Siblings in June // 2016

And so June arrived... with a flurry of colour, activity, and some ridiculously silly weather. Boiling hot one moment, bucketing down the next, thunder and lightning and weird spray rain. It seems everywhere in the country is bathed in glorious sunshine apart from our little London. Usually famed for its good weather in contrast with the rest of the country, its seems the rest of the country is finally getting its own back.

I don't know what's going on!

But the bad weather hasn't dampened our mood (pun fully intended!) because this month marks a whole year since our little man made my little sibling duo a posse of three and so where better to grab my sibling shots than at his Barnyard Birthday Party?

Tomorrow our Jonas turns one.

Let's not talk about that, shall we?!

As usual, I am finding increasingly that getting a photo with three children looking at the camera/smiling/not attacking each other is a virtually impossible task. So I'm learning to make do, and the perfectionist in me is learning to embrace the reality of life with three under five...

Pure, wonderful chaos! And a boy that is SUPER clingy at the moment and can't bare to be more than three centimetres away from me. Personal space? What's that?!

These little people... they fill my heart with every emotion under the sun, and often in the space of five minutes... but I can honestly say, however many deep breaths I need to take in a day... however many times I have to bite back a cross word... however many times I find myself carrying a flailing preschooler to the stairs again... it is SO worth it. Every second, every minute. I am so very thankful to God for each one of these unique, precious personalities.

What an immense honour and joy it is to be a mother.

And I love watching their little relationships growing and flourishing... each relationship of the sibling triangle has something a little bit different. The girls are as close as ever... they truly are best friends. Of course, they have their bickery moments and their competitiveness (they either BOTH want to be first to get their teeth brushed, or they BOTH don't want to go first... anyone else have these issues?!) but they play beautifully for hours, are incredibly affectionate and fiercely protective. I so hope they'll always have each others back.

Ava and Jonas are such a sweet little pair... he truly adores her, and finds her utterly hilarious... and she fusses over him like a little mother hen and is such a wonderful big sister. She says she just wants to be a Mama when she grows up, and honestly? I think she'd make a great one! She's getting plenty of practice already!

Heidi and Jonas are two peas in a pod. They are so funny together... she is all over him, and he bares it as well as he can before taking a swipe which she then finds devastating. But oh, the number of times in a day I will find them in fits of giggles over something... goodness knows what! They have so many hours of the day together, they are forming their own little alliance that I think I'll need to watch like a hawk for mischief next year!

And then there's the whole... the three together... my little tribe. These little monkeys who are sharing so much of life together. They will always have that special bond... that ocean of memories and shared experiences, and I hope so much they'll be close, and still calling each other up for a chin-wag when they're in their 80s!

And this weekend, for Jonas' barnyard birthday they were joined by their little cousin too... and honestly, I think this photo is my favourite... because it really does does grab a snapshot of my life right now... and it totally sums up each one of these children in a moment... my caring big girl, my loopy little girl, my gorgeous little nephew, and my baby boy who just wants to be within a 10cm perimeter of me right now!

How dare I move two metres away to get a photograph!

My little siblings... in June!