My Look-Alike Babies

I get stopped a lot when we are out and about by people commenting on how cute Carter and Elise are. And almost every time they comment on how much they look alike. Some people have even called Elise a mini-Carter. Every time I hear it, I'm kind of surprised. I know they have similarities and look like siblings but I don't see the likeness that other people see. One day I was pondering it, why does everybody seem to think my kids look so much alike? That's when I realized what it comes down to, their personalities are so different. When I look at them, I don't just see the physical appearance. I see the lovable qualities within them that shine through to their faces, to their bodies, to the way they move. So much so that when I see pictures of them, at times I find myself thinking they just doesn't really look like they do in person. I love my babies so much, both of them equally. The older Elise gets, the more intrigued I am by how different they are. In some ways they are just alike and in others they are night and day.

Little things that are different just crack me up. From a very young age Carter loved swings and could swing for hours. Elise hates them and makes the face I make while upside-down on roller coasters the minute you push her in a swing and it starts moving. Carter loved to climb the ladder, so much so I even wrote a blog post about it. Anytime Ty got it out it was almost impossible to keep him off of it. He even fell off of it once, probably a little over a year old, and just climbed right back on. Ty got the ladder out the other day and I was standing right there prepared to deal with another little climber, this time Elise. She very seriously watched Ty climb up it, then crawled underneath it and took off. That was the extent of her interest in the ladder.

Little buddy loved the swing (and still does)!

Elise hating the swing!

Carter ready to climb the ladder.

 

 

The extent of Elise's interest: watching daddy.

This is as far as she got, just looking at it.

Of course there are also bigger differences in personality. Carter is snugglier. At 3.5 he actually makes up games just to snuggle up to me and even wants to pretend to be a baby at times so I will rock him. Elise likes to snuggle but not as much as her brother. That makes her easier to get down for naps and bedtime. She's typically pretty no muss, no fuss. I lay her down, she puts herself to sleep. She's also more compliant. When Carter was her age, if I told him no, he'd look at me, smile, and do it anyway. If I even so much as say Elise's name when she's doing something she knows she shouldn't, she immediately stops or hands over what she shouldn't have or runs to me so she can say sorry with snuggles. It's hilarious.

Carter snuggling me while brushing his teeth.

But Elise is a snuggler too. Giving Uncie Taco snuggles here.

As much as I love each little thing about Carter, I love each little thing about Elise even though so many of those things are the exact opposite! As a momma, you love your kids no matter what. Now I'm just rooting for Elise to be so different than Carter when it comes to potty training because he sure has put us through the wringer! And with how much I think they don't look very much alike, then I compare their pictures and I see big similarities. After all, they are related! If I couldn't tell them apart simply by the tip of their toes or the way they smile or their hairline, I might have a hard time telling who is who in these comparison pictures.

Carter at 14 months compared to Elsie at 14 months.