a positive in their life and not a hindrance. Now I should clarify, that in our house "playing together" typically means Olivia is calling the shots, and Alex is doing whatever Olivia tells him to do. I suppose he is in "husband training" for the rest of his life. And with this style of playing, it could mean they both end up in princess dresses playing with dump trucks.
And it wasn't just this one fluke day. It has actually been like this ever since, and it is SO wonderful. In fact, the day following the day I was home with them, Olivia was fine to go back to school, but I suggested to Ben to keep her home because his job would be easier since Alex would have a playmate. And I was right. They now go down in the basement when they get home from school and play on their own while Ben cooks dinner.
This may come back to get us though, as they seem to also enjoy ganging up on us, and plotting against us together.
And some issues never seem to die......as the never ending "who gets to go first" battle......but I'm hopeful.
1 comment:
I love these two!! Isn't it great when they can play together? D mo is finally old enough to really understand pretending and it is so cute to watch the boys pretend together. However, he also really enjoys wrestling and other forms of slapstick humor so sometimes it looks more like Monday Night Wrestlemania at our house. Having a twin was always my dream. . .I love that Alex and Olivia will always have each other, in the good and the bad!
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