with our baby’s baptism having been on our family calendar for months, we have been so excited for our family to join and surround us as our second daughter was welcomed into faith.  and being one who loves bath time, she took to her baptism effortlessly and warmheartedly loved watching the priest who showered her with holy water.  not only is baptism such a beautiful milestone for our children that warms our hearts, but it is such a beautiful reminder for us to choose good.  during both of our girls’ baptism, each priest eloquently reminded us that a baptism is not only for the child being baptized, but for all of us to renew ourselves.  it was prominent thought during our first’s baptism, and again during our second daughter’s special day.

wearing the same christening dress her sister wore two years ago to her own baptism, our littlest brought her entire sweet heart and happiness to her baptism day.  my favorite thing about her baptism portraits are that they are 100% her.  she is bubbly and sweet, and currently loves alternatively chewing on and throwing her giraffe teeth.  each equally thrill her to pieces.  you can’t look in her direction without being welcomed with a huge grin and her tender disposition is admirable.

to our daughter, we promise to always guide you and protect you.  to answer your questions and calm your fears.  to show you the way and remind you of Him.  to support you, to love you, to listen to you.  to always remember that we are here to teach you, but to learn from you as well.  you are so sweet, little lamb.  and our life is beautiful because you are apart of our family.

for a complete guide on how I photograph my baby girl’s first year, be sure to read the first twelve.  and to learn how i document our everyday, be sure to read the everyday photograph.

this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link.  thank you in advance for supporting my blog so i can continue inspiring you with our everyday.

Our Baby’s Baptism Outfit Details

janie and jack baptism dress (2016) | similar one here

cable knit knee socks | courtesy of cammi and co

blush bow | posey baby

blush wooden teether | late night luna

classic giraffe teether | can be purchased here

A Sweet Little Lamb | Our Baby’s Baptism

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i am not sure if i have written this yet so, if this happens to be a repeat, please forgive me.  at bible study a couple months ago, we were encouraged to think about our greatest fear.  it took me a bit to really dig deep and identify it.  i feel like i have a lot of fears, but my most prominent fear is the passing of time, particularly with our children.  an overused phrase of “enjoy your children, for the years go by fast,” is constantly being told to young mothers and, while it can seem like this phrase is on repeat, it really is very true.  not until you are a mother will you truly realize how quickly time passes and, for me, it has given me a tiny sense of panic.  the days are sometimes really long, but the months and years just pass so quickly.  there are so many motherhood moments that i truly want to remember the rest of my days.

i feel like this fear is the reason why i do all that i do.  it’s why i write about my children and their moments, big and small.  it’s why we build traditions.  it’s why i photograph them often and document, document, document.  it’s why i am diligent with their baby books.  it’s why i cherish those days where we just stay home because i can simply savor them and enjoy having a front row seat to their childhood.  it’s why i write them letters every month and write down every detail that i want to remember.

i think all of these little things that i do is to calm that fear of letting time pass by.  i know it is going to go by and there is nothing i can do about the physical passing of time.  but what i can control is the quality of time we have with our children.  deep down, i fear regret.  i don’t want to look back on these years and wish i would have savored it more.  so, in all that i do, i savor, savor, savor it.  i try to remember to be grateful often and instead of rushing, slowing down.  that can be hard sometime, as two children have a tendency to make one rush.  but intentionally making time to hug each baby every single day and to really listen to them really fills my cup.

for a complete guide on how I photograph my baby girl’s first year, be sure to read the first twelve.  and to learn how i document our everyday, be sure to read the everyday photograph.

Being Mama | Motherhood Moments I Hope To Remember Forever

i am constantly filling up their baby books and writing them letters to document not only their milestones and important dates, but to remember all that i can.  not only do i document these details for them, but also for us to look back on.  because it seems like we will remember everything, but there are just so many little details that can easily be forgotten.  as the girls grow, i know this list will change and grow but at this point in motherhood, i hope that i always remember:

sitting on the floor and cuddling every morning with our oldest, in our pajamas

the way our littlest grabs my face in her hands

the way our oldest naturally reaches for my hand, when we walk together

hugging my littlest, cheek to cheek, after her morning feed and breathing her sweet smell

how our oldest calls applesauce, “applesauce-sauce”

how i have to close my eyes while nursing our youngest, because if i make eye contact with her, she will smile and laugh instead of eat

spontaneous hugs from our oldest, while i am sitting on the playroom floor

how our littlest tucks her chin down and gives the sweetest smile, with the biggest eyes

how our oldest says, “mama so happy!” and “daddy so happy!”  i love that she can see this.

