Not quite twins

When people look at Megan and Matthew now, they no longer say "not twins" right away and I can understand why. Although they are not the same size, they don't look so different, especially if you're looking at them in the stroller.When asked if they are twins, U usually replies "not quite." Here's some of the latest  from not-quite-twinville.

• Megan is our dominant twin. Not surprising since she is 4 months older (almost half again of Matthew's age), about 5 pounds heavier and can do more. She can usually get her way, although she's nice to Matthew most of the time. She will sometimes give Matthew his pacifier back, although her methods aren't always conventional--once she put it on top of his head. She also shows Matthew she likes him by holding his hand and by patting him. It's really cute!  

• Matthew is starting to stand up for himself. Megan may take his pacifier, but he will take hers back. He will sometimes grab toys from her as well. He is pretty agile and is a mover! He may be younger and smaller, but he sure thinks he should be able to do anything his sister does. And he often can! He's pretty determined and is lots of fun to watch crawling around. 

• Size: One thing that is funny to me is that when Matthew was born, Megan was huge (relatively speaking) and Matthew was little. Now, Megan is big and Matthew is still little, even though he weighs more now than Megan did when he was born. Some of this is because he is still littler than Megan. However, I think some of it is because of differences in build and how they hold themselves. Megan is solid whereas Matthew is more petite. You definitely feel Megan's weight more when carrying them and I think this would be the case even if they were the same weight just because of how they hold themselves.

• Sarah: They both love Sarah. She can get them to laugh almost all the time. They get very excited to see her when she gets home from school. She is really good at coming up with all sorts of neat things for them to do, often involving her and Megan's couches.
• Imitate: Megan and Matthew imitate the sounds that the other one makes. Matthew has been making "Megan noises" for quite awhile. Megan has started babbling a lot more thanks to Matthew. I especially love it that she now says "blah!"  
• Teach: They teach each other how to do things. It goes both ways--Megan teaches Matthew how to do something, Matthew teaches Megan how to do something. For example, Matthew started banging things together and then Megan started doing it. Of course there are times when Matthew tries to do something Megan just did and isn't quite so successful, like when he tried crawling over the center of our big kitchen table. Megan was able to do it, but he got stuck. Maybe in a few more months, bud. Here's an example of something he successfully learned:

A few weeks ago, I looked over to see Megan crawling into the toy cabinet (she's not in all the way here, but she did go in the whole way). Look who is watching....

A few minutes later, this is what happened:

And then this:

Gotta love it!

• Follow: Megan and Matthew follow each other around. It's usually Matthew following Megan although it occasionally goes the other way as well. They love exploring as far as we will let them go and are often found in the far corner of the kitchen as well as in the family room and everywhere in between. It really is cute to see one of them go crawling off with the other one following right behind.

In the family room--Megan was sharing her toys--how cute!

In the far corner of the kitchen together

• Playing: They play by each other a lot. This is a natural result of following each other around. It does make it a little easier since they are generally found in the same area. They often play with their toys--the Legos, the animal train, balls, books. However, they often play by getting into cabinets and drawers and pulling out everything very quickly. The other day, I found Megan with a crystal candy dish! Looks like maybe it's time for a few more child locks:) It is fun to see them playing by each other so much.

Playing (pay no attention to the woman in the background)

Reading

Helping with the dishes

I sure love these two!!!