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my my my. i knew i would do this. it's been about 24 weeks since my last portrait of the girls. and at that point amelia was still in utero. this little project is special to me, though, so i am going to do my darnedest to finish out the year in its entirety.

[a portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2017]

hadley: shrill, top of her lungs screaming, temper-tantrums, tears from both her eyes and mine, getting down face to face, explanations of love and kindness, forgiveness, sweet hugs..the days are long but over and over i tell myself the years are short. her laughter is changing into the laughter of a little girl. it feels odd to still call her a toddler. consistently speaking in full sentences laced with sass and love and sweetness we most often forget she turned 2 but four months ago. she is curious, questioning and wandering. she is brave, asking for help then, instead, trying herself. she is spirited, full of so so many emotions. she is caring, coming to her sisters side whispering, it's ok amelia. she is full of awe, full of wonder--she gazes at the moon, trees, cows, dirt, rocks seeing that they are full of magic. she is a teacher, showing us to slow, be aware, see joy in all things.

amelia: our mercy girl is four months old! how did that fly by so fast? this plump little miss is talkative as ever. drooly as ever. we started this back when hadley was a little babe, but we have been calling amelia 'drooly andrews' or 'droolia child' because, well, teething is in full swing over here and shirts are soaked, fingers and arms are soaked, shoulders are soaked. anything and everything she grabs hold of is soaked. needless to say, i must purchase an amber necklace. and soon! i would have kept the one we used with hadley but unfortunately it broke and we had to toss it. there's a spark in her eyes, as she yearns to play alongside her sister. she is patient. she is content. she is our calm, our solace, a teacher of peace.