/Letters to My Children 2015/ August

Dear Emma,

Summer break with you sure flew by this year! Even though it's only 2 weeks, we always pack so much fun into that short time together. From the backyard to the creamery and many adventures in between, we spent our days being silly and carefree. I think my favorite day was when you and Jonah turned a simple art project into a full on body painting extravaganza. I hope I never forget the sound of your laughter as I hosed you off afterward. :)

As you head back to school this week, I want you to know how very proud of you I am. You have one of the kindest, most thoughtful hearts I've ever known, and that's no more apparent than in your love for Jonah. It's his first week at your school, and while you're very excited that he's finally in the same school as you, he's naturally having a lot of anxiety as he adjusts to new people and new routines. I can't even tell you how proud it made me to hear from his teacher that you went over to his room yesterday to help him feel better, and that his special treat after nap was to go see his big sister. It was your first day back, too, and you had every right to want to spend it playing with your friends. But instead you were there for your little brother when he needed you. That's a big job you took on, and you did it with the grace and generosity of someone well beyond your 4 years. They say our children are our greatest teachers, and you my girl make me certain that's true.

Love,

Mama

I'm joined in this letter writing project by some very talented photographers. I encourage you to head over to Melissa's blog to read her letter, then follow the links until you land back here!

/10 on 10/ August 2015

I actually had a totally different 10 on 10 planned for this month... but at the 11th hour, this happened. :)

Now head on over to Jodie's blog to see her 10 for August!

/10 on 10/ July 2015

Another great 4th of July at the cabin! The highlight of the weekend was Emma finally fishing on her own (she's been building up to it for the past two summers). She was fearless, persistent, and hilarious. She named each worm, named each fish, and comforted the fish as Jared removed the hook. She probably caught 10 fish all on her own by the time the weekend was over, and was so thrilled to be a "real fishergirl!" :) /1/ Taking this big sister thing to a new level

/2/ Perfectly capable of doing it on his own

/3/ My favorite old door in all the land

/5/ Got a bite!

/6/ Back to wandering

/7/ Time to cool down

/8/ I believe this one was "Slimy Joe"

/9/ Reel 'em in!

/10/ My guys <3

Please head over to Dominique's blog to check out her incredible 10 on 10!

/10 on 10/ June 2015

We were in North Carolina this past weekend, and despite 15 hours in the car with 2 toddlers over 2 days, we had a great time. The kids were especially excited about their first hotel stay (that they remember). /1, 2/ morning cartoons

/3, 4, 5/ when in Rome

/6, 7, 8/ back in the car

/9, 10/ big kid cups are the best

Click here to check out Carri's stellar 10 on 10!

/Letters to My Children 2015/ May

Dear Jonah,

Oh my guy... you must be the cutest, sweetest little wrecking ball that ever was. If it can be dumped out, poured out, crushed, mashed, or deconstructed in any way, you'll find a way to do it - with a huge smile on your face, of course.

Eating with you lately is particularly entertaining. You've become very opinionated about what you want, and even more so about what you don't want. Meals are a contact sport full of charm, equal parts laughing and yelling, and big messes.

But for all your Bam Bam ways, you still melt my heart every single day with that sweet smile, your huge hugs, and fierce love. You are adamant about the family all being together, Rocco included. If someone's not there, you say their name Stanley Kowalski-style until they appear (or you get distracted by food). Emma has become your partner in crime, your biggest annoyance, and very best friend. And Daddy? Daddy's your superhero, rockstar, apple of your eye, center of your universe, best dad in the history of all dads. There is no one on the planet you adore more than him, and getting to watch you two together is one of the great joys of my life.

Here's to a summer filled with grand adventures, long weekends, less Super Glue, more patience all around, and lots of snuggles and sloppy kisses. I love you to pieces and pieces and pieces, my JoJo.

Love,

Mama

Please head over to Melissa’s blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

/Letters to My Children 2015/ April

Dear Emma,

My darling girl... my almost 4 year old. What a joy it is to be your mama. I get a front row seat to the sweet, hilarious, fierce, thoughtful, creative wonder that is YOU. Spring has brought on a new, more mature phase for you... morning goodbyes at school are easier, you're taking on new responsibilities, and you've become so observant and curious about the world and people around you. We even have a special time before bed dedicated to you asking me whatever questions you want. Which always leads to more questions, and more questions after that. I think you'd stay up all night asking me questions if you could.

