It's not all my fault.

One thing I like about having twins is that is shows you how much their personality, behavior, likes, and dislikes are theirs and have very little if anything to do with what the parent has done or not done. With one child, if he loves books from an early age, the parent can say, "well, I created that love of reading by having books around, reading to him, exposing him to libraries, etc". Or if he is well behaved and listens, you can say, I taught him to be that way! But when you have two at the same time, you can do the exact same things with them and get completely different results.

For example, had we just had Miranda, I would think that Michael or I or genetics had something to do with our children's ability to sit still for long periods of time. To play alone. To think about things. To really ponder life.

But with Elizabeth, we realize we had nothing to do with any of that since she exhibits none of that behavior.

And similarly, if we just had Elizabeth, we would think that our kids are super stubborn and our parenting must have had some impact on that. As if we created it along the line. But since we have Miranda, who is generally a go with the flow kind of kid, we know we had nothing to do with it.

If we just had Elizabeth, we might wonder if we had something to do with the fact that both our children love Chicka Chicka boom boom. But since we have Miranda who could care less, we know that has nothing to do with it.

If we just had Parker, we would think that constantly exposing him to dogs at an early age created a kid who didn't like dogs. But with Miranda and Elizabeth, who love dogs, we know we had nothing to do with it.

If we just had Elizabeth, we would think that there was some freaky girl thing that made her adore shoes. But since we have Miranda, who can take them or leave them, we know it's just an Elizabeth thing.

I know we aren't suppose to compare our children, but with twins, it's damn hard not to.