They said stick!

One of the many unexpected blessings of having twins is how much Mark and I are able to share the parenting. If we had started with just one baby, I might have tried to handle a lot more by myself. As it happened, having newborn twins was really overwhelming and I needed Mark's help right from start. I always brag that I didn't even change a diaper for the first 2 weeks after the babies were born (thanks in large part, to Grandma, too!) and Mark has been up to help me for every single night feeding of the past 18 months of which there were many, but thankfully not so many anymore.

Another side benefit of having twins is that we are able to stay home with the girls. If we had a singleton, it probably would have made more economic sense to use daycare. But, since daycare for 2 kids runs over 20K in our area, we decided to drop my hours to 50% and then arrange our schedules so that someone was able to stay home. We are lucky to work for very flexible employers.

I am so grateful that Mark and I have had this time with the girls. And it is so fun to have a co-parent who gets totally excited about the little events of their lives. Mark and I both carry cell phones and update each other all the time.

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk when Mark called:
He was very excited.
"They just said stick!"
"They were collecting sticks in the yard, brought them over to me and said stick!"
"Then Elsa pointed to a squirrel on the telephone wire and said kitty, it was so cute!"

I love my family. And I'm glad the girls feel so comfortable with both of their parents.

Still haven't decided what will happen with our daycare situation when we move to New Jersey. A lot of it will depend on what kinds of jobs opportunities, daycare situations open up. It will be unlikely that Mark will be able to work a very alternative schedule as a new hire. And putting the girls in full-time daycare is not really our first choice. But, I do think they would probably benefit from interacting with other children at least on a part-time schedule. And financially, I'm going to need to find some kind of job. So, we shall see. Tough decisions.