Birthdays, Bunnies and Balloons

We decided to celebrate their third Birthday with small gatherings of people closest to them and with family.  We woke them up on their Birthday morning with 3 balloons each which they loved and then had cupcakes and unwrapped presents with Silvana, their adored au pair and Noms, our wonderful housekeeper.

On the weekend, their Aunty Jen and cousin Abby arrived to stay for 2 weeks and so we had a little celebration braai with Aunty Nicky and Stef, Ilse, Arusha and Bodhi too. It was so special to see them interact with other kids.  There is no doubt that they are ready for school as they are keenly interested in other children so I am sure they are quite ready to start becoming more social. I didn't see them for hours as they were so busy playing. We had special bunny cakes made for them - a blue one for Finn and a pink one for Becky - on request. They loved them and ate most of the icing before we could cut it into slices.

There have been some classic sayings lately. Finn had been playing with his balloon and when I let Mala in from outside, he said to her "Mala, don't eat my Birthday!". And then, Silvana told Becky that as she was 3 now she needed to stop sucking on her dummy at which she responded that Finn had to throw away his thumb then, to which Finn said "I can't throw away my thumb, it is stuck" and "Mom, don't throw away my thumb hey".  Very amusing!

We just had the news that they have been accepted to Waldorf!  Very happy about this and even though it means more strain on our already tight disposable income due to the high school fees and we also have to keep our au pair - we really feel it is the right place for them to start their next phase of development. So from January they will be going to playschool for 4 days a week.  I will have to drop them off in the mornings, which means I will be at work 15- 30 mins late as I can only drop them off at 8h15 earliest - work will have to handle it - and then Silvana will pick them up at 12h30 and take them home for lunch and nap and afternoon playtime.

I am loving this phase and all the wonderful words and thoughts coming out of these little poppets' brains...so so so cute!

Now we are three!

Langebaan adventures

The twins turn three on Thursday! My last post referred to time speeding by, and how it has! I am amazed that we have arrived at this new milestone so quickly. The baby years seem well and truly over now and in some ways that is so sad - it went so fast I don't feel like I really had the chance to completely appreciate them as babies - In the day-to-day task of parenting twins, parents are mostly too busy just looking after their basic needs. With two it was difficult to fully indulge in the true one-on-one bonding experience and in some ways I mourn this lost opportunity. There is always another baby needing you too.

 

Now in the toddler years, they are increasingly demanding of your time as a mother, both wanting you all of the time, competing for uppie, for playtime, for attention.  It is rare that I can just spend quality time with one of them alone. And on that rare occasion, when we have split up to do just that, I feel as if a part of me is missing and that we should all be together.

 

Little beauty with flamingo feathers in her hair

Darling boy with those eyes

So my babies are growing up. And while part of me truly wishes I could have had another baby, I am also so excited by their increased independence on both a physical and emotional level. Their personalities are blossoming, their sense of humour unfolding and their physical bodies strengthening. It is simply wonderful to experience this. I take as many moments as I can to just watch them, to drink in the miracle that they are.

 

My memory taking of them in this way is so precious and absorbing that I often forget to capture them on other lasting mediums. Funny how I had so much time to video my family's children but not as much to video my own. I haven't even edited their first year video yet...I would like to do this soon as they are just at the age where they will be really interested in the journey from babies in NICU to their first Birthday.

 

Finn is a delightful, sweet, sensitive boy with a cheeky grin, a sense of humour and a keen curiosity. Rebecca is a determined, bright, sparkly darling of a girl with a love of reading, also curious and never wanting to be left out of anything. They are both caring, compassionate and protective of each other.  I expect this will intensify as they grow older and there are sure to be twin versus parent issues ahead of us I am sure. Their vocabulary is impressive, as is there understanding of concepts and structures of thought. We often find ourselves reeling at the observations they make at only two years old.

 

Beach adventures

We recently went for their Waldorf Playgroup interview and await to hear whether we have been accepted. If they are then next year, we start their education journey. It seems like yesterday that we applied for a place when they were only 6 months old. It is a wonderful environment for a child and we look forward to our journey there too.

 

Love my dog

Me too

What exciting times lie ahead! Oh the adventures we will have. The experiences we will share. The travels we will learn from...