"Girls are quieter than boys" and other lies I was told

Back when Pat and I were discussing our ideal family, way before the kids were born, we thought we wanted a boy and girl.  We were thrilled when we found out we were having a son.  Got our boy!  With our second pregnancy we knew we would be happy with either gender.  Having Ben was such a delight, I could just picture having another little boy to love.  But I would have been so happy to have a daughter too.  With twins, well, I have to admit the thought of having two girls was the most daunting combo to us.  One girl, yes, we both wanted a daughter.  But two at once?  Two going through all the less than exciting parts of growing up at the same time?  That was a bit intimidating to us.  Learning we were in fact having two daughters was a little scary at first.  We got over it pretty quickly.  Any gender can have trying parts of childhood.  Two daughters was going to be awesome.  Then I started hearing all the differences between little girls and little boys.  Honestly it made having twins sound a lot easier- they were both girls.  Well I'm going to say it.  Most of them were lies.

Girls are quieter than boys.  I knew that girls usually talk more than boys.  But I was under the impression that girls didn't yell and scream as much for no apparent reason.  Not so in this house.  Ben was a relatively quiet baby and early toddler.  He just didn't make a ton of noises.  I'm pretty sure Ali and Sammy are some of the loudest babies ever.  Seriously.  They aren't unhappy girls, they are just super loud.  I used to ask people if their girls tended to be louder than their boys, or if their second children were louder.  Nope.  We just have loud babies.  These girls love to yell and squeal and make all kinds of noises.  One of them alone is super loud.  And we have two.  Pat can hear them from outside the house when he gets home in the evening.  (Thank goodness we aren't in a town home anymore!)  These ladies have opinions and want them to be heard.  Now that Ben is three he is talking non stop.  I'm pretty certain I won't be able to get a word in around my kids in another year or so.

Right for the outlet.  Every time.

Girls don't get into as much trouble.  We baby proofed with Ben, but not in an obsessive way.  I believe in baby proofing just enough.  By that I mean we take care of real, serious danger.  But some things are left out to learn from.  For example- the kids aren't allowed to play with the tv remotes.  They are out, and we work on learning not to touch certain items.  Ben didn't really get into stuff though.  He was never interested in outlets.  He didn't really try to reach up on high shelves and get things.  He ignored cords for the most part.  (This was particularly helpful since he was in an office all day.)   He was pretty mellow. Ali and Sammy are drawn to outlets like they are candy.  They think cords are chew toys I am meanly keeping from them.  They try to reach and grab anything they see.  These girls tried to eat the edge of the carpet.  Nothing is safe around here.

Crawling on train tracks?  Why not?

Girls are more careful than boys.  I've heard that boys are fearless.  When we had Ben I was prepared for bumps and bruises.  I was ready for him to be rough and tumble.  Now he can be, but overall he is a pretty cautious kid.  He doesn't like stunts or doing wild things.  He makes sure he is confident with playground equipment before he gets on it.  He always looks before he leaps.  We have two little daredevils in Sammy and Ali.  These two still fling themselves all over the place.  If we sit with them on the couch they will try to go headfirst over the sides.  Both of them have had bruises and bumps on their heads and faces.  Ali went face first into a toy and got a deep bruise on her cheek (poor baby!), and Sammy headbutted her crib and got a bruise on her forehead.  (I saw it happen, but did not for a second think she would launch herself that hard!)  Pat and Ben were in the backyard one day and I stepped out to say something to them, leaving the door open.  There is a drop from the door to the porch.  It's only like six inches, but I thought no way the girls would go out. Nope, both of them just scurried as fast as they could to get outside.  The drop didn't slow them down for a second.

Never stop trying to get into everything.

Girls sit still better than boys.  Okay, I know my girls are still young, so we will see how they are as toddlers.  But as babies- they never hold still!  Ben didn't start crawling until he was almost a year.  He was happy to sit with a collection of toys and play.  He liked to sit in his high chair and watch me cook in the kitchen.  This probably helped with him not getting into as much.  Ali and Sammy never stop moving.  They started wiggling and trying to get around at about six and a half months.  By seven months they were army crawling.  They never stopped.  They are all over the living room, bouncing from toy to toy.  They cruise around holding onto anything they can grab.  I have never been so grateful for baby gates.  Speaking of those gates though- the girls have learned to push them over if they aren't tight enough in the doorways.  They also stand at the gates and lift up a leg like they are trying to step over like adults do.  So they are busy and smart.  Super.

Girls are neater than boys.  Ha!  Ben is one of those kids who likes everything in it's spot.  He can make a mess- he's still a kid.  But his room is clean without my having to say much to him.  Drawers need to be closed, toys should be kept together by type, and he pretty willingly cleans up at the end of a play session.  Even with eating he isn't too bad.  Oh, he gets messy.  But it really isn't that bad.  The girls are a mess.  I mean that in the most loving way possible.  When Ben was a baby he was super into putting things into containers.  The girls want nothing more than to dump everything on the floor.  They grab toys and shove them places, which drives Ben (and me) crazy.  We have to hunt down the pieces of different sets at the end of the day.  Meal times?  I have never seen the messes these girls can make!  I swear if I give them a little dab of peanut butter they manage to end up with a whole jar's worth on their face.  Ben never got food between his toes.  Ali and Sammy- not that uncommon.  The two of them find nothing funnier than putting things on their heads, especially at meals. We go through a lot of wipes in this house.  (These pictures are from a relatively clean meal.)

I adore having a boy and girls.  I really am so grateful we get a chance to experience both.  I have a busy little boy who loves to jump in muddy puddles and run around non stop.  I thought two baby girls would be nothing compared to that, but having girls does not mean you are in for a more peaceful time.   And I have two of them.  Two busy, loud, fearless little girls.  I love it, but thank goodness my caffeine addiction was well in place long before kids. :)

-Kim

Oh, and if you think having twin girls means having tea parties and playing with dolls all day, check out this wrestling match.  The girls like to try to launch themselves off the bouncer.

There can be only one!

Full explanation of this picture:  The girls were actually giggling and hugging, but Ali hugged a bit too hard and Sammy fell over.  I just happened to get the picture at the right moment.  Sammy didn't miss a beat.  She rolled over and tried to get right back on.