Your obsession with all things princess continues to intensify, and I'm slowly coming around to being okay with it. I always try to remind you that what makes the princesses we learn about most special is how kind, brave, and caring they are - not how pretty they are or how fancy their outfits may be. I don't know how much of that is sticking, but a mama's gotta try.

More than anything, what's best about this phase is how incredibly sweet you are with your brother and what an awesome big sister you're becoming. You've always been a great big sister, but now that Jonah is bigger and you can really play together it's clear what an important role you're going to play in each other's lives. You are so quick to show him things, share your food and toys, and comfort him when he's sad. He's still learning and not always the best at reciprocating your desire to share, but you're pretty understanding.

Nearly every night at bedtime, you say goodnight to Jonah by singing a song you learned from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. You just randomly started singing it to him a few months ago and we had no idea that you even knew the words, but it was pretty much the sweetest thing we'd ever heard. It goes:

"The moment I first held you, you seemed to me / The most wonderful gift to our family / Goodnight, sleep tight / Dream dreams as sweet as you"

Emma's goodnight song for Jonah from Allison Shellaway on Vimeo.

He'll learn to love it. ;)

We love you so much, my sweet girl, and are always so proud to be your parents.

Love,

Mama

Please head over to Melissa’s blog to read her letter, then continue around the circle until you land back here!

/10 on 10/ March 2015

We busted the Learning Tower back out last weekend and Jonah is a wee bit obsessed with it. As soon as he got up there we couldn't get him to come back down. Half an hour later, I had my 10 on 10 for this month... /1/

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Please head over to Christine’s blog to see her 10 on 10 for this month!

/Letters to My Children/ February 2015

Dear Emma,

I've been so drawn to taking portraits of you lately... You're growing into your personality more every day and I so love capturing all the many sides of you. You're oh so silly, and astoundingly smart, and most of all incredibly sweet and thoughtful. You're also emerging as a bit of an introvert, which isn't surprising since you hail from a looooong line of introverts. We're working on helping you be more social around people you don't know, but daddy and I are so proud of your maturity and independence. Even when you're in a new situation where you don't know the other kids, you happily find your own way.

In school news, you've been making awesome progress with your moveable alphabet, and just this week started writing words! With no help from me, you sounded out and spelled "hat" all by yourself. You were so proud and excited. "Mama! I spelled a real word!!"  It's like it all clicked for you and after that you wanted to write every three letter word you know. Dad, cat, bat... You were on fire and it was truly awesome to watch. Not too shabby for three and a half. (Thanks, Montessori!)

We love you so much, bubba, and are so proud to be your parents. 

Love, 

Mama 

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

/10 on 10: 2015/ February

/1/ couch slide /2/ Huggle Buggle's turn

/3/ love this kid

/4/ chomp

/5/ old tracks at Harper's Ferry

/6/ hold on to your hats!

/7/ road weary

/8/ daddy's got you

/9/ wheeeeee

/10/ time to head home

Now I encourage you to head over to Ann's blog to see her take on this month's 10 on 10!

/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!

/Letters to My Children/ October

Whew! What a month October was for us! We usually try to avoid throwing a ton of change at you all at once, but this month it was pretty unavoidable. We kicked off the month by moving into our new house, and while Daddy and I were super worried about how you'd react to the move, you handled everything with patience and understanding well beyond your 3 years. You really seem to love the new house, having more space, and you especially love having a playroom.

Only a few days after moving, we left for our long awaited beach vacation. You were SO excited to spend a whole week at the beach and couldn't wait to dig your toes into the sand. We ate lots of Kohr's ice cream and we even bought you your very own kite. You loved running with Daddy to get it up in the air, then you'd take over the string and fly it all by yourself!

You and Zachary ran each other ragged each day, laughing one minute and bickering the next (like typical toddlers!) And you got lots of special time with Nana and Grandpa Ed.

