I think a lot of it is the hair. They both have dark eyes and that brown, kind of fluffy, not quite curly hair. I wonder what Nick would look like with a beard like Matt's? I actually like it on him, at least when he keeps it trimmed up. Plus they're both tall, although Matt's 6'1" (on a good day), doesn't really compare to Nick's 6'7"!!! I was actually hoping Matt would be that tall. I have a cousin on my Dad's side that is that tall and when Matt shot up really early, I thought he was headed in that direction, but he decided to stop early and I don't think he's grown a bit since 17. Plus they're both skinny as rails - a miracle of genetics in our case!

The other part of it is the personality. They are both very laid back types that really seem to enjoy spending time with their families, and seem to be up for just about anything. There was one episode where a girl "won" Nick for her birthday party and she was really kind of obnoxious, but he was just very nice and went along with the whole party and pictures with her friends and everything. I could see Matt doing that. At his grandfather's funeral, I was so proud of him. Some of his cousins were kind of slinking around looking embarassed and awkward, but Matt was going around shaking hands and introducing himself to people, getting tissues for the old ladies, and enjoying stories about his grandfather.

And they both play guitar. I guess in Nick's case that was a foregone conclusion figuring who his father is, but I've heard him and he's pretty good. They both are in a band, although Nick plays lead guitar and Matt plays bass, most of the time. Plus, they're both very artistic. Matt took a lot of art classes and graphic design classes in school and Nick is just now coming out with his first comic book where he did all the art and the storyline. I could totally see Matt doing that.

They also both have a great sense of humor and love to pester their younger siblings, although Nick has a sister that is closer to his age than Matt & Blake. I love it when he gets on with Gene and rolls his eyes and just totally deflates his enormous ego. They're really funny together.

I know you're thinking I'm just this indulgent mother comparing her son to this total stranger, and I'm probably just out of my head, but then I learned an interesting fact the other day. Matt and Nick not only share the same birthday, but they were born on the EXACT same day. Probably about 50 miles apart because Matt was born in Orange County and Nick was probably born up by Hollywood somewhere. How weird is that??? See, I'm not crazy. (Well I am, I suppose, but that's a post for a whole other day!).