Fruit and Vegetable Analogies- We Just Came From the Farmer's Market

These kids, I tell you. They are funny. They are happy. They are naughty. Everything you hope your kids will be. Sometimes they are like peas in a pod. Matty just watches and watches big brother, just taking everything in. And then, if Mitch does it, you can just bet that Matty has to do it too. Matty will even announce, "Matty do it too" just to leave no doubt about the situation. Mitch puts on his floaties and jumps in the pool. Matty dons his floaties and jumps in the pool. Mitch wants to build with Legos. Matty runs and grabs some Legos and gets to work, always glancing sideways at Mitch to see what steps to take next. This lends a great deal of insight into why my sister, my younger sister, got to get her ears pierced on the exact same day that I did, when, in theory she should have had to wait two years!

I love how Matty looks up to Mitch, and I equally love how Mitch seems to get his role as big brother...taking time to show him how to do things, watching out for him, helping him out (we, as parents, aren't supposed to be doing those things, are we?)

But just as much as I appreciate how alike they are, I also love that they can be...well...like apples and oranges. They approach the world differently, and I equally love their outlooks. For example, at the fireworks the other night, Matthew was happy just to be. To simply appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the colors, saying "green" and "purple" for each firework, regardless of the actual color. He was enthralled with just watching. Happy to just let himself be entertained.

Mitch, however, has never, ever been one to just be. He has to do. He spent the entire time wondering about the fireworks. How do they go? What makes the colors? Who is lighting them? He eventually came to his own conclusion that they were, in fact, being shot off by a: "Ghost Cloud." Hey- I did not say he was brilliant, just engaged.

Now, Mitch is a stickler for the truth and detail. "Mom, I'll be to dinner in three minutes." "No, Mom- that looks like an oval, not a circle, Mom." Matty, however, is a big liar. While driving down the road, he is always calling out things that he most definitely has not seen. Like a John Deere truck. And lightning during a blue sky. And he is always refuting the presence of poo in his diaper, even when he is followed around by a brown cloud. Definitely more of a free spirit. A big, fat lying free spirit.

But, no matter what type of produce my hooligans are being, I sure am lucky to be surrounded by such peaches, even if they sometimes drive me bananas.