52/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

nursing by the glow of the Christmas tree has been my favorite these past couple weeks.

i can't believe this series has come to an end. 

it's been a year since i posted marlowe's first portrait

which was really just a portrait of her first home.

it's amazing to see how much can change in just 52 weeks.

2013...

what a year it has been.

i'm sad to see you go

but so excited to see what's in store for us in 2014.

51/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

having the best time in chilly nashville

50/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

sleeping in on a saturday.

little bits of christmas

1. marlowe was not a fan of santa claus

2. the sweetest little reindeer for her first ornament

3. christmas pj's

4. remember this photo? the difference a year makes!

5. our tiny baby proof tree

6. some handmade family ornaments

7. this little book has the best illustrations

8. my mom made marlowe the sweetest ornament

9. christmas lights and christmas music all day every day

marlowe's birthday invites

i spent so much time on marlowe's birthday party invitations

and i'm so happy with how they turned out.

i've also been going crazy making banners

and garland

and spray painting gold everything i can get my hands on.

i still can't believe my baby is going to be one 

a month from today.

when you have a baby

everyone tells you to enjoy it

that it goes by too fast

that they'll be graduating high school before you can even blink.

and you laugh 

and say you know it

but it's true.

oh, it's true.

i can still remember marlowe's birth as if it were yesterday

but here she is about to turn one.

a whole year.

an entire trip around the sun.

she says mama

and papa

and bye-bye

and can sign for milk.

she still won't take bottles

she's so close to walking

and sleeps in her own crib now.

she is a stubborn little thing

and throws a tantrum like a full grown 3 year old

but oh how i love her.

she brings so much joy into our lives

and every morning 

when i see her for the first time

is like christmas.

every. single. day.

49/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

flower child. she'll be a year old a month from tuesday.

48/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

trimming the tree. she loves christmas, but i mean, she is my daughter after all.

47/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

toes up on the highchair tray. always.

46/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

the swings are her favorite. her eyelashes are mine.

45/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

bath time is the best time. she crawls back and forth, from one end of the tub to the other, splashing and yelling.

a happy list

a happy list.

-watching marlowe's face as she listens to christmas music for the first time
-only 3 weeks until thanksgiving
-marlowe has been sleeping in her crib. in her room. all night. praise the lawd!
-working on birthday decorations for someone who will be one in two months…
-surprise weekend trips
-facetime with family that live states away
-hot apple cider
-a clean house
-this little family of mine. i love them so so much.

life lately

it's been a while since i've done a post other than a weekly portrait

because honestly

i can barely even find the time to do the portraits.

the days all run together and before i know it

it's november

and my baby is almost two months away from turning one.

marlowe is so wonderful.

she's in the 100th percentile for her height

and she crawls so fast

and pulls herself up on everything

and signs for milk when she's hungry.

my days are filled with chasing her around the house

listening and dancing to music

(i think bluegrass is her favorite)

pulling things out of her mouth that shouldn't be there

and nursing and cuddling.

motherhood has exceeded my expectations.

i love being her mama

and i feel like i was always meant to do this.

sure i get overwhelmed

and some days she's a little terror

but this life?

i wouldn't trade it for anything.

i wake up every morning

no matter how bad the night before was

and it feels like christmas.

44/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

marlowe the puppy. the sweetest puppy there ever was. minutes after i took this photo we realized she had bitten a hole in the snickers wrapper and was sucking all the chocolate out. sneaky little pup.

43/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

we spent the past 5 days in Nashville with my family. the weather was perfect and we got our fall fix.

42/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

i look at her and i cannot believe how perfect she is or how lucky i am to be her mama. being a mother, being her mother, is so much more amazing than i ever could have imagined.

41/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

right after nursing at an elevation of 2,480 feet in chimney rock, north carolina. the view of the blue ridge mountains from exclamation point was as breathtaking as marlowe's sweet face.

40/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

this will forever be one of my favorite photos of my sweet marlowe. those rolls! that bum!

39/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

the messiest of eaters.

38/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

this girl's personality is about the size of the moon. she is such a ham.

37/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

a rare moment where she's not crawling around at lightening speed getting herself into everything.

36/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

light of my life.

35/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

i spend a good amount of time each day kissing and squeezing those thighs. 

34/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

when I'm in the car or driving, i stick my phone camera in her carseat every once and a while to see what she's up to. usually, she's asleep. but every now and then i"ll check my phone to see her smiling right into the camera.

33/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

her hair. her eyelashes. her cheeks! i can't get enough of this girl.

32/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

this is what meal time looks like. little miss marlowe is such a messy eater.

31/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

almost 7 months old and healthy as a horse. and this lovely look is her new favorite face to make.

30/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

sitting up like a champ!

29/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

we've started solids over here. so far there hasn't been a thing this girl doesn't like. she's a fan of avocado, banana, watermelon, apples, and honeydew melon.

28/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

my little water baby. she loves to splash and splash.

27/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

a whole day of swimming and playing on the beach wore this puppy out.

26/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

i always wonder what she's dreaming of behind those beautiful, long lashes.

25/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

the amount of joy this little girl brings to my life is unbelievable.

father's day

i couldn't have dreamed of a better father for marlowe.

seeing bennett interact with her fills my heart in a way i never could have imagined.

he is the best.

she is the best.

i am so blessed to have this little family of mine.

24/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

trying to sleep train this girl has not been fun or easy. she just loves playing with her mama and her papa too much.

23/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

she had a checkup this week. 100th percentile for height at 27.5 inches, and 95th percentile for weight at 17.63 pounds. grow marlowe, grow! 

22/52

"a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013"

she started saying "mama" this week. i know it's just a new sound she can make and she doesn't actually know what it means