Insta-Twins!

Today was my first day with two little ones.  I felt like a mother of twins, though I didn't have the time to adjust and grow with them as a mother while they were infants.  Instead, I went to bed last night as a mom of one, and I woke up this morning and suddenly had two (about) two year olds!

Starting today, our neighbors' daughter, Abby, is joining Shawn and me each day.  This wasn't really 'suddenly,' her parents (Bill and Shelley), Raj, and I have been talking about this since shortly after Shawn was born and I started thinking about resigning from my teaching position.  Once I actually did resign last May, our talks about me watching Abby got a little more serious.  Obviously, it took some time before we made the move, but my first day as Au Pair Au Puri went pretty well.  (Not that this was a complete surprise - I've watched Abby from time to time, during the day and at night.  She's very sweet and generally makes it an easy job.)

Knowing that someone else was depending on me to be up & functioning early this morning threw off my sleep last night - just like the night before going back to school after a break, only I didn't have to worry about preparing lesson plans or grading or that sort of thing.  Nevertheless, I ended up waking about an hour and a half earlier than I really needed to.  Arg.  (Note to self for tomorrow morning!)  When Bill brought Abby over just before 8:00 am, she was still in her pajamas and definitely still sleepy, but too awake to go back to sleep.  (I know the feeling, Abby.) 

Hearing his friend downstairs, Shawn woke up shortly after Abby arrived, earlier than he would normally rise and shine.  Once he saw Abby when she and I opened his bedroom door, he instantly smiled and wanted to play.  The day has begun!  During breakfast, the Bobbsey twins at in side-by-side booster seats.  After being at our house for not quite an hour, Abby taught Shawn his first lesson:  knuckle bumps.  With a perpetual chain of high fives and knuckle bumps spanning the gap between their booster seats, this tutelage interfered with the concept of actually eating at breakfast, but it was a fun way to start the morning. 

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of activity.  (I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up if they are this excited to see each other every day!)  In no particular order (and I'm sure I've left out plenty):  stories, music, Mega-Blocks, trains, cars, airplanes, balls, tunnels, puzzles, dancing, magnets, drawing... and of course pauses for more high fives and knuckle bumps.  Luckily, I was able to grab my camera fast enough to capture the pair squeezed onto the seat of a ride-upon airplane.  Though they took turns who got to pilot the plane, the 'cockpit' was more than a little crowded, so I don't think they got very far! 

Naptime was a little tricky.  Both Abby and Shawn were definitely tired, but neither wanted to take a break from the fun and excitement.  It took a little while to wind down into quiet-sleepy mode, even still we decided to cut our pre-nap story short by a few pages.  I would have liked their naps to have been a little longer than they turned out to be, but I have a feeling that will be a common occurrence. 

Bill came to get Abby around 4:00 pm.  The doorbell startled both kids, who were mid-twirl in what looked like a mix between human pinballs and a dance-off.  (Didn't catch that action on camera, but next time, I'll try to act faster!)  Shawn was very confused why Abby was getting her shoes on, but he wasn't.  He stared at Bill as he took Abby home, unable to wave or say bye-bye.  Don't worry, Shawn - she'll be back first thing tomorrow morning... and we can do it all over again!