Unlike a lot of other mummy bloggers, I don’t tend to write an awful lot about the girls week to week and so I like to write this one update each year to share how they are getting on and as a reminder for me.

It’s crazy to look back at the last years’ update and see how much they’ve both changed. This year, they have definitely become a lot more inquisitive. Jessica especially has so many question and her memory for retaining any new information is amazing.

Both girls have also become a lot more confident and sociable with other children. Emily loves to chat. She’ll talk to anyone and often to her toys too. Frequently, I’ll catch her having a full blown conversation with herself in the mirror.

Car Seats

At the last update, the girls had just rotated in their car seats and were finally forward facing. I loved the swivel Britax seats we had but sadly they outgrew them and so the girl have now moved into high back booster seats. We still opted for ISOFIX for that extra little peace of mind.

Potty Training

The girls have done so well over the last year to the point that I very rarely take space clothing anymore. It’s lovely to have that stage over with. I now can carry small bags when we are just popping out and I’ve even downsized my backpack.

At night time, Emily is totally dry and has been for well over a year. Jessica still wears a pull-up. It’s hard to tell whether she actually needs it and I suspect she is using it out of laziness first thing in the morning. However, I don’t want to push her too much. She won’t be wearing it forever.

Challenges

The girls really are very different and it is crazy to see how differently they react to the same situations. Jessica particularly struggles with her anger. She gets very frustrated at herself when she makes a mistake or falls and hates to be comforted when she’s made a mistake.

Emily on the other hand, although brave and not easily upset by pain, will still want lots of cuddles and reassurance after an accident. Emily is also a bit more reserved when trying new things whereas Jessica will throw herself in with little care of the consequences.

Mornings

The Gro Clock is still working well in our house. It is set for 7:20am although I often hear the girls chatting a little before this. They know they can talk quietly but they mustn’t come out of their room until they see the sunshine on the clock.

Sometimes they come into us but recently, they like to head straight downstairs to start playing. I get up about 7:30 and go down to get breakfast going. They enjoy porridge, cereal and toast or muffins. On a Sunday we’ve introduced pancakes as a weekend treat.

Getting Dressed

Once breakfast is finished, the girls get dressed. They are starting to have more opinions over the clothes they wear. Jessica prefers tights over leggings and definitely likes short sleeves rather than long. Emily wants to wear anything ‘pretty’ but prefers leggings to tights.

Both girls are also beginning to dress themselves. Jessica is more able to do this and when she wants to can get herself entirely undressed or dressed independently. Emily finds putting on clothes harder and does prefer to be helped. it’s something we are working on in preparation for school.

Our Week

• Monday – We are often at our local play group followed by lunch in the cafe. Every few weeks we also go to the Wriggly Readers session at our local Library
• Tuesday – The girls have a morning session at Preschool from 9-12. They have been doing two morning sessions since they turned 4. The afternoon is normally spent at home playing.
• Wednesday – This is our flexible day and I plan to take the girls to as many different places as possible. We’ve done activities such as farm visit, bike rides and swimming. This is also a good day to meet up with friends.
• Thursday – The girls have a morning session at Preschool from 9-12. Just like on Tuesday, the afternoons are normally quite relaxed and we might put on a film.
• Friday – We visit a large playgroup where there is soft play, a craft table and snacks. I generally do some cleaning in the afternoon and the girls play.
• Saturday – Daddy and I take turns to do the big weekly shop. Sometimes we will split the girls and take one. Othertimes, we will just go alone.
• Sunday – Often we meet up with family on a Sunday and more often than not have a big Sunday roast.

Quiet Time

The girls no longer nap. Even in the car, it’s unlikely anymore. Instead, we have quiet time at 3pm. This is just 20-30 minutes each day where I can grab myself a hot drink and the girl play quietly and entertain themselves for a little while.

Eating

The girls have always been really good eaters but over the last few months have become more difficult at the dinner table. It is not that they are fussy but they just get easily distracted and find ways to avoid eating.

Emily is especially hard word and eats very slowly. We are trying various strategies to get mealtimes back on track and I’ll keep you posted with what works.

Evenings

Since Daddy’s job changed last year, dinner is now at 5:20 so we can all still eat together. After dinner, there is normally a little free time for play before we kick off the evening routine. However, with the slow eating, this often disappears.

We start tidy-up time around 6pm and although the girls are getting quicker, this still needs quite a bit of encouragement. They also love to spread toys around every room of the house to make this task that little more fun.

The girls then do teeth and toilet and depending on whether they’ve earnt it or not, they each get to choose an episode of a TV show before heading up to bed for stories.

Daddy and I take it in turns to do story time and recently we’ve been moving onto longer stories and chapter books. We just finished Matilda which the girls really enjoyed and we are now reading The Far Away Tree Series. There is post coming soon with our recommended books for 4yr olds.

After kisses and cuddles, they settle down and go to sleep at about 7-7:15 about 80% of the time. On some occasions Jessica will struggle to fall asleep and call us back for extra cuddles. Surprisingly, Emily never wakes.

Ten Facts About Each Twin

Jessica

• Height: 111cm / 3ft 4″
• Weight 18.1kg / 2st 12lbs
• Enjoys construction and building toys
• Wants to help with cooking and says she is going to be a chef
• Will always choose to wear wellies over any other footwear
• Can already add two numbers together without using her fingers
• Would stay in her pajamas all day
• Will sit and ‘read’ books to herself for hours
• Struggles to empathise with others and wants what she wants
• Paw Patrol is still her favourite show and Chase is still top dog although she’s not a fan of Spy Chase

Emily

• Height: 101cm / 3ft 4″
• Weight: 15.9kg / 2st 7lbs
• Can write her name and some other letters
• Enjoys crafts, painting and messy play
• Has a bit of a lisp and struggles to pronounce some words
• Always wants her hair to be done like a Disney princess
• Likes to get dressed straight after breakfast
• Doesn’t like to stay home. Always wants to go ‘somewhere exciting’
• A people pleaser
• Loves Paw Patrol too but now favours Skye

If you have a four year old, I’d love to hear how they are getting along.

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