Twins: They're Different Girls

I usually take a break from the baby stories on Tuesday, but today is a special day.

Today, at three days shy of three and a half, my kids have figured out that...they can do different things.

This is huge. This is beyond big.

You see, since they were infants, we've done everything together. It's just easier for me. Sleep at the same time, eat at the same time, eat the same things, wear similarly styled clothing on the same day, interchange clothing, play at the same time, watch the same television at the same time. It worked out really well for quite a while.

But over the past year or so, it's been causing major problems because their sharp minds can pick out any minute difference and make a scene over it. Worse, sometimes one of them wants something (say goldfish) and the other one wants honey cereal and instead of me simply getting them the snacks they respectively want, the whole thing ends in tears since their sister doesn't want what they want. We also have to come up with exact replications of spontaneous things. One girl comes up with an awesome song and we praise her? The other one quickly spouts out some nonsense, not getting it because the 'baby muse' hasn't struck her but she still wants the praise, and we have to be just as excited. It's hard.

Up until last year, the girls thought they were literally the same person. I worked very hard to correct that. So for the past many months we've been operating on the understanding that they are two different people...who do the exact same thing always. Very stressful.

Today. And yesterday, in fact, this has changed. I never thought it possible.

Yesterday it was an accident. Dulce put on flip flops and Natalina wanted shoes. Weird, I thought, since this is simply forbidden in their minds. But, great, maybe some progress. When we got to the sandwich shop, Dulce realized that Lilly was wearing differently styled shoes. Huge meltdown. It was difficult to get through, but on the promise we'd go home and get her shoes, she calmed down. I kept putting her off, though, because we had errands we had to run, and really, this shoe business is ridiculous.

Before we got home, Dulce spoke up from the back seat, "I don't need shoes, mama, I have flip flops and I'm a different girl."

Cue jubilation!

A fluke? I thought so. But just this morning, Natalina decided to brush her teeth upstairs and Dulce downstairs. They had a little argument about it before Lilly said, "Hey, I have idea. I brush upstairs and you brush downstairs, because we different girls."

Dulce thought about it.

"Okay."

And the goldfish / honey cereal fight that we're constantly having? Today Dulce had her goldfish and Lilly had her honey cereal. Yesterday, one had an ice cream cone, the other had her ice cream in a cup.

They're different girls.

They're different girls and finally, finally, they're doing different things (slightly.)

Hooray!

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