The Easter Bunny

This morning Rowan was playing with a favorite bunny rabbit stuffed animal.  She said, "I got this for Easter from my parents."  I began to agree with her, then remembering it came in her Easter basket last year said, "No, it was from the Easter Bunny." 

She looked at me and said, "I think the Easter Bunny is actually my parents."  So there it is.  The gig is up. Our Easter Bunny sham lasted only 4 years, or maybe actually 3.  I asked her why she thought this and she explained how she was looking through my stuff and found the toys and candy that later were in her Easter Basket.

"Well, maybe mommy is the Easter Bunny for everyone," I teased.  "No," said Rowan thoughtfully, "everyone's parent's pretend to be the Easter Bunny."

I am proud that she is using abductive reasoning.   She is reaching conclusions based on her observations and using logic, instead of taking her parent's word for it, ie "argument from authority."  Believing something is true simply because an authority figure tells you it is true is a logical fallacy and yet we've all done it at some point. 

I'm proud of Rowan for questioning, using her own logic and reasoning, and coming to logical conclusions on her own.  It is funny that she took so many months to tell me that she knew.  I wonder if children sometimes want to protect their parents from the real world and keep the magic of childhood alive longer just as parents try to prolong childhood for their children.  I asked her if it was still fun to pretend there is an Easter Bunny, "yes, it is fun to pretend." she said.

School Days

Rowan and Evelyn had their pictures made at school.  School pictures have really changed from the old days.  Gone are the days of kids standing in the school cafeteria.  Nowadays they bring in a professional photographer who will even take sibling pictures.  These are the ones we bought, although we could have spent their college funds on photographs they were so good.

They're both doing well in school and they seem to enjoy it most days. Rowan was a learning a little faster than Evey.  The school wanted to move her to the next level of preschool, but Evelyn wasn't quite ready yet.

It's a hard decision: to separate or not to separate.  They've always been together.  Slept in the same crib until they got too big to fit.  And they are so close.  Yet we thought it would be good for them both to have some time a part and decided they were ready.

They both did really well a part.  Their teachers said they were actually interacting with the other children more.  Evelyn started advancing quicker too.  She was working hard to learn her ABC's, prompting herself to practice even.  In fact, she was ready to move up in about two weeks, but they were both doing so well on their own that we decided to delay the move until the following month.


The funny thing about the girls is they started pretending that Rowan was the "big sister," and Evelyn, "the little sister."  I suppose they see a lot of other kids who have siblings of various ages.  Twins are not the norm--although there are two other sets on the playground.

At home, they were happy to see each other and play together.  It seemed like a good move.  Although, I think the move stressed Rowan in ways I didn't expect.


Rowan was often the protector of Evelyn.  Their teachers said that she was more social and that when she sat next to other kids that she would always find the seat that had two seats in a row so Evelyn would be next to her.

So one night, Rowan was having a nightmare and started to cry.  I picked her up and brought her to my room to comfort her.  She said, "Check on Evey, make sure she's not bleeding."  She was awake, but really upset.  I said, "Evey's okay, I just saw her."  "No, no, check on Evey."  And she wouldn't relent until I went to check on Evey and came back with a good report.  Then she fell back to sleep.

I suppose she was worried about Evelyn not being in the same class, not being there to help her.  She didn't seem distressed during the day, but at night her little fears came out. 

Evelyn moved up this week and they are now in the same class. I heard her tell Rowan, "I'll still be you're little sister, okay?"   

The other thing about school is boys.  The girls are so impossibly boy crazy already, especially Evelyn.  When I picked them up last week, she waved to this little boy named Daniel and then screamed at him, "I LUUUV OOOO!!"  The little boy stared at her blankly as she walked off.

I said, "Evelyn!  Did you tell that boy you love him?  She said, "Yes, he's sooooooo handsome."  Oh dear.  This same boy was invited to our Halloween party last year.  Evelyn hand delivered an invitation to him at school, insisted that he open it, and then said, "it's for my party," as she pointed to herself about two inches from his face.  I don't think he replied to her, but he came to the party with his mom (who is also pretty quiet).  The little boy was in a transformer costume complete with a mask.  At the end of the night I said, "well Evelyn it was a great party, all your friends came."  She said, "but not Daniel!"  "Evey he did come, he was in a costume."  "Ohhhh, I didn't see him!", she whined.  Such is life, eh?  

But Daniel is not her sole love interest.  There is also Tyler and Leo.  Both of which are also "soooo cute."  One day she asked if I would ask Leo's mommy if he could have a play date with her.  Rowan says she likes all these boys too, but she rarely ever mentions them.  Evelyn actually pointed out who Tyler was  to me one day when I picked her up.  They were both excited to get invited to his birthday party.

Oh, they are growing up so fast.  It seems like as soon as I figure out one stage they are onto the next.  Every day they are more aware of the world around them and who they are in it.  They are such a joy and so funny.

Rowan and Evelyn had their first dance recital.  It was a tap dance to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. 

 This is a picture walking into the auditorium.  They don't have their tap shoes on yet, or their white gloves.

They worked on their routine for quite some time, yet I think the real performance is getting a bunch of 4 year olds to stand on a stage in front of loads of people.  None of the girls remembered the dance beyond a few kicks, or key waves, but the audience adored them all the same.  Who doesn't adore a small child in a tutu? 

 They both loved dancing in the recital.  Evelyn talked about wanting to take more dance classes, but Rowan said she would rather take gymnastics. 

