In toddler news . . .

Lenora likes liver (and Iliana doesn't). Lenora also can sing her entire ABC's, although she sometimes forgets and skips 'N' and "TUVWX' (and instead sings, "Q, R, S, Y and Z"). Today I actually tried a little phonics exercixe on her, using the Dr. Suess ABC book and having the girls echo back words starting with each letter, and then ending the page by having them just make the sound of the letter (so, 'puh, puh, puh' for 'P', or 'mmmmmmm' for 'M'). We started with 'M', and they stayed interested all the way until 'V', when they lost interest because the sound was too tough (and they'd already done about a dozen letters, having great fun - I was amazed!). I don't think Iliana understood the exercise as anything other than fun noises, but Lenora is starting to recognize letters and had that intent manner that tells me she is learning and piecing things together. Once she figures out that those symbols make WORDS, I think she'll learn to read very, very quickly. It's probably a year or more off before she connects those dots - but she's getting a glimmering of it already.

I admit: I want my children to learn to read young. I learned young, and loved it soooo much! I am so excited to be able to share this with my children, and thrilled that one of them is showing interest. Actually, she's more interested than I ever expected at this age! But then, Lenora is really sensitive to our feelings . . . she may know how much this matters to me, and be working on letters because she can tell it gives her a special relationship with me. And it does - Iliana and I have more similar personalities, while Lenora is more like her Dad, so sharing a love of words with Lenora is extra special to me.

Iliana's not as interested in her letters, but I'm definitely seeing the "twin synergy" kick in. That's what I call the effect where one twin learns something, and then the other twin picks it up without any more work from us - even though it's not in her personality to work on that skill. As parents, DH and I focus on teaching whomever is easiest to teach a particular skill, and almost always the other sibling will go through a spurt in a couple of months, and almost catch up with her sister before returning to her "favorite" skills to develop once more.

Iliana continues to "test" a lot - I think she will always push boundaries more than Lenora will. She is just so curious. However, she is definitely starting to get the hang of self-restraint, and is mastering the art of charming people (except when she is tired - did I mention that she takes after me?).

Both girls are thrilled with all the kids they've seen lately. The older children of our friends are amazing with these little girls, and really look out for them and love to show them new things. I'm seeing their care reflected in how the girls play and care for their dolls (and our own care . . . Iliana's dolls get a lot of timeouts, always administered by her with glee, but they get lots of hugs too).

For the first time ever, I'm starting to see the behavior that DH sees when I'm gone. The girls are getting used to me being home, and sometimes will go play by themselves instead of clinging around me constantly, fussing and screaming unless I'm directly interacting with them. It's taken them over a week to get to that point, but things did start to smooth out after the first two days of leave. I'm amazed by the games they play on their own - their imaginations have become so much richer lately, and they are starting to act out small stories now. The other day I learned that they were driving to the zoo in their toy car to see the monkeys with their Bahka. "Bahka", by the way, is Iliana's made-up name for her grandmother, possibly derived from the thousands of books in Grandma's home. It's the only baby-word that has really "stuck" in our vocabulary.

Anyways, I'm still totally a first-time parent, revelling in all the new differences I see in my children. And obsessed with my kids . . . I sometimes feel embaressed by how single-minded I can be towards my kids, and I notice I often forget to talk about someone else's kids once in a while. Hopefully I'll grow out of that. I'm working on it, but I think it's harder with twins. It's not just my child that is amazing, it's how DIFFERENT they are. I still can't believe I got such ideal children - they are so much like the twins I daydreamed about while pregnant, with different personalities and richly enjoying each other's company. Except they listen better than I expected. I rarely have to threaten with timeouts, and even more rarely have to follow through on my threat.

Of course, they haven't gotten old enough to really start bickering yet. Or rebel.