I am crying watching this back because this day was so super special for us ❤️ This was the summer of my kids being a new baby, 7 & 10 years old & boy was it a memorable one. You’d think we were just going thrifting here when really I was letting her be the big sister she has been learning to be all summer. Pushing the stroller, picking out her own clothes, feeding Lily, letting me shop for bonnet materials, commenting on everything in the store telling me what she liked, what she didn’t like & what she’d like to buy - which was a lot of things 😆
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Since cutting her hair just how she wanted it I feel like Leia has had a big weight lifted off of her. It’s been a real adjustment for her to become the big sister, giving up her “baby of the family” role & growing up amidst a lot of developmental delays. She is aware of her “disabilities” (we don’t call them that - they’re really just who she is) & she realizes that she doesn’t “measure up” to other kids her age (or even kids younger than her). It’s hard to watch her navigate it all being her mother - I want to shelter her from any bullying she may experience from other kids, finish her sentences for her when she can’t find the words, & let her regress when she needs to because having a baby sister is overwhelming.
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We’re both learning our roles now that Lily is here - me as her mother, her as a middle child & how to meet each other where we’re at at any moment. I won’t lie, it’s not been easy with her. But to see her sunshiney personality always come through, the smile on her face when she got her hair chopped off & watching her become the spunkiest little lady is honestly the best thing right now.
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So we might have been thrifting for materials to upcycle into bonnets but at the same time, we were growing together as mother & daughter, easing our way into this new season & learning how to support each other.
