Baffled By My Beauty

Confession: as a mommy, there is one attribute that I am really lacking... a keen mother's intuition. I was completely convinced during each of my pregnancies that I was carrying boys. With my first pregnancy, we chose to have the gender be a SURPRISE! upon delivery. I was absolutely certain, until I heard the words, "It's a girl!" that the little bundle who I'd grown to love in utero was a he. Then, I was so sure that number 2 was a boy that I didn't even think we needed to open the envelope that contained the picture revealed that baby's gender.  Once I learned that I was having a second girl, I became overjoyed! I was excited to be a mommy to two girls and envious of Carter's opportunity to have a little sis!
Very soon after we found out that we had another "she" on the way, the hubby and I began to discuss how fun it would be to watch our girls grow up together and to see their unique personalities unfold. We talked about what interests each girl might have, what activities they may enjoy, who would be the leader of the two, whether or not they would be competitive, and on and on. During these wonderings, we were picturing girls, school aged girls, not a baby and a toddler.
Since making her grand debut in the world, Murphy has had us puzzled. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that, in the first second that I looked at her, my exact words were, "Who is that???" She looked nothing like Carter, nothing like me, nothing like Lindsay, nothing like I expected! Beyond that first meeting, Murphy has proven to be an entirely different creature than her big sis.

Take sleeping habits for example. Murphy slept almost seven hours on the night we brought her home from the hospital, yet she was not consistently sleeping all night until she turned four months old. Carter never once slept through the night until the day she turned eight weeks, and then she slept all night, every night from that day on. At four months old, Carter was in a nice day time routine of taking two scheduled naps a day and being alert and calm in between. Murphy, at almost six months, is still not in a real day time routine. She can take as many as four naps a day and is quite cranky when she wants more sleep.
After placing Carter in her crib, she would play happily for a long time (often over an hour) before going to sleep. The second I lay Murphy down, she sticks her thumb in her mouth and goes right to sleep. Pooks has been attached her her "Lambie" from early on and often slept soundly with it draped over her face and head. Murphy becomes so upset if "Mousey" covers her face that I have to keep it out of arm's reach from her while she sleeps.
As nicknames go, I often refer to Murphy as Lazy Bones! While Carter rolled over from both back to belly and belly to back with complete ease at just shy of three months old, Murphy has yet to roll over from her back to her tummy. Not even once! (She did roll from belly to back at three months, but has decided she is no longer interested in that much work!) Carter had sitting up without assistance mastered by six months old, and Murphy screams if I even try to get to practice sitting with help! She is happiest in my arms or laying in her bouncy seat watching her big sis play.

Despite all her crazy antics these days, Carter was a pretty serious baby. Getting a smile out of her took a bit of work. Though Murphy had colic and spent most of her early months screaming incessantly, she now has the most pleasant demeanor. She radiates joy and smiles with her entire being, especially her sparkling eyes!
I find it amazing that my little girls are  already so very unique, and I look forward to watching them continue to grow into little ladies. While their differences are quite apparent, I am really interested to see their similarities develop. One thing is for sure: they really, really, really love each other. And I really, really, really love being their mommy.