One of these things is not like the other...

So, Carter is officially 17 months old.  That means we're only a month away from a year and a half.  Seven months away from birthday #2.  And the terrible twos.  And since his birthday is less than two months after Christmas, that means that within that time we'll also have winter and Christmas again.  Wait, you mean summer won't last forever?  Oh, only another month and a half?  Darn.  This was just getting fun.  The worst thing about summer is how fast it goes, and with kids that seems to have become even more true.  Light speed, people....seriously.

So...just a few random thoughts as we hit this stage.  First of all, one of the things that has been very insightful the second time around is being able to look back at pictures of Jacob and see when he started looking like "him".  Baby pictures are cute and all, but there's a point at which you realize that the kid you have now doesn't really look much like the tiny baby in the pictures.  There are features, yes, but it's only once your kid reaches a certain age do you realize that their face hasn't changed a whole lot from a few years ago.  It thins out, but the look is pretty similar.  Looking back, Jacob truly started looking clearly like himself somewhere between a year and 18 months, which is obviously where Carter is now.  It's nice to know that we can start knowing that this is somewhat along the lines of what Carter is going to look like as he gets older.

And in case you don't believe me, here's a picture of Jacob from a few weeks older than Carter is now.  He was about a week shy of 18 months in this picture, and I kid you not, I see this face pretty much on a daily basis now when I do something that annoys Jacob...

I was looking for a picture closer to the age Carter is now, but when I saw this one I laughed out loud and HAD to include it here.  It is SO him.

I've talked at length on here about how different my two boys are.  There are some similarities these days.  Just like Jacob did, Carter says "ball" constantly and is always wanting to be holding a lacrosse stick.  He'll settle for a bat or hockey stick, but lacrosse is far preferred.  They started walking around the same time and seem to be similar in size.  At least, Carter is now wearing the same sneakers that Jacob has on in the picture below, and I noticed a video of Jacob at this age with a shirt that Carter wears right now.  I will say, however, that the hat Jacob is wearing below hasn't fit Carter's considerably larger head since the beginning of the summer, so there's that difference.  They both love being outside.  Carter is a better eater but their love for milk at this age is identical.  I know there are more, but even still--in so many ways these kids couldn't be more different.

Carter definitely seems to have an easier going personality than Jacob did at this age.  He has his moments, but he seems to have less tantrums and is generally more content.  As I mentioned, he's a way better eater.  It's an odd day when he doesn't eat the vast majority of what's on his tray, whereas getting Jacob to eat anything was a struggle.  Carter remained a great sleeper through teething and usually takes monster naps, unlike Jacob at this age, though he also seems to be a lighter sleeper in general, as he will often shift position when I come in to check on him.  Trying to wake Jacob is like trying to wake the dead.  Jacob seemed to talk a lot more a lot sooner than Carter, and he was always more of a snuggler than Carter has ever been.  The biggest difference, though, may be in their looks.

From the moment Carter was born, he looked different.  He was hairy and red, with dark hair.  Jacob was always so much fairer.  Jacob had a dimple, but Carter had crazy chubby cheeks.  Their faces really never looked that much alike, and their coloring has always set them apart.  I think the funniest difference is that Jacob's body shape has always been straight up and down, whereas Carter has these chubby thighs that stick out wider than his tiny butt.  It's hilarious.  Still, I wanted to look at old pictures where Jacob was Carter's age and see just how different they are. 

These pictures are a little closer to the age Carter is now that the one above, maybe a week younger than 17 months.

 

And for reference, here are a couple more of Carter from recently.  I'm only including the second one since he's sort of looking down, as it's the closest I can find to the one above.

 

They just don't really look alike.  And you know, I like it like that.  I'd hate to look at baby pictures and not know who was who.  I like that my boys are both such individuals and that they've both utilized separate sets of genes.  I have friends with two boys where you can barely tell them apart, and while that's cute in its own way, I love my boys just the way they are.  It's funny, though, because I still have a hard time thinking of them as a "set".  Because Jacob never wants to be near his brother, and because they never really do anything together except battle (you know, Carter wants to be near him, Jacob pushes him off, Carter tackles him), seeing them together is still a little disorienting or something.  It's almost like someone Photoshopped them together or superimposed one in the presence of the other.  Seeing them together just doesn't compute most of the time.  It probably doesn't help that Carter's proportions seem so much different than Jacob's, with his big head in particular.  It's hard to describe, but hopefully one of these days they'll interact normally or I'll at least be able to get some pictures of them together where they don't seem superimposed. 

 

Anyway, I love my little individuals.  I am still adjusting to the fact that Jacob is six, and now we're a month away from 18 months for Carter.  It just doesn't seem possible.  They are growing up way too fast!