The Terrible—er, Terribly Fantastic—Twos

The kids are two, and although we're surprised that we've all survived this long, it has absolutely flown by. The kids are pretty different, and although it should come as no surprise (different gender, no more alike than other siblings), it's interesting to note the distinctions in their personalities and development.

Communication: They both chatter quite a bit, but Tanner talks almost constantly. ("Moon. Moon. Moon. Daddy. Moon. Daddy. Daddy. Moon. Moon. Car. Car. Car." You get the idea.) Tanner gets stuck on words he likes to repeat (see parenthetical) and he knows most of his colors, but while Jane guesses most items are either "pinkie" or "blue" (or sometimes "pinkieblue") (we are now wondering, only slightly seriously, if she's colorblind), she comes out with random words we didn't even know she had (one day she pointed to my purse on the table and said "purse" out of nowhere). Tanner tends to remember things from day to day (if you put Eucerin on him one night before bed, he will ask for it by name ("you-ee") every night after that for the next two weeks), and Jane has recently started saying "yes" instead of "yeah." They are both getting the hang of manners ("pees" and "fank koo"), although they are still reluctant to talk to Target cashiers.

Playtime Preferences: As much as we still get agitated by all the ridiculous marketing schemes geared toward boys and girls (why are all the doll toys pink?), the twins' preferences do tend to run down the imaginary gender line. Tanner loves to play with the new train set, and he loves building stuff with his Duplo Legos. Jane loves to play with her dolls. Both kids love books and love to hear stories. Jane does get into Tanner's new raceway toy, and Tanner does play with Jane's new princess palace, so at least they're getting some diversity.

Clothes: Jane seems to enjoy wearing dresses (or maybe she just likes saying "dress" and getting her tights out of the drawer), but they both will wear anything we put on them. They both are wearing 2T and 3T sizes, depending on the brand and fit. Tanner's pants tend to be a bit short, so we are often asking him where the flood is even though he has no idea what this means or why we think this is funny. They tolerate winter hats and mittens fairly well, though we're still working on helping the thumb find its "special" spot in the mitten. They seem to like wearing coats (and Tanner likes to give the blow-by-blow on who is wearing a coat at any given time: "Tanner. Coat. Janie. Coat. Daddy. Coat.") and sometimes try to put them on themselves (often getting a hand in a pocket before asking for help).

Sicknesses: Jane seems more affected by colds, and Tanner seems more affected by stomach bugs. They have both had their share of coughs and runny noses so far this winter. We've used the nebulizer on Jane several times, to get rid of some wheezing and try to improve her cough. We are constantly finding random bruises and cuts on both of them, although more so on Tanner. The kids sure do like to stay active.

Attachments: Tanner is extremely attached to his blue puppy, and this has led Jane to be somewhat attached to her pink doggie and yellow duckie. Tanner loves to touch noses with his puppy, and he seems very comforted by the little guy. Jane likes her doggie and duckie okay, but she'd probably be happy with any stuffed animal we gave her. They both still like their pacifiers at naptime and bedtime, although we think it'll be harder for Tanner to give his up. Janie is going through a mommy phase right now, and Tanner is similarly going through a daddy phase. But they both tolerate the other parent pretty well.

So that's the rundown. Happy second birthday, kids!