Same but Different

I love my children. I love them the Same. While pregnant with Tyler I questioned (as I'm sure most second time pregnant mothers do) whether I could love another child as much as my first. Tyler proved that I can. I'm sure I could have loved even more children if it were meant to be...but I digress.

I love my children.

Tyler tries on his Halloween costume.
Can you guess who?

He dressed himself today and was pretty darn proud of himself.

Lauren wanted braids like classmate Jaylen's
(his were, I'm sure, professionally done but I did my best
in the 20 minutes before bedtime)

(as of this evening she will be sporting them at school tomorrow)

I LOVE her toothy smile.
(Three teeth should be growing in on top but I only see room enough for the two.)

I love my children the Same and I'm pretty sure Matt and I have raised them the Same. They came from the Same womb, Same parents and Same parenting style. However, they are Different in so many ways. Could it be that Lauren is a West Coast gal (born in Oregon) and Tyler is a Southern boy (born in Georgia?)

Lauren is bright, creative, contemplative, both outgoing and very shy, and her and I butt heads like crazy. Is it because we are similar? We are both easily irritated, easily hurt but also easily excited.

And Tyler. He's so laid back. He wants to make everyone happy. He likes to be included but he's perfectly happy just doing his own thing as well. He's competitive but he isn't bothered if he doesn't win all the time. Tyler reminds me of Matt....however, they don't butt heads. That might be due to their personality style.

What got me thinking of all this was Tyler. Yesterday I raised my voice to him and he immediately said to me, "Mommy, can I give you a hug?" (Sweet sweet boy...but naughty boy at the same time...I was conflicted.) And then today I told Tyler to get his PJs on and he didn't listen. I then used my 'I mean it' voice and told him again and he immediately said, "I'm sorry, let's have a hug." Bless his little heart. I told Matt about these experiences and he said, "It's amazing how Different they are."

He's so right. When I raise my voice to Lauren she immediately takes offense and huffs and puffs on the good days. On the bad days she informs me that "you (I) don't know much about life."

These children who are loved the same, reared the same, created the same are so so different. And I think their differences make me love them individually even more.



P.ost S.cript experiment:
Let's see if I can get spammer "Jane" to comment again by using the code phrase "sore throat."