Recently I overheard a parent of a 1-year-old talking about his child's first birthday party. He admitted that the celebration was more for his wife and him as they had "survived" the first year.

As a mother of twins, the memories of my sons' first year party came flooding back. We, too, had survived the year and had thrown a party – mostly for ourselves.

However, once the cake had been cut, the presents opened and the "pats-on-the-back" accepted, we moved on to the reality of year two. Our identical boys were now walking, exploring and into everything. Max was happy-go-lucky and Sam was a bit needier. Like all 1-year-olds, they needed constant attention except when they were taking the ever-welcomed and much-needed nap.

Our mission was figuring out how to keep our twins happy, occupied and mentally and physically challenged. I compared notes with fellow mothers of twins, Amy Shanler from Bedford, Mass., and Beth Van Beek from Washington, D.C., and we agreed it's all about creativity and "distraction."

Most parents of twins are constantly improvising new games and creating distractions to keep the children happy and busy. Helping them exert all their wonderful energy in a positive way can help them sleep better and generally keep their cheery dispositions. It worked well for our boys.

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