Hellobee

I survived having two under two for 6 months, then I survived having a two-year-old and an infant, and I have officially graduated to having two toddlers. LeLe is almost two and a half and Little Bug just turned one last month. The Cereal household is madness now! Little Bug started walking just at the end of 10 months. We were under-prepared for this and he just took off one day. LeLe is high energy as it is, so adding another walker to the mix was a bit of a hard transition. But, as with any situation, there are pros and cons of having two toddlers.

P R O S:

1) Not having to carry the little guy everywhere is pretty awesome. Especially in the grocery store or on our nightly walks. He is pretty steady now, so it’s kind of nice to be able to get a break from carrying him. It also frees up a set of hands to be able to walk the dogs, which is a big plus.

2) They both eat the same thing for dinner. This is huge! It was so annoying to have to make two separate meals, one of mushy things and one of real food, every night. Little Bug started eating more solid foods a few months back, but in the last month or so, we’ve really been able to feed them the exact same thing.

3) No worrying when we are out and about that the baby will need to nurse. I can bring two sippy cups or water bottles of water or milk and we are good to go. Plus, they can both hold their own cups so nobody is screaming in the back seat waiting for a drink.

4) They can both help me get them dressed. This one is a big time saver. Little Bug has finally started pushing his arms and legs through clothes and this makes a big difference when it comes to dressing them.

5) They can bathe at the same time. Before now, we had to tag team the kids. Usually, I would start in the shower with Little Bug then Mr. Cereal would grab him and bring in LeLe. It took forever, I never really got a chance to shower properly, and they were always rushed. Now, I can hand them over to Mr. Cereal and let him bathe or shower them together and I can hop into the shower and take a luxurious 10-minute shower all alone. It is glorious.

6) They entertain each other. This is probably the best new thing in our lives. I love that they can play together for short periods of time. Long enough for me to get some chores done, or eat a sandwich, or even fold a load of laundry. Granted, the time is usually short and ends with one tackling or pinching the other, but for those few minutes, pure bliss.

7) They seriously love each other. They giggle constantly together and they cuddle before nap every day. They like watching The Lion Guard together and LeLe loves playing music videos for Little Bug on the tablet and dancing together. They are quite the pair.

C O N S :

1) They both move so much. It is constant. They are nuts. Seriously, I am way more exhausted than I have ever been and it is mostly because they are both always on the move. Little Bug likes to climb on everything and LeLe thinks running is the greatest thing ever. It is like a hurricane in my house.

2) They are incredibly loud. I am constantly asking them to lower their voices. I took a video of them last week where they both hummed the same sound for over a minute. It’s hilarious, but seriously the noise!

3) They want to play together all the time, but sometimes one of them isn’t feeling it. The level of safety in my house has seemed to drop significantly because of this. There are almost constant injuries and crying. LeLe doesn’t know her strength and Little Bug doesn’t know his limits.

4) Corralling the two of them for meal times is an effort in patience. They scatter and it takes me at least ten minutes to get them in the chairs and strapped in. Once the meal gets started, there is always something that one of them doesn’t like, so I end up having to clean up a mess off the floor.

5) The laundry never ends. Never. They both get so dirty and probably wear two outfits each per day, sometimes more. Plus sheets from the crib, towels, cloth diapers. I am constantly doing laundry.

In reality, it has been so fun to watch this transition. They are so fun to be around now as they navigate this part of their lives together. I’m enjoying having them play and laugh together and I can’t wait to see how they grow up together!