This is what I hear lately when Ben and Lily don't want to do something. You would think that twins wouldn't need an imaginary friend, but apparently they do. Christian is modeled after a boy at their preschool. The imaginary Christian made his appearance about 6 months ago. At first, Christian was always in time out. "No, Christian! You are in time out. You are never listening to me." Or "No hitting/pushing/biting Christian. You are going in time out." I was concerned. What was Christian like at school? He sounded like a real bully. I talked to Ben and Lily's teachers - Miss Morgan said that Christian was on the younger side (2 years old is really a big difference from 3) and that English is not his first language, so his still tends to use his actions rather than his words to get his point across. But he seemed like a nice enough boy and I saw Ben and Lily playing with him often.
I wonder if the real Christian is maturing, because Ben and Lily are increasingly taking a liking to the imaginary Christian and he is quickly becoming a fixture in our family. Ben carries Christian on his back in his backpack while berry picking - how nice! Christian is sitting in between Ben and Lily's carseats - I know, unsafe - and they are so excited to all be on their way to swim class. Lily shushes everyone while she puts Christian down for a nap (sometimes, Christian is a baby like Ava) - she covers him with a blanket and pats him and says "I know, you're tired. Shh, shh, shh." She does this to Ben and I when we are tired too - very sweet. By the way, Christian is very compact. He is tiny, a real slip of a thing. He fits easily in Ben and Lily's palms. They can easily scoop him up and deposit him somewhere without help from anyone. It's a good thing, because we don't have much more room with all 5 (I mean, 6) of us in a 1200 square foot house!
Christian is quite a useful excuse - they try, anyway. "Mommy, I can't go potty now. Christian is in the bathroom." "But Christian doesn't want chicken for dinner. He wants chocolate/cake/cookies." "We can't go to bed yet. Christian is not tired." "Christian doesn't want to come inside for quiet time. He is watering the flowers." But fair is fair. And while Christian is at our house, he has to play by the rules too. Sometimes I try to have his mommy come pick him up if it is really getting out of hand, but he always finds his way back. He is quick! I wonder if we will be setting a place for Christian at the table. Well, squish together, everyone!