I'll never forget you feeding the seagulls on one of our last days there. You were completely fearless, holding up the bread and letting them snatch it out of your hand. You were in heaven and could have spent all afternoon running around feeding those birds.

Not long after we got home from the beach, you had a school closure and we got to spend a special day just the two of us. While it's often hard for me to manage work and play on those days, I always look forward to them because spending time with you is one of my all time favorite things to do!

We finally trekked out to the pumpkin patch at Gaver Farm, and you had a blast. I think you tried every single activity they had, but your favorite was the cow train. (Which of course I didn't get a picture of!) You also had a school field trip to Mayne's and got to pick out even more pumpkins. It was so fun getting to see you with all your little school friends. 

Lastly, the day you'd been waiting for most of all - HALLOWEEN! There is no article of clothing you've been more excited to wear than your Rapunzel dress. (Even now that Halloween is over you like to go into your closet and touch it, and your whole face lights up!) You looked perfect, and having Jonah as your Pascal made it even more fantastic. Once it was time for trick-or-treating you were super shy at first, but after a few houses you really got the hang of it and were running up ringing doorbells all by yourself. We were very proud of you, and it was impossible not to stand back and feel like you were growing up right before our eyes.

It was a month for the record books, my little love, filled with memories that I hope will last a lifetime. <3

I encourage you to head over to my super talented friend Renee’s blog to read her letter to her children.

/Jonah Month by Month/ 7 Months

\Letters to my Children\ April

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

We had Spring Break this month, which meant we had a whole week to hang out and do fun stuff. We started by making homemade moon sand. It was too cold to play with it outside, and I'd already gotten you excited about it, so I braced myself for a mess and let you have at it. My instructions to "make sure it stays inside the bin" apparently fell on deaf ears, but you had a blast and that's all that matters. :)

Next up we painted your toenails! You love having me paint your toes and you even got to pick out a special color at Target ("the red store"). You, of course, picked your favorite color - purple.

The next morning you let me do your hair in special braids and you looked like SUCH a big girl. No more braids for a while because mama can't handle how grown up they make you look.

Then it was off to Green Meadows, the local petting farm and one of your all time favorite places to visit. You know all the animals and especially love feeding the goats. That particular afternoon they even had an easter egg hunt! You were very excited to pick out your eggs, but weren't such a fan of the costumed Easter Bunny they had strolling around. People in big furry costumes aren't your thing.

I think your favorite part of the week was going to our dear friend Leslie's farm in Central Virginia with Titi and your cousin Zachary. You kids had a BLAST feeding the animals, running around the huge property, playing with all of Leslie's toys, and generally being complete goof balls.

After our sleepover at Leslie's we headed back to Titi's to play and get everything ready for Easter. We stayed the night there and, as usual, you woke up way too early. This meant iPad time until everyone else woke up. Hmm, no wonder you like waking up early!

You and Zachary were SO excited to get a very special Facetime call from Nana and Grandpa Ed! They were on a boat in Paris and we could see the Eiffel Tower in the background. You're obsessed with Madeline lately so that part was especially cool.

I apparently got tired of taking pictures at this point, so you'll have to take my word for it that you had an awesome Easter, filled with family, fun, and lots of yummy food. More importantly, we had SUCH a fun Spring Break! I loved having so much time to hang out with you and can't wait for our next day off together.

I encourage you to head over to my friend Ann’s blog to read her letter to her sweet boys.

\Letters to My Children\ February

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

Well, you are officially two and a half. With. A. Bang. I was naive enough to think we'd somehow, miraculously skip over the terrible twos. But it turns out you're a normal kid with big feelings and you're having a tough time managing them. Daddy and I are trying our best to help you figure out how to express yourself, but sometimes you just need to scream and cry and let it all out. It breaks my heart, but I always tell you that it's okay to be sad and frustrated and angry. I feel that way sometimes, too. We work on taking deep breaths and always talk through things once you've calmed down. Sometimes neither of us handles these meltdowns very well, but we always learn and that's the best we can do. Anyway, enough with the tough stuff... let's get to the good stuff!

