Contrasting Styles

Chase and Julian have the same parents. They have grown up in the same house with the same rules. Yet somehow nature and nurture have turned them into two completely different kids.
Chase is shier, eager to please and sensitive. Julian is a bull who doesn't give a fuck.
Chase is quiet, Julian is loud.
Chase has brown hair and brown eyes. Julian is blonde with blue eyes.
Chase is small (though this is a more recent development), Julian is a giant among 4-year olds.
When Chase falls down (such as on the way to the school dance) he cries for a long time (30 minutes in the school dance incident). When Julian falls down, he says "I'm ok" before he even hits the ground. Once he said "I'm ok" before assessing the situation, and after a few seconds of silence he realized that he wasn't ok, and he started to cry.

Mrs. Poop gave them pennies to throw into a fountain. Later they told us what they wished for. Chase wished for a modest $28 toy. Julian wished that there would be no more rules.

In one incident Julian got his finger stuck under the booster seat attached to his chair. He very calmly told me his finger was stuck. Too calmly. I didn't act with necessary urgency. When I got his finger unstuck and he saw it was cut and red, he cried hysterically. Chase gave him a toy to make him feel better.

My favorite story about Chase's easy-going nature is from Tali's birthday party several years ago. A man was giving the kids temporary tattoos. Each time he warned the children that the water would be very cold. Chase replied "I love cold water." Now, I'm not saying Juju would have decked the guy, but he certainly wouldn't have been as accepting of freezing cold water on his arm.

I could go on forever about the differences between them (which in general are great, I am glad they are unique and distinct individuals) but I think I will leave it here.

This is a picture of Chase being scared on a roller-coaster.

And this is a picture of Julian being scared on a roller-coaster.

Aren't Genetics Wild?

I recently got a most distressing e-mail from Master Bates:

"Had my first ever Target popcorn today and it came nowhere close to the hype you built up. In fact I threw out a lot of it as it was not good."

At first I thought maybe he just got a bad batch, but then I remembered Target popcorn is popped fresh every 30 minutes, and there have been times when Mrs. Poop has gotten Target popcorn in the morning, and I ate it at 6 pm, and it was still delicious. So that couldn't be it.
Then I considered maybe Master Bates was raised to dislike delicious popcorn. But since we were raised by the same parents, in the same house, the same room even, we must have been exposed to the same things growing up.
So maybe nature in the age old nature vs. nurture debate was the reason Master Bates didn't like Target Popcorn.
So I called Mama Poop and she said she loves Target Popcorn too.

Therefore the only conclusion one can make is: Master Bates is adopted.

Aren't Genetics Wild?

Jessica Alba and her mom