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It’s so hard for me to fathom the idea of Claire turning 4.  I know that the passing days are inevitable, however, milestones tend to make it more real.  I started going through photos of the kids yesterday and my heart was full of so much joy and love.  I try to do this around their birthdays and am soon swallowed up by the memories of their years.  I thought I would share some photos of Claire and I look forward to doing the same with Gabe later this year when he turns 8 (!!!).

For starters, just a day old here…

This photo was taken in the hospital and she loved to lay like this.  It was then that I understood my discomfort while she was in the womb.

Her big brother fell in love immediately.  His first words were, “Is this my little sister?”  Instant tears from this momma…

Just a week old…

Valentine’s Day 2008

Spring 2008

I have loved seeing their little friendship develop since day one.

Fall 2008: I made the left photo into a gallery wrap a few years ago.  Still one of my favorite photos…

Claire has been busy since she could start moving. ;)  The photo below was Christmas 2008.  She was walking by 10.5 months.  Another favorite photo of our two little loves.

Having a blast at the age of 1!

Loved the photos captured that summer evening in 2009.

She is full of expression.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while then some of these are familiar.  However, I couldn’t help but share some of them again.  So many of these truly depict who are little baby is…

She loves adventure and animals…especially puppies, kittens and horses.

She’s girly in every way.

She’s as happy as can be…

She is ornery…especially with her big brother.

She loves to paint her nails and strawberries are definitely at the top of her list.

She lost her first tooth when jumping into the pool the summer she was 3.

And, here we come to the present day with vivid memories of Disney World, the state fair and Christmas 2011.

These next photos were taken just a day before she turned 4.

She’s our beautiful, baby girl and we have been so blessed to have her in our lives.  I realize that time is only going to go faster…and, not slow down.  However, I hope these memories will continue to grow in my heart and mind as the years continue to pass us by.  I know we all take pictures, but I encourage you to go through them every now and then…whether it be around birthdays or at the beginning of a new year.  It brings the memories to life and is a great reminder how blessed we all truly are.  Happy birthday, sweet girl.

 

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is almost over.  I will say it was one of the busiest years I can remember….probably the busiest year of my life.  I started out with my trip to South Africa followed with a trip to the state of Washington followed with a wedding in Wisconsin followed with a wedding in Florida followed with our family vacation to Disney World followed with a wedding in California followed with a wedding in Chicago plus a few trips to Ohio…and those were only our out of state destinations.  Phew!  It’s been an amazing year, but I’m ready for a fresh new start.  How about you?

Well, since this blog has not received much attention lately (due to my schedule), I thought I would share my instagram photos from the month of December.  The month flew by with lots of memories in the books.  I hope this finds your year winding down with lots of memories to cherish.  I’m looking forward to sharing more in the coming weeks…including a few give-aways.  So, stay tuned for more to come.  Many blessings!

 

Gabe and Claire are at a fun age right now.  To be honest, I’ve loved every stage and age since they’ve been born, but that’s besides the point.  Gabe is growing right before our eyes and has a special place in his heart for Claire–most of the time…I won’t mention that he has a poster on his door that says, “Claire needs to stay out of my room.” :).  Anyway, Claire is very much into the princess stage right now and has actually asked Gabe to marry her…several times.  He, of course, declined, so Claire decided she would settle with Jeremy.

A few weekends back (we didn’t have a wedding), I decided it was time to grab some photos of the kids…since I have only taken candids the majority of 2011.  Bad mom.  Anyway, we went out and I was hoping to walk away with just a few photos.  I guess you could say they surprised me…to a whole new level.  They hammed it up from the beginning.  When I asked them to dance (if you follow our photography blog then you know that I have an obnoxious way of dancing with the kids, so they are quite familiar with how the process works :), they obliged and gave me so much more than dancing….smiles, laughter, dipping, twirling.  It was the sweetest thing to watch…I almost forgot to take pictures of it.  Well, the part that stole my heart was when Claire said, “Gabe!  You’re my prince and I’m your princess!”  Oh, how I melted…right there.  I knew then that these photos would capture my heart again and again as they passed through each stage of their sweet lives.  Even though they antagonize each other at times, they really do love to be together.  Our prayer is that their little friendship will continue to grow with each passing year.  I couldn’t be a prouder mom…so very blessed.

This little session only lasted about 15-20 minutes…that was all I needed.  And, I am SO glad that I took a few minutes to stop and capture them where they are right now.  I can’t believe how much they have changed over the summer.  There are many times where I carry guilt about taking time to share personal pictures when there is so much editing/work to do for our clients.  However, I realize that there times when inspiration can be found from within.  Capturing these moments of Gabe and Claire have reminded me how important it is document their lives.  I am beyond thankful for the many that have entrusted us to capture memories of their families that can be remembered for years to come.  Sharing these photos has given me an extra push for all that is on the to-do list.  I can’t wait to share more of our clients in the coming days/weeks on the CPD blog.