Is it normal for a patch to look totally different after filling in footprints?

You need to pull some of that leftover concrete from the pile right now while you still have some moisture to work with. If you just keep floating the edges of the footprints, you're essentially just 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' by moving material around, which is why you're seeing that dip. The aggregate in the mix is what gives it structure, so if you're only smoothing the cream over the top, that spot will always be weak and prone to sinking or cracking later on. Take a small shovel or a margin trowel and fill those divots slightly higher than the surrounding surface with the fresh mix. You want a little bit of a hump because as you work it, the air pockets will escape and the material will settle. Once you've got the holes filled, use a **wood float** rather than a steel one for the initial pass. The wood float has a coarser texture that will help grip the aggregate and pull it back into the surface without sealing the pores too early.

Don't worry too much about the moisture yet, but stop immediately if you see a gray, watery sheen starting to pool on top. That's bleed water, and if you trap that under a finished surface, you'll definitely get scaling and flaking next winter. Just work the new material into the old til the rocks are pushed down and the cream is level.

Once it's leveled out, leave it alone until the rest of the slab is ready for the final finish. If you keep messing with it while it's in that 'stiffening' stage, you'll end up with a dark spot or a diffrent texture that stands out. Let it set up a bit more, then do one final pass with your broom or finish trowel over the whole section so the repair blends in perfectly. It's a common headache, but as long as you add actual material instead of just pushing soup around, the repair should be invisible once it cures.

This is so helpful because I honestly don't know much about this yet and would've probably just kept smoothing it over like the OP. I'm curious though, why does the wood float work better than the steel one for the first pass? Is it just about the texture or does the steel actualy do somthing bad to the wet mix? I’m still trying to figure out all the different tools and when to use what so I don't mess up my own project later this summer.

I’m not so sure adding more wet mix from the pile is the universal fix here. Have you ruled out the possibility that the leftover concrete has already started its initial set? If that pile has been sitting out, throwing it into the divots might actualy create a cold joint becuase the two batches aren't bonding at the same rate. You might end up with a 'patch' that just pops out after the first freeze. Is the footprint area still truly plastic enought to integrate new rock, or are you just layering stiff mud on top of stiffening slab?