Here We Go

I don’t make resolutions, even ones that I’d desperately love to keep, because I know ultimately they will fall by the wayside. Resolutions feel too much like a long term commitment I’m afraid to make. I’m also not always good at seeing projects I start through to completion. And while I have the best of intentions and leave my camera on the kitchen counter all year long, I hardly ever take pictures of the kids anymore.

Given those faulty personality traits, I have been toying with participating in the 52 Project since learning about it in early January, 2014. Ordinarily I don’t like to join something unless I get in on the ground floor…in this case the ground floor being Week One (and it will drive me insane that I am joining on Week Three!). Additionally I oftentimes vacillate between fretting and not worrying about tossing my children’s faces out into the great unknown of the Internet. I can’t protect them once they’re out there, and this makes me jittery.

However, after careful consideration I’ve decided to go for it this year. I figure that participating will drive me to take pictures of the kids. Participating will drive me to completing more frequent blog posts. And the best part is that at the end of the year, I will have an incredible record of the kids’ growth over the course of fifty two weeks.

I tend to do a really great job of photographing the big moments. First smiles. First steps. First days of school. Every Daddy Daughter Dance. But it’s the tiny moments in between those bigger ones that I crave remembering. This year is a potentially big one for our family. We are looking forward to a new home and a new job. There will be new schools and family vacations.

Hopefully through the guidance of this project I will capture not only the important big moments, but the equally as important little moments for our family and for my kids. Hopefully this project will allow me to consistently see the beauty through the chaos of everyday life. My ultimate goal through the 52 Project is to end up with beautiful everyday photos accompanying everyday moments that we will all enjoy reflecting on at this time next year.  

Always Fancy--Week Three/Fifty-Two

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014"

My middle girl. Four years old and full of…everything. She is both needy and independent. She adores her baby brother, but is still having a hard time, in very subtle ways, adjusting to not being my baby anymore. She loves to dress up. She loves to wear nail polish and lip gloss and drink her milk out of fine china. She thinks tiaras are everyday attire. She loves princesses and sparkles and beautiful dresses. She could run a mile in a pair of heels, and idolizes her big brother and sister, keeping up with them in so many, in fact almost all, ways. But don’t be fooled by those big, dark chocolate eyes, and her outward daintiness. She is tough. She’s a fighter and a leader. She speaks her mind and does not ever fade into the background. She’s funny and smart and loving and bold. She is my everything; I just hope that is something she always remembers.

I am joining in with Jodi and her 52 Project at Practising Simplicity

 http://www.practisingsimplicity.com