Same yet Different

My kids all look very different from each other. Yes, there are a lot of similar things about them, but they each have their very own distinct look. I get comments all of the time on how different they look from each other. Jared has suggested that it takes three different dads to produce such different children, but I assure him that is not the case. We just have a gift for making our children unique. Here are some of their similarities and differences:

All three were conceived on the first try, and made me very sick all 9 months.

All three refused to come out on their own and I was induced on a Friday morning each time.

None of my babies were earlier talkers, and all three of them said "Daddy" as their first word.

They all refused to drink formula.

By 8 weeks old all of them were sleeping through the night.

They all have wicked tempers.

They are all very ticklish.

Kylie and Sadie were HUGE thumb suckers (Sadie still is, sadly) and both preferred their right thumbs. Brynlie started out a thumb sucker, preferring her left, but stopped on her own before she was a year old.

Brynlie replaced sucking her thumb with nose picking, something neither of her sisters did.

When Kylie was born she had very dark skin, lots of dark hair, deep dark brown eyes, and was very alert and curious. And she was starving! She screamed and screamed and screamed to let everyone know.

When Sadie was born I would not have believed she was my baby if I hadn't been there. She was very fair skinned, with light hair, and hazel eyes. While Kylie had been petite Sadie was a pound and a half bigger. Sadie was very mellow and loved to sleep. I would have to have the nurses wake her and bring her to me for feedings.

We often wondered if Brynlie was going to look like Kylie or Sadie, but we didn't expect another unique look. She has darker skin, but not nearly as dark as Kylie. Her hair is light and she has BLUE eyes that have a shape all their own. She was the same height as Sadie and only one ounce bigger. She wasn't nearly the screamer that Kylie was but she was a lot more alert than Sadie.

Kylie has thick gorgeous hair, that was naturally curly up until the day she took scissors to her head and chopped the curls off. The curls never came back.

Sadie and Brynlie's hair is thin, fine and very straight. Brynlie's may get thicker, but I'm afraid that Sadie's never will.

Kylie has never held still since the day she was born. She always had to be held facing out so she could see what was going on. She was standing well before 8 months old, walking by 10 1/2 months, and didn't do much crawling in between. I dreaded going to church with her because she did exactly what she wanted to and was very vocal if anyone tried to get her to do otherwise. And she HATED to snuggle, which drove her daddy nuts!

Sadie was an angel when she was a baby. She was content to just watch Kylie all day. She never fussed and was always happy. She was so much easier than Kylie and was actually fun to take to church. She wasn't eager to stand or crawl, and didn't walk until the week of her first birthday. She was a snuggler, and still is a great snuggler.

Brynlie was an even easier baby than Sadie. She never cried, even when we took her to Vegas at 5 months old. I couldn't have asked for an easier baby. She was great at church, which was especially nice since we had our hands full with her two sisters. Even though it took her until she was 9 1/2 months old to stand she was walking within a month of that milestone. She would snuggle when she was a baby, but has since outgrown it and hates it as much as Kylie does.

Kylie has never had any fear. Jared used to hang her from everything, and she loved it. Kylie loved climbing at play places like McDonalds, even when she was still so tiny. Once she could walk she was ready to play. She never cried to have mommy help her, she just figured it out. When she was little and we would go with her cousin Maddie she would often have to help her up even though Maddie was 8 months older than her.

Sadie is much more cautious. She has always used Kylie's strength for her own benefit, getting her sister to help her with anything that seemed too difficult, like climbing at the playground.

Brynlie isn't quite as ambitious as Kylie, but she has more drive than Sadie. She will follow them around playgrounds and will make her best effort to get where she wants to go, and usually succeeds. If she can't do it she won't cry like Sadie would, but will find something else to do.

Kylie and Sadie are both Mommy's girls, while Brynlie is a Daddy's girl.

Kylie and Sadie love baths and could stay in for hours (and they have too) while Brynlie usually is done within five minutes or so.

Sadie and Brynlie were both such good little girls when their were babies, but THE MOMENT that they could walk that all ended. Their personalities did a 180 overnight and they began to make up for all of the screaming and tantrums that they had missed for the first year of their life.

We moved Kylie into a toddler bed when she was only 15 months old because she was already climbing into and out of her crib. Brynlie is also a climber, but at 16 months she still hasn't so much as lifted a toe over the crib gate. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that every time she cries Kylie (and sometimes Sadie) will run go rescue her.

None of my babies were picky eaters, but as time has progressed their eating habits have changed. Kylie will still eat most anything, and is more likely to eat it after she finds out that it is "healthy". She likes the idea of eating healthy and says broccoli and shrimp are some of her favorites. Sadie will still eat anything, as long as it is at least 50% sugar, or dipped in chocolate, and it can't be green. Brynlie is much better at eating healthy thing like Kylie, but she also really loves her candy and chocolates like Sadie.

Kylie has always been very strong willed and can do anything she puts her mind to. She is really young for her age at school, but has a determination to make up for it.

Sadie lacks the drive that Kylie has, but makes up for it in smarts. She is such a little smartie, and is like a sponge absorbing all the things that Kylie learns and teaches her.

Kylie and Sadie both love to sing and have embarrassed both of their parents on more than one occasion when they sing so loudly in public restrooms that everyone outside can hear them.

Brynlie loves to hit when she gets mad. Sometimes she will know that if she hits the offender she will get in trouble so she turns and hits another object like a wall or chair instead. She never hits Daddy, but hits Mommy almost daily. Kylie and Sadie were never so violent, although Kylie has developed a bad habit of hitting recently. Brynlie probably picked this up from watching Kylie.

My only biter was Sadie, and I suspect that it may have something to do with her getting bit by her cousin Jason when she was a little less than a year old. The biting started soon after that incident. Luckily she outgrew that faze.

Kylie and Sadie both loved shoes from a very young age, but Brynlie refused to wear shoes until after she could walk. I had so many cute pairs of shoes that she never got to wear since she was into a size 4 before she would keep them on her feet.

Kylie and Sadie were both potty trained early, within a couple months of turning 2, but both got lazy and long after being potty trained still have accidents. I don't think they fully empty their bladders when they go (not joking) and can easily have to go three times just during a trip to Wal-Mart. I'm hoping that Brynlie will be as easy to potty train, but that she won't have as many "accidents" after.

Sadie is the sensitive child. I find myself giving into her quicker than the other two and I know it is because I try to avoid getting her mad. Once she is mad, she is very mad and has a hard time calming down. I am afraid of her temper tantrums because there is nothing that I can do. She is also such a little lover, and very sensitive to those around her. She snuggles with Mommy all the time and when she is happy she is so sweet.

Brynlie hates to kiss. She will kiss her babies and bears, but not anything else. After you ask about 100 times you may get a little kiss, but she makes you beg for them. And she will usually slip you a little tongue when she does give in. The other girls will freely give kisses.

Brynlie is also our clumsy baby. She is the only one to have stitches, and is always falling and hitting her head on something.

Life is so much fun with these three wonderful little gifts Heavenly Father sent to us! I am so glad that we have each one of them and enjoy what each of their individual personalities brings to our family.