Tags
bilingualism, Disney Princesses, family, family tree, French, Frozen, genealogy, Hog's Back, Les Sisters, sisters, skating
No, not those sisters…
…but you knew we’d have to get to Anna and Elsa SOMETIME on an A to Z through my adventures with parenting young girls to date, right?
These ones:
My daughters! My blog muses! The ones who made me a mom and so made this A to Z series both possible and somewhat credible, now aged seven and four.
And see! I even managed to find a wintry themed picture in mild homage to those first two.
My eldest, who dressed up as Elsa for Halloween a couple of years ago (just like everybody Elsa!) would be proud.
That said, I’ve always been partial to this one:
I grew up with a brother – and we’re still close.
But raising sisters has been fun to watch.
My mom grew up with an older sister:

My grandmother with her two daughters – 1950s South Africa
And my sister-in-law – and Godmother to my eldest – is the eldest of three sisters.
Both talk about growing up with sisters enough for me to know it was a different experience than growing up with a brother.
I was hopeful when my husband and I had our daughters less than three years apart that they would grow up close.
I hope they will grow up knowing they always have their sister there to support them and that that helps them cement strong female friendships.
So far so good.
They play with each other and help each other out.
And my heart smiled when my eldest brought this cartoon series home from the school library:
I’ve mentioned our girls go to French school (dad’s French) so I’m always interested to find books and shows in French they will enjoy.
Currently my eldest is pretty enamoured with this comic series, created in 2006 by French comic writer William Maury. Here’s a bit more flavour:
Les Sisters tells the day-to-day adventures of big sister Wendy and little sister Marine, inspired by the creators own daughters.
And given my eldest loves it, my youngest is now pretty interested too.
Care for a video?
There’s also a blog!
But getting back to my girls, all told I love the journey to date watching them grow up together and love that they are excited to learn about other sisters and their adventures.
Speaking of adventures, I need to leave you with just one more of my favourite photos of my two to date:
I’ve told the story of this photo a few times on the blog. It was taken back in 2013 at Hog’s Back, which is a large park area in the middle of Ottawa with a waterfall in the centre of it. As we were leaving that day, a stranger came up to me to show me a picture he’d taken of my girls and offered to send it to me. At first, I felt a bit uncomfortable about the experience, but the following Monday, I got an email from Victor Deveau with this beautiful photo of my two girls, which he had titled Princesses and Diamonds.
It was a nice reminder that sometimes strangers are just kind.
And as for those two girls? Knowing how far they’ve come from that moment makes me wonder about what’s in store next!
What great photos! And judging by those, and your words, these seem like two pretty close sisters.
LikeLike
So far so good on that front! It’s great to see. We’ll see how they navigate the teen years 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ditto to…
I grew up with a brother – and we’re still close.
But raising sisters has been fun to watch.
My mom grew up with an older sister.
That’s my experience too! The bond shared by sisters is a truly unique experience. I have a similar picture of my girls when they were young playing together at the beach. It’s framed on my bookcase. It’s a great memory. WeekendsInMaine
LikeLike
Wow – that’s a lot of parallels! It’s fun watching them grow up together. Your photo sounds like a great memory too. There’s something about kids and beaches – they can just get lost in exploring and, I think just being there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great photos! I have two sisters so I can attest to it being quite different than having a brother (which I also have one). There is nothing like sisters. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow – you grew up in a big family! Now that’s a whole different dynamic in that you completely outnumber your parents 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have 3 kids and remember initially feeling panic because I had more kids than hands. I can’t imagine how my parents felt being out numbered 2:1!
LikeLike
Such a sweet post Louise. The French thing will benefit them both all their lives. Nice to have both languages in a country such as Canada.
I have two brothers and a big sister. We are all close in our own ways and share different connections. I love having both gender of siblings and still there is just something about a sister.
All my best wishes for you and them into their teen years and beyond.
LikeLike
Thanks very much! I remember telling my mom I had wanted a sister. Of course, I’m happy with how things turned out, but watching mine grow I can see how it is a different bond.
As for the French – you bet. My husband had no problems convincing me to send our kids to French school. I figure it’s one of the best things we can give our kids.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice post, there’s definitely something special about the bond between sisters.
LikeLike
Thanks! It’s been pretty wonderful to watch 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always wanted a sister, too. I love my brothers but there’s something about sisters, for sure. What an amazing photo from a stranger – that’s so cool! My son has recently been asking for a brother. I do wish he had a sibling, but that’s very unlikely at this point.
LikeLike
Those are tricky discussions when your kids order up another sibling when that stage is most likely over, isn’t it? My eldest mentioned it would be nice to have a brother. I explained that, barring anything unexpected our family was complete and aren’t we a pretty amazing family as we are, right? That worked for her 🙂
As for the photo – I love that memory – see! Further to your post, that’s one I wouldn’t trade in! But if I did in your scenario, but had already blogged about it, what happens?
LikeLike
I grew up with a two brothers and I had a boy and a girl, so I have no idea of what sisterhood is. I think God may have spared me because I’m not sure how I would have coped with a prettier or more popular sister 🙂 There is definitely a bond there that those of us without sisters never fully experience.
Leanne | cresting the hill
LikeLike
Now Leanne, I am certain you would have been the prettier and more popular sister so that would not have been an issue 😉
At the moment I’m hopeful their interests will be different enough that that won’t really be an issue. We’ve only really had a competitive moment a few times so far. I’m hoping it continues, but I’m optimistic, not blindly naïve.
LikeLike
What a heartwarming post ❤
I grew up with a brother too. We were close while growing up, in spite of the age difference, but I always wondered if I missed out on something cos I never had a sister.
LikeLike
Having a brother was fun too – but yes, like you I did wonder if I missed out. I also wondered if having a sister would have impacted other friendships and connections with girls I had too growing up and my early adult beliefs on female friendships (ie: I found a male roommate because that was less drama, felt I was a “guys girl” etc… which in retrospect I think is probably bunk). But you could waste hours wondering about stuff like that and never really know so instead I’ll just enjoy watching my daughters experience sisterhood.
LikeLike
Oh, love the photo and the story behind it.. I sometimes inadvertently end up photos of strangers while clicking pics and when they turn out to be really cool, I wish I could have done this for them..
And the comics sound really good..
I have a whole bunch of cousins where they are either two sisters or two brothers in their families.. but I have one younger brother myself; and my kids – one boy and one girl..
LadyInRead @ MyRandRSpace – Day 22 & SillyS
LikeLike
I was so very glad that he did!
And the comics are quite fun. My eldest struggles with reading and has decided comics are her thing at the moment. She can’t really read it all yet, but at least she’s excited about books and can follow the story from the pictures. I figure that’s something.
LikeLike
I have a younger sister (plus four brothers). We both have two boys and one girl. Both our girls have told us that they wished they had sisters. I don’t know what I would do without my sister!
Plucking Of My Heartstrings
LikeLike
Wow that’s a big family you came from! I always wondered what that would have been like growing up. I like that both your and your sisters daughters asked for a sister 🙂 Were the close in age as cousins? My husband grew up surrounded by cousins which I always thought sounded pretty wonderful too.
LikeLike
Pingback: Cheryl’s Homemade Alphabet Soup ~ A Mixture Of Blogging From A to Z Challenge Posts (2017) | Plucking Of My Heartstrings
Pingback: Back to Reality #AtoZChallenge Reflections | Baby Gates Down