Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Pea and Little Man!

Whoa -- the twins are 4! About to start preschool, bursting with energy (and opinions), full of love and loudness and sticky faces.

Sweet Pea is my little firecracker. She's a free spirit, the most likely to be off doing her own thing, and not at all swayed by other people. It may sound silly to be thinking of middle and high school now, but I am not one bit worried about her susceptibility to peer pressure! Sweet Pea does what she wants to, when she wants to, and it doesn't matter one bit to her who else is doing what. 

Little Man, on the other hand, is very much the life of the party. He lives to make other people laugh, and if he elicts one, he will repeat his joke or behavior over and over again to get more. His trademark brilliant smile still lights up a room. He is happiest when someone else (big sister CC, most likely!) is directing his play, coming up with an imaginative world that he can take part in.

He is growing fast, closer to CC's size than his twin's. They've even been wearing the same shoe size for the last year, although lately he's been complaining that his size 9.5's are too tight -- so that means he has larger feet than CC! Sweet Pea is growing too, but at her own slower rate. She's wearing mostly 2s and 3s, and size 8 shoes. I'm looking forward to her annual checkup in a few weeks, to see where she stands on height and weight.

Speaking of shoes, Little Man is very particular about how things fit his feet. His socks have to be just so: the seam lined up along his toes perfectly, and not pulled too tight. So it would be helpful if he could put on his own socks, but alas, we still have to do it, and he bellows when they're not on perfectly. His shoes have to be ridiculously loose -- to the point that they fall off sometimes -- because he hates anything tight. But at least he can put those on himself!

Sweet Pea, little miss independent, has been able to fully dress herself now for over a year, down to the buttons on her shirt and the buckles on her sandals. And she is not a fan of me telling her what to wear. I suppose that's reasonable -- she's four, after all! But since I still like the twins to wear coordinating colors every day, I'm glad Little Man doesn't care too much about what clothes he wears (as long as it's not a dreaded "button shirt"). Sweet Pea gets dressed first, then I pick out something for Little Man that matches.

Little Man loves to roughhouse. His worst mood can be changed by a good tickle fight, tackle session, or if I start throwing him up in the air or on the bed. His need for physical activity challenges my parenting abilities, but frequently when he misbehaves, I realize (afterwards, unfortunately) that he probably would have been much better off if we'd set up an obstacle course inside, or played out on the swingset for a while, or if I'd taken a few minutes to roll around on the floor with him. I've resolved to keep that in mind more often -- I think it will help with his tantrums and inability to sit still!

Sweet Pea, meanwhile, has been throwing tantrums of her own, which is annoying but also amusing. Ha! Compared to her big sister and her twin brother, her tantrums are laughable. But it turns out our littlest one has a flair for the dramatic, flinging herself on the floor and collapsing into a puddle of outrage.

But she is still the most affectionate of our three. And she seems to be the most tuned in to other people's feelings, too. If CC is upset, Sweet Pea will try to give her a hug (and get pushed away for her efforts). If Little Man is having a fit about wanting the yellow bowl for breakfast, Sweet Pea will often give hers to him. And I will even catch her hugging and kissing Rory -- something Little Man and CC never do.

She loves matchbox cars, and she's not into pink or princesses. Her favorite foods are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and mac n cheese. She treasures anything yellow, and loves to help me fold laundry.

Little Man's favorite toys are MJ's old wooden fire truck, and his "special guys": Humu the stuffed dinosaur, Lee the stuffed horse, and Bumby the stuffed bear. Like CC, his favorite lunch is a cheese-and-mayonnaise sandwich. His favorite colors are green and yellow.

This year will bring many new experiences. Most notably, in a few weeks they will start preschool! I think I'm as excited as they are. But as with CC, I'd give anything to be a fly on the wall of their classroom: seeing what they're doing, how they're getting along with other kids, what their favorite activities are. I even wonder if preschool will help Little Man's ability to focus. (One can hope, right?)

Here's to a wonderful fifth year, Little Man and Sweet Pea! I love being your mommy; I love watching your special twin relationship grow; and I'm so excited to see what's in store next year!