So many.....

 

 

 

...photos. I can't believe that i've taken so many. I've spent some of the day organizing, printing and looking through the numerous photos i've taken of Emma since we've been home. While i've always heard that children grow fast, i never really believed it. But now, well, now i photo evidence that children can grow in the blink of an eye. These years truly don't last long enough, do they?

These are some of my favorite (i have a ton of "favorites", btw) photos that i took last year at the beach in FL. While i love to take photos, sometimes, i just stop to watch Emma. When you look through a lens, it's like you are concentrating on getting a good shot and you're not really "in" the moment. But of course, the Mommy-Gene kicks in and you MUST take more photos. You know, just in case you miss "that" moment....how ever would you remember it? I've finally come to understand that 'those' kind of moments are burned into your heart.

I am sorry that i don't have more photos of my Mother and i. She hated having her photo taken and i guess i learned that from her. Most of the ones that i have were taken while she and i lived in Spain while my Dad was in Iceland and in places where she and i couldn't go. I have to smile at those photos-i was never in jeans or t-shirts....i was in a skirt or cute little pants with my necklace on. Nevermind that i was under the age of four, lol, my Mom dressed me that way. Always. I don't have any photos will food all over my face or when i'm playing (or eating!) in dirt. Those are some of my favorite shots of Emma that i've taken. Those photos are like snap shots of her daily life and not a posed moment. I am for having formal photos done....but the ones i love the best are Emma doing whatever she is doing and i catch her when she's not looking.

I'm sure that Emma will look back and wonder what i was smoking when i dressed her in the butterfly dress or in the bright red Gingerbread footy-pjs for Christmas. I do love how she just lays there and will let me dress her to my heart's content in anything (and everything!) i want. There will come a day, and it's very soon, i'm sure, that she will dress herself and decided that the shorts i think are so cute are dorky and refuses to wear them. I remember going to School Photo Day in something that my Mom picked out, wishing that the Photo Day would be canceled due to some horrific event because i looked like a dork and didn't want my photo taken. It never happened and i have lots of school photos to prove how dorky i DID look. :)

I do hope that Emma will cherish all of the photos that i've taken and will take of her. I want her to see what a happy child she is and how much fun she had chasing bugs and kissing the boxer puppy who lives next door on the nose. Those are the childhood memories that should be remembered....even if your Mom dresses you like a dork. ;)