About the Opposite of Clones

Clearly I was confused when I thought our boys would be the same. I thought that since Chuck and I are similar to each other, that there just wasn't much to make them different. But the more I observe the boys, the more I realize that they're going to be wildly different.

Sure, both boys have enjoyed a constant bedtime since about five months of age. However, Rhett was deposited in a crib with soothing white noise, complete darkness, and no roommates. Ollie, however, is deposited in a crib with white noise (ocean instead of rainstorms), but with a brother right next to him who is reading books with a small light on. Occasionally that older brother starts to yell for parents. Occasionally that older brother is throwing a tantrum.

Also, Rhett doesn't have an older brother (duh). Rhett grew up in a house where two parents spoke lovingly to him and around him all of the time. Ollie, however, is occasionally subjected to yelling from parents to his older brother. Thankfully we've been able to avoid yelling directly at a one-year-old.

With Rhett we attempted to give him a varied diet and made sure all of his foods were finely diced. Ollie, however, is lucky to get his whole banana peeled for him.

And maybe the most obvious, because Ollie does have an older brother, he gets that rich experience. Someone to look up to (hopefullly), someone to learn from (only the good stuff hopefully), and someone to play with (or under). What a difference from Rhett's life.

I'm just learning that the environment for Ollie is so very different (you can't even say better or worse here) than what Rhett had. This just makes me so much more excited to see the little person Ollie becomes!