the siblings project {may}

Something I'm learning about having a third child, is that there are some things about family life that never lose their sparkle however many children you may have. And a big one is watching the gap between siblings seemingly get smaller as your children grow. Before Ashlyn was born I felt like the gap between her and the bigger two was going to feel massive. I know that lots of people leave three years as a kind of "standard age gap", but having had Dylan and Everly nineteen months apart, the gap between the two girls seemed huge for us. 

And when she was first born it was. Looking at that tiny, frail newborn made us see how far the older two had come, how much they had grown and changed. They made her look so impossibly tiny, and by contrast she made them seemingly grow a little older and a little taller overnight. It felt like it would be a long time before they would be 'close' to their baby sister. And don't get me wrong, Dylan and Everly are so bright and independent and Ashlyn is still only a baby, but as the days pass it feels like the three of them chip little chunks off of the gap.

Maybe it's where Ashlyn is growing up so fast; with more personality each day. Or maybe it's where we've all just slipped into the rhythms of life with three children now. But that little team of three I thought I'd be waiting a while to see... it feels like it's already there.

It's all been a learning curve for the older two, they already knew how to be siblings, but they had to learn a new place in the family and a new element to their role when their baby sister came along. And both of them have flourished. 

Dylan is just the proudest big brother. He loves telling people that Everly and Ashlyn are his little sisters. He will admire people's babies and coo and make a real fuss of them before quietly telling me that he still likes Ashlyn the best of all the babies. And Everly is quite simply his partner in crime in every sense of the word.

Everly is every inch the mini-mummy that I always suspected that she would be. She totally dotes on Ashlyn. She can be loud and in her face at times, not that her little sis seems to mind in the slightest. And she has clearly watched her big bro, she's learned what being a big sibling is all about from him, and she's taken it all in her stride. 

And Ashlyn... well, she's never known any different than to have those two filling her days with cuddles and laughter and noise. And she quite simply adores the pair of them. It's written all over her face whenever she looks at them. It's in the big smiles at school pick ups, it's in the giggles when they (quite literally) pile on for cuddles), it's in the hero worship that lights up her face when she sees them doing... well... anything really. 

While we were taking these photos, Ashlyn got particularly wriggly, and that combined with a big brother who was afraid of hurting her, or being hurt by flailing arms, resulted in her launching face first into the mud. As we swooped in to pick her up and comfort her, two older siblings the image of concern; we turned over a little person covered in mud, twigs in her hair and the biggest smile on her face. Because if she gets to hang out with the two of them, then she's the happiest little girl alive... muddy nose or not. 

Do pop by my cohosts Katie, Carie, Keri-Anne, Amber and Annie too to see what they've been up too. And link up your posts in the linky at the bottom, I can't wait to see all your photos.

And don't forget that The Siblings Project is also on Instagram at @siblings_project_. Add #siblingsproject to your photos to join in. We already have quite a gorgeous collection of sibling moments from the community.

And finally, if you haven't already voted and are looking for someone to vote for in the Best Baby Blog category in the MAD Blog Awards, then I would absolutely LOVE your vote. We're loving sharing our baby days here and are so thrilled to be a finalist. You can vote by clicking the link below.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.dearbeautifulboy.com/p/siblings-family-portrait-project.html" rel="nofollow" title="The Me and Mine Project" target="_blank"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll320/looby_boo/siblingsprojectbadge_zps1pltdh9d.jpg" alt="The Me and Mine Project" style="border:none;" /></a></div>