Life Through the Lens// Clark Family Photos

For my sister Jeni's birthday, she let me take her family photos. Aren't they just the most good looking family?! Seriously stunning. Thanks to my beautiful sis for letting me spend a little bit of her special day with her sweet family! 

When did those kids get so grown up?! Seriously... the last time I took their photos Lincoln was a newborn. Thank goodness for pictures because these moments are too precious to forget.

L

Around Here// Croup

Sweet little Max... He is such a cheerful soul, even when he doesn't feel well. He still has a rather sensitive tummy, and we are hoping that improves soon. Last night he started having a difficult time breathing and a high fever... so off to the after hours clinic we went. The diagnosis: Croup. 

That moment when your sick baby finally falls asleep, and his daddy does too. Magic.

L

Scrapbooking// Hello Adventure

Oh, the beautiful adventures our little family has shared so far, and the wonderful ones yet to come... So grateful for my handsome boys and my sweet Dolly puppy. Love this photo of us down on the farm, in our sunny yellow VW bus, by the talented Heather Bybee.

Thanks for looking!

L

Growing Up// Max at Six Months

How did this happen? How could six months really have come and gone already? I heard an interesting quote the other day by Gretchen Rubin, "The days are long, but the years are short." I'm finding this to be so true. We have many long, tiring days, but somehow those long days turn into weeks and months really quickly. My tiny four pound baby is turning into a big strong boy right before my eyes.

Max at Six Months:
Working on sitting up on his own.
Still trying to get his little tummy happy. Starting to have more good days, thankfully!
Seems to do best on gluten and dairy free formula. Looks like he takes after me.
Wants to crawl. Working on it with all his might.
Rolls over onto his tummy the moment he lays down.
Still wearing 3 month clothes. He was a month behind already, and because of the sickness he has been fighting, he hasn't gained any weight since his four month appointment. Even with his health challenges, he's still very strong and determined! He's a bit behind physically but otherwise on track developmentally.
Obsessed with Dolly. He just looks at her and smiles all day long. Starting to reach for her and tug on her fur... I play interference. Luckily, she continues to be extremely tolerant and soft with him. They love each other, and that makes me really happy.
Loves to be upside down and lifted in the air. He giggles and laughs every time.
Loves to swing in the bucket swing in Nana and Papa's backyard.
Loves sucking on his thumbs, fists, and toes.
Has such a fun, sweet, and cheerful personality.
Sings softly in the morning and in the car. He has the sweetest little melodic coos I've ever heard.
Makes me laugh and smile all the time.
Whispers "hi" over and over when I pick him up in the morning and after naps. I know, I know, it's early... but he has consistently done it all month long. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.
Loves to stand. He has from the get-go. No sitting on the job for him. He wants to stand up and look around like a big boy.
He loves books. He cries when he can't hold them tight enough. We've learned the beauty of soft baby books.
Loves when Daddy comes home from work and lifts him up in the air-- probably his biggest smile of the day.
He continues to be a little fighter. Determined, strong, cheerful and patient. He is an inspiration.

We love our little Max bear so much. He is such a beautiful miracle and we couldn't be more grateful he's ours. I fall more and more in love with him every single day.

L

Life Through the Lens// Fall Afternoon

Yesterday was the first day in weeks that my sweet boy seemed to be feeling better. I am sure hoping he continues to improve. We spent a little time over at Nana and Papa's and it was just a perfect fall afternoon. He and Papa played on the swings while I played with Dolly, and of course, snapped some photos. Oh, how I love these darling photos of my sweet boy and his Papa.

Thanks for looking and have a happy weekend!

L

Project Life// A Look at our Story

As promised, I've got a whole lot of Project life photos that I've been needing to catch up on posting... and there are more coming. I'm not gonna lie, with a high risk pregnancy I couldn't bend down to arrange my photos and photograph them properly. And obviously, after my sweet little Max came, he required all of my time and energy. I still need to finish his birth story spreads, but other than that, I've actually managed to keep up to date! Thank you Project Life...

Honestly, the last several months have not been easy with Max's health challenges, and the fact that I've been able to keep on top of documenting our story is amazing. I'm in love with Project Life. It just works for me! The accessibility of core kits at local scrapbooking stores could not have been timed any better, as I (nerdy here) anxiously awaited both the arrival of our little Max and PL at Hobby Lobby. I love that I can dress the pages up if I have a little more time, but I can also just slip the photos and cards in the page protectors while the little man is napping and it still looks beautiful!

I've got a lot more pages coming and a system figured out to streamline the process of sharing Project Life posts weekly here...

Thanks for looking!

