This is very long. I have been writing it in spurts when I have a moment. I still can’t believe they are no longer babies or toddlers.

Hair
Emma’s hair is still quite fair and has a tight curl. My mom cut it last month to tidy it up and it is quite short with the curl. Her eyelashes are getting darker so her hair might follow. Leah’s hair is light brown but has some red in it. It has a loose curl which I find
hard to manage. I put anti frizz stuff in both their hair which amuses John. I never have clips etc in their hair but I tolerate it when our moms are around. I will probably have to take the plunge in the coming year and let their hair grow. It’s just so easy when it’s short!

Eyes
Both their eyes got a little lighter this year.

3 Year Checkup
They were at the doctor last week. They are both 27lbs which is in the 5th percentile - that’s the curve they’ve been following now since they got on it and the doctor is not concerned. Leah is just under 36 inches and Emma is just over (25th percentile). Emma is noticeably taller now.

Emma has a heart murmur that they are going to check out with an Echo on July 3rd. The doctor was not concerned but he wanted it checked.

Eating:
They are not the greatest eaters but there is usually something I can find that they will like. Leah could exist on peanut butter and toast. They are getting better at trying things and I don’t give them a hard time if they don’t like something as long as they try it. Emma is much more adventurous and likes a fair number of fruits and vegetables.
Leah will eat bananas and all the meat and bread she can get. She loves tuna.They still only get juice for a treat and they still love milk. They are both now fully aware of the vast array of junk food that is available. They love potato chips and chocolate. They are not
so crazy about sugary candy.

The toilet
We had some pretty intense moments with Leah over the past 6 months after she started holding her poop. I don’t think John or I will ever forget how awful things got. It took 5 months for her to be back to normal and I am very relieved she got over it.

In other more exciting news both girls started intense potty training at the end of March. I decided to do Emma first and leave Leah (who was still having poop issues). It took one morning, five outfits and one broken washing machine for Emma to get it. She never looked back. Much to my surprise Leah took Emma’s lead and within a week we were in full time undies.

They are both really good about going and have just recently started being very interested in public washrooms. They would visit 4 times if you let them just to check it out. We only use the handicap stalls so they haven’t figured out there is a whole row of stalls quite yet - give it time! I also have the potty in the car in case of emergencies - we’ve only had to use it once. Both of them had to go. In 35C heat. My mom and John tried to convince me to throw it in the gas station garbage bin but I thought that was gross and decided to drive home with it. Never again!

Sleep
Night time sleeping is good as long as you are ok with getting up early. They get up early and itt doesn’t seem to matter what time they go to bed at. Emma needs more sleep than Leah but lack of sleep doesn’t mess up her day. Leah needs more sleep than she gets and can be a handful if she’s tired. Leah goes to sleep last and wakes up first pretty much every day.

I had nearly given up on napping when pregnant brain finally lifted and I started separating them right from the start of the nap. Emma sleeps in the guest room every day now and Leah in her bed. They are fine with it and they read quietly until they go to sleep. Sometimes I even get Claire to sleep at the same time and I don’t even know what to do with myself it’s so exciting (guess why I have time to write this!).

Since they miss out on the old two hours of mid afternoon partying they are pretty excited when it comes to their alone time at bedtime. They usually have to get a few ‘adventures’ out of their system before they settle down and read their books. They get along much better at bedtime and when they’re tired they go to sleep rather than fighting.

We don’t really have an involved bedtime routine but there are a few key points that can’t be forgotten or you will be called back upstairs. With the arrival of Claire John found out that Little Bear is on every night at 7:30. For most of the past 6 months they have watched Little Bear before bed or had a bath. After they are in their jammies (as they call them) they brush their teeth then hide under the blankets while we pretend we can’t find them. Once they are found John gives them their super hero medicine (water), their monkey juice (sippy cup) and then they ‘kiss the animals’ which involves you flying them around their room and them kissing all the pictures in their room. After that it’s playtime until they call you up to put their blankets on.

Big Sisters
The girls became big sisters this year. They have both accepted Claire right from the start. When she was a newborn they were gentle but not very interested. As she has developed they have become much more interactive with her. Emma was always a little mommy right from the start and was very interested in helping. Leah has come around now that she can make Claire giggle and hold her hands.

In the 5 months Claire has been around we have had no issues with jealousy or resentment. They have never put up a fuss about anything Claire related and I can leave the three of them alone in a room and know they’ll look out for her not beat her up! Looking back I am really surprised at how well they adjusted without it being a big deal. Twin benefit I guess!

Language
All focus has shifted from what they say to what we say. I have had to cut so much out of my vocabulary. I’m really careful (anal) about what I want them exposed to. School is coming quickly and the innocence will soon be gone. They don’t know the words fat or stupid or anything else really derogatory. I wish it could always be like that but I know it will come and I don’t want it coming from us. I never realized how many times I called myself fat until I had daughters!

Getting Around
They can do pretty much anything they want now. Leah is still lacking in lower body strength but she can for the most part keep up with Emma. John jokes that Emma is pound for pound the strongest person he knows. She can carry milk, a bag of potatoes or 12 cans of corn with minimal effort.

