Sun-Days, Fun-Days // Siblings in August

I've come to accept that we're significant years away from getting a siblings shot where everyone is smiling nicely, hair out of their face and looking at the camera, but I feel OK with that, because in all honesty? A picture like that wouldn't be faithful to real life right now. Life is a little crazy, and hairstyles are sometimes a little on the wild side!

This little sibling crew are having a wonderful time here in Norway. The summer always seems to bring the girls closer together. I love that they have their own little friendship, their own games and secrets. I sat with them on the steps leading up to the cottage the other day and we just chatted life... Playground politics, school life, their thoughts about things, and half way through I suddenly realised I was having real deep and meaningfuls with my little girls. The toddler conversation is long gone, and connecting with them and hearing about bits of their lives that I'm not a part of was bittersweet. My girls are growing up, they are no longer so reliant and dependent, and yet they were openly and happily sharing all these little intricacies of their away-from-home lives with me which was both humbling and precious. I hope they will always feel able to talk with me about anything and everything.

Our boys are still absolutely and utterly dependent in the most delicious way... They keep me grounded and rooted and humbled in my parenting. Elias is absolutely delightful and I am loving every second of the baby phase fourth time round. We all agree he is ridiculously cute, and charming us all with endless smiles and coos and giggles, but small babies are nonetheless intense. Three hourly feeds and midnight wake up calls are still a daily reality. But I am enjoying it... Every second... The intensity, the constancy... even the exhaustion, because I know the probability is I won't be doing this again, and I don't want to look back and wish I'd savoured it just that little bit more. No regrets.

Jonas is a typical two-year-old loveable rogue. He is pushing every boundary in sight and at times it can feel relentless. Each of our children have been so different in the toddler years, and I feel like each time I'm back to square one and having to figure out how to parent this type of toddler. He loves the sound of his own voice, and a firm "no" from Dave or myself is often met with a retaliative cry, pointed finger and angry faced "No!!!!" in return. He seems to find discipline funny a lot of the time, and often will ask for a trip to the stairs (something our girls always hated!) , so we're figuring out consequences that work for him and gearing up for round three of the toddler years. I've enjoyed the six month breather between Heidi exiting and Jonas entering the 'fun phase'. Let the games commence!

The dynamics seem to be ever changing as the children grow, as the boys become more involved in the 'play' and as our little three adapt to being a four! It is wonderful to watch the little pairings unfold, but mostly I love it most when they're all together. People often think (and very often say) we're mad for having four so close together (our eldest is not yet six), but honestly? I wouldn't have it any other way... I'm so excited for all the adventures I'm going to have with this little crew...

Our little siblings in August...