Your ability to communicate beyond your years continues to blow us away, and I love seeing the wheels turning as you work something out or make up something silly. You're becoming more and more curious about the world around you and have started asking questions about everything... "Is it Saturday? Yes or No?"... "Is this a boy or a girl?"... "Can I have 2 books or 3?"... "What are these kids doing?" And just today you read The Little Blue Truck to me and Daddy, and I was a big old sap and started crying halfway through. I know you were just reciting it from memory, but it was a glimpse into a day, not too far from now, when you are really reading to us. I felt so proud of you, and so excited for what's to come as you get a little older.

Lately, you've gotten really into playing with your Legos and I just love watching you build your "circus," as you call it. You'll build a tower as tall as you can reach, and then gleefully knock it down so that you can build it up again.

I think my favorite thing about you at this age is how sweet, cuddly, and generous you are. You always have a million moochies (kisses) for me and Daddy and Jonah, and you love to cook for us in your kitchen and share your loveys with your little brother. It makes you so happy to make us feel loved and cared for... it's one of your many qualities that I hope never goes away.

I love you so much, boo boo.

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Gwen’s blog to read her letter to her children.

{Jonah Month by Month} 4 Months

\Letters to My Children 2014\ January

I’m continuing my "Letters" project this year with a new 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… Oh my baby boy, what a rough month it's been for you! At only 3 months old, you had surgery to repair the hernia you were born with, and then a couple of weeks later you caught your first real sickness from your big sister. All that, on top of starting daycare, and yet you've handled it all with your usual ease and sweetness.

I'm so glad you're feeling better, and crossing my fingers that the worst is behind us. I feel like we lost a whole month and I'm ready for life to slow down a little so I can get back to savoring all your sweet goodness. It sounds so cliche, but you really are growing so fast! There's so much I want to remember... all your little chunky bits, those cheeks, your huge blue eyes, the way your head smells like pure heaven.

I know I can't pause time, but I can take a zillion photos of you, and that's almost the same thing. I've also made a promise to myself to take photos with you, so here are a couple more... I hope one day you can look back on these and see how very much I love you.

I encourage you to head over to my friend Ashleigh’s blog to read her beautiful letter to her daughter.

{Jonah Month by Month} 3 Months

Letters to My Daughter: December

Well, my little love, I can't believe this is my last letter for this project.  It has been a year full of changes for you! This was you a year ago in my very first letter: You were still such a baby then, and now you are - without a doubt - a little girl. A year later, and you've weaned, potty trained, turned 2, got a big girl bed, become a big sister, and started at a new school. Some of those changes were easier than others, each one shaping this little person you're becoming - a person I am so insanely crazy about.

You blow me away every day with how smart, funny, and independent you are. "I can do it myself!" is something we hear several times a day, and you even requested a ladder for Christmas so that you could reach all the things you can't currently get to. (Sorry kiddo, not going to happen.) If there's one thing I know for sure about you, it's that you will walk through this world in your own way and in your own time. And when that's not driving me bananas, I find it immensely inspiring.

I can't imagine how much more you're going to change in the coming year, but I'm so glad I get to be along for the ride. I'm especially looking forward to seeing you grow in your role as a big sister... you've started having little conversations with your brother, and you're so anxious to share your toys with him. Trust me, he'll be crawling after you in no time.

I know I've said it in all of these letters, but I sure hope you know how very much I love you. I feel like I won the kid lottery with you and Jonah. Here's to another year of laughter, love, and lots and lots of hugs and moochies.

I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ve been writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to my dear friend Kristy’s blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!

PS... While I'm sad this project has come to an end, I'm very excited to start a new project in 2014 called 10 on 10, which be like a monthly "day in the life" of our little family. Look for the first post in a few weeks!

{Jonah Month by Month} 1 month

{Branding} Heather Meyer Photography

We've all found ourselves in this position - we don't quite know exactly what we want, we'll just know it when we see it. That's where my friend Heather of Heather Meyer Photography had been with her branding for the past couple years. She'd tried out a few pre-made logos but was never 100% happy with them, so when she was getting ready to launch her business she knew it was time for something custom made just for her. She wanted her branding to feel whimsical, emotional, and intimate, and what we came up with - well, I'm kind of obsessed with it...

Thanks for trusting me with your branding, Heather! You were awesome to work with and I can't wait to see your business take off!