Genetics ... who do you favor?
 

My sister and I were chatting and I told her I was baking bread. She asked "how can you make bread? We have Mom's hands!". I confessed I was using a bread machine because of course, I CAN'T make bread with "Mom's" hands.

Mom always told us that neither she or her mother (or us girls) could not make bread because our hands were 'too hard'. We knead the dough too rough and it doesn't rise properly. I've tried, many times, and Mom was right - my dough just doesn't rise. Back in the day when bread was always homemade, Grandpa or one of the boys had to knead the bread - Grandma and Mom couldn't. They could however (and often did) knead dough for other things - notably homemade pasta and biscotti, I have no problem with those either. It's a much stiffer, harder dough for both and requires a hard hand.

In another conversation with my husband this evening while looking at some LL Bean slippers that I liked, he pointed to another pair that had fleece lining instead of the shearling that I wanted. I told him I can't wear synthetic anything on my feet because I have my fathers feet (except his were flat, I have high arches). Our feet sweat. A LOT. And when they sweat, they swell - they'll swell to the point that IF we could get our shoes off, we can't get them back on. Synthetics make it soooo much worse.

I started thinking about my body parts and what I inherited from Mom and Dad. Dad's face - no doubt about that (lucky me), except both contributed to the nose - I have a "normal" nose, Mom's was a big Roman nose, Dad's was a squat fat thing. No idea who's hair I have because Mom lost all her hair in a fever at the age of 4 (ALL her body hair), but since one brother and my sister have curly hair she "thinks" she had curly hair, mine is straight. Thankfully, Mom's ears - Dad looked like someone forgot to close the doors on the taxi. Dad's skin tone too, olive, Mom was one of those rare Italian's with paper white skin that was prone to heat rash and sunburn. Other than my hands, my "bones" are Dad's - no doubt about that either - which is really strange because you would think that when the genetic cards were dealt for the "frame" it would be the whole frame - why single my hands and feet out? I'm lucky to have Mom's hands though, long thin fingers on small hands (ring size 4) and very tiny wrists. The smallness ends there though as I have my fathers frame everywhere else - big shoulders, enormous hips, super large knees. And again lucky me - both Mom and Dad contributed to the teeth department - the worst contributions they could make! I got Dad's lousy gums, and Mom's brittle teeth. Thanks to progress in dentistry though I beat them both as I'm over 50 and I still HAVE my teeth! Dad's side of the family also contributed to the ... well ... chest department. Mom and my sister were lacking there ... I got it all just like Dad's sisters. Got their butts too - thanks Dad. And the genetic stars were not in favor in the height department either as both Mom and Dad were short, and naturally so am I. Baby weight ... well, my grandmother delivered 4 children and the 4th was ENORMOUS (14 lbs), Mom didn't quite make that milestone but I (the 4th child) was just over 10 lbs (and a whopping 17" long! See? I was BORN short and fat, that's my excuse. There is NOT a "thin" person in here fighting to get out).

I like to explore my own genetics. As a dog breeder I am constantly scrutinizing dogs and their pedigrees and mapping what parts came from what lines. Only natural that I should look at myself in the same way, and lay the blame on Mom or Dad :)

So ... who gave you your nose? Ears? Feet?

Interesting post and thread. I got most of my 'stuff' from my mom, thank goodness. We do look somewhat similar or did when she was younger. She is pretty much always an optimist and so am I; hardly ever sick and neither am I. She is almost 97 and so I can see what I have to look forward to; many more years here.I am glad she is my mom.

I inherited most of moms looks but had dads curly hair when I was young not now moms feet dads nose and disposition Happy go lucky most of the time his love of the out doors.. Moms talents as far as sewing, knitting and Crocheting along with all other crafts. So I am a good blend of both

A friend of mine asked my 3-year-old grandson who he looked like and he answered, "I have Mommy's feet, but I look like my Dad". I found that hilarious because he does not favor my daughter at all - never thought about his feet! My other grandson looks so much like my son that he used to get really confused when looking at pictures around our house. Even asked, "What baby am I holding?" when looking at a pic of his dad with my daughter.

I look like an aunt of mine A LOT and a bit like my dad - of all things I have his elbows - also his hands, feet and coloring.

My son looks a great deal like me and my daughter a great deal like my husband. We have been told this all their lives. My grandson's school principal recently commented on how much my son resembles me. Quite interesting since both my children are adopted. :)

I'm almost a spitting image of my mom. I look alot like her. We had the same build for many years. My sister and I have the same bodies, but different heads...lol. I look like mom and she looks like dad. She has the blonde hair, same nose, round face. It's funny how it works. My sister isn't very crafty and I am. Both parents are very crafty, do-it-yourselfers. If she didn't look so much like my dad, I would have thought she was adopted.
Another funny thing that we always joke about...two wrongs made two rights. Our parents are both left handed and we are both right handed.

I am my mother's daughter in all respects, even down to the problems with my knees. Like her, I love to read, am a pretty good cook, and learned to sew my own clothes at a young age. She was my best friend.

As I get older, I increasingly see my Mum staring out of the mirror - we look very alike, and my body shape is identical to hers and my Gran's - a typical English pear shape. I didn't inherit any of the good stuff, unfortunately - not the singing voice, the artistic ability, the skill at crafts. I enjoy quilting, but it doesn't come very easily, and I could never master dressmaking, while Mum used to make all our clothes. I think my temperament comes from my Dad, as do my big feet! My youngest sister looks like Mum and me, the middle one takes after Dad. Same pattern in my sister's family -her eldest and youngest look like her, the middle one is quite different, taking after her father.

In looks and shape I am very much like my Mother and her Mother but I got the healthy gene and the big toe from my Dad my character is more like my Dad - easy going and slow to loose my temper but when we do the whole world knows!! Both my parents are crafters but my Mum more so.
My eldest daughter is so much like me in looks and every other way its quite scary but my youngest is totally like her Dad and his family.

There has never been any doubt about who I look like. I am my father's daughter. I am a carbon copy of my dad. I had a bus driver who used to call me little Leo instead of by my name. My mom agrees there isn't much of anything about me that is from her. I do have artistic ability but both grandmothers were quilters so even tho I didn't learn from them I did inherit that from them. My mom has learned to do cross stitching but that is the extent of her sewing creativity. She is a wonderful decorator and has a great eye for antiques which I have learned from her but it isn't anything I inherited so much. I am nearly 100% my dad's child. I think like him and make the same sort of mistakes like him. I have his personality mostly. tho there is a bit of mom in there as I shrink in a crowd and my dad loved crowds while mom didn't.

I have probably been told 3 or 4 times in my 56 years that I look like my mom and it is usually someone who doesn't know my dad just knows mom. She is petite and never gains weight while I have always been heavy.

I always said if I had a nickle for every time someone said I looked like my dad I would be rich. Now my daughter hears it as everyone says she looks like me but I don't see it. She does to some extent but not as much as people make out.

I have this theory that first borns inherit more from the father, the second one looks more like the mother, and the third one is anybody's guess. At least, I resemble my dad more in the face shape and features. My mom's side contributed the big chest, but I don't know where my big feet came from. Our first child, a girl, looks like my husband. She also inherited his straight hair. Our son, who was second in line, looks more like me and has my behavioral traits. Our third, a girl, didn't look much like either of us. Unfortunately, we gave them all birth defects that came out of nowhere, so who knows?