Birthday Girls

Of course, the birth story is only the beginning of the story . . .

What I remember most about the early days and weeks is how tired we were all the time.

Two babies! Sometimes it still blows my mind.

I remember, in an abstract way, that Annabelle and Daisy were crabby babies. Annabelle came out yelling - she didn't cry, she yelled. And she still has that same yell today. They clearly had a special bond from the very beginning and didn't like being separated. Although we had two cribs in anticipation of their arrival, they wouldn't be separated and slept together in the same crib until they were almost two years old. They even both contracted viral meningitis at ten weeks old and were hospitalized together for five days.

When they were toddlers, Annabelle was clearly the leader and Daisy the more passive follower. But these days they're on pretty equal footing.

It's impossible to imagine, when they're little babies, them being anything more than cuddly, cooing lumps. It's impossible to imagine five years down the road, to guess at what they'll look like, what they'll be like as little girls. Just like now, it's impossible for me to imagine them as teenagers or grown women.

But here we are, five years later, and Annabelle and Daisy have grown into two beautiful, bright little girls. The whole twin thing still fascinates me - it's like watching a lifelong science experiment. They're absolutely the best of friends and take comfort in the other's presence, but there is also definitely rivalry between them and they will gladly beat the crap out of each other over a toy or a slight. They're both girly-girls - very much into dolls and ruffles and everything sparkly, but Annabelle is also very much a tomboy. Daisy is very motherly and bossy - to everyone.

***

I was up until 11:00 last night making cupcakes to take to their kindergarten class this morning (I was only up so late because I ruined the first batch and therefore had to start over - Martha Stewart, I'm not). Pink cupcakes (Annabelle's favorite color) with purple frosting (Daisy's favorite color).

They were thrilled when I showed up in their classroom this morning bearing treats for their birthday.

While the kids all ate cupcakes and then played, the girls' teacher told me how happy Annabelle and Daisy both are, and how eager they are to be there each morning. That made my heart swell. I mean, what more could I hope for but for my kids to be happy?

At home, we had a store-bought cake:

Check it out: four layers of cake and three layers of filling . . . mmmmm!

Five years old . . . happy birthday, girls.

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Oh! I almost forgot. Among other things, the girls got a Karaoke machine for their birthday (courtesy of Daddy):

a birthday's just not a birthday without someone melting down, huh?