Opposites attract

I can't stress to you how different Talea is from Hyatt. I'm very curious to see what Kiersa will be like.

Tilly (5.5 lbs), Hyatt (6.75 lbs) and Kiersa (7.5 lbs) 3-6 days after birth. Look at how the thighs and arms gradually get fatter with each baby (I had to do some censoring).

Tilly, Hyatt and Kiersa all hated their first bath at home.

Tilly was born 2 weeks early and very small, but super healthy. Hyatt was 1 week early, but not so healthy with his crying and breathing. Kiersa was 2 days early and was fine except for needing antibiotics the whole hospital stay since I didn't get my full 2 rounds of antibiotics (for group B strep) in during her rapid labor.

I won't pretend to be one of the girls you want to smack because she looks so great in labor and after birth. I'll show you just what my kids did to me.

Toxemia (pregnancy induced hypertension) made me swell like a ballon with Talea,

And her labor was definitely my hardest and most traumatic with an awful recovery.

With Hyatt, on the other hand, I was at my lightest delivery weight, and his birth was so easy in comparison to Talea's,

That I even managed to smile afterward.

I took a bath (when I was dilated to a 5) and dried my hair before going in to the hospital with Kiersa since laboring with her wasn't all that rough.

And her delivery was a breeze!!


So even from the beginning, Talea and Hyatt were pretty much opposites in how they came into this world and what they did to me in the process. They still are so different!

Talea is all boldness and courage and until recently, was all tomboy.
Hyatt on the other hand, is shy and reserved, and until recently, was into girly things since that's what Talea played with.

Talea has always LOVED to be tossed around like an acrobat in Hyrum's arms (much to the horror of bystanders).
Hyatt has always been afraid of being tossed around by Hyrum until recently, and he was even terrified of being pushed in swings until a few months ago.

Talea loves scary rides, like rollercoasters.
Hyatt cries on scary rides. He's actually such a chicken about scary stuff that he gets scared if someone so much as says "Rrraaarrrr!" to his face. Even when Tilly says it 20 times in a row...he'll still be genuinely frightened, squeal and run for safety each time.
(click on this picture and their faces will tell you everything)


Talea loves creepy crawlies, even when they bite, pinch, spit and scratch.
Hyatt loves to watch Talea with her creepy crawlies, but has no desire to play with them and was seriously traumatized when an earwig pinched him.

Talea was never afraid to go to nursery alone at church or stay with babysitters.
Hyatt cried for the first year if we left him in nursery, then he got brave for a few months, and since returning from England and finding a new teacher and room, he's afraid again. He hates to be left with sitters too.

Talea loves getting scared and loves scary costumes.
Hyatt freaks out in the Halloween aisle and covers his eyes when things seem like they have a hint of scariness.

Talea loves scary movies and requests Jaws, Gremlins, Tremors, Labryinth, etc on a regular basis.
Hyatt will watch scary movies, but watches through his fingers.

Talea had no interest in learning preschoolish things until recently, and would never say what Dora or Diego told her to say. She had no interest in TV until she was over 2-years-old.
Hyatt liked TV from an early age, and will always say what Dora and Diego tell him to say. He soaks up the stuff Tilly's learning and would rather do preschool stuff than play with creepy crawlies.

Talea loves veggies and will eat those before anything else on her plate.
Hyatt does NOT like veggies, except for broccoli, and usually has to have them disguised or something to force them down.

Talea can't tolerate spiciness, including pepper.
Hyatt doesn't mind spice and will even eat salsa at restaurants.

Talea hates getting washed in the tub or shower, and really doesn't like swimming.
Hyatt doesn't mind washing, and LOVES swimming.

Talea has never had any fear of animals, so we've had to teach her caution and appropriate technique when approaching unfamiliar animals.
Hyatt is naturally scared of most things, so he doesn't like any unfamiliar animals and always has to be coaxed to pet anything.

Yet with all their differences, they are the best of friends and can hardly stand being apart.






So far, Kiersa is following in Talea's footsteps with a hint of Hyatt. She looks so much like Talea did at her age, only chubbier and with bigger eyes (Talea's got my little squinties).
Can you tell who is who?



The top and bottom are Talea at 8 months, and the middle is Kiersa at 8 months.

She loves to be at the same level as the kids when they play or watch TV. If they're on my bed watching a movie, Kiersa will stand at the foot and cry until we put her in her crib next to them so she can stand up at their level. She adores her big brother and sister.


Kiersa loves to be tossed around, like Talea did, but she's wary of animals that get too close, like Hyatt.

Kiersa finally starting crawling today for the majority of her transportation (instead of army crawling). It's so adorable to hear the little slap of her hands on the hard floors. I'm so excited that her tummy and arms will stay cleaner! I was beginning to think she'd walk before she'd crawl because she took so long to do it. She is just about ready to couch surf, and only JUST started crawling, at nearly 9 months old.

She says Mama and Baba all the time, and I still can't tell if she means either one of them yet. She's the first of my kids to start babbling with Mama instead of Dada. She's wrapping me around her finger!

It's interesting how different children can be physically and in personality even when they're from the same family. I ADORE being a mother and can't think of anything I'd rather be doing in my life than watching these little people interact and grow. My FAVORITE thing is to watch Talea and Hyatt playing imaginary things together and talking to each other, and now Kiersa attempts to join in. It literally brings "happy tears" to my eyes (as Tilly would say) to watch them. It makes all the constant messes, screaming, crying, fighting, tantrums, snotty noses, poopy diapers, peed in pants, late nights, early mornings, illnesses, embarrassing behavior in public, and talking back all worth it. Next to Hyrum, they are my greatest joys and I hope after college they don't ever move too far away, because my heart will ache unbearably for them. But...if they do, that's yet another reason for Hyrum and I to retire in a motorhome. We'll just go visit kid to kid!