Today Chris and I celebrated 11 years of marriage! He took the day off work, and we headed out to the park where we were married for our now-traditional family photo.
Want to reminisce with me?
Before 2010, we still visited the park - we just hadn't thought to make family photos part of the tradition. It's so much fun to watch our family grow. Even more fun? Watching a place that means so much to us become a meaningful place for our children, too.
Today, all of our potential photographers were busy, so it was up to me, my tripod, and my handy-dandy camera remote to take our family picture.
While I was testing things out, I got this shot, which I love. I'm not sure why I love it, but I do. Something about my sweet children waiting patiently, when all they really wanted to do was run and explore and feed the fish. And maybe also the fact that my handsome husbando is so lovingly tending to his 2-week-old daughter. 11 years ago, I could never have imagined that the man I was marrying would be so confident and competent with a baby that small. Chris and I were married so young, and since then we've grown up together in so many ways. Learning how to be parents has probably been the most surprising, challenging, fun, and exhausting part of the journey so far.
There. That's our official family portrait for our 11th anniversary.
I can't believe it's been 11 years.
I can't believe we have three children.
It's a little bit crazy.
After I took that photo, we decided not to press our luck any more with the pictures, and we turned the children loose to play. I settled Lily down on our quilt (made for us by Chris' grandma, who is now gone, as a wedding gift) and waited for Chris to get fish food for the kiddos.
While she waited, sweet Daisy watched over her sister.
This picture melts my heart. I know you can barely see Lily sleeping on the blanket, but I love that Daisy is just quietly sitting with her sister. I love even more that I can imagine this same picture next year, when Lily will have just turned one. Will they be sitting together on the quilt? Will they be lying on their backs together, staring up at the sky? Will Daisy be showing Lily how to feed the fish? Or bossing her sister around?
This picture makes me so excited that Daisy has a baby sister. I pray for a deep and lasting friendship between those two, my sweet flowers.
Lily was trying so hard to sleep in the shade, but Daisy kept trying to hug and snuggle her sister.
(Also, this is Lily's first time wearing a dress. It's a little first, but it still matters.)
Finally, the kids got to feed the fish.
We didn't have quite as much luck with the fish as we did last time, but the children were undeterred.
How cute are they?
*sigh*
I loved him 11 years ago, but now that he's a father, I love him even more.
Remember earlier, how I said I didn't want to press my luck by taking any more pictures?
Well, then I remembered that we needed to take a picture of the kids with "our" tree. (You know, the one I had planted last year, in honor of our tenth anniversary?)
Bad idea.
This was the only shot I got.
Daisy screaming.
Caleb scowling.
Lily like a limp rag, about to fall out of Caleb's lap.
*sigh*
But it's really funny to look at, and it definitely captures what life is often like at this stage of our lives.
So we gave Daisy back her fish food, and let her return to doing what she wanted.
I settled Lily back down on the quilt in the shade, and we were all happy, happy, happy.
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