Okay, here's another gratuitous photo of Alex and Nolan. Sorry to bore my friends and other visitors who aren't as enamored with kids as I am, but every once in a while, I just need to trot out the ol' photo album.

As I've mentioned previously, I'm inclined to share [some of] my experiences with them now, while their lives are still mostly under my umbrella. As they get older, and their stories become more their own, I'll have to exercise even more discretion. In the meantime... let's take another peak at the brothers Rousselle.

I snapped this photo in August of last year. I'm not quite sure why, in the middle of summer, they were inclined to wear heavy pajamas, just as I'm not sure why now, in the middle of winter, they are inclined to wear next to nothing when they go to sleep. They simply take after their old man, I suppose.

But this photo reminds me of a phenomenon I don't think I've mentioned here before, and it strikes me as bizarre every time it happens. When I am out shopping with the kids, or some similar public outing, and they are seated next to each other, it's not obvious that Alex is substantially taller than Nolan. Apparently, it's also not obvious that Alex is three years older than Nolan. I am often asked by passers-by:

Are they twins?

I look at this photo, and I think I see why. Despite Alex's height advantage, Nolan is quite sturdy for his age, and there's only ten pounds or so separating the two. But just look at those smiles. And look at their eyebrows. For all that they are so very, very different, their mannerisms and eloquence are more similar than most siblings I've bumped into. On those occasions when Nolan chooses to wear shirts similar to what Alex is wearing, the resemblance can be quite pronounced.

It's a funny question, every time I hear it, but I also think it's cool. It's a reminder that I've been doubly -- now, triply -- blessed.

That said, I doubt anyone is likely to ask if Alex and Nolan and Andrew are triplets, what with the six year spread, but it seems possible that, a few years down the line, Nolan and Andrew might elicit the same question that Alex and Nolan get now....