How did these two come from the same gene pool?

As a child I used to beg my parents to tell me that I was either adopted or switched at birth. That would have been easier than trying to figure out how my brother, sister and I came from the same gene pool. I remember as I got older and started hearing the argument between Nature vs. Nurture and I finally came to understand that some things just have no explanation.

Now that I am the mother of two charming little boys I find myself exploring this topic again. I expected my children to have distinct personalities but I also wrongly expected that some things would be the same. My children could not be more different. When Pierson came along Peter and I used to joke that it was a good thing that he was not born first because he would have been an only child. I don't mean to throw this sweet boy under the bus at all because truthfully he is delightful 90% of the time. I just mean that God knew what he was doing giving us Mack first.

As different as they are I can already tell how they will complement each other during their journey thru life. Mack is my shy guy; at times cautious and timid. He worries. He's a little diplomat and doesn't want to let anyone down. He's exactly like I was as a child. He's starting to come out of his shell a little bit which is wonderful to see. He's beginning to understand that when he does something funny and people laugh, they're not laughing at him. His personality is starting to shine through a little more as he discovers how good it feels to make people laugh. He likes to make me laugh. He is his mama's boy through and through. This is my boy who still tells me that the best part of his day is coming home to see me. Just before he turned 3, he and I were laying in his bed one day and he told me "I wish I had a rocket". I replied, "A rocket? What would you do if you had a rocket?" He turned to look at me with those beautiful blue eyes and told me "I would fly up high in the sky and get all the beautiful stars and bring them home to you". I cherish these early years with him because I know he's not always going to feel this way about me.

Pierson is the entertainer, the joker. He came into this life funny and we've been laughing at him for almost 3 years. Pierson thrives on this. He's the social one. He has a presence about him that makes people notice him and remember him. He is very strong willed and any idea is a bad idea unless it was his first. For as stubborn as this boy can be he can seriously turn around and be the sweetest thing you've ever known two seconds later. He gives amazing hugs and one of the things I love most about him is that he always uses the person's name that he is speaking to. For example "I love you too mama", "See you later, gigi", "Bye, by Miss Sarah", "Wanna be my special friend Daddy?". This may seem like a strange thing to note but I love this about him. It shows his innocence and sincerity. He's curious and full of questions. He likes to get a reaction out of people and when he does he files the act away in his little Pierson brain so he can pull it out again for shock factor later on. This part of his personality earned him the "first to get his mouth washed out with soap" award. He looks at bedtime as a time to party and play in his crib. He takes so many toys into bed that there's barely room for him in there. He sits in there and listens to everything going on in the rest of the house. When the phone rings he shouts for someone to get it, when Peter sneezes or coughs he yells, "Bless you, Daddy!". If I have my mixer going at 10:00 at night making cookies he insists that he "taste the frosting". You can't get much by this guy. As he approaches 3 years old it will be so fun to continue watching the transition between baby and big boy.

These boys will undoubtedly balance each other out beautifully thru the years. They will learn from each other and pick up traits that they want to have and recognize traits that they are glad they don't have. They will, without knowing it or trying to, push each other into things they would not normally do and keep each other from doing things they might be tempted to try. They will be there for each other even when they don't want to be. They will support each other even when they feel the other one is full of bull (censored.. :) because that's what brothers do. They will be each other's friend and biggest fan and I will encourage this as long as I live.