Many times I have been asked if I think that having only one child was easier/better than adding the second.  I have put together a few photos of why I choose two.  We are not talking about kittens here, so it is difficult to compare life with one versus life with two.  I always had at least two cats at any time because the playfulness of the animals was much more fun to watch than watching one bat at a toy by itself.  They will frolic and play much more than just one will.  In humans it is not much different.  Watching Mark come out of himself and play with his sister is delightful.  Marissa has a more independent nature and has pushed Mark in that regard.  They are very well matched in their efforts.  When one wants to make music so does the other.  When one wants to play "fix it", so does the other.  When one wants to watch cartoons in the morning they will share the big armchair.  When it is time for snacks they want to put sprinkles on their cupcakes together.  When it is time to make music they will find either wind instruments or guitars but not one of each.  And so it goes.  They will do things together and at the same time.  The problem with this is that they sometimes want to have the same thing at the same time and this causes sparks to fly.  Teaching concepts such as "take turns", "share" or "your choice", is the full time job of the Momma.  Negotiation skills are learned and developed not part of our instinct so there can be episodes of tension and upheaval in this two child parenting.  The constant banter and aggravation between the two can be exhausting, however the joy of two voices giggling over some conspiracy between them is unforgettable.  So as hard as it was to adopt the second child, for this Momma it was well worth the time, energy and efforts put towards that end goal.  A family of four is better than a family of three for this Mom but there are moments when you wish that there was one less "leave me alone", "give it to me", "that's mine" to deal with.  Despite all this, I still choose two!