L

Project Life// Family Photos

Our friend and photographer Heather Bybee did such a beautiful job on our family photos! I couldn't wait to scrapbook them! I never order every single print from a shoot, but with these photos, I just couldn't resist! Needless to say, when little Max naps, I steal away any moment I can to work on getting all those beautiful prints documented... Here's the first installment.

An oversized 8x12 print is always a great way to make a statement! I love the simplicity in design and focus on the story the photo tells.

We certainly didn't realize the adventure ahead of us (just shortly after these photos were taken) would include such a frightening health scare for little Max. His bacterial infection has not cleared up yet, and his intestinal issues are still causing him a lot of discomfort. We're hoping this second round of antibiotics will work and that his lab work will show improvement this week.

We sure are looking forward to sunnier adventures ahead!

L

Life Through the Lens// The Hands that Hold my Heart

 

Because I can't get enough of those chubby little hands, or those strong hands that both swallow mine up, and yet they are a perfect fit. Someday those little hands may be a bit more reluctant to hold Mama and Daddy's hands, and so we cherish these moments and hold on a little longer as often as we can.

These are the hands that hold my heart.

L

Life Through the Lens// Summer Carnival

It's no secret... Danny and I love a good carnival! Max has been to two city carnivals this summer, and I'm pretty sure he loves them too. Next month is the State Fair and we are excited...

So many photos to scrapbook, so little time.

L

Life Through the Lens// Our Boy is Very Loved

 

Just popping in to share a few quick photos. This week while Max napped I've been busy working on some deadlines for a new scrapbooking design job with Provo Craft... I'm so excited to share more about it soon!

 I love these snapshots from the Fourth of July of Max with his cousin Mayzie and his Daddy. You don't even have to see their faces to be able to tell that all of their attention and adoration was turned towards little Max... Our sweet boy is very loved. He has lots of cousins, aunties and uncles, and grandparents who simply adore him; and of course a mommy, daddy, and doggie who love him to the moon and back too!

L

Life Through the Lens// Daddy's Little Boy

Photo Bombed by Dolly

Obviously, this has Danny written all over it! Leave it to him to make sure that Max had his first ride in a truck right after he was born. If only it was a Ford! I'm quite certain there will be many more rides in the truck with Daddy in the future... and surely someday he'll want one (or two) of his own. Just like his dad.

L

Life Through the Lens// And With our Hands, our Hearts

We took a few photos with Danny's iPhone while Max was in the hospital. I don't intend to share any of the other photos here, because that was a really hard time for us. But this one tells the story of the first time my sweet little boy held my hand. And it's a story I want to share. Just like the first time his daddy and I held hands, it was a moment that will be imprinted in my mind forever.

Our time in the hospital was very challenging for me...  I longed to hold my baby without an audience of hospital staff dictating our schedule. If I was allowed to hold him, it meant that it was feeding time--and that was pretty stressful and exhausting for both of us. He often lost weight just from the energy it took to try and eat. Usually it would end up with him fed being through a feeding tube.

The few rare quiet moments just singing and rocking my little Max to sleep in my arms were a delight. It was one such moment, when he sweetly placed his hand on top of mine and opened his usually tightly griped fist, as if asking for me to hold his little hand. I gave him my fingers and he happily tightened his grip. "He's holding my hand!" My heart burst with joy and I smiled as I thought of the first time his daddy had held my hand. How my heart had known in that moment that nothing would ever be the same. And there it was. A brief happy moment in the Pediatric unit when once again, my heart knew it would never be the same. To paraphrase Shakespeare, and with our hands, our hearts.

L

Life Through the Lens// Daddy and Max Part 2

These two.
I can already tell they have a very special relationship.

The way Max would kick and dance in my belly when Daddy talked or sang to him.
The way he was determined to come a month early so that he could be the guest of honor at Daddy's 30th birthday party. Even still, Max waited a few extra hours just to have his own day;)
The way Max arched his eyebrows and gave me a look that was so classically his daddy's, just hours after his birth.

The way Danny holds him and they gaze into each others eyes (both with eyebrows arched) and smile.
The way Danny takes pride in taking Max to Home Depot, Lowes, and Harbor Freight, and talking to him all about gadgets and tools.
The way Danny prays for him and gives him blessings of health and comfort when Max is sick.

Goodness. I love them both so much. Seeing them together makes me love them more.

L

Life Through the Lens// Daddy and Max Part 1

In honor of his first Father's Day, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos of Danny and Max. These are from his three week photoshoot. I absolutely adore them--so sweet to see the beautiful connection between Daddy and his boy.

About a billion more photos to come... but I need time to format them, so I'll get them up as soon as I can! Also, I made a movie for Danny for his first Father's day with a bunch of photos of he and little Max. I tried to upload it but it wasn't working so when I have a little more time I'll give it another go.

Now we better dash off to buy more formula before somebody gets hungry again!

L