Although Sam is only one minute older than his sister, he shares so many older-child characteristics with Catie. Both take themselves pretty seriously. Both are sensitive. And can be very emotional. And, yes, I’m talking about a three-year-old here so aren’t those kind of characteristics that fit every three-year-old? Well, no. Not Ellie. Twins are the ultimate nature vs. nurture experiment. I love it. I even like to recall seventh grade Science class and the scientific method and call one child the control group and the other the experimental group.
Okay. Back to Sam.
I’m so glad he’ll have a younger brother. He has that oldest child characteristic that he loves to show everyone “how it’s done.” He also has the ego that he always wants to be the one with the answers. Or maybe that’s just his Y chromosome.
But Sam is also so laid back . Unlike his sisters, who move all the time, Sam can grab one of his blankies (pictured above) and snuggle for hours. I’m anxious to not be pregnant anymore so more of my lap is available for him. Of course I’ll have a surgery that completely collapses my abdominal wall and makes pants uncomfortable for the next two months. But eventually we’ll get back to cuddling.
I just hope he doesn’t forget that while I’m also cuddling his new brother.
Sam’s most significant identifier in our family is his relationship with Ellie. I know I’ve written about how well they play together, but that’s not all. This week they started swimming lessons, and I saw just how much they rely on each other. A school psychologist would read that and turn us over to CPS for not giving each twin their own identity. I don’t care. I can only see how much Sam relies on Ellie to show him that he doesn’t need to worry. And Ellie needs Sam. She needs him to, well, show her how to swim. It’s beautiful. At this age, they truly are each other’s ying and yang.
This is the way that the birth of a boy will affect Sam the most. Not only for the snuggling rights, but because Sam has the hardest time dealing with change, and because his identity is about to change from Boy Twin to Big Brother.
Sam is truly a combination of my personality and M’s. And we love him for every single one of the roles he plays in our family.
