Siblings – September 2021

September has seen a return to normality in many ways for Sophie and Thomas. They’re both back at all their activities for the first time since March last year. It’s not surprising that one of the things I’m hearing a lot lately is “oh haven’t you grown?!” An eighteen-month gap brings a lot of changes, and yes, both Sophie and Thomas have grown a lot in that time.

 

Sophie and Thomas with Jessica's birthday cake at Jessica's forever bed - "Siblings - September 2021"

 

With Sophie now at junior school. I’m back to encountering Jessica’s classmates at the school gates. They’ve all grown a lot since I last saw them. I hardly recognise most of them – they’re all so very different from the small boys and girls that Jessica knew. I can’t picture here there with her classmates anymore. They’ve moved so far beyond where Jessica was. It brings home that realisation that Jessica at ten would have been very different from Jessica at six and the reminder that I’ll never know who the person she would have become as she grew up. I’d like to think she’d have always been a joy-carrier with her half-a-heart overflowing with love but it’s so hard knowing that I’ll never know what Jessica would have been like now.

 

It doesn’t stop me imagining of course. I’ll always picture Jessica in my mind alongside her siblings, celebrating their milestones and walking beside them. This month’s siblings photos reflect life as it is in reality and life as I imagine it might have been. Back to school photos with three children. It gets a little harder to try and create these snippets of life as it might have been now that Sophie is older than Jessica ever was, but it still gives me an idea of how the return to school might have been had Jessica been there physically too.

 

Sophie and Thomas in the garden in their school uniform with Jessica in her school uniform photoshopped behind them

 

Thomas (3 years 1 month)

  • Has started preschool two mornings a week and loves it.
  • Is doing well with potty training and is mostly managing to stay dry.
  • The terrible threes have definitely hit and we’re experiencing the joy of toddler tantrums, which we never really got with Jessica and Sophie. This boy is certainly testing all my formerly tried-and-trusted parenting techniques and forcing me to learn new ones!
  • Is enjoying being back at TinyTalk signing classes and BilinguaSing French classes.
  • Loves spotting words when out and about and trying to read them.

 

Sophie and Thomas with Jessica's birthday cake at Jessica's forever bed

 

 

Sophie (7 years 10 months)

  • Made Daddy a fabulous Haribo-topped cake for his birthday.
  • Got her amber swimming cap at last and has moved up to the next class.
  • Enjoyed a trip up to London to see one of the girls in her dance school performing in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.
  • Has started junior school and is enjoying it so far.
  • Is enjoying being back at her performing arts class and all her dance classes.

 

Sophie and Thomas holding hands outside school with Jessica photoshopped to be standing behind them

 

Jessica (forever 6 years 7 months)

  • Jessica would have turned ten at the start of September. We celebrated her birthday in our usual way – by making her a special birthday cake and taking it to her forever bed to sing happy birthday to her.

12 thoughts on “Siblings – September 2021

  1. It sounds like Sophie and Thomas are settling in really well at junior school and pre-school. They are certainly very confident and content children.
    They are a true credit to you both, as is Jessica. I love the photos you have created with all three of your children together. xx

    1. Thank you, they’re both settling in well and it is lovely to see how much they are enjoying school and preschool. I’m glad that Photoshop helps give me a glimpse into the moments that might have been and allows me to include all three children in photos together.

  2. I see the photos of both Sophie and Thomas and over the last couple of weeks they do seem to have grown up a lot.
    It must be so hard seeing Jessica’s classmates at the school gate. Sending love and hugs.
    Lovely photos x

    1. Thank you Kim. It’s lovely in some ways to see Jessica’s classmates again but yes hard too as well.

    1. Thank you Lisa, she loved going to see the show. Jessica absolutely loved cake so I think she would approve of us taking her a cake each year for her birthday. It also helps to feel like I am doing something special for her even though she isn’t here for her birthday.

    1. Thank you. 18 months is a really long time at their age. They’ve both changed a lot in that time.

  3. Sending big hugs Louise, it must be so hard to see Jessica’s classmates every day.

    It’s lovely to hear that Sophie and Thomas are able to do all their extra activities again, the BilinguaSing French classes sound fun.

    #MMBC

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