how our littlest hums right before she falls asleep

i love that this list will change and grow in the years ahead.  but today finds me really grateful for the little details that make up motherhood.  of course, there are moments when i crave some time to myself and find peace in the quiet house during naptime.  but that deep fear of time passing by and them growing fast has me missing them already, so cherishing the little details really helps bring peace to my heart.

thanks so much for stopping by my blog to join my everyday with motherhood and photography.  for more posts and to catch up on what we’ve been up to, see what’s trending below!

our sweet girls have been so busy lately that i feel like i am constantly writing little sticky notes to remind myself of all the things i need to add to their baby books.  from new glasses to new teeth, to beginning to crawl and conquering our ABC’s…it seems like the milestones and memories are constant these days.  since i was 20 weeks pregnant with our first daughter, i have written letters each month to our children and posted them here, on my blog.  these letters mean everything to me today, and will someday mean so much to our children.  as a way to give them these letters to take with them one day, i have started the long process of copying these letters by hand into beautiful linen books for each baby, where i will continue to journal monthly.  it is going to take me awhile to transfer them over, but i love that our girls will have these thoughtful letters in my handwriting.

and as i am copying the letters into their linen journals, it has been such a blessing to relive all of their beautiful moments.  it seems like all of these little things happened just yesterday and not only are these letters a gift to our girls, but they are a gift to my husband and i as well.  i love that they were written monthly to document specific times, that we are enjoying reading about now.  and i hope one day the girls will pull out their journals, while their own babies are sleeping, and reread my letters to them.  so that maybe, as their little ones sleep, they can turn to a particular page and read about how they were at the same age and how incredibly much i love them.

these beautiful linen journals are on my list of things to blog about soon, so keep an eye out for them on the blog!

more than ever, our girls are little bookworms.  our youngest is learning to turn the pages, but mostly loves to teeth on them.  our oldest has begun to read stories to us at night, as she tells us all about the pictures and, at times, memorizes the words on the pages.  she loves to visit the library and really loves flipping through large chapter books that i read myself.  she is happiest when she gets to read “mommy’s book,” and is entertained for quite a while as she simply flips through the pages.  she truly finds it relaxing and it is so peaceful to watch her skim through the large books.

for a complete guide on how I photograph my baby girl’s first year, be sure to read the first twelve.  and to learn how i document our everyday, be sure to read the everyday photograph.

Milestones + Memories | October 2018

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our girls are, without a doubt, two peas in a pod.  they wake up at the same time, nap at the same time, eat at the same time, play at the same time and…get sick at the exact same time, with the exact same symptoms.  we have officially experienced (and now gotten over) our very first sniffles of the season.  oh goodness, two sick kids at once is no joking matter.  but it’s all fun and games until, they start kissing on mama and mid-week…mama is down for the count.  whew!  if you ask any mama, you will know that it should be against the rules for mamas to be sick alongside their babies.  it is so hard to take care of sick littles when you are not running on 100%, yourself.  but the best thing about being sick (if there possibly could be a best thing), is that it can be so cozy!  we cancel all of our plans for the week, get into fresh pairs of pajamas each morning and just play at home.  and when the weekend rolls around, daddy rescues us with a coffee run and park date for fresh air.

for a complete guide on how I photograph my baby girl’s first year, be sure to read the first twelve.  and to learn how i document our everyday, be sure to read the everyday photograph.

this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link.  thank you in advance for supporting my blog so i can continue inspiring you with our everyday.

on one afternoon during our week of sniffles, my toddler and i walked into the baby’s room after nap and, like always, she climbed up onto her crib and immediately wanted in.  my toddler really loves cuddling with her sister in her crib, so we did just that.  i love this little series of photos because it truly defines our everyday.  while we are usually not in our pajamas in the afternoon, our sick week called for anything and everything cozy.  the girls read lots of stories together and, praise the Lord, we started feeling better after a week or so.  i am crossing my fingers that we got our first sniffles of the season out of the way at the beginning of fall and can call it accomplished because, whew!, that was a lot of boogers and sneezing!

all photos taken with my DSLR and favorite everyday lens.

infant pajamas by our favorite, burts bees

toddler pajamas from the gap, similar ones here (we have these, too!)

First Sniffles of the Season

thanks so much for stopping by my blog to join my everyday with motherhood and photography.  for more posts and to catch up on what we’ve been up to, see what’s trending below!