/Letters to My Children 2015/ July

Dear Jonah,

If you have a season, it is most certainly Summer. You have been living it up the past couple of months, taking in all that Summer has to offer. We kicked off July at the cabin, where you loved playing in the water, palling around with your big sister, and generally being a messy, adventurous boy.

Summer wouldn't be summer without lots of water play, and you are definitely a water baby. You and Emma love when we chase you around the backyard squirting you with the hose. It's in those laughter-filled moments that time seems to stop and the afternoons feel like they could go on forever. But looking at these photos of you, I know time is moving way faster than I'd like. You're far more boy than baby these days and I'm coming around to being okay with that. Slowly.   

Summer coming to an end means big changes for you... the biggest being that you're starting at your sister's Montessori school. I'm both excited and nervous for you. I know you'll thrive in that school, but I also know you'll be confused at first and missing your beloved daycare provider. It'll be hard on all of us, but I promise to be there with extra uppies and snuggles when you need them. And when all else fails, we just may have to bring in the big guns - a vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles. :)

Love you, buddy...

Mama

Head on over to my talented friend Ally's blog to read her July letter...

/Letters to My Children/ January 2015

My sweet Jonah,

What a wild ride this month has been with you! Injuries, illnesses, and your newfound desire to get into everything that isn't nailed down. There's no taking our eyes off of you right now, that's for sure. But for as mischievous as you've become, you're also getting sweeter - and smarter - by the day. You're at this awesome stage right now where every day you have a new word or a new trick and everything is starting to come together for you. As a parent, it's a pretty incredible thing to witness. I can see the baby in you diminishing by the day, so I'm trying to enjoy every single  "wovey," "nnnack!," "tank you," and "buppy." I know all too soon they'll turn into "lovey," "snack," "thank you," and "up" and that bittersweet feeling of my baby turning into a toddler will wash over me. Not too fast, my sweet boy... not too fast.

Love,

Mama

Please head over to my immensely talented friend Ally's blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

/Jonah Month by Month/ One Year!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!!!!

/Letters to My Children/ September

I really can't believe it, but tomorrow you will be ONE. Holy moly. Where did this past year go? It has been remarkable to watch you grow from this teeny tiny squish into a sweet, boisterous little boy.

Over the past few months your personality has really started to emerge and while I know I'm completely biased, you are one awesome kid. You are so stinkin' sweet and funny and curious. You love nothing more than air drumming along to anything that even remotely sounds like music. I don't know if you're going to grow up to play an instrument, but you certainly love music - and that's something your dad and I hope never changes.

You also love making a big ol' mess. Whether it's taking all the toys off the shelves or trying to get into Rocco's food and water, it seems every time I turn around you're surrounded by a mess - looking up at me and smiling big as can be. It's a good thing you're so cute!

I'm so honored to get this front row seat to your childhood... it's pretty clear to everyone who meets you that you're a special little guy. And while this milestone is a bit bittersweet for your sappy mama, it's exciting to think about all the things this next year has in store for you. Walking, talking, climbing, chasing your sister around, and charming everyone with those huge blue eyes.

You light up my life, little boy of mine, and I feel blessed beyond belief that I get to be your mama - on your birthday and every day.

I encourage you to head over to my super talented friend Carrie’s blog (Seattle Family Photographer, YiLi Photography) to read her letter to her children.

\Letters to My Children\ July

You, my little one, have been on a huge development streak since my last letter to you! It seems like every day you're doing something you couldn't do the day before. Your cautious army crawl has been replaced by standing, cruising, and getting into EVERYTHING. Your absolute favorite thing in the world is to make your way over to Emma's kitchen and enthusiastically toss all of its contents onto the floor. Sometimes you make a loud bang when you drop the pots and pans and you look over at me to see my reaction and give me the silliest grin - it's impossible to be mad at you!

Your other favorite toys are your music table and this little pop up toy that frustrates you to no end, but you love it anyway. We're anxiously awaiting the moment you figure out how to make the little guys pop up on your own.

You've been pulling yourself up for a while now but you only recently figured out how to get back down. And it's the funniest thing - you basically do triangle pose until you get one hand fully on the floor, then you pivot around and down into crawling position. Our little yogi!

One thing that hasn't changed is how well you and Emma get along. She's always so thoughtful where you're concerned, and you just adore her and so desperately want to be able to do everything she does. You'll get there sooner than you know, buddy. I promise.

Watching you two together makes my heart so happy, and while I know it won't always be this way, I sure hope the fierce love you have for one another never fades.

The next time I write to you, you'll be turning 1. That gives me two more months to come to terms with the reality that you're not going to be my little baby forever. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm certainly not one to quote Mariah Carey, but you'll ALWAYS be my baby. ;)

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Lucy’s blog (Philadelphia Family Photographer, Lucy Baber Photography) to read her letter to her children.

\Jonah Month by Month\ 8 Months

\Letters to my Children\ May

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Jonah’s turn…

We went to the cabin for Memorial Day weekend and, considering the last time you were there you were in bronchiolitis/teething misery, it's safe to say you had a much better cabin trip this time. It was your first tenting experience, and you weren't thrilled with that part. It was a wee bit cold at night and not even double PJs and your fancy sleeping bag sleep sack seemed to keep you warm enough. Bad mama.

Okay, so other than freezing your cute little tushie off, you had a great time. You had lots of hang time with Daddy, got to crawl around next to the pond, and had lots of fun goofing around with your Uncle Dave.

Before I know it you'll be chasing after the older kids, casting your own fishing pole, and swimming in the dam no matter how ridiculously cold the stream is... so I'm trying to savor this time when you still want to be close to me, hanging in the Ergo, or smiling up at me from your blue blanket.

When Monday morning rolled around, you were ready to hit the road. Exhausted from a great weekend, you fell asleep before we even got in the car.

Sweet dreams of many years of happy cabin weekends to come, my beautiful boy.

I encourage you to head over to Valley Forge Family Photographer Lucy Baber Photography to read her letter to her adorable boys.

/Jonah Month by Month/ 7 Months

/Jonah Month by Month/ 6 Months

{Jonah Month by Month} 5 months

{Jonah Month by Month} 4 Months

\10 on 10\ January

I'm so happy to be kicking off the year with a new photography project - 10 on 10. On the 10th of every month I'll be sharing 10 photos taken on a single day in the life of our family. This month, I decided to document the day of Jonah's surgery. It was a day I'd been dreading since we first found out he needed surgery, and I figured a little photo therapy would be a nice distraction. \1\ Early - and very cold - drive to Children's Hospital

\2\ Our tiny little patient

\3\ This was the hardest part for me... right before he went back. He was starving and miserable and all I wanted to do was take him and run the other direction. Instead I had to hand him over to strangers and trust he was in good hands.

\4\ Coming out of the anesthesia... the surgery was a success and he did great!

\5\ Tummy full, time to sleep

\6\ Family nap time

\7\ No more hernia

\8\ Hanging with daddy

\9\ Getting back to his smiley self

\10\ I think I needed this as much as he did

I'm joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers... head on over to Catherine's blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

{Jonah Month by Month} 3 Months

{Jonah Month by Month} 2 Months

{Jonah Month by Month} 1 month