Old photos, new photos, and wiki...

What is it about photographs that I love so much?  

They are precious moments that are made timeless & e t e r n a l...

Sure you can think back to a moment and smile... but have you ever stumbled upon an old photograph that you'd forgotten about? It takes you right back, doesn't it? As a child, one of my favorite Sunday morning activities was to climb up on a chair and pull out my parents' box of old photos from the top shelf of our hallway closet. I'd spend h o u r s looking at them. They would tease me, "Jane, are you looking at those pictures again???" I loved the way that those photos looked and even smelled. They had a dusty, old smell... kind of like a library book that's been checked out 1000's of times... Even though I had looked at those photos so many times that I had them memorized, I couldn't get enough. 

Leyla did something really funny last night... she held out my camera at arm's length, with the lens pointed at herself, {you know like you do when you take a "self-photo"} and said "cheeese"... A girl after my own heart. So, this year I plan to continue taking lots and lots of photos of Leyla, my family, and my friends {sorry, guys... I suppose this might become annoying to you all? Ha!}... because I hope that someday Leyla will love to look at old photos as much as I do... It makes me wish that they could bottle that "old photo smell" because I know that she'll probably be looking at them on a computer and not out of an old, dusty box. In fact, this is what I want this blog to be for her... something that she will lose herself in someday... a treasure chest full of memories, pictures, and notes that she will cherish...

Dear Leyla, This picture was from last night... the night that you decided to try and put on your own shoes. For a good 15 minutes. At least. You were taking a break on our bedroom floor and I snapped this photo of you. You wouldn't let me help with your shoes... you're such a determined soul... No need to worry though. You'll figure it out soon, my dear. We also started to wean you off of your pacifier last night. You weren't happy one bit... but trust me, you will thank me later {do I sound like a mom?}. We played peek-a-boo in the living room before your bath. Your dada fed you kiwi for the first time... you loved it called and called it "WIKI"... it was so adorable that we made you say it... like three times! We'll probably ask you to say it again tonight. Haha! Love, Mama