Different But Still The Same

In our household, my sister was always the smart, responsible, good-looking, sociable, artistic, good-at-everything sibling while I basically played second fiddle to her. She was the chosen one, the one who would go on to an Ivy League university and do great things while I would remain average and in mediocrity.

I remember how growing up, I always analogized it to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Twins. In the movie, Danny DeVito comments how Arnold supposedly got all the good genes while he basically got the leftovers. I figured that my parents must have given my sister all the fresh, good genes, while I basically got the expired ones. I mean, how else do you explain the discrepancy between the two of us?

I mention this because Hannah is now about a year and 8 months old, and it's amazing how vastly different she is from Caitlyn when she was her age. It almost doesn't seem to be possible that they came from the same two people. They’re complete opposites like Arnold and Danny. But thankfully, in this case, Hannah didn’t get the leftovers. They both got the good stuff. Just different kinds of good stuff. Here are some of the ways the two of them differ:

Caitlyn never liked to drink her milk when she was a baby. Your fingernail probably grew a centimeter by the time she finished a bottle. From the start, Hannah could chug milk like a man chugs beer. We never needed to worry about her going hungry. Even now during meal time, Hannah probably eats just as much as Caitlyn even though she’s four years younger. It’s probably why she’s built like a tank.

Caitlyn has never developed a liking for stuffed animals, but Hannah has a little blue hippo named Harry that she will constantly carry around with her, especially when it’s time for bed. I was getting a bit worried for awhile as to whether or not there’d be someone to inherit my prized Beanie Baby collection.

At around three months, Caitlyn was already quite attached to her mommy and wouldn't let anyone else hold her, including me. Thankfully, I don't have to be rejected twice as Hannah is more open to letting others hold and play with her.

Hannah began running around at a year old. She somehow skipped over walking because she apparently only has one speed – fast. Caitlyn started walking over half a year later. In fact, we even had to take her to physical therapy to encourage her how to walk.

Hannah began speaking actual words around a year old and is quite good at verbalizing what she wants. Caitlyn was basically a mute until close to two years old, though she was always very observant and knew exactly what was going on or what was being said to her.

Caitlyn has always been a very cautious person. It takes a long time for her to build up the confidence to try something new. Hannah is as reckless as they come. She doesn’t seem to understand or care about the concept of danger. If we weren’t always there to catch her whenever she flings herself off the sofa, she’d probably be in a body cast by now.

Hannah puts everything in her mouth. Everything. Even things that she can't hold in her hands like the table or sofa still get a nice coating of her saliva. I always thought this was pretty normal baby behavior which is why I always found it strange that Caitlyn never put anything in her mouth.

Caitlyn loved her pacifier as a baby. If her pacifier fell out while she was asleep, she'd always wake up, and we'd have to quickly go to put it back in her mouth for her to fall back asleep. Hannah could care less about her pacifier. In fact, when she sees us bring it out, she knows it's time for her to go to sleep, and that's usually the last thing she wants to do.

Caitlyn never had much interest in TV until she got much older. On the other hand, Hannah turns from an active baby into a zombie when placed in front of the TV. Whenever she breaks into a tantrum over something and nothing can calm her down, all we have to do is say, "TV," and she will instantly stop crying, go and grab the remote, give it to us, run and sit on the sofa, and wait for us to turn it on. I'm still undecided about whether this is a good or bad thing.

Caitlyn has always been very gentle with her toys. In fact, I don't think she's ever broken one before. Those that were broken were done so by other children. Hannah, on the other hand, has made it a habit of trying to break, rip, and tear up anything she gets her hands on. In a way, I'm grateful for this because that means all those random toys that keep accumulating in our house have a reason to be thrown away.

I can already see the two of their futures shaping up. Caitlyn will be the intellect. Meticulous, cerebral, and patient. And Hannah will be the star athlete. Strong, fearless, and brash. Both different. But different in a good stuff kind of way. No leftovers over here.