16 months! Can you even believe it?! I have made it my goal to do this for you every month, no excuses! I’ve been off and on throughout the first 14 months, and I regret that. I wish I had a letter and pictures for you every month…

This month I really wanted to just show you how goofy and fun you are. You have the biggest personality for such a small little girl:) Although, sometimes you can’t tell by all of the serious looks you give me when I’m taking your picture! I think you’re just so used to it by now that you don’t really care anymore. Mom’s taking my picture? Old news. It’s OK, at least you are staying somewhat still so that I can capture you!

Lately you’ve been really into pouring things out on the floor and rolling around in it to make a big mess. So far you’ve dabbled in popcorn, Lucky Charms, cotton swabs, and cotton balls. You laugh and giggle the whole time and just think it’s the funniest thing ever. You’ve also discovered that you like chalk, and have tried bringing it inside to write on the walls. I know that you know you are not allowed to do it because you’ll be really quiet (not normal for you) and wait for me to find you doing it. It’s a lot of damage control around here right now:)

I know I say it every time, but you really are just such a smart, happy girl. You laugh this big, almost fake laugh when you really think something is funny. You are climbing everything, chairs, tables, the fridge, your crib. You are so active, and almost a little tom boy, but you definitely like your dresses and red and pink shoes with bows on them. You have one dress in particular that you love to wear (the one in your 15 month pics), and every time I put it on you, you sway back and forth while I tell you how pretty you are:) Snookie is still, of course, your favorite buddy…

Even though you are getting bigger, I still want you to be my baby. I know that at some point the bottle and paci will have to go, but for now, I like that you still like those things because it lets me hold onto you as a baby for that much longer. I treasure the moments when you wake up during the night, and let me hold you and snuggle you half asleep like you did when you were really, really little.

I’m really excited for our trip we have planned to go to the beach with my family and all of your cousins! I think you will have so much fun playing with them:) It’ll be your second trip to the beach, and if you loved it as much as you did the first time, I know you’ll have a blast. I only wish Daddy could go with us, but he has to work:(

Love you big-but-still-my-baby girl!

Love,

Your Momma

You sat here for several minutes just relaxing, pretty uncharacteristic for you, but it made me happy to not have to chase you for a picture!

You really like this tutu:) And pushing Snookie in that pink and purple cart…

…and being pushed:)

I know it sounds really serious, but really I’m just talking about my obsession to reality TV. This definitely has been the source of many little arguments between Matt and I. He can’t wrap his mind around why I like to watch people eat salad, lay on the beach, and yell at each other. Men just don’t get it, do they…Anyhow, The Real Housewives of New Jersey just got too annoying and Bethenny sadly ended (for many of my girlfriends, I know this sentiment could also be expressed about The Bachelorette, you know who you are:)), so my latest stint has been to watch the latest and last episodes of The Hills (FINALLY MTV put them online, I’ve been waiting anxiously for weeks). That sentence made me realize I desperately need to pick up a book…

Besides mind numbing TV, a slightly better addiction I’ve been feeding lately is hitting the pavement. It feels so darn good to be back in shape and running again! Two years ago right at this time is when I found out I was pregnant, and thus working out was confined to walking from my car to my classes across campus. I swore up and down I’d get back into being active after the morning sickness subsided, but then I just do what a lot of pregnant women do–embrace the one time you’re allowed to get fat and no one can say anything about it. Luckily it was a gradual thing, but I recently looked back at a picture of myself where my friends swear I look cute but I know they’re just being nice:)

Lastly, I’m a little preoccupied with wanting another tattoo. I secretly want sleeves and maybe even a big back tattoo, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t pull it off. Perhaps this is because I watched an LA Ink marathon the other day…

Off to go run. Or sleep. Little Miss decided to skip her normal nap and will now probably sleep into dinnertime, so maybe I will do just the same to prepare for the inevitable late night. But I’m definitely NOT going to be watching any reality TV:)

Happy Monday!

He always tells me that he and nature just don’t get along, so when I finally convinced him to go on a little family outing that involved sunflowers and a gravel road, I was pretty amazed. Stick Evelyn in the dirt and she’s happy for days, but she definitely didn’t get that trait from her dad.

Anyhow, every time I go to Lake Johnson by way of Tryon Road, I always pass what looks like this huge farm with horses and fences and barns and big, wide open spaces. Right up my alley. I’ve been dying to go and just shoot there for fun. But, if I’m honest, I was too scared to go and ask permission from the owners by myself, so I used Matt and Evelyn as my security blanket:) Luckily, the woman who happened to be outside already when we drove up was super nice and had no problem letting us walk around.

Part of the reason why I also wanted to go was to get back to taking pictures just because. I feel like I’ve been so intent lately on getting things rolling on the business side of things that I’ve almost lost touch with why I want to do this…because I love the art of photography. I love that there’s no right and wrong way to interpret a photo. I love how you can take one object or one person and get two completely different images depending on the perspective. I love that I can use this passion to remember my daughter as she grows so quickly. I wanted to get back to that. That’s how I started, and I don’t want to lose that initial wonder and excitement.

Our little trip only lasted so long, however, because Evelyn found enjoyment in eating handfuls of pebbles; and in between taking chunks of stone out of her grinding teeth and trying not to sweat or get his Chuck Taylor’s dirty, Daddy had had enough of the outdoors:)

What I was able to capture while our time lasted…