It's My Birthday Too, Yeah

So, the girls turn two years old this weekend. I think the thing I'm looking forward to most about the girls turning two is that now I can stop keeping track of how many freaking months old they are. I can stop keeping track now, right? I can just say they're two years old - I don't have to remember they're 25 or 28 or 31 months anymore, right? Score!

"Happy Birthday" is one of Riley and Leah's favorite songs, but I don't think they have the slightest idea what it means. It's just another song to them. They'll sing it over and over for no particular reason, just substituting different people, animals, or things, like:

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear blankie,
Happy birthday to you.

This past week's songs included "Happy birthday dear mommy" and "Happy birthday dear daddy", but also "Happy birthday dear sock" and its exciting sequel, 'Happy birthday dear other sock".

The two year old birthday party is also nice because it's probably the last birthday where the girls will have no idea that they're supposed to get gifts. Meaning that we can totally get away with not giving them anything! Yee-ha! Double-score!

Juuuust kidding. Although since our house is already overflowing with toys and books and stuff, we've told people coming to their birthday party not to bring to gifts. Again, that's probably not something we'll be able to get away with at future birthday parties: "Sorry, children! I know that we bring presents for your friends on their birthdays, but for your birthday we just told everybody that you're not interested in material possessions. That's okay, right?"

And of course, there are the perennial twin birthday dilemmas. Do we sing "Happy Birthday" twice, once for each girl, or do we just sing it once? On the one hand, the ol' Twin Handbook says that you're supposed to treat your twins like special, unique individuals rather than like some kinda two-head alien, which means one Happy Birthday song per child. But on the other hand, who the heck wants to sing that song twice? I mean, it's not that interesting a song - you kinda know where it's going after awhile. And also singing it twice means you have to choose which kid gets the first, enthusiastic rendition of the song and which kid gets the second, awkward, slightly hurried version.

And I know it's wrong to worry about this, but I've been to a couple 2-year-old birthdays now where the kids stare blankly at the cake at the end of the birthday song because they don't know that they're expected to actually blow out the candles. Is it wrong that I really, really want the girls to actually blow the candles out at their birthday party this weekend? It wouldn't be wrong for me to start training them this week to recognize the birthday candles, wait for the end of the birthday song, and then blow those candles out, would it? That wouldn't make me a crazy, overdriven parent, would it? Seriously, would it? Because I've got my practice candles ready.

Based on your silence, I take it that you approve. Girls, training starts tomorrow.