You can take the girls out of Berkeley,

but you can't take the Berkeley out of the girls. The girls are showing their early Northern Californian upbringing by insisting on being naked nearly all of the time. Ironically, one of the biggest jokes Mark and I make about living in conservative Princeton is that there aren't enough naked people walking around. Back in the Bay Area it wasn't that unusual to see public displays of nudity, usually just some old hippies enjoying a sunny day. Of course, my girls pick the darkest and coldest months of December and January in a straight-laced town to become naturists. From what I've read, this is a very typical toddler stage. It can't happen until kids become adept at removing their clothes by themselves. According to our toddler handbook, our girls are actually a little advanced.


Elsa enjoying a balmy January day playing with her boxes.

Apparently, this is more of a control issue than anything else. They love to wear clothes, especially mine. They just don't like me making them get dressed. When you're two, it must be darned frustrating having somebody directing every aspect of your life. The common advice is not to fight it. Just let the girls run nude, as long as its socially appropriate. We were cool with this as long as the girls kept on the diapers. Unfortunately, just last week, they figured out how to take off their diapers. So, we consulted the books again and apparently this is the time to work on potty training or invest in lots of duct tape.

Potty training so far has been an interesting experience. Lily especially enjoys the whole process. She loves announcing she has to go, sitting on the toilet, flushing, wiping. She's figured out that she can cut short a boring dinner by announcing she has to go. The only problem is that she never actually makes anything. She just likes going through the motions. We've tried both pullups and regular underpants, but the girls don't seem to notice getting wet. Elsa seems to be a little more fearful of the process, but she seems more aware of when she has to go.

It is quite the group activity. Today Lily announced she had to "get on the Potty Train." So, we ran to the toilet and sat her down. Elsa stood right in front of Lily, looking into the bowl seeing if anything came out. Teamwork!



In non-potty related news, the girls are getting cuter and more fun by the day. I can't believe how quickly they are growing up. They are starting to really enjoy imaginative play. Like above, Lily (the nudie) and Elsa are having a little tea party. It is so fun to see them together. Having infant twins was a lot of work, but its all worth it seeing what good friends they have become. And oh how they talk. Grandma and Grandpa P were so tickled to hear how much the girls talk to each other. A typical conversation goes something like this:

Lily: Baaa!
Elsa: Lily, you're a sheep.
Lily: No, I'm not a sheep, I'm Lily Ruth Panning.
Elsa: No, I'm a cow. Moo!
and the game begins again

They're also working on negotiations regarding shared objects. Elsa (keeper of law and order at our house) will tell Lily the reason why she can't play with a certain object is because it is dangerous.
"You can't play with that duck Lily, that's dangerous!" "You can't sit on Mommy's lap, Lily, that's dangerous!"
Elsa has figured out that danger is a good reason to say no.

Lily on the otherhand prefers to make a trade. A lot of times when Elsa has a certain prize possession, Lily will try to offer something in return. Like a yellow dolly for a blue dolly. Of course, even if Elsa does not accept the trade Lily still will take the object. We're still working on getting along, but making good progress.

And before I forget, Happy Birthday to Aunt Chris, Aunt Mary, Aunt Laura and Uncle John. It is birthday week in our family. We hope you all had great days!