Genetics

I often get stared at when I walk in a room with the girls and Andy's not with me. What brown eyed/dark brown haired girl ends up with two little ones with bright blue eyes ... one with red hair and one with hair that is a mix between blonde and honey? People look at me and them and sort of tilt their heads with this quizzical look on their faces - even in my twin club! Then Andy will walk in (carrying more stuff than is ever humanly possible, having to twist sideways to fit in the door) and they all go, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Today I took Maddie to the eye doctor for a routine exam. She has been squinting lately and I just wanted to make sure she was OK (which she is - the doctor says the squinting is probably just a habit). I got the usual looks - which always make me smile. Once, about a year ago, an older woman said to me about Maddie, "Is she yours?" I just looked at her and smiled and kept walking - but in my head I was like, "NO - I just picked her up at the bus stop."

I shouldn't be fazed by those types of looks. My mom had 3 kids who look nothing like each other at all. I am the olive-skinned Italian, my middle brother Jeffery was born with bright bright yellow hair (which is now very dirty blonde), and my younger brother Eric was born with orange, firey red hair (which is now all gone - sorry, Eric!). Once (when we were probably 9, 7, and 6-ish years old) we were at a gas station in my mom's blue station wagon (hugest car ever - the original SUV) - and the attendent mentioned to my mom that we all had different hair colors. Eric (still known for his quick one liners) popped his head out of the window and said, "Yeah! Different fathers!"

In case you are a stranger reading this - um, TOTALLY not true.

Katie

Maddie