And so it begins...

And so it begins, the comparisons of little Alejandro to his big sis Bella. How can I not? I have to say, it's so bizarre having a second child. That second child is a whole new being, a sort of stranger at first, so you can't help but try to draw some comparisons from what you are already familiar with. Even before I became pregnant with Alejandro, I often wondered how different our second child would be from Bella, or alternatively, what similarities they would share. Immediately after he was born, I couldn't believe how different the two of them looked, but after only a short while, I began to see some resemblances. And, after a day or two, I had numerous deja-vu's and felt as though I was re-living my experience with Ysabella because I found so many similarities. I know little man is his own little person, so I'll try to keep the comparisons to a minimum, but it's been fun, nonetheless (and I'm sure this won't be the end of it).

Alejandro at birth (& all that hair! So THAT explains my endless heartburn!)

Bella, a few minutes old, 2007.

Alejandro, on his birthday.

Bella, on her birthday.

Alejandro, after a tough day.

...and Bella.

Bella helping bathe Alejandro for the first time.

Bella having a bath,  February 2007

A flashback to Bella's GIANT hand! 

Alejandro with the same long fingers.

And, after all these comparisons, this is our little man's response:

 (I seem to remember having a photo of Bella like this somewhere, you know, for comparisons sake...but unfortunately I couldn't track it down...)

And in case you're wondering Bella is doing just fine. She's adjusting well and is still loving her little brother. She kisses him numerous times a day and always helps me change his dirty diapers. Except this morning when he accidentally pulled her ponytail. The look on her face was priceless! She said: "Mom, Alex pulled my hair and he didn't even say sorry!!" We couldn't help but laugh...a lot! Poor Bella, she was so shocked.

Here's a pic of Bella using chopsticks for only the second time, and even though one is pointed the wrong way, she was way more successful with them than I am on somedays.