Big Girls and Their Big Beds

Unbelievably, the twins are 3!

What a difference three years make! It's fair to say that, for most of their short life, we've had plenty of "double trouble," our hands have been very full, and we've trudged through twice the challenges at every stage along the way with these two. We made it through alive after the terrible twos and survived the potty training that dragged on forever. I think we're done paying our dues, though, for a bit, and we're now enjoying the absolute pleasure and ease (yes, ease!) of having twins. As I type this, the older girls are at school, and Mary is asleep. I could be fooled into thinking there are no children in this house, as Tessa and Annie are quiet as little mice in their own world, probably playing with their "doo-dads," a combination of princesses, ponies and other tiny creatures, all transported in little baskets and purses. I have had zero interaction with them for at least an hour (I'm not neglecting them. I just know when I'm the third wheel!) and I'm loving it! The value of a built-in best friend is not to be underestimated, and in honor of their third birthday, here are some cute pictures of Tessa and Annie together. It's pretty cool to be a twin!

Lest I paint a picture of twin bliss over here, though, we are still struggling with a few things with these girls. Okay, maybe just one major thing: bedtime! As convenient as cribs are for containment purposes, we couldn't keep them in there forever, and when Tessa and Annie turned three, it was high time for toddler beds. So, we said goodbye to our 2-crib nursery (and we couldn't do that without some crib shots, now could we?)

and hello to a 2-toddler-bed, 1-crib room. Their room is not palatial, so we put the two beds side-by-side at first,

and that arrangement was a little close for these wild animals. But, it did allow for some kisses before bedtime!

Ah, those little beds next to each other were quite the source of jealousy for two big girls who never had toddler beds (oh, the injustice!) and skipped right to bunk beds. Those big girls are pretty persuasive and talked mommy into a sleepover nap to break these beds in. I really didn't think this set-up was going to last longer than five minutes, but I was shocked when all four fell asleep like this, and stayed asleep for two hours! It's moments like this that I love love love having these girls so close together in age :)

(left to right: Tessa, Megan, Annie, Bridget)

But, not everything with this shift to big girl beds has been so smooth and cute. The thing about toddler beds is that toddlers can get out of them on their own....like Annie did here.

We've also found Tessa apparently sleep-walking, and discovered her asleep in various non-sleeping areas of the room, including their closet!

Our bigger problem is that we have to sit in their room (in a very conveniently located rocking chair) and wait them out until they fall asleep. I am a strict warden in there, barking orders for them to go to sleep, to stop singing the unicorn song, not to touch their doo-dads, put Snow White down....this is all normal, right? ;) Bringing innocent little Mary to sleep in that crazy den of theirs seems like some kind of infant abuse. So, we keep up this system in the hopes that things will get better....Mary may just stay in her pack and play in our room until she is 3!