10. )

9.) not really being one to over-bedazzle my baby, i shall say it’s fun for special occasions (i.e. easter) to dip into the magnetic earring aisle. and when she wears them, we all say *ooo-la-la* which makes her smile. and her eyes twinkle.

(thank you, julie b, for my beautiful dress!)

8.) …which reminds me…
a little pair we snatched up for her upcoming ladybug picnic birthday party which, thanks to a little spring break boredom, is completely planned and finished…

sneekity peekity:

7.) getting dressed up for easter. i love dressing up. and her up.

6.) the blossoms are slowly waking up on our magnolia tree…and i didn’t know until after i looked at this picture that there was a little friend on its petals.

5.) teaching her how to properly eat an oreo (an art, i tell you). i was in stitches the other day observing her put her valuable oreo-eating knowledge to the test. dunking for one. two. three full seconds and lifting up the dripping, milk-softened cookie in one fell swoop, satisfactorily smiling all the while.

4.) meeting this amazing family last week. two years ago, after traveling down many roads for a baby, they adopted a beautiful little girl. she was two weeks older than our lainey. and her name was laynie too. i heard about this family through my dad when, weeks after their little gift arrived, she had to undergo open-heart surgery. i followed their story over the following months as little laynie went through more surgeries. and my heart broke when i heard the news that their sweet laynie went to heaven last february. thankfully, they were blessed the following october with another beautiful little girl…sweet selah. i have looked forward to meeting them for quite some time now, and my heart is happy now having the opportunity to photograph them and all their love for this sweet new angel when they vacationed to florida last week.

tadd, jill & selah…you are all so beautiful in so many ways.

3.) spring break and all the wonderful gatherings of kindred spirits it brings. the blessing of not going anywhere is that we get to lounge. and have spontaneous waffle breakfasts. and pool party afternoons. and bathe our souls with the blessed company of those we love. too many pictures to go through of all our little gatherings this past week. so you’ll just have to close your eyes and imagine a picture of happiness.

2.) sophie. because, although she so obnoxiously barks when someone’s at the door…or when she thinks someone’s at the door…and occassionally makes our girl cry hard when she snatches her food…or pees lake-ish flooding puddles when overexcited…besides all that, she is pure love. she was made to be a kid dog. to be dragged around the house by a tight leash in the hands of a grouchy toddler. to lay protectively outside the door of a sleeping infant. to pant exhaustively with her head half-zipped in an overheated tent just to satisfy the whims of a girl she secretly loves.

aw, sophs…we love you.

1.)

feeling happy. and knowing that that happiness does not come from having everything just right. or surviving in this economy. or even a happy marriage or the blessing of kids. it’s just there, and it is a culmination of gratitude, creativity, love and awareness of good things. little things.

…enjoying the small, the great, the summer, the family things…and all the in between. ~k

there’s more than ten…because i didn’t even mention brown sugar poptarts or ruffled shirts or twice baked potatoes. having a *little sister* finally through brett or the “brink” of summer and icy pops in the freezer. ‘cuz i’m enjoying those too…but i know you have more…and i’m in the mood for a give-away. i will make a pair of sandals…like these ones i did for lainey’s birthday…for your little dear or a gift for a dear you know (they’re for girls, but i may be able to think of something boy-ish if need be)…in the appropriate size and colors…if you tell me five little things making you happy today in your comment.

~k

*disclaimer: the following events happen at rapid speed and without warning thus without guarantee of ideal lighting or time to adjust camera settings. the photos aren’t great, but the fact that they are captured alone is like documenting bigfoot. i never have seemed to have gotten her “in the moment” so i am quite satisfied indeed now.

so, for the most part our home is a peaceful place. but, as of late, there is one event that happens almost every single day that spins us all into a riotous uproar. and it’s my fault because, i cannot for the life of me seem to learn to put my make-up away into a baby-proof place when i’m done with it. and if i’d just figure this out, it would save us from a lot of trouble. a screaming toddler. brett begging me to buy a makeup organizer. frustration. tears. oxy clean on the couch. a load of stained laundry. red-smeared windows. it happens all the time.

and it’s not like it’s blatant. she’s sneaky, she is…and i’ve seen it go down enough times, i know exactly how she does it now.

beginning with the bait.

she knows it’s there…and she pretends she doesn’t care until we’re out of sight. i’ve seen her. she runs to the counter, checks her back once…twice…and then tippy-toes up almost to the point she can see past the counter, reaches her little arm and swipes. all the way to the left, then all the way to the right until she lands a lipstick.

and when it’s in her hand, she checks her back again and then there’s one of two options.

a: if “safe”…she stops. pulls the cap off. checks her back again…and then smears. and we’re not talking a graceful smear. we’re talking cake-in-your-face kind of smashing. smearing. plastering her face with half a tube of mac chili red. but saving the other half for the couch cushions, a little for the front glass door…and maybe a floor tile or two.

option “a” follows with the most logical imaginable reaction from both brett and i. i’ll spare you the details.

but then there’s option b which is my favorite. sad, but very funny to watch.
option b occurs when, after grabbing the lipstick, she checks her back and finds she’s not clear. we spotted her.

so, she grips the lipstick as tight as she can. death grip. (like, once caught, i’ve seriously had to pass her to brett to get it out because i can’t match her strength) once the lipstick is secured, she looks at us…screams…and (here’s where it’s funny)….runs like bloody hell. never seen a baby run so fast. down the hallway, checking her back several times along the way to see what we’re gainin’ on her…and screaming.

usually, we catch her before retreating to a bedroom, but she has managed to make it to a far corner of the house (once even ran in the shower) and then she huddles into a ball…like a hedgehog, protecting the sacred lipstick. the first time it happened, i had to walk away, i was laughing so hard.

of course, both option a and b ends with lipstick retreaval…which is actually the worst part of the ordeal because her reaction is horrid. just never been so sad in all her livelong days.

and, regardless of the fact that i do indeed need to find a magageable way to keep the make-up undercover and that she does indeed need to learn that mom’s make-up is a not-for-babies no-no, the underlying fact remains that my girl is so in love with lipstick and doing anything she sees her mama do, and i love to see her so genuinely happy.

which is why i was overjoyed when i found a fake lipstick eraser at claire’s yesterday for a buck seventy-five. i bought two. and she loves them.

i love my little lipstick girl.

sound familiar? yes, this has happenened before.

we celebrated three birthdays this weekend for three very special people in our lives.

and as much as many want to shove their birthdays under the rug…they are special. …and worthy of every shred of hallmark hoopla that should rightly bestow them.

yes they are.

and i think birthday candle shots are up there with ice cream cones…definitely in my top five fave things to photograph. (hence the fact i haven’t been able to change my header…that moment’s just too precious). there’s something so real…so right now…so captured…about that little moment on one’s face before they blow out their candles.

another year of beautiful life is always something worth celebrating.

so, here’s to happy birthdays.

for one year…

for three years…

for thirty…

to three souls i love very much…happy birthday,

lily,
baylee,
and anna ruth.

i reap the sweet benefits of your births every day. so, thanks to your mamas.
xoxo

oh…and to my beautiful sister…my zoom lense doesn’t reach michigan, so sadly i have no picture of her candles. but i bet she was beautiful blowin’ them out.