A pair of Texas twins were born just minutes apart, but their birthdays are in two different years
While there are many amazing things about having a twin, one of the things that’s less great is never having a birthday that’s all about you. But for a pair of twins born in Texas this week, that will never be a problem: while the fraternal twins were born less than 10 minutes apart, their birthdays happened to fall not only on different days but in different years.
Kali Jo Scott and Cliff Scott’s daughters both achieved milestones the moment they were born. When Annie Jo arrived at 11:55 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, she was the last baby born in 2022 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton. Then, Effie Rose made her arrival six minutes later. She entered the world at 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Day, which made her the hospital’s first baby born in 2023.
One of the things the new parents pointed to that they’re extra excited about is that, even though their daughters are twins, they will now each have their own birthday when they can be the center of attention.
“You always still want to make sure they have their own individual personality and know that they are special and unique,” Kali Jo said. “One will always get the glitter and confetti of New Year’s Eve, and one gets to kick it off with a brand-new year on New Year’s Day.”
Kali Jo Flewellen / Facebook
The proud new parents took to Facebook to announce the unconventional arrival of their twins, who were born about a week and a half before their due date.
“Cliff and I are so proud to introduce Annie Jo and Effie Rose Scott!,” Kali Jo wrote. “Annie was the last baby born in 2022 at 11:55 p.m. Then, Effie was the very first born in 2023 at 12:01! They both came out healthy and happy and weighing 5.5 pounds. Cliff and I are just so excited for this adventure!”
Kali Jo Flewellen / Facebook
The Texas Health Systems Facebook page also shared a congratulatory message for this adorable new family.
“Congratulations to the happy family and our new years babies!” they wrote.
Reach deep and dust off your second grade genetics unit, because you’re going to want to follow along, here. Identical twins Briana and Brittany, 35, married identical twins Josh and Jeremy Salyers, 37. Each couple has had a baby, and the cousins are so genetically similar that they’re technically brothers.
Verbiage around different types of twins can get particular. “You’ve heard the term Irish twins and you’ve heard identical twins and fraternal twins,” Briana Salyers told TODAY Parents. “But we have quaternary twins.” Don’t bother looking it up in Wikipedia. It’s not in there.
Jett, who turned 1 in January, and Jax, who will turn 1 in April are cousins, but they’re also genetic brothers. “They were born to identical twin parents less than nine months apart,” Brittany Salyers explained. And since identical twins share the same DNA, the parents of both Jett and Jax—who are different—each have the same DNA as one another.
Not surprisingly, the sisters had hoped for overlapping pregnancies. “We thought it would be really cool,” Briana said. “There’s only 300 quaternary marriages known in the history of the world.” And naturally, you can follow along on this genetic journey via the couples’ joint Instagram page.
The couples married in a joint ceremony at the 2018 Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, after meeting their respective spouses at the Twins Days Festival the year before. TLC recognized a good thing when they saw it and captured their joint weddings on camera. Both families live under one roof in Virginia and run a wedding venue site together.
“It was something we all four wanted and when we got engaged, we all wanted it that way,” Brittany told TODAY. “(Josh and Jeremy) understand the twin bond like we do. We get to have a lot of together time.”
“We try to ignore sociopathic stalker comments and just focus on the positive,” Brittany said of the sometimes critical commentary that pops up on their social media feed. “Some people think we are really strange and others think it’s really amazing.”
And like most young parents, “We are debating if we should go for one more pregnancy each or not,” Briana said. “We will make a decision pretty soon. The babies are still pretty young (and) we are trying to wait a little longer to see what to do.” Which means that they’re still up to their eyeballs in diapers and bottles, so tap the breaks, y’all. These four need a little space.
Anyone who lives in Dallas knows that it’s not only the norm but also highly encouraged to go big or go home. That’s why we’ve curated a list of baby names that not only make a statement but also pay homage to the history and culture of Big D. From famous TV characters to historical figures whose contributions have made the city the place it is today, scroll down to see our favorite monikers that swagger in a way that folks living in Dallas (and the surrounding metroplex) can replicate with ease.
Gabby Cullen
J.R.
