It's amazing what a difference a brief change of scenery can make. We accepted a last minute invitation from some friends to join them at their family's cottage on the Cape, and I am so very glad we did. Despite all the packing and schlepping, despite the fact that there aren't a whole lot of toddler-friendly activities on Cape Cod in February, and despite the fact that we did a good deal of just hanging out, eating, refereeing toddler brawls over toys, etc -- in other words, the same kinds of things we could have done at home -- it was awfully nice to be somewhere other than home for a little while. No distractions, no things we knew we really ought to be doing (taxes, anyone?). Instead, just lots of lazy goofing around with our kids and our friends and their kid. Some fresh seafood. Too many valentine chocolates. A fair amount of wine.
I think the girls really appreciated the change of scene, too. New stairs to climb! New stuff to look at! A new room to sleep in! (They were so excited about getting to sleep in their port-a-cribs that they both insisted on going "night night" as soon as we set them up. For all of forty seconds.) Both of them were in good moods most of the time. Clio was silly. Elsa was adventurous. (She kept wanting to go up and down the stairs: "be right back, OK?") They were clearly enjoying themselves.
What'd you do to get those beads, party girl? (And who knew a doorstop could be so much fun?)
Oh sure, they pitched plenty of small fits, too. They were loud. They fought over stuff. They wanted to eat constantly. They made our friends' daughter -- four months younger -- seem like the most mature and serene child on earth by comparison. Other parents of twins out there: do you find that your twins are louder than their singleton friends? I feel like Elsa and Clio are always SHOUTING observations and requests (increasingly, with a big Pleeeeeese? tacked onto the end, at least), more than other kids their age. Alastair and I aren't particularly loud people, and we try very hard not to raise our voices with the girls. My theory is that it's a twin thing -- they feel like in order to be heard over each other and get our attention, they have to yell. They are also both, well, spirited little people, so I guess it's personality in part. But when they're apart, during those rare one-on-one moments we get, it seems they're both much calmer and more patient. I wonder if there's something we could be doing better to bring the decibel level down, or if it's just another case of this too shall pass?
Anyhoo. Here are a few more snaps from our weekend...
Clio didn't like the cold and the wind or the sand, for that matter, so she hung back with Alastair while Elsa and I did some beachcombing. For a couple of minutes we just sat talking quietly together, looking out at the ocean. Elsa seemed very intrigued by it. She also was intent on taking the shells and rocks she found in the sand down to the water's edge and tossing them back in. I guess she figured that's where they belonged.
Back at the house, bedecked in Valentine's Day bling, the girls test the toddler capacity of my friend Megan's lap. And play with one of the few Fisher Price toys we own that -- so far -- doesn't seem to be either haunted or annoying.
Family portrait at the fish pier. We were hoping to see a seal, and did, very briefly. We also walked up onto a deck where there were nice views of the fishing boats and the water. Clio kept running along the railing, poking her head out between the balusters and saying, "Peekaboo Ocean!"
Elsa wanted so badly to help fly the kite, but had to content herself with running around excitedly beneath it and trying to catch its tail when it swooped low enough. Next year, maybe, she'll be ready to hold on to the string.
