When you have twins that are your Alpha and Omega, every stage of child rearing is not only a first, but also a last. There is no need to keep anything for the next kid, because there is no next kid. It’s an all-or-nothing approach to parenting. While there are some developmental stages I might miss for a nanosecond or two, I’m mostly thankful to move on to new problems.
Given that it’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, here are 5 milestones of childhood development for which I’m thankful:
Milestone One: Putting food into their own mouths
I remember when our little blobs were new to solid foods and were unable to feed themselves. We were stuck in that shovel-the-food-into-their-mouths stage. For five months, we fed them hamburger soup for lunch and dinner. Who needs variety when you can’t talk? Hamburger soup was the all-in-one wonder food that went from pot to blender to ice cube tray in seconds. At mealtime, my husband and I would each choose a kid, arm ourselves with a rubber spoon and a cloth the size of a sarong, and race to see whose subject would finish first. The competition made it marginally bearable.
Milestone Two: Walking upright
I was not a lover of our double-long limo stroller. It was as easy to maneuver as a shopping cart loaded with cases of soda for a carbonation convention. Hurray for bipeds, though; when our twins walked upright, we pawned the tandem-wheeled behemoth onto two other unfortunate parents.
Milestone Three: Navigating the remote control
I’m sure many parents cursed this milestone, but I loved it. Before I banned morning television, our twins would crawl into our bed, turn on the TV, and switch the channel to cartoons, all while my husband and I attempted to sleep in ’til 6:20. When my twins learned to use the remote, we got twenty more minutes of sleep. And that means it’s a milestone worthy of celebration.
Milestone Four: Wiping their own butts
Vivian reached this milestone slightly ahead of her brother. She was so happy she could do this that she even wiped William’s butt a few times. When he decided he wanted privacy, Vivian would sit outside the bathroom door and read aloud to him. I imagine some part of her brain was remembering their time together in the womb.
Milestone Five: Putting on their seat belts and closing van doors
I’m pretty sure this milestone isn’t in most parenting keepsake albums, but it’d have prime real estate in my scrapbook if I wasn’t an anti-crafter. Errands are easy now that I only have to buckle myself into the car. Prior to reaching this milestone, my kids rarely left the house in winter. Imagine dragging two toddlers around on errands, going to the bank to see how badly my credit cards were hemorrhaging, then dragging those same two toddlers (hopefully) back to the van. We’d fight -20 C temperatures and stomp through deep snow to one side of the van, where I’d slide open the door, chide one of my kids for sticking their tongue to the frosty window, help them in, and reach over a snowsuit to buckle the seat belt, all while my glasses fogged up due to the cold. Then I’d have to do it again on the other side to the other kid. Now that they fasten their own seat belts, however, I experience a mild state of euphoria whenever I hear the sound of buckles clicking.
So, Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, eh? I’m grateful you’re still reading.
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What milestones are you thankful for?
I can’t wait for my 3 year old daughter to get through the “eat by myself” milestone. All she does is play with her food till it gets to gross to actually consume. Then when she’s done with that, she dares whip her pile of mush at me or my husband… not to mention her utensils too. The nerve, I tell ya! So I got the habit of… get this… spoon feeding her in the living room while she watches her cartoons. The tv distracts her long enough for her not to notice that she ate her entire meal. Oh, and let me mention another milestone I can’t wait for her to master…. potty training. Yes, she still pees… and poops in her pull-ups. Let me just add in that it has been already a year that I’m trying to get the little rascal to go in the potty. The best part of it all… is the proud look on her face when she sees my dissapointment. Oh the joys of being a mom! Can live with them, can’t live without them!
That’s a tough stage. I remember it well. Sometimes I think we’re (temporarily) punished for raising strong-minded girls. May this stage be over soon!
I too love the milestone of them getting themselves into their own buckles/car seats. It saves my knees and my time and allows me to cart yet another load of whatever into the car while they’re fighting over seats.
I agree. That was the milestone I didn’t expect and surprised me the most. And now they open and shut the van door, too. Serenity…
What? Getting themselves into their own seats/ doing own seatbelts? I didn’t even know that was a possibility? Excuse me, must go…have apparently got some work to do.
It will save your back…some vehicles, however, are easier than others. I think car manufacturers could use “easy to buckle” seat belts as a marketing platform. Good luck!
Love it and completely agree with every milestone you mentioned… for me I would also have to add, getting your own drink, and hopefully one for you brothers too!! The fact that they can open the cabinet, press the correct button on the front of the fridge, and fill a cup with an appropriate amount of water was a huge milestone for our family!!! Hooray for independence… at least a little at a time. 🙂 Also putting on their own shoes… How many times a day I used to stop everything to hunt down someones shoe and then 15 minutes later finally get everyones socks and shoes on and head out the door. Everyone putting on your own shoes, what a time saver!
Yes, the getting-a-drink-thing was huge. The shoes too. Although I still haven’t attempted to teach my six-year-olds how to tie laces (ode to inventor of Velcro). I figure they’ll learn it by the time they head to college.
I’m just at the milestone where the kids notice that the house is a mess and voluntarily clean. It’s frikkin’ revolutionary.
Also, I did an animated film for Thanksgiving. It’s on my blog and it’s all about motherhood / parenting.
I hope you check it out!
http://www.theanimatedwoman.com/2010/10/thankfull.html
Love that animation! I commented over there. And I can’t wait till my kids volunteer to clean our house. But I’m not holding my breath.
So what age do they hit the butt wiping milestone??? Granted, I’m happy we finally got to the “crap in potty more than in the diaper” milestones for my son, who could’ve cared less about dirty diapers. But the butt wiping thing would be awesome.
I truly don’t mind the buckling too much. I live in TX, where the coldest is typically right around freezing, and son will get straps over arms so all I have to do is the final snapping. If I lived in the north again, I think I would care more. My keys will open the van doors for me, so this also speeds up the process.
I agree with Audra-Cup of Daisies about the getting their own drink. My son is always thirsty and that saves me tons of time. Feeding himself was also nice, although on a few meals (if he isn’t a huge fan) we do have regression – mostly because we have to feed 1 year old by hand and he’s a bit jealous.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Kelly @ Dances with Chaos
Yes, the wiping thing is a big one. Big big big. Potty training wasn’t a big deal at our house because I waited till the kids did it themselves (3). ( I accidentally typed ’30’ – thankfully it wasn’t that long!) I’m hoping they’ll also teach themselves to tie laces.
I dream of the milestone of being fully potty trained – I can’t imagine going through it with two at the same time!
I am thankful for the “feeding himself” milestone, definitely. Especially now that he has a little sister and we’re back to shoveling food in.
Happy Thanksgiving from a fellow Canuck!
Gillian
What a great list. I was just thinking about this – I just got rid of my Diaper Dekor and did the happy dance alone in the living room. I still get some potty accidents, but I feel like I have been smelling poop for too many years and I have a reprieve!! Mine don’t clean up though. Don’t buckle their own seat belts. And my 3 year old keeps informing me he doesn’t know how to dress himself. I could swear my 5 year old did this at his age – so I think he is manipulating me and just wants Mommy to do it. I need to get to work!