Both times I was pregnant, I spent nine months willing my girls to come out with J’s warm, chocolate-y colored eyes.

When Em came out, I realized that even with all of my willing (and eating a lot of chocolate) she was going to definitely have green eyes, like me. I was consoled by the fact that she got J.’s big, almond-shaped eyes, and not my squinty ones, though.

And when Addie came out, her eyes were even bigger, complete with even longer eyelashes – which I didn’t think was possible. Her eyes are more brown, some days they are close to that chocolate color, but most days they seem to be more golden, kinda green-brown, still definitely lighter than J’s.

In the end, (and all that really matters) I am happy to get to sing “Brown-Eyed Girl” to one of my girls. (Although I do adapt the lyrics to include Em’s pretty green eyes, too.)

Though as similar as they are, I am always astounded when I look at photos of them. The stories their eyes tell are very different, indeed.

Emma has serious eyes. Her eyes are wise beyond their wee little five years. They are always analyzing. Always thinking. Always plotting out her next move or scanning her environment, curiously anxious to ask her next question.

Addie on the other hand…

She does not have what I would call “serious” eyes. Where Em’s eyes seem so “wise,” Addie’s are completely child-like. She wears her heart in her eyes. One minute they dance with mischief and happiness, the next they are brimming with tears. They are so very expressive – you are never left wondering what she might be feeling or thinking.

It is why I love raising these two little girls.

They each come from the same set of genes, growing up in the same environment. You can tell they are sisters – you can see it in their eyes, yet they couldn’t be more different. They are two completely different and individual little beings.

Stop over to Stacy’s today to look through some other sets of eyes.