How Dissimiliar Two Daughters Can Be

When I found out I was pregnant the second time, once I recovered from the shock, I KNEW I was pregnant with a boy. Just knew it. My symptoms were all different. Cravings. Feelings. Etc. At my doctor's appointments when my OB listened to the baby's heartbeat he thought that the heart rate was a bit lower and joked with me that it would be a boy. That if he were a betting man, he'd bet money on it. After a near miscarriage, I got a lot of ultrasounds to check the baby and the placenta and all that and the OB continued to say he thought that my little Noodle had a noodle. So by the time I had a gender ultrasound at about 20 weeks, I was pretty convinced.

Of course you know how that turned out. There were no dangly bits on my baby-to-be. He was a she. But she was healthy and growing and all was well.

At first, I was disappointed. I had always thought that I would have boys. I just pictured myself doing football and camping trips and you know, boy things. I feel like I only barely get by as a girl. I wasn't into make up and hair and nails and all that junk. Still only do it about sub-par. How could I teach someone else all this stuff that I don't really think I know? But God knew what He was doing and here I am with two girls. And happy as can be about it. So, as I got used to the idea of having two girls and all the fun we would have together, I imagined that my two daughters would be nearly identical. I mean, they're just a year and some change apart. They've got the same genetics. Why wouldn't they be?

I could never have imagined how dissimilar two girls could be! What one did the other doesn't. What one likes the other refuses. What one wants the other hates. It's complicated!

At 11 months Evie was already a toddler.

In some ways, I feel like she was born a toddler. From the beginning she knew what she wanted. She asserted her wants. And from the get-go she was intent on walking. No surprise that she took her first steps at 10 months old and by 11 months was running around all over the place.

She wasn't much of a talker. But she was a yeller. She would scream, point, throw things, whatever it took to get her point across. I spent so much time with her that I pretty much understood what she wanted without needing too many details. So she got by without talking until she was nearly 18 months old.

Evie has always needed a schedule. And if you mess up her schedule, then God help you. She slept through the night from about a month old and has never had any sleep problems. She was a very late teether. She refused to learn to use a spoon until she was nearly two. She has always loved the water. 

As far as gross motor skills went she has always been advanced. She could drink from a cup, throw a ball, catch, jump, climb, etc. way earlier than milestones said. She is so physically active now and it kills her to have to sit still. She loves to tear stuff apart and figure it out. Builds stuff just to tear it down. Is picky and changes her mind quickly. She still doesn't get into reciting nursery rhymes or playing patty cake. Instead she wants to play tag and ball.

Elly on the other hand is much more of a baby than Evie ever was. She claps and she does goofy baby things. She loves playing patty cake. She likes to sit and figure things out. Elly loves to put things together and put little toys into bigger toys and shake them around. She likes to just sit quietly and page through a book. She started playing peekaboo all by herself really early.

Elly is big on the fine motor skills. She can already feed herself with a spoon. She got the pincher grip early. She is pretty laid back about learning to walk. Just like she was not really worried about learning to crawl. One day she just started doing it. She went from not crawling at all to 5 days later being ALL over the place. I was convinced she was going to just never crawl. Then she just did it! Then she went from being afraid to pull up on stuff to pulling up, cruising, and walking all over with push toys. She could take her first steps tomorrow. Or it might be a few months from now.

I was afraid Elly would never start sleeping through the night and would never get on a schedule. She still wakes up a lot at night when she's cutting teeth or had a weird day or doesn't feel well. Some days she naps great. Sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she's awake at 7:30 a.m. Some days she sleeps til 9 a.m. It's pretty hit and miss with her.

Evie and Elly have such different personalities. Evie is high strung and loud and bossy. Elly is laid-back, quiet, calm. Evie gets bent out of shape if the least thing goes wrong. Elly just takes it in stride and tries again. Evie has a terrible temper while Elly pretty much only gets mad at Evie. Elly is big on sharing. Evie not.

I look at pictures of Evie and Elly and they look so much alike. It's mind-boggling how different they already are! It definitely keeps things interesting. Makes watching Elly grow and change so interesting. To see how much differently things continue to be.

Still cannot believe she's already 11 months old. One thing that doesn't seem to change: Time still flies!