It has become quite obvious that we are going to run into some identity issues in the years to come with our twins. When we found out Jen was preggers with twins, I started to do a lot of reading about them. I remember reading a story about a set of twin boys that were going into kindergarten, when one boy was asked his name; he promptly replied…Michael and Brian (or whatever their names were). It was at that moment that I was set on making sure our boys knew their own names and knew they were each special, individuals. We rarely refer to them as twins, partly because I don’t want them to be labeled like that, and partly as a conscious effort to recognize them as two people and not one unit (yeah I know, everyone else is going to look at them that way).
It can be hard to tell Parker and Jack apart. They look the same, they're identical twins so that is kinda the point… Now, I can't say that we didn't have (don't have) trouble sometimes identifying the boys if we can’t see their faces, or we are looking at old unlabeled pictures, or its 3am, or if Jen put Jack in Parker's crib (probably just to see if I noticed - she has such a lovely sense of humor). So with all that, I know it's hard sometimes getting the boys names straight. I know that we will sometimes forget who did what or who we are holding and refer to them as Jack/Parker or Parker/Jack. More recently we have a running joke using Jack/Not Jack when someone refers to one of our little ones as Jack and either Jen or I come back quickly with "that's not Jack." Everyone is entitled to make mistakes. This week, I have just seemed to take notice of these many mistakes because my parents were staying over. It isn’t just them, it’s everyone. Even Jen’s parent’s who probably see them more than anyone else does, have just as hard of a time keeping them straight, but it is just humorous to see it happen on a regular basis.
Parker has a strawberry hemangioma on the left side of his head. This birthmark is a series of blood vessels that joined together and takes some time to break up. It has started to stretch out and become thinner and lighten up in color, but currently, it has been the thing that makes it easy to tell them apart. Parker is affectionately referred to as “Parker with the marker.” There are many other differences that Jen and I notice immediately, but others who are not around them as much, don’t seem to pick up on. When this birthmark fades and eventually disappears (or is covered by hair), we will have to figure out another way for everyone else to distinguish between the two boys. I know that they will continue to be mistaken for each other; by friends, classmates, teachers, but I would really like for their relatives to be able to tell them apart!!!!
It can be hard to tell Parker and Jack apart. They look the same, they're identical twins so that is kinda the point… Now, I can't say that we didn't have (don't have) trouble sometimes identifying the boys if we can’t see their faces, or we are looking at old unlabeled pictures, or its 3am, or if Jen put Jack in Parker's crib (probably just to see if I noticed - she has such a lovely sense of humor). So with all that, I know it's hard sometimes getting the boys names straight. I know that we will sometimes forget who did what or who we are holding and refer to them as Jack/Parker or Parker/Jack. More recently we have a running joke using Jack/Not Jack when someone refers to one of our little ones as Jack and either Jen or I come back quickly with "that's not Jack." Everyone is entitled to make mistakes. This week, I have just seemed to take notice of these many mistakes because my parents were staying over. It isn’t just them, it’s everyone. Even Jen’s parent’s who probably see them more than anyone else does, have just as hard of a time keeping them straight, but it is just humorous to see it happen on a regular basis.
Parker has a strawberry hemangioma on the left side of his head. This birthmark is a series of blood vessels that joined together and takes some time to break up. It has started to stretch out and become thinner and lighten up in color, but currently, it has been the thing that makes it easy to tell them apart. Parker is affectionately referred to as “Parker with the marker.” There are many other differences that Jen and I notice immediately, but others who are not around them as much, don’t seem to pick up on. When this birthmark fades and eventually disappears (or is covered by hair), we will have to figure out another way for everyone else to distinguish between the two boys. I know that they will continue to be mistaken for each other; by friends, classmates, teachers, but I would really like for their relatives to be able to tell them apart!!!!
Mom, Jack, Park, & Dad visiting Mike the Tiger
Parker & Jack holding hands.JPG)
Jack & Park playing in their crib
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