And it's a really good question. Technically I'm already past "two under two" at least in the most literal sense. Because Evie is no longer "under" two. She's two and a hand full of months. But you can still squeeze it in, since she's not yet three. But it won't be long til she's celebrating another birthday. I know this because it was only yesterday that I celebrated her first birthday. And only last week I held her in my arms for the very first time.
Holy cow. Three years ago at this time was when I got up REALLY early, because I couldn't sleep, and peed on a stick. Then in shock and disbelief drank a ton of water and peed on another stick. Then I went and laid in bed next to my husband feeling like the entire world had just shifted and gravity was no longer working right and everything I had ever known had changed. And it had. Because both of those pregnancy tests had a plus sign. And little Evie was growing away in my belly. It's still wild to think about. I spent a LOT of time standing in front of the mirror, staring at my perfect and flat tummy and just being in awe that a teensy person was growing in there. I miss that unflawed tummy! The one without stretch marks or extra skin. I wonder if I still have a picture floating around somewhere of that tummy? Maybe I can find one and have it framed. Cause I don't think I will ever see it again.
Yep. I miss that tummy. I'm skinnier now, but it doesn't look the same. But I digress...
So, will I still be a "two under two zoo" in another 8 months when one of my babies becomes a three-year-old?
I think so. More than the age of my children I feel like "two under two" kinda encompasses my life for the next decade or so. It's a way of life. A parenting style that is totally different from having children spaced out a few years.
Having two children less than 18 months apart changes your life. It does. Multitasking becomes second nature. Frazzled and rushed becomes a norm. You learn to let a LOT of the unnecessary things go. Laundry stacks up. And baby stuff, from toys to clothes to burp cloths, is in every room. You get by on much less sleep than you would have ever imagined. You learn to eat other people's leftovers, since you don't always have time to fix your own plate and let's face it, two-year-olds don't really eat anyways. You begin to dream about the day when you will actually get to pee in solitude without listening to a little person have a nervous breakdown outside the door. You find yourself announcing to a room of adults that "Mommy needs to go potty. I'll be right back," and then getting lots of sneers and giggles before you realize what you've done. Part of it is just the life of a parent. But for those of us with two under two, it's our lives for several years. Not just until one child is walking, talking and no longer in diapers but until a second child passes all those milestones as well. And everything we go through will be back to back. Two years of terrible twos. Two years of potty training. Two years of terrible threes. Two years of babies going off to school for the first time. Two years of babies learning to read, to write, to drive. Two years of girls becoming teens. Two years of daughters going off to college. It will all be back to back for us.
So yeah. I think my house will always be a two under two zoo. Even when they're 6 and 7 instead of 1 and 2. Or 13 and 14. Actually, maybe even more a zoo by then. Eesh.
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