LINCOLN – Fraternal twins Viviana and Dennis look very different from each other. They are part of the Ng Family, a multiracial family from all parts of the world.
The twins' parents Kenika and Ashley Ng also come from multiracial families. Kenika Ng's is African-American and Hispanic; his father is Hawaiian and Chinese. Ashley Ng is Irish and Hispanic.
Combine their racial make-up, and their children have more of a unique blend. Ten-month-old Viviana, who is four minutes older than her brother, has bright blue eyes and light brown hair like her mother and looks white. Dennis on the other hand, with the big brown eyes and black hair looks like his dad.
Kenika Ng serves in the Air Force and is deployed. When Ashley Ng is out and about without her husband, she gets looks and questions about her twins' seemingly different races.
"Some people ask, are they mine, are they twins or were they conceived naturally," she said. "When I'm with my husband they are like, 'oh now I see.'"
The twins are fraternal, meaning they came from two different eggs and sperm. Geneticists said the likelihood of one child looking black while the other looks white is rare, but possible -- especially when the parents are interracial, and in this case biracial.
Ashley Ng said she doesn't mind the inquiries. She wants her children to embrace their uniqueness.
"I don't want them to identify with one race or the other," she said.
The Ngs are part of a blended family. Kenika Ng has two daughters from a previous marriage. And yes, they too look different from each other. One daughter takes after her mother's Irish roots and has the fiery red hair; the other daughter looks like her dad.
