My Peeps

Sometimes I look at my little girls, at the people they are becoming, and I am awed. I can't believe that I helped to create (not just bring in to the world, but to actually MAKE) these two perfect little individuals.

And I say "individuals" quite deliberately. Because even though I have two children of the same gender, from the same parents, they are quite different. Apparently the recipe is never quite the same.

When AK was born, the Hoos and I were quite surprised that she was a girl, mostly because she had dark hair. Silly, I know. But we knew what little girls that we made looked like - and they had white blond hair and lots of rolls. Not almost black hair and skinny arms and a tush the size of two thumbs!

And the surprises just keep on coming. Both of my girls are pretty outgoing, but AK is more adventurous. They both like being the center of attention, but AK is more likely to be selective in identifying the source of the attention. They both are/were good eaters as infants, but LP used to store food up in her cheeks for hours and slowly meter it out; AK scarfs down food as quickly as she can shovel it in.

Since they are both so young (three and one respectively, natch) I can't say I have their personalities all figured out. But I do continue to be amazed that not only are they different from one another but they are not even necessarily like me or the Hoos. I actively look for clues, asking my parents if I talked incessantly like LP (I did) or looking at baby pictures of the Hoos and seeing both LP's rolls (yes, really! for those of you that know the Hoos) and AK's curls.

I know that as a parent I will never have my children all figured out, but I do think I am starting to get a better handle on my parents. To think that they looked at me with stars in their eyes the way I look at my angels?! And that on some days they were also tired and struggling to not beat me and my brother down?! As Mr. Slinger, in Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse would say: Wow. Just wow.