Monday, March 10, 2014

Brothers

I know that growing up, my sister and I always got told just how much we looked alike. In our teenage years it was especially annoying...at least to me. I always insisted that it was so easy to see how different we looked. Victoria took after our mom, while I took after our dad. Different builds, different eyebrows, different noses, different mouths...as far as I was concerned it didn't take a genius to see that there was no way anyone should be mistaking us for twins.

Related? Sure. Gorgeous? You betcha. Twins? Nope.
Of course, now that I have two boys, the tendency to compare them is inevitable. From the get-go, everyone has either one of two opinions:
1) Tristan looks just like Ethan, or
2) Tristan looks so different from Ethan.

Personally, I fall into both camps. Day-to-day, seeing them both moving, wriggling, smiling, and crying - they look like the same little person to me. When I feed Tristan, I often flashback to feeding Ethan at the same age. The nose, the shape of the head, the big blue eyes...they all seem astonishingly similar to me. So much so that sometimes I have to remind myself that Tristan is his own little person, and not Ethan 2.0

But in pictures? Well, that's when I have to start leaning the other way...

I see the eyes, the nose, the mouth (my mouth, incidentally...they both got that from me) and that's about where the similarities end. Perhaps part of it is that Tristan has always been fatter in the face than Ethan...partly a product of being a whole pound heavier at birth. Perhaps it's the absence of the awkward Friar Tuck hair that Ethan had for a good 7 months. Certainly, it's partially due to Ethan having my lopsided chin and Tristan inheriting a lovely, manly chin dimple from the Husband's side of the family.

It's so funny to look at them, side-by-side, at almost the same age, and to really appreciate just how different they actually are. Even now, at such young ages, they are most certainly their own distinct people. Ethan is my mellow and affectionate child: he loves hugs and cuddles, he's very self-contained, and - for a toddler, at least - he's been historically fairly taciturn and even-tempered. (Those last two have only started to change very recently!) Tristan, on the other hand, is already much more vocal - both in joy and indignation - than his big brother ever was. Where Ethan would sit in placid silence, Tristan coos and overlaps smile upon gummy smile. Where Ethan would cry, Tristan screams and yells. He likes to be held, but will fall asleep if well-fed and then benignly ignored...Ethan always required rocking or feeding to sleep.

I don't know what other differences will surface as they both grow older and their personalities develop and their understanding of the world around them deepens, but I will say this: already I think I see the start of a beautiful friendship. They remind me of me & Victoria...and that can only be a good thing.

Seriously...

1 comment:

  1. So cute - I think they look completely different - each very much unique!!!
    And, you and your sister do look alike - both very gorgeous!!!

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