I had the privilege of being a backstage dance mom for the performance, so I got to help the girls make sure their shoes were on, everyone was in line, and help entertain them before the performance.  As a result I got to sit on the front row of the audience during the performance. 


We bought them new dance bags and three roses each for their performance.  The school gave all the children little trophies at the end of the performance that said, "first performance" on the bottom.  Apparently trophies are the new thing in the dance world.  Why dance for the love of dancing when you can compete?  The girls were really proud of their trophies though.  They had to show all the neighbors when we got home and then they put them on the shelf next to my dad's old boxing trophies.  I think he would have gotten a kick out of that.

Kiddie Acres

I took the girls to this place called Kiddie Acres. It's a 1970's amusement park for kids under 6. The park itself consists of 5 old carnival rides that are still running only because of how simple their construction is. "Acres" is a bit of an overstatement too. The entire park is maybe a quarter of an acre, but perhaps "Kiddie Quarter of an Acre" isn't very catchy.

In addition to the rides, there's a little train and a couple of furry old ponies that will take the kids for a slow bridle-led walk around a worn path. Both girls were very excited to ride the pony and insisted on riding the larger of the two.

We met up with my friend Lisa and her little boy Sammy. He's younger than the girls, but enjoyed it all just as much. I believe their favorite ride was the Ferris wheel that had little cages that could sit two or three children in each one. I think our second floor balcony is higher than the top of the Ferris wheel and it circles around in a slow smooth motion. Each time it reached the bottom Rowan would say, "hello mommy," to me as I was standing at the gate, and as it passed upward she would say, "goodbye mommy," and giggle.






The girls had a great time at Kiddie Acres. And I imagine that for a 3 year old, it was pretty grand. They had a soft carnival tune playing and teenagers operated all of the rides in between talking to each other. Evelyn and Rowan rode every ride together. The park was small enough they could have chosen different rides, but as soon as they finished one they were in agreement on the next ride to go on. They are so funny that way. They sat together on every ride except for the airplanes and the cars. You can see Rowan's stuffed animal pig is her co-pilot. Rowan had to have a purple car and Evelyn chose the yellow. Evelyn wanted everything to be yellow today.

I enjoyed the park too, yet for some reason it made me really miss my dad. His birthday is in February so he's been on my mind, and combined with the old 70s rides, I kept thinking of myself as a child. I remember rides just like these. I know I have a picture somewhere of my sister and I in a boat that is just like the one with Evelyn and Rowan. Except, the one I remember had a bell you could ring right on the top of the boat. I would ring it the whole ride, even after my arm got tired. That was the whole point of the ride, I am sure. So often when I saw my dad he took me to fun little places to play, like the zoo or the park.

Those were good times that mean a lot to me now. I think you can't fully understand how important those memories are until you're older and your brain has filled up with a lot of memories you'd rather not have. It's funny how something so simple can be so valuable.

I hope the girls will one day look back and remember all the fun we have had and how much we have loved them.

Sisters

I was in the car the other day with my friend Pete and the girls. They were singing some sweet melodic song. Pete said, "Listen to them, isn't that beautiful." I hadn't been paying attention to the song, so I really listened to them. Evelyn was singing, "Sometimes...I no like you...Sometimes, I want to be alone..." then Rowan would begin her duet in a slightly higher tone, "Sometimes, I no like youuu...Sometimes I want to be alone."

It was so hilarious. These two sweet little voices, like angels and they're talking about how sick of each other they are. Yet, to their credit, the duet was a joint effort.

As twins, they are always together and always have been. There has never been a moment in which one existed without the other. At least not for very long. It's not quite this way with singletons, even those born very close together. The mother of a twin gazes lovingly at her newborn and then turns her gaze to look at the other. This is a constant, repeating occurrence.

It's not to say they don't want to be together. They are extremely attached and are very upset when they are a part. They play really well together too and already understand the value in joining forces. It's not uncommon to hear things like, "We don't like that, right Rowan." And after spending all day in school together, on the playground together, in ballet and swim lesson, and in the same room together, you can understand they'd periodically need "time alone."

After witnessing a few brawls that could put any saloon room brawl to shame, we began encouraging them to vocalize, "I need to be alone." And when I see they are getting on each others nerves, I try to find an activity they can each do on their own in separate rooms. It seems at this age, a puzzle or a game and they're ready to play again.

They spend hours playing barbie or dolls. If one wakes up early then she'll be sure to wake up the other. And there are moments of extreme kindness that is almost odd for a kid this age. For example, the other day Rowan wanted purple pants and Evelyn was already wearing them. I was telling Rowan she had to pick something else, when without even asking her, Evelyn took her pants off and gave them to Rowan.

And Rowan does this kind of thing too. At the Botanical Gardens yesterday, Rowan recognized that Evelyn was really tired and pushed her doll stroller for her to the car. There was no communication, she just did it and she didn't look for a thank you or a "pay you back." She just knew to take over because Evey needed her to.

Their preschool teacher separated them the other day in class and put one twin in a different classroom. "How'd that go?" "Not good." Yeah, I could have told her that. She said they cried the whole time and just missed each other too much

I know a lot of parents of twins worry about their twins becoming individuals. Separating classes is one step many parents make. But I am glad they have each other. I think at this age, they really need the comfort of the other. There may be a time later on to separate classes, or bedrooms, or whatever. But not now.

And more than that, I hope that they are able to maintain love for one another. I think of how much my own sister has meant to my life and I can only wish the same for them.