Baby Steps Slideshow

A lovely little celebration to mark the end of this year’s January project.
Are balloons not one of the most happy tokens in the world?
I love the idea I’ve seen around of a room filled with happiness.
Lovely, simple happiness.
Even better when the room is also filled with those you love most.
Thank you dear friends, once more, for following our journey this year.
Thank you for your presence, thoughts and your kind words.
This journey each January holds so much more value than just the images themselves.
They form a constant reminder of our beautiful world.
Of how much that world has grown, and the possibilities to follow.
Happy January, 2012.
x

Your windswept hair
Your proud full belly
Your little chubby wrists
Your purposeful stride
Your comedy beyond your years
Just some, of the many things I love about you.
Right. Now.

She sleeps.
And as she does,
A world of beauty dreams with her.

I lifted the camera.
Those teeth came down on that lip.
Every.time.
Then, I looked beside me.
Your sister was doing it too.
Not to copy, but because it was simply natural for her to do so when she had someone’s attention.
I had never noticed that you both did that.
In that moment, it all made sense.
This is you in your most vulnerable state.
Your sister too.
You have developed humility.
So then, in that moment, I pressed the shutter.
And everything fell into its rightful and beautiful place.
As it always had been.

There is no such thing as quiet time before bed in our household.
In fact, the words bed time seem to wind up their little souls to the brim.
There is fierce giggling, play time snuggles, jumping games.
So much laughing, in fact, that Mia usually develops sweet little hiccups.
Yes, bed time is not a quiet time in this home.
But, oh… the fun they have.

She is my Australian Super Hero.
She saves me when I need it most.
Happy Australia Day, friends.
x

Four photos I have taken of her hair.
Four years in succession I have watched  it grow.
I have never cut it.
I don’t know when I will.
Maybe it is the part I hold on to.
The part that still is my baby.
Maybe I can’t let go.
For now, I sit.
I appreciate.
I smile.
There is so much beauty in simplicity.

Moments like this can untangle themselves slowly from the chaos.
For one minute, arguments ensue over who gets to check the mail or who took the last piece of cheese.
And the next, they do this…

Dear Charlie Bucket,
How sweetly perfect that January was not only the month that your sister learnt to jump,
But it is also the month that you learnt too.
My heart could very possibly burst with pride.
x