I was perfectly happy with just the one child, to be honest. We’d already resolved to keep it at just the one, my wife and I. I was especially happy about the fact that Julia had grown independent enough to manage most daily stuff on her own. Brushing her teeth. Putting on clothes (and constantly changing them). Going to the bathroom. Washing her hands. Using the remote. Taking a showering or bath. Going to bed.
Life getting easier.
But then, somewhere around summertime last year, Maikki was born.
Yup. Maikki.
To be exact, Maikki had already been around for a few years, but she’d just been a nameless face in the crowd of stuff populating Julia’s room. Suddenly, though, she had a name and a personality, and she was two or maybe three years old. (Since then, her aging has followed a trajectory that makes absolutely no sense. I’m told she just turned five. Chances are she’s gonna be four next week.)
And she wasn’t just a friend. Oh, no. She was Julia’s little sister and therefore my daughter, and she was absolutely really truly real. Totally not a doll (as I was angrily told on multiple occasions).
So, for the past year, I’ve been brushing Maikki’s teeth, dressing her, taking her to the potty, feeding her, tucking her into bed, and doing all the other stuff Julia’s now doing by herself. And by “I”, I mean “my wife and I”, but mostly “my wife”. We’ve also had to buy Maikki new clothes, cutlery, and toys. And we’ve obviously taken her with us everywhere. She’s only three, two, no wait four, I mean five, after all.
Maikki with my pancake.
Here’s the punch line: Earlier this year, Emmi was born.
Yup. Emmi.
I was perfectly happy with just the two, to be honest.
* * *
01.04.2015 / 02.04.2016 / 02.04.2017 / 01.04.2018 / 07.04.2019 / 05.04.2020
* * *
Chillin’.
Inseparable.
Big girl bike.
“I’m only going to pack a few things. Really.”
Big sister hogging the blanket.
Unlike some, Maikki kills it at patiently waiting for service in restaurants.
“That’s enough gin tonics for one day, Dad!”
Sunshine in the rain.
Abject terror at the prospect of rain.
Flattening the curve.
“I wish Mom and Dad would grow even more lax in limiting my screen time while we’re self-quarantined at home.”
By far the most well-behaved birthday party guests we’ve ever had in our house. (From left: Emmi, Maikki, Cissi)
That moment when your child starts looking at you with the easy confidence of someone who knows more than you do.
dreameling's 
Super, super nice. Thank you for this story. We grandparents love also Maikki of course. 🤗
Don’t forget Emmi! :)
Funny how fast time goes. It feels like yesterday, when Julia was five years old! Nice thing being a child is that everything seems to last forever i.e. summers. When you get older there just isn’t enough time. 😊
Indeed. When I clicked “Publish” for this post today, I got this feeling that surely it was only yesterday that I wrote the previous post, “Growing up”. Time flies, the bastard.
Thank you, Timo, for a funny story about Julia’s and little Maikki’s last year. It’s wonderful to see how Julia grows up. Julia you are so dear to us! Love from Julia’s grandparents. 😊
Yeah, Julia’s my favorite, too, to be honest.
Beautiful pictures. And the teaser paragraph really had me going for a second there, I thought you had an announcement to make! Sneaky devil.
I was sure the featured image of a doll would safely give the game away from the start. :)
Oh no, I mean I was already discombobulated because I had no idea what a Maikki was.
Our kids have also had various degrees of this phase as well. Our kids’ dolls were actually their babies though, so yeah, we’re already grandparents. And – as we suspected – it’s way easier than being parents! Mind you, Wump and Toop also seem to be naturally better at parenting than we are. Their kids bounce when you throw them.
I imagine that’s a perk of producing 1+ kids. (The grandparenting, not the bouncing.) Wump and Toop already have the one sister, so siblinghood is old news to them. When Maikki first appeared, I actually — and naturally — assumed she was Julia’s daughter and I was a granddad now. Sadly, that was not what Julia had in mind.
Maikki also bounces when you throw her, but apparently that’s not allowed, because it hurts her.
Nowhere near as intensive and long-term as Maikki and Emmi, though. That’s dedication.
Yeah. We also adopted Cissi and Iivari for a few weeks. They’re constantly in and out of love, I’m told. But they usually make up by kissing each other on the cheek.
(For extra clarification: Cissi and Iivari are also dolls. From my wife’s parents’ place.)