My fiancé left his ex wife when his daughter was 2 months old. He tried to make things work, but he was already miserable in his marriage, and his ex started running off to her parents house (9 hours away) when the baby was just a week old. She is now 14 months old, and I never knew I could love someone else's child so much. He let his ex move away to live with her parents when they split up, so we don't get to see Monkey as much as we'd like, although his ex has been talking a lot about moving back so we have more time with her, and so Monkey can grow up with our baby (I'm currently 28 weeks). She sends us pictures all the time, and today I woke up to this one, after 4 days of being in bed with a bug.

She will be here to visit at the end of the month and I can't wait! My daughters love her, especially my 11 year old that wanted nothing to do with a new sibling (step or half). They video chat all the time and it's so amazing to see the love growing between them. This was her first birthday party.

I never expected to be a stepmom. When my ex and I split up, I realized it would be a possibility one day, but never expected to love another child like this. Now, on top of our 4 beautiful girls, we are expecting a little boy in 11 weeks. Maybe it's hormones, but when I think about how my life has turned out, much different than I ever expected/planned, I get teary eyed because I know I have been truly blessed with so much love.

Share some pictures of your kiddos/step kiddos!