Traits...

From the moment a child is born people make speculations of which parent they look like, which parent they act like, which parent they have the most in common with when that parent was a child, and the list goes on and on ( and changes depending on which side of the family you ask).

David and I have stated from the beginning when people ask who he looks like we both say "Maxwell! Who else would he look like?" He doesn't have my eyes, I have my eyes. He doesn't have David's birthmark, David has his own birthmark and it didn't transfer upon Maxwell's birth! However, Maxwell is a great blend of genetics from both David and I. He does have my eye color; he does have a birthmark in the same place as David; as a baby, at about 6 months, he looked very similar to Claire and as a toddler he did look almost identical to David at that age. Do you see the difference in our statements?

Genetics play a role in creating a new person. Not a replica of someone else. Otherwise, the world would be very boring. We want Maxwell to be his own person.We want him to not feel like a shadow of his parents. But no matter how hard you try as a parent, some of our traits ( not genetics) rub off on our children. Over the last few days, I have noticed this more and more. Maxwell imitates things that David and I do. He imitates the voices I use to read to him in within his own reading. And tonight he imitated his dad in the most amusing way.

When David and I started dating, his hair was very thick and long ( not ponytail length or anything, just long for a guy.) He would make sure every hair was in place at all times and still does to this day. And I must admit, he has great hair! So tonight after getting our of the tub, I proceed to comb Maxwell's hair as usual and Maxwell looked at me with a look of disgusted and says " Mommy, don't touch my hair! You will mess up my cool man look!" I was flabbergasted! It was one of the funniest things I had heard all day. So once I stopped laughing, I agreed, he could fix his own hair ( I pick my battles).

I write this post only to remind myself, that no matter how hard I try to make sure that Maxwell becomes his own person, he will pick up a few things from the adults ( and even children) that he is around. And I must add, I am glad that he has picked up his Dad's hair grooming trait! I am more of a brush and go kinda person. I hope he also learns to imitate his Dad's cleaning and cooking habits, as I don't enjoy, nor am I good at either! An added plus to that is that his future wife would appreciate both qualities.