As in John Ross Ewing, as in the patriarch of the iconic ‘80s show Dallas. Played by legendary actor Larry Hagman, J.R. is as synonymous with the city of Dallas as is its NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Kennedy
Dallas is forever a major part of American history—for being the place where JFK was assassinated. The Sixth Floor Museum and the grassy knoll are one of the most visited landmarks in the city.
Austin
It might be the state capital, but it’s also the last name of Lloyd G. Austin, a pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist,in the all-black community of Mosier Valley, for over 40 years. He was also an early presence in North Texas race relations during the late ‘50s, as he and his family were one of the first African-American families to buy a home in an all-white neighborhood of Fort Worth. They withstood and ultimately prevailed over direct attempts to be ousted from the community.
Gabby Cullen
Dallas
If you’re going to honor Big D, why not just go with the city itself?
Emmett
Emmett Smith is known as one of the best running backs of all time, and he spent a majority of his career playing for the Dallas Cowboys. During the team’s ‘90s heyday, he won three Super Bowls with the team. He is the only running back to win a Super Bowl, an MVP of the Year award (both for the Super Bowl and the entire NFL) and an NFL rushing crown all in the same season. He also was a very popular contestant (he won!) on the third season of Dancing with the Stars in 2006.
Ross
Ross Perot garnered national attention as the businessman who ran for President as an Independent in 1992, against Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. But, for those who live in Dallas, he’s also the billionaire philanthropist for whom the award-winning Perot Museum of Nature & Science is named.
For Erykah Badu, the Grammy-award winning neo-soul songstress of the big hats. Born and raised in Dallas, she attended high school at renowned Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts—a magnet school for the arts. She went on to release several albums and win a multitude of awards.
George
George W. Bush served as the 43rd President of the United States. He was also the governor of Texas from 1995-2000. After eight years in the White House, he and wife Laura made Dallas their home base. Dallas is home to his presidential library, and he is a big supporter of local university Southern Methodist University.
Fenix
Popular restaurant chain El Fenix started in Dallas in 1918 and is the country’s oldest Mexican restaurant chain. Some also claim El Fenix is the birthplace of Tex-Mex cuisine.
Having fraternal twins? Name them after some of America’s most famous outlaws—Bonnie and Clyde—who called West Dallas home before they set off on the two-year spree of robberies that inspired the iconic Hollywood film.
Kessler
In honor of George Edward Kessler, a pioneer architect, urban planner and landscape architect who was hired by the city of Dallas in 1908. He was responsible for solving the city’s flooding issues and beautifying the urban areas with greenbelts. Today, the Kessler Park neighborhood is one of the most beautiful in the city, a designated historic district that includes well-maintained examples of Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.
Dirk
The Dallas Mavericks wouldn’t be the same without German phenom Dirk Nowitzki. The beloved basketball player hung up his jersey in 2019, but his legend will live on for decades.
Put these names together, and you get John Neely Bryan. A farmer, tradesman and lawyer, he set up a settlement in the area that was to become the city of Dallas in 1841.
Trinity
Pay homage to the main water source and the vast urban forest that runs through the city.
Stevie
Honor one of America’s greatest musicians and Dallas native, Stevie Ray Vaughan. He began playing guitar at age seven, and he was performing around the city by age 12. He went on to record several smash-hit albums and tour with legendary performers and musicians such as Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and more. Tragically, the age of 35, after a concert in Wisconsin, his helicopter crashed, killing Vaughan and four others on board.
Charlie and Milo McConnel are three-year-old twins who have already achieved Insta-fame. The fraternal twin brothers, along with mom Julie, are using their Instagram and Facebook pages as platforms to raise Down syndrome awareness.
Charlie and Milo—affectionately known on social media by their adorable nicknames “Chuckles and Meatloaf”—have over 21,000 Instagram followers and 9,000 more on Facebook. Even though their social media accounts have grown to pretty epic proportions, mom, Julie, didn’t originally plan to use her accounts as awareness platforms.
McConnel began her twins’ FB for the same reason many other mamas do: to provide friends and family with updates on the kids. But she didn’t stop there. The mom of six told The TODAY Show, “I just wanted it to be more of a way to share, ‘This is our life’ and this is what it’s really like to grow up and have twins in your home with Down syndrome.”
