{my little sister}

I've already talked about this on Facebook & Twitter, but what's another form of social media, right? ;)

It's my little sister's 8th birthday today. She's technically my half-sister, as we only share a dad, but she's never felt like a "half." None of my half-siblings do. In my eyes, they're all whole to me.

I'm not going to say her name on here, but use a nickname she goes by...Squig.

I was 13 when Squig was born, & Dylan & I were sooooooo excited to finally have a little sister. I say "finally" because we had to wait through three brothers to get her ;)  {We love our brothers, don't get us wrong, but nothing compares to a little girl.}

My stepmom was due June 8th, and Squig had yet to arrive. Needless to say, we were all getting impatient. We just wanted to find out if she was a boy or girl! We went over to my dads house & played outside with my brothers while my stepmom went to the doctor. While we were outside, we got a call saying, "We're headed to the hospital!"

::cue freak-out::

My stepmom's best friend picked Dyl & I up & we headed straight there. We hung out for a few hours until they said "it's time." We stood right outside the door {behind the curtain} until we heard the most exciting words ever: "IT'S A GIRL!!"

We then ran up & down the hallway yelling "It's a girl!" "Oh my god we have a little sister!" "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" All of the nurses chimed in & shouted with us. It was the best feeling ever.

Squig was, believe it or not, born on 6/8/04, at 6:08, and weighed 6lbs8oz. We figured it was a sign that she was going to do great things in life. And there's no doubt that she is one little lucky lady.

We held her when she was only minutes old, & even got to choose her name. {Although my dad tried to pull the old, "Actually, we decided to name her Fiona...instead of the name you picked." I think we started to cry.}

Squig is seriously the best. She's totally cute, absolutely beautiful, & so talented. She's already rocking the ballet shoes & advancing wonderfully in dance. She is so sassy & truly runs the household.

Last weekend in Jamaica was the first time I saw her as a "grown-up" kid. We were leaving the pool to go back to our room, & I noticed she didn't have shoes on or with her.

I said, "Squig, where are your shoes?"

She answered, "Um, I dont know. I think they're over by the chair. Or maybe Mom has them."'

Me: "Well, I want to make sure. Can you go ask your mom if she has them?"

Squig turned to me, obviously unaffected by the misplacement of her flip-flops & said, "You know what, Liv? Just don't worry about it. It's no big deal." Complete with a flick of her hand, as if she was 21 & waving away a glass of wine. I assured her I wasn't worried ;)

I love going to college in the same city where she lives, because I get to see her quite often during the year. But when I'm home during the summer, like I am now, I miss her terribly. We're planning a girls only trip for later this summer that I'm so excited about.

I was always worried the age difference would make it hard to have a close relationship with her, but it's quite the opposite. I can see she looks up to Dylan & I, & so I'm constantly trying to be a good role model for her. I hope I am. She's my favorite person to photograph & shop for, & I can't wait to see what a lovely young women she'll turn into. I love her more & more every time I see her. She was definitely worth the wait!

{fashion friday will be up sometime tomorrow}