A Reason to Celebrate

Ashlyn turns TWO today!!  Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Wow, what a year!  We are celebrating Ashlyn's birthday with praise and thanksgiving and hoping and praying for a better upcoming year.  We are grateful for God's grace and His hand along the way, as He has shown Himself strong throughout Ashlyn's journey.  This year has really brought home the meaning of Ashlyn's middle name: HOPE.

Happy Birthday to our little miracle.  Stay strong and keep fighting!

Father's Day Portrait

Last year was the first year that I decided to get a picture taken of the three girls together for a Father's Day gift.  So, I started a tradition and had it done again this year.  The photographer literally had a few seconds to get a shot before Ashlyn started crying.  Luckily, the very first picture she took, turned out.  Phew.

The girls are so blessed to have a father who loves them like he does and teaches them about Grace, Faith, and Hope (their middle names).

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day 2011

Little Swimmers

I was a competitive swimmer from the ages of 6 to 18.  The scent of chlorine flowed through my pores.  My hair was green.  I lived in the water year round.  I was just shy of growing webbed feet.  

Mariah learned how to swim two years ago and Ambria learned how to swim just a few months ago.  It makes me so proud to watch my girls swim!  I don't know if they will be interested in competitive swimming, but I am glad that they have learned this important skill.

Today, while at the community pool near our home, both girls swam in the deep end AND went down the water slide with no life jacket!  Until now, they would go down the slide but with an inner tube (for security purposes).  

Both girls were so proud of themselves today, as was I!  I love watching their confidence grow!

And I love seeing little pieces of me in the girls.  (I think they inherited some of my swimming genes).

Picture Taking Experience

I attempt to take each daughter to get their picture taken at yearly milestones (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, etc).  Even though I photograph the girls often, I still like to take them to a studio, pay $8 and get a package of pictures that I can send out to family members.

Seems easy enough.

Yeah right.

Picture day nightmares.

Mariah and Ambria were pretty easy.  Ashlyn, not so much.

Even when Ashlyn was a few months old, she hated the studio.  I'm not sure if it was the strange photographer, the small room, lights, or what, but it was never a pretty scene.  On most occasions, the photographer was able to get less than FIVE shots of Ashlyn.

Yesterday was no different.  Ashlyn will be turning TWO this month (oh my!!) so I had a spur of the moment idea to get her pictures taken when we were at the mall.  I packed an extra outfit, a comb for her hair, a sucker for bribing.

Ashlyn was skeptical the moment we walked into the studio.  She wouldn't stand or sit on the X and then she started to run away, cry, and resist.

Ugh.

I was stressed.  Ashlyn wasn't happy.  The photographer got TWO shots, one of Ashlyn starting to run away, and the other of Ashlyn looking scared.  Nice.

Well, that didn't work.