9 months in between the images.Inches grown & weight gained, new sizes of clothes & bigger shoes.
Letters learned & numbers written, now he's starting to read.
So many milestones, in such a short amount of time.
Kindergarten- today is his last day, so very bittersweet.
The boys are asleep, Ella's nursing & I'm sitting her, wondering how it can be the night before Ry's last day of kindergarten. After moving his sleeping self from my bed, to his own, I sat there for a few minutes, staring. Then with a kiss goodnight, I took a deep breath, & stared some more. Earlier in the evening, we ran around the yard. The boys wanted to look for fiddleheads; Ella tried to rally right along with them; they all ran, ran & ran; & Covey used his binoculars for some thorough scoping of the landscape. The air was surprisingly warm, filled with sounds of the nearby nesting Eagles, & a lurking summer. Some days feel so long, but somehow the past 9 months got away from us. Not even one whole year, yet full of so many big changes. Ry has transformed, quite literally before our eyes. Tonight I asked him if he was sad or happy about kindergarten ending. He told me mostly happy. I felt selfish, but this wasn't the response I was hoping for. Did I want him to be sad? No. But I think I wanted a little hesitation. Instead, he told me he was excited for first grade. As bittersweet as it is, I'm very excited for him. New adventures await all of us.
If I'm being honest, I very much love my 365-project (yes, I'm formally calling it that now), but I'm really bad at posting the pictures. I think it's most important that I'm legitimately taking the photos every day; I think it's going to be an amazing way of documenting a year of our lives. There's a lot of little things that I'm already reminded about from these 365-images. But actually sitting down & editing them regularly is not a strong point of mine. So it means a big dose all at once. Here's this month's big dose: May 1st. Sometimes superheroes get thirsty.
May 2nd. Today, we played with polaroids.
May 3rd. The cookie-dough snatcher.
May 4th. Violin practice.
May 5th. In the hopes of feeding the birds, we've built yet (& installed) another birdhouse.
May 6th. Starting off the week with sunshine & smiles.
May 7th. Haircuts; the boys requested mohawks.
May 8th. Faux grass & faux butterflies, spring (summer?) must be coming!
May 9th. An afternoon at Sad Park.
May 10th. Sometimes, deep thoughts.
May 11th. A new hat.
May 12th. The end of the weekend.
May 13th. Her eyes are asking him to open the door.
May 14th. Batman-obsessed.
May 15th. That toilet paper is not where it belongs, & that face is not innocent.
I recently wrapped up Visual Storytelling, taught by Molly Flanagan through the Define School. It was an amazing online workshop. I highly, highly recommend it, for any photographer interested in learning more about the art of storytelling through images. When I took the course, I knew I wanted to document our soccer routine. Ry has been playing the last five weeks, so every Monday & Wednesday evening, we run out the door to his games. This was his first year playing, & he loved it! We really enjoyed it, too; it's pretty cute watching a dozen or so kids run around after the ball. Last night was his final game, so I made a point to have a few extra minutes for photos. p.s. there's no actual game photos posted here, to protect the other players privacy.
Last month, the kids & I hung out with the sweet family behind Little Bird Naturals. Sue sells amber necklaces for children & adults, a variety of handcrafted wooden toys, play silks & nursing necklaces. Her stuff is awesome- top quality, handcrafted & beautiful. Her chickens are also pretty cool! Covey surprised me with his interest in them, chasing them, petting them & even feeding them out of his hands. He's terrified of most animals, so I wasn't expecting this chicken affection from him. It was also impressive to see how much the chickens were a part of their family. We'll be getting some more amber necklace photos in the future, but head over to Little Bird Naturals on facebook now, to stay up-to-date on her beautiful products!
'Sometimes the smallest things,take up the most room in your heart' -Winnie-the-Pooh
There's something about newborn love that you can't match anywhere else. It's pure, fresh & beautiful. The tiny little hands & toes, the sweet smell of the top of their head, their bright eyes checking out the world that is so new to them. Then watching the parents soak up all that newness- admire it, love it, appreciate it; it really is amazing. Happy 1st Mother's Day, Nichole!
