SISTERS

Harper

Lily Kristen Howard shown above at age 2 was uniquely named by her father, Dustin, and is our first child born January 23, 2008. When we discovered we were having a second girl I knew she would be getting the majority of hand me downs, which were still in great condition, but wanted her to have something as personal and memorable to her as being the first girl of the family. So, I made a naming request to Dustin, as his job was naming the children. Before I was married, my initials were PLP. The rhyming name of Penny Pennington was definitely remembered by many, which at times did not work in my favor 😉 To me this was a way for our second daughter to be named after me without using family names. Dustin and Lily came up with Harper Elle Howard who is wearing the same outfit her sister once wore in the picture above!

Sisters are built in playmates or live in bothers! They are your best friends and your worst enemies. Having a sibling teaches you respect, responsibility, patience and compassion, as well as,to share with and help others. The concept of fairness is introduced when you have a sibling…you begin to think nothing is fair in your favor…unless you are the favorite, like I am! 😉

Lily and Harper do not play as other sister’s do but their love for each other is noticeably strong. When Lily was told God would be blessing her with a little sister, I am sure she did not think her sister would be special needs. We certainly were not prepared for that to be the case. But God does not always give us what we want. He does; however, always give us what we need! Harper has impacted our family a great deal. We have had to learn to be “fair” to our children in a completely different manner in which I have defined fairness my entire life.

To Harper, Lily is the love of her life! She responds so well to any request made when Lily is involved. For Lily this is both a joy and a burden she will carry the rest of Harper’s life. Dustin and I have to find creative ways to encourage the interaction without making Harper’s handicap, Lily’s responsibility to bear. Lily has had to learn to play with her sister differently. This link will show you a video of Lily learning to interact with Harper through Yoga. Video of Lily doing Harper’s Yoga

We are sad sometimes that they will not share the same experiences as other siblings do. Dustin would love to come home and have both girls running his direction for a hug yelling “Daddy!” I would like them to be able to be in dance, gymnastics, band or sports together someday. It would be neat to have them be at the same school just a few grades apart and maybe have the same lunch break. These are things we will sadly never experience with our two beautiful daughters.

We do not have sibling drama in our home between an 19 month old and a 3.5 year old! We do not have to break up fights and say “don’t push your sister,” or “give her back her shirt.” We don’t have to take away toys because they cannot figure out how to play fairly and share. We do not have to ever separate the two. Our time is spent encouraging interaction, reading books while Lily picks up Harper’s hand to help show her where the object is in the book. We make sure Harper is not forgotten as part of the group. We bring her to the dinner table rather than leave her contently lying on the living room floor. We bring the music box out of the play room and play with it near her watching for a reaction we can then make a big deal about. We bring the doctor kit out and let Harper be a patient in the waiting room along with Lily’s dolls. Their relationship is unique and their bond is strong!