Caroline and Ellie

We've been given the very sound wisdom from people that have gone before us with twins to try not to compare the girls against each other.  

It's great advise, but somehow I'm not exactly sure how that's supposed to be actually lived out.  I realize as I try to describe each girl, its very hard for me to describe one without comparing her to her sister.

But…I'm going to try…

For starters, these girls are SO similar.  

We still cannot tell them apart unless we are looking at them straight on in the face.  From the behind or the side, they look exactly the same.  

They weigh exactly the same (22 lbs right now), their hairline is exactly the same and their hair is even growing in at the exact same rate.  Every single one of their teeth have come in at the exact same time (to the week, sometimes even the day) and even in the exact same order.  

They both have blue eyes still with the same hue of blue, and the jury is still out if they're going to turn brown.  Blake and I both have brown eyes.

They say the same words (which is very few at this point), they have all the same signals and sounds to talk to me to let me know what they want and they always know what the other sister is trying to say.  

They both love to sign songs, love to read books, and always want to play with the same toy no matter what it is…even if its holding a piece of trash.  

These girls even poop on the same schedule.  No lie.

At this point, the differences are subtle, but they are still there.  

Caroline.

She is independent.  She likes to go explore and she wants to do things by herself most of the time.  She likes to put her shoes on by herself, and she'll even sometimes insist on trying to put her diaper on without any help.

She seems to usually be the first one up from a nap and she loves to have some time to snuggle her bunny and just suck her thumb.

She loves songs and always seems to be requesting us to sing her a song.  Her way of dancing to music is to spin in circles and to nod her head up and down.  She's been twirling a lot lately.

She loves to snuggle and sit on someones lap or if its bedtime, she will cuddle up on anyone who is willing to rock her.

She has a really big laugh and loves to play "boo".  She squints her eyes and leans back when she laughs.  She loves to throw balls and stack things.

She is really into putting on lotion these days.  She carries around a lotion bottle and pretends she's putting lotion on herself.  She'll put it on her face, her arms, her tummy.

She pretty much allows her sister to do whatever she wants to her.  She lets Ellie hug her, kiss her, pull her hair, brush her teeth, feed her food….you name it.  She just lets her do it.

Her top two front teeth are chipped.

She has little puppy dog eyes where they droop a little at the bottom.

She has a little freckle that has recently showed up on the left side of her face, near her ear.

She has a slender and long face, which is her most distinguishable feature that separates her from her sister.  It's subtle.

Ellie.

She is a people person.  She is very observant when it comes to noticing what other people are doing and she is really into her sister.  Really into her.

She is emotional.  When she cries, she opens up her mouth wide and you can see her uvula rattling in the back of her throat.  When she is happy she cracks up over and over again and will squeal at such a high pitch it takes you aback.  When she's mad, she will hit, bite, pull hair or just sit there and flail her entire body.

If you ask her to squeal, she will do it on command.

She loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider song.  She could sing that song all day long and never tire of it.

She loves to play with her Little People that we have at home.  We have a Little People School Bus and a Princess Castle that she never grows tired of.

She is really attached to Mommy, and right now, she only wants me to put her down for either nap time or bedtime... and nobody else.

Lately, she most often gets in trouble during bath time because she won't stop brushing her sister's teeth with her toothbrush.

When I put the girls down for bed, she always does this thing where she'll run to her closet door, lay on the floor with her bunny and pretend to hide from me.  When I go around to get her, she squeals with laughter.

She has the nickname Ellie-Bellie.

She loves to listen for noises.  When she hears a noise, she always stops dead in her tracks and puts her hand up to her ear with a startled expression on her face.

She loves to wear accessories.  Bracelets, hats, necklaces….you name it, she wants to wear it all at the same time.

The freckle on her forehead is hidden now that her hair is growing in.

Her toes on her right foot are a little crinkled.  Her middle toe doesn't lay flat, but it never seems to bother her.

She has full cheeks, which is her most distinguishable feature that separates her from Caroline.

She is a half inch taller than her sister.

Ellie always responds to the question, "where's your sister?" by running after Caroline.

All in all, these girls are so similar, that we sometimes wonder if the differences we think we see between the girls are actually there….and we're not just making them up in our heads.

All in all, they look the same, they like the same things, they love to be together, and they have very similar mannerisms.

All in all, most people cannot tell them apart, and even after spending time with them and getting to know them, it's hard to see the differences.

But of course, being the proud parents we are….we always know which baby is which...

….Well, most of the time!!!