Wednesday 3 March 2010

Spot the difference

A and S are identical.  There are differences but you have to know about them. A has a double crown and a little blue mark on her nose.  S makes S faces, and is slightly smaller.  But if you don't know that, you might be excused finding it difficult to tell who's who.

B and I can now (since about their first birthday) pretty much always tell the difference straight away. They just each do things that are totally themselves.  A is incredibly kind.  S is incredibly cheeky.  A can stand up on her own;  S watches.  S can go downstairs backwards; A sits at the top and whinges.  And for those that don't know? Well, I dress them differently, and I'm quite happy to explain that S is wearing red and A purple, or whatever.

But L still can't tell.  She calls them "my sister" or "that one".  Or  says "is that one S?" and when I say "no", says "that one?", as though there were more than two options. I thought that this was an age thing.  She's only little after all.

But her friend F, at the advanced age of just 3, knows.  And he knows all the time.  In fact, he corrected me yesterday when I got them wrong.

Which leads me to wonder - is she doing it on purpose?  

9 comments:

  1. Awwww, I bet their mannerisms really tell them apart. Maybe L does know but if she asks you she gets your attention...and who could blame her, she has two gorgeous little sisters who probably get a lot of extra attention from others (strangers in the street?) Maybe? Or, she may not know. It's funny that F knows, how sweet is that.

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  2. Maybe she is doing it on purpose. An attention thing maybe like chic mama suggested. It may also be that because they are so little themselves she hasnt properly picked up on their personalitys yet?

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  3. I thought there was going to be a fabulous punchline to the story, where L opened a cupboard door one morning and said "ta-da, here's a third one who I sneaked away at birth and have been tending secretly myself - that's why I haven't been paying enough attention to the other two to be able to tell them apart". And now you have four daughters under 3, not just the three.

    I have a vivid imagination.

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  4. Iota - that's not an imagination. That's a nightmare.

    Hayley and Chic Mama - it's interesting isn't it? I don't know why she does it, if indeed she does it on purpose. It's hard to know if it's an attention thing because of course she only does it when they're there, and when she's necessarily having to share my attention. It would be useful to be able to test her when they weren't there (but impossible!). Will let you know when she finally works it out!

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  5. Hehehe! I'm soooo glad I've got one of each. Although in sleep-deprived bleariness I have mistaken them before - fully clothed, obviously!

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  6. Can I ask how you knew which was which before they turned 1? Must be so hard (I find telling my friend's non identical twins apart different because they change so much each time I see them)

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  7. RebaMc - That makes me feel MUCH better!

    And Muddling Along Mummy... Well for the first few days they had their hospital tags on, and at about two days we put nail polish on one of A's toes. That stayed on until she was (they were) about eight or so months. By that stage they had enough hair for the double crown to be obvious, and she'd also developed her little blue mark on her nose. Both of these will go (or become less obvious) but fortunately we (and they!) now know which is which!

    Admittedly none of that helps with your friend's babies! I would say though that I never, ever, object to anyone asking me which is which, and I'd rather be asked a million times than have you struggle to work it out and feel awkward, or get it wrong, or call them "the twins".

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  8. ps - just re-read your comment, and realised that your friend's are non-identical. Whoops. Doh. Must read better next time. Hey ho. Sorry. And actually, I'd think even then I'd rather be asked than have you get it wrong...

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  9. lovely photo! I love the interaction you can see between them, even from the back! They look gorgeous - but I can't imagine what hard work twins (and a sister!) must be.

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