Learn from each other

Raising kids that are only a year and a few months apart sometimes feels like I'm raising triplets! Sure there are some pluses.... like they're all on the same schedule! They go to bed at the same time, they eat at the same time, nap at the same time (BIG plus!), snack at the same time. They're interested in the same things so it's easy to buy toys that they'll all like! Sharing clothes is almost a reality! They like the same movies and enjoy the same restaurants!

There are a few draw backs though. For example, you'd think that by the time you got to toddlerhood with your third child, it would be old hat, but since the first two are still in it too, it's like we're still rookies! Plus we still have lingering questions, like when will they be able to completely go to the bathroom by themselves??? I mean ALL by themselves, clean up and all!?! When will they learn to pick up their toys without making us sound like a broken record that's stuck on "Get in there and clean up"..."Get in there and clean up"...."Get in there and clean up"... When will they realize that sleep is a good thing and not something to be dreaded???

One good thing is that they can learn from each other! They learn how to dress themselves by watching each other, they learn how to feed themselves, they learn how to work the DVD player...oh wait that's not a good thing because now all of our DVDs have fingerprints! The following conversation is an example of Ainslee trying to teach Ava the proper pronunciation to a word:

Ava: ook dere's yeh-yo. (Look there's yellow)
Ainslee: UGH
Ava: yeh-yo, yeh-yo, yeh-yo
Ainslee: UGH! Ava! It is not YEH-YO!!! It is LELL-O!!!!!

Okay so they can't learn EVERYTHING from each other! But sometimes it's fun listening to them try!!