6 MONTH OLD ELLA | MILESTONE SESSION | ONLY 4.5 YEARS LATE

I am finally sharing images from my personal files that have been sitting around for about 4.5 years. I have printed these and hung them on my walls but have been drowning in business for far too long. All of these distractions have prevented me from doing many personal blog posts. Mainly, my sweet Ella’s first year of life was not shared in the way I had hoped it would be. I am now digging up these files and reliving these precious moments, image by image.

At six months of age our Ella was as sweet as ever. She still had fabulous cheeks, her hair had lightened and fallen out mostly, she started sleeping through the night more regularly, and we had precious moments just the two of us a few days a week. Haley would go to school and Kat was in a Parents Morning Out program three days a week. So, three mornings a week Ella and I would get to snuggle together, rest, do laundry, run errands, and enjoy some time alone. I was a tired mama and I looked forward to nap time and cuddle time often. Ella just went with the flow. I often described my life a lot like a circus, and when you see the theme of Ella’s first birthday in a few more blog posts, you will laugh. I am not sure any other baby would have been as easy going as Ella was. She was quiet, calm, and loved to watch others. She loved food (still does). Her favorite food was avocados (still is). I so enjoyed my little Ella.

On one of our mornings alone together, Ella and I were cuddling an enjoying the sun in the playroom. It was the perfect time to snap some photos of her. Look at those dreamy brown eyes.

This blanket was given to us by one of our dearest friends and neighbors, The Fetner Family. We still have it and Ella loves the blanket. I love her little toes.

Oh, that face! I want to scoop her up and squeeze her!

We have always called Ella our golden girl. She was born just before spring and the daffodils were blooming right before I went into labor. The color yellow will always remind me of our golden girl and she ended up having golden blonde hair.

There is my serious little girl. She still wears this exact face.

Drool and those brown eyes. Sigh. Perfection.

If you have read any of my personal blogs, there is a chance you have read this before, but oh well. I am especially particular about taking pictures with my family. I lost my mom and after she was gone I was pained over how few photos I had of her and I together. It still pains me. The 90’s were a different era, film and lots of glossy prints. I got shoe boxes of prints and negatives to dig through and found random images of my mom’s life and my childhood. It impacted me and is one of the main reasons why I became interested in photography. I know we all have our reasons for avoiding the camera (believe me I do) but someday I hope these images are treasured by my family.

Look at my handsome husband with a whole lot of facial hair! Ha, Matt went through a phase where he wanted to grow a beard. He actually had this beard for a few years. While he didn’t miss shaving regularly, our kids complained enough that eventually he decided to shave it.