Sort of Like Twins

 Layla was born 16 months after Axl and after a few years of being the "little sister" they morphed into something like twins. They were the same size from about the age of 2/3 - 6/7 before she surpassed his height and has been the taller one ever since. They reached some milestones at the same time- they got potty trained together, they transitioned from crib to big bed (Axl) and from bassinet to crib (Layla) at the same time. When Layla outgrew her crib, they transitioned into bunk beds together but neither wanted to sleep on the top so they chose to share the bottom bunk. They attended a Montessori school that had the preschool, pre-k and Kindergarden class all together so they both were learning a lot of the same things together. I'll never forget the day they came home from school and Layla was reading books on her own and helping Axl to sound out the letters of the words.

Obviously, Axl was walking first because Layla was just an infant. But for a long time, he preferred not to walk and so I carried the two of them in the double stroller or one on each hip, especially if there were steps because he didn't do steps on his own for a long time.

They even believed they were twins, each not remembering their early lives without the other in it.  When a stranger would comment on how cute they were and ask, "How old are they?"  They both would answer "We're three." 

When Layla was an infant, Axl was the perfect big brother. He always told her how cute she looked, would fetch a toy for her that was out of her reach, talked to her in the gentlest voice and called her "sweetie."  It wasn't long before Layla took on the role as the older sibling. She would answer for him when someone didn't understand what he was saying, would give me daily reports of what both she and he did at school and was caring and protective over him.

A month ago, Layla turned twelve and I couldn't help but think that I now have 2 twelve year-olds. In five short months, Layla will have outlived her big brother and will continue to be older than him with each passing day. But for now, they are sort of like twins.

2011-  Axl at 21 months; Layla at 5 months

2013-  Layla at 2 years; Axl at 3 1/2 

2014 

2015 

2013