Anja is so much of a lookalike to her father but possesses many similarities to me in her personality - at least as a child.  I promise, I no longer scream at the top of my lungs, usually.  Unless maybe there’s a giant beetle climbing up my blanket very quickly.   Other than her physical feature, that’s the other way I’m significantly different from her - she picked up that same beetle a few days earlier and walked it outside as she told him that her mom really doesn’t like bugs in the house.

However, Isak - he’s my “mini-me” in his looks but his personality is, for the most part, very different from mine.   He gets his coordination (or lack thereof), sensitivity and his inclination toward music (both in playing and in listening) from me.  What he most certainly does NOT get from me is his academic strength.  I never really liked school, except maybe grammar and band.

Today we got a letter from the school reporting a required assessment of his language skills in case he needed extra help in English as he’s from a home with two languages.  How proud was I when I read the recommendation of his gifted education teacher: “Add classroom differentiation to accommodate his high math skills.  He is above grade level in his class work.  He needs time and opportunity to develop creative/critical-thinking skills as he continues in gifted education.”

I’m such a proud mamma!!