HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY AND PEARL

your birthday was last week, and this is belated, but i've been writing this letter to you both for two years, and quite possibly my whole life.

you two came as a surprise to me... first shocking, then scary, then it was all i could wish for and dream of...two baby girls. two for the price of one. identical twins, both tiny, needy and completely dependent.

your father and i look at you both and wonder, "is this real.. are they both really here? can you believe we have 2?" every night we look at each other, and marvel..."they are so amazing, aren't they?"

at age two, you are far from identical. there are the physical differences which betray your genetic similarities. lily, you are slightly taller, and outweigh pearl by a 1lb or so. your face is rounder, you've got dimples. pearl... you are my peanut. skinny, petite, fine pixie features.

but lily, you are my sun, and my heart. you brighten everyone's day. you smile, flirt, bat your eyes, and with all your two years of wisdom, you take life as a lark...innocent(so you want us to believe) with good-natured mischief. you get yourself in trouble, and you show your beguiling smile to escape punishment. we can't help but turn our heads and hide our laughs.

pearl is my moon, and my old soul. mercurial, curious but so shy. you run at the world trying to figure out everything and everyone, analyzing, probing, and when someone addresses you in return, you hide your wide eyes behind your bangs, shrinking to my side...if you don't see them, they don't see you. it's so endearing, and sweet, and i want to scoop you up and protect you forever.

lily, you enchant everyone.
pearl, you captivate the individual.. whoever is your favored of the day.

pearl, you are forgiving,
lily, you are thoughtful, and helpful.

you both are trouble makers. one jumps off the bridge, and the other dutifully follows.

you both love deeply already, at your young age of two. and you are beloved by everyone who knows you.

you are lily and pearl.. inseparable, special because you are a pair, but special because you are unique. i look forward to discovering who you will both become.