Hi y'all! I'm Stephanie and I blog over at My Not so Little Guy & My Little Punky and Pumpkin Pies. I'm a 40 something mama of 3: Andrew--15, Lily--4, Violet--20months. Officially, I'm a #boygirlgirl mom. I'm making that hashtag a "thing" {not really}. :)
"celebrating the 2nd anniversary of my 21st birthday this year!"
I am a former kindergarten teacher, turned stay at home mom to my 3 plus my 11 yo stepdaughter, Reagan & I'm married to the love of my life, George! I have an affinity for Sharpies, fountain Cherry Coke, and I overuse exclamation marks! I have been a teacher, an event planner, & even pursued a singing career in Nashville. Now, I find myself in the throes of laundry and dishes while making a million memories with my family and capturing it all on camera.
I've had many labels since I first had a baby back in 1999. New mom, boy mom, clueless mom, divorced mom, single mom, stepmom, and finally became a girl mom in 2010 for the first time. My second daughter was born in late 2013 thus solidifying my world into girls!
When we first found out Lily was a girl, I was over the moon excited! You see, blending a family comes with a lot of struggle. For everyone involved.
Although I would have been ecstatic to have had another boy, I was so truly happy that my son didn't have to share one.more.thing. when my husband and I had a baby together. Andrew was ten when Lily was born. When we got pregnant after Lily, I was again hoping for another girl {mostly} for the same reason, but I did have a piece of my heart hoping for my husband to have a boy to carry on his family name, as my husband is an only child. Having my first two kids ten years apart, I knew I wanted Lily to have a sibling close in age to grow up with after Andrew leaves home. When we found out Violet was a girl, I was again thrilled! Sisters!
Truthfully, it took me quite awhile when pregnant with Lily to not automatically head towards the boys' section in stores! I still really love baby boy clothes. Once I found hairbows, however, I was done for! Ironically, my first girl ended up having no hair and very little for 2 1/2 years! Now, she's got gorgeous curly locks, that I paid good money to have my hair permed into for years! {Told y'all I was old!} Violet has a ton of hair and it's nothing like Lily's at all. It's brown and mostly straight except when it's humid, she's got wide curls.
Now, my life is filled with princesses, hairbows, dresses, sparkles, dress up shoes, shopkins, twirling, and all things Frozen all the time. But, also filled with fishing, playing in the dirt, camping, and the solar system. These girls, without question, have changed my life. As an older mom, I worry that my time with them will be shorter than with my own mother, for instance. It is my hope and prayer that they will always be close long after my time...
Lily is the girl who is just as excited to tell you her favorite color is pink the 75th time as she was the first! She has this joyful spirit and has since she was a baby! I love that she is so caring about others' feelings, funny, she wants to share all she learns, she's patient with Violet, and has a self awareness strong enough to be able to tell me specifically when she needs some alone time. I really like who she is right now.
Violet is the baby of our family and by far my most challenging. She's so smart, funny, and so very ornery. She is the one who colors on walls or her body, gets into cabinets, isn't always gentle with her sister, and gets into everything. She is the most challenging of all of my kids. At the same time, she's spunky and my only baby who has loved to snuggle. I'm loving watching her personality emerge as she continues to grow!
Violet loves to be doing whatever Lily is doing and Lily makes sure to include Violet in everything she does. Their relationship is one of my favorite!
I vividly remember the exact moment I watching Lily and Violet together and thought, "I never wished I had a sister until I had two daughters." They {and I} are so, so blessed.
Thank you so much, Beth for hosting this series! What a fun way to connect with other moms.♥
xoxox,
Stephanie
Instagram: LittlePunkyandPumpkinPies
Twitter: LittlePunkyPie
Be sure to check out Stephanie's blog!
Such cuties! I am so excited that my daughter will be getting a sister in September. As an only child I knew from a young age I was not going to have an only child. :)
ReplyDeleteSister relationships are a beautiful thing to see blossom!
ReplyDeleteI love sister relationships! Now that my sister and I are older we have a much better relationship, it's hard when you're 5 years apart, but so glad that I got to experience both having a sister and a brother. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, so sweet! I had three sisters growing up, one that was 4 years older than me, and my younger two were eight, and ten years younger than me. We didn't always have the best of relationships growing up (I think because of the age thing), but it's great now that we're all older. I love having my kids close together, they are all such good friends (most of the time, lol).
ReplyDeleteAmen! I couldn't possible agree more!
ReplyDeleteI can not wait to see your two little cuties together! It is going to be so sweet.
ReplyDeleteHaving one of each would be so perfect. I would have loved to have a sister too. I hope my girls are really close some day. I just love it when sisters stay such good friends for years to come.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness that must have been so much fun. I would love to just have one sister. And all of those cousins?! Wow, that must be the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I can only imagine having 4 girls growing up! How awesome that you have each other now! xoxox
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I have 2 brothers and there are so many amazing things about that too. I'm glad you and your sister are closer as you've gotten older! xoxox
ReplyDeleteIt's been amazing to watch! Thank you for reading! xoxox
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Yay for new sisters! Congratulations! xoxox
ReplyDeleteLove you and your girls (and your boy too)! XOXO
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Stefanie. Have a great Sunday!
ReplyDelete