Alike? Different?

I was out shopping with Kara and the children last weekend. We got the usual "Are they identical?" Which made me think (but I did not voice my thoughts), "Are you blind?" That was followed by "I'm a twin" by one woman and the next woman said "My daughter (pointing to a teenager with her), is a twin." I responded with "So am I." It was quite the little twinfest there at Burlington Coat Factory. It's not that often that we twins outnumber the singletons.

Back to the point of my blog entry--how alike are the twins? Why do strangers taking a quick glance at them think they might be identical? They share the same parents and ethnicity. (But then so does Bentley.) They are remarkably similar in size. Kara weighed them this week at home and they weighed in at exactly the same weight. They are about the same height, too--near as we can tell. (It's very difficult to measure the height of a baby.) When they are both sleeping bundled up in their car seats wearing their knitted winter hats, they look very much alike. (They were not so attired at Burlington.)

They are the same age--down to the minute. They are equally, adorably cute. They are both quite demanding (very loud) when hungry or wet or cranky. And, they are both very good at being five and half months old! (Whatever that means. It's supposed to be a great all purpose baby compliment.)

How are they different? Well, Genevieve has been wowing the adults lately with her new baby tricks--she can move around (not crawl, but roll and scuttle); she's an awesome jumper in the jumperoo; she entertains herself for significant periods of time; she's a good sleeper at night; and she's won over her older brother Bentley.

Jackson is very charming. Strangers often remark on his beautiful smile. His cry is incredibly compelling (unless you've been overexposed to it). He is not a good sleeper at night. He prefers to eat at night. He hasn't mastered any new baby tricks lately, but that's only because he's been side-tracked by his stomach problems. Once he's past the colicky stage, I'm sure he, too, will be wowing us in that department.

Jackson quickly captivates people's attention with his huge eyes; his cute, little, pointy chin; and his ready smile. Genevieve has to be observed for a while before the full impact of her charm is felt. She's reserved, especially with strangers, but often with family, too. She makes me work for that first smile of the day from her whereas Jackson gives you one immediately. In this regard Jackson is like his daddy and Genevieve is like her mommy.