McConnel went on to explain, “Because that’s what I wanted to know when I got the diagnosis—what is this life really, really, really like? I don’t just want to see rainbows and butterflies and miracles every day.”
After learning during her pregnancy that her twins have Down syndrome, McConnel found help and a way to connect with other parents in her position—both IRL and online. This includes a family in Scotland, who she met via social media, who also have fraternal twins with Down syndrome.
As her boys’ social media pages grow and reach more people, the mama hopes her experiences can help others too: “I have these children who are so remarkable and so unique and so special. I feel like I have them for a purpose and that I could be for someone else what these twins in Scotland were for me. Pay it forward, right?”
The great thing about a gender reveal party to share your baby’s sex? You can throw it while you are figuratively bursting at the seams (but “literally” is still a few months away). So get the gang together to share your team pink or team blue news. Read on for fun and creative ways to reveal your baby’s sex and get guests involved in the guesswork.
Ice, Ice Baby
Using ice—or everyone’s favorite cold treat, ice cream—is a cool way to share the exciting news:
* An ice sculpture is an unexpected throwback you can give a modern twist to for your reveal. Light the frozen statue with an LED light in pink or blue.
* Fill ice cream cones with marshmallows or candies in pink or blue, depending on baby’s gender. (Ask a friend to set this up if you want to be surprised with the reveal.) Then top half the cones with pink ice cream and the other half with blue. Let guests choose their ice cream cone depending on their boy-or-girl prediction. When they bite down to the cone, they’ll find out if they were right.
Light Up Your Life
For a dramatic display, plan an evening event with lights so the soft glow of blue or pink will pop against a dark sky:
* Use flashing, colored LED ice cubes in pink or blue to turn a toast to the expectant couple into a flashy show of the baby’s gender.
* Decorate a tree with twinkling lights and host a tree-lighting ceremony in the backyard.
* Let your news sparkle with pyrotechnics! If you also want to be surprised by reveal, enlist the help of a friend to buy the right color fireworks and set them off.
* Some ferris wheels, like SkyWheel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and The Capital Wheel in National Harbor, Maryland, offer packages that set the stage for an evening celebration. The ferris wheel lights up in pink or blue (or both, for fraternal twins) for a reveal that can be celebrated for miles around.
A Surprise Inside
You have a few more months until you can reveal the ultimate surprise, your new bundle of joy. But until then, you can pop, slice, and whack your way to the tell-all colors of pink and blue:
* Consider a piñata, especially if you’re having kids at your celebration. You’ll find great options on Etsy, like this one from the Pom Joy Fun! shop. It’s an exciting way to let the cat—or in this case, candy—out of the bag.
* Take a classic approach: Serve a cake filled with blue or pink icing for a simple but delicious reveal.
* It all started with an egg, so let the sex of your little chickadee be discovered with surprise egg favors, like these eggs from Etsy shop My Mercado.
Team Sports
Let’s face it, everyone is rooting for a gender. Whichever way you choose to reveal the surprise, put a creative spin on the team theme with these dress-up ideas that get guests involved:
* Putter or Pearls: Have those on Team Boy dress in their golf best. Think it’s a girl? Clutch those pearls! You can buy the beautiful banner shown above at the Etsy shop JS Banner Designs.
* Stache or Lash: Provide guests with oversized mustache and eyelash photo props and let them pick a team prior to the reveal.
* Bowties or Bows: Let guests choose from an assortment of bows. Fasten it to your hair if you’re Team Girl. Wear it around your neck to show you’re Team Boy.
Still seeking inspiration? Here are two more ideas for sharing the big news in a big way:
Home Run Reveal Every sports fanatic will get behind this gender reveal. This expecting mom and dad filled a white ball with colored chalk and painted it to look like baseball. In a collaborative effort, mom pitched the ball while dad swung a home run of electric blue into the air. The crowd went wild. For more smashing photos, head over to Simply Kissed.
Lucky Guess Scratch Cards Send these professionally printed scratch cards along with your invitation to your baby shower so guests know what gifts to buy. (They’ll have fun making a guess and scratching to see if they’re correct.) Or make it a game during your baby shower for interactive fun. To learn how to make your own scratch cards, visit Later Gator Crafts.
