‘Black And White’ Twins Celebrate First Birthday

I first reported about this set of twins last October. They are now a year old and still as unique as ever!

The Australian sisters were conceived naturally to a Jamaican-English heritage dad and a white German mom.

Marcia inherited their mother Amanda’s fair complexion, Blue-eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Millie is more obviously of mixed race with her dark complexion and dark eyes.

As the sisters celebrated their first birthday, their 39-year-old mother said: “They weren’t identical twins but they looked alike when they were born. It was only when they were a few weeks old that you started to notice the differences between them.

“Millie started getting darker skinned, much more like her dad, particularly on her legs.

“At more or less the same time, Marcia also started to develop a lighter complexion and her hair also began to get blonder and curlier.

Marcia and Millie shortly after they were born

“People have said that it’s one of those unusual things to do with the genes. It’s very rare that it happens – a one-in-a-million chance. They are both well cherished.”

She and Mr Biggs, 40, a car mechanic and panel beater from Erdington in Birmingham, have been together for ten years and conceived their long-awaited children after IVF treatment.

 

Michael and Amanda Biggs with twins Marcia, bottom, and Millie, top

Both come from families with a history of twins. Their own set were born by Caesarean section at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. Amanda said: “We never knew how different they were going to look. Their different appearance settled down after a few months, but it means that Millie now looks like her dad, with black hair and dark skin, and Marcia takes after me.

“But they’re also now developing their own different personality. Marcia’s the more laid-back, chilled one, and Millie’s the crafty one.”

Jane Denton, director of the Multiple Births Foundation, said: “This is an unusual case but it is difficult to say how rare. Nobody records the skin colour of every twin in the UK. It wouldn’t be politically correct to do such a thing.

“We have 10,000 twins a year in the UK and we can expect this to happen in certain situations.

“What has happened is that two separate eggs were fertilised by two separate sperm.

“The genes that go into defining skin colour will be different which results in a combination of genes.”

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Black and White Twins Born By One In A Million Chance

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Take Your Son To Work Day

Just because Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay is back to work on her hit T.V show in NYC, it doesn’t mean she can still spend some quality time with her son in between takes.

Her son, August appears to be enjoying all of the attention he is getting from his mom!

SOURCE:PEOPLE

Mommy Bonding

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As a stay at home mom I sometimes find myself wondering if I am doing a good job.

My son is entering the terrible twos stage at light speed and I can’t keep up with all of the behavioural changes that go along with it.

I have a few friends who have children that are the same age as my son and it feels good to have a bonding session with them every once in a while.

It is not hard to get into the mindset that your child is the only being on earth misbehaving or acting out.

I see other moms at the mall or grocery store that appear to have complete control over their kids and I wonder what their secret is and how I can get some of their good fortune.

My son is not bad, he is just active. VERY active. There is almost no point in the day when he wants to stand still. He is either running to get a toy, running with a toy or running just to run. Harnessing that energy long enough to get a bit of grocery shopping done can sometimes be tricky.

Over the weekend I had the chance to talk with a few moms who have ‘full term’ babies my son’s age.

After having a great honest talk I found out that my son is not so strange, infact he may even be tame. Every mom I spoke to is having the EXACT same issues that I am having with their kids. Could it be? Yes!

Here’s what I learned: Most kids are the same, they all experience the same behavioural ups and downs, just not at the same time.

It’s important to have a group of moms that you can talk to about new changes in your child. Chances are, your toddler isn’t so crazy, just crazy to you because you may not have anything to compare it to.

Moms with more than one child sometimes have great ideas on how to tackle terrible twos challenges and other stuff that will arise later.

Talking to them and hearing some of their ‘horror’ stories goes a long way and it gives you perspective on your own situation.

I am very lucky to have a great network of moms who are all experiencing the same issues I am. The talks we have about our kids sometimes help me become a better mom because I realize that kids will be kids and none of them are perfect, even though they appear to be for the 30 seconds you are watching.

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