They can both pedal their bikes now and spend many hours going up and down the driveway. It’s still early in the summer but they are still whiners about cold water. They pretty much have no interest in the fancy splash pad that is 3 mins from our house. They are a bit better in the sprinkler at home but it takes a ton of coaxing.

Independence
They are both pretty much independent now. I officially retired their feeding chairs for the bday party so now they sit in boosters up at the table. They still don’t get down unless someone lifts them which works out well for keeping the house a little less dirty! They can both dress themselves but Leah still likes you to help her. Now that it’s summer I can tell them to get their hat and shoes on and wait by the door and they are ready to go without me lifting a finger! 

They are both really into helping. We hear “Can I help?” about 50 times a day. So far I’ve got them making their beds, tidying up their room, doing laundry, helping unload the dishwasher and vacuuming up their crumbs with the dustbuster. They can also change a diaper with supervision.

Personalities
Leah is highly emotional. She’s usually a very happy little girl who loves to sing and talk about her day. Leah will just randomly tell you how much she loves you. I have talked about her spirit before and it’s hard to put in words but those who know her know what I’m talking about. She’s just super sweet - when she’s in a good mood. THe other side of Leah can be hard to deal with. She’s quick tempered and can whine with the best of them. In recent months we have seen less and less of bad mood Leah. Her vocabulary has expanded and just the other day she said to John “Sometimes I get frustrated and I cry. I’m a big girl now and I need to use my words not cry’. The message is getting through! We have also noticed a big improvement in her attention span (for things other than tv - Leah loves tv) and her patience. She will now sit and do a puzzle to completion whereas before she would get annoyed and give up.

Emma is more devious than Leah. She watches everything and takes it all in. She is testing us a lot more these days and sometimes she can be very defiant. You always know when Emma is being ‘bad’ because she half closes her eyes when she talks to you. Emma can also whine with the best of them but she is much more persistent. Where Leah will just start screaming Emma will repeat “please share Leah” over and over and over and over again. WHen she finally does get upset it is not something she gets over quickly. Emma is a great little helper and likes to be involved in everything we are doing. While she isn’t as openly affectionate she still has her moments when she’s very sweet. Emma is a really good little girl for the most part. She listens well and will follow most rules without being reminded. She likes to do things herself and she is very proud of her accomplishments.

Both girls love John. They are definitely Daddy girls. And to his credit it’s not because he’s soft on them. He’s just super fun and has a ton of patience with them. To my credit when we ask if I should go to work they are both adamant that I have to stay home with them…that they would miss me…and most importantly “You can’t go to work Mommy, you don’t have work shoes”.

While all the kids around them are fascinated with there being two of them, they still don’t get the twin thing. They just recently found out that Dora has twin siblings (I have a lot of apologizing to do to Dora…and Diego) but they don’t make the connection. We also don’t talk about it very much. I still call them the girls rather than the twins. I think to us they are just so different and I would prefer everyone else saw it rather than just lumping them in as the twins.

Playing/Sharing
Over the past 6 months the girls haven’t really played with any particular toys. They have been too busy making up games and playing with each other. The pretend to be random pairs of people - the favourite since their bday party is Leah as cousin Stevie and Emma as cousin Tommy. It’s really funny watching and listening to the stuff they come up with while on their adventures.

They enjoy crafts and puzzles and will sit and patiently work at both. They are up to 48 piece puzzles now. The big thing that has finally happened is that they’ve stopped hoarding. This has been a huge deal because it used to drive me insane that nothing stayed together. It also made playing things with them tough because the stuff was scattered all over the place in random bags/purses or even wrapped up in kleenex…

Somedays they play well together and other days they are at each other all day long. I am convinced that 99.9% of the crying can be blamed on there being 2 of them. The bad days are becoming less frequent (especially with the return on the nap). They are slowly learning to take turns and be nice to each other.

They are also pretty good with other kids. The neighbour runs a daycare and we see them at the park a few times a week. The girls just jump in with their ‘friends’ and play away. They are both very social and like other kids - especially the older ones.

They both love to sing and they know a ton of songs. We are currently working on Oh Canada which they started to sing while watching Sens games.

The are also getting good at their letters and can each draw a few letters as well as shapes…and also random scribbles that according to them are cats, dogs, elephants…

Leah’s favourite colour is still yellow and Emma’s is still pink. It is a bit obsessive. For their birthday we got them each a pictures frame, a plate and a bowl in their favourite colour. They thought it was the greatest gift… 

They are getting more sensitive and you can now hurt their feelings. If someone other than myself or John is stern with them they will usually cry.

I could really write about them all day but I think I’ve got the important things down. I might add some more as I think of them. I am really starting to appreciate writing down all this stuff about them every so often. They’ve changed so much in just a year. This coming year they will start preschool and grow even more independent. I can’t even imagine what they will be like when they’re 4 but I know it will seem like the blink of an eye before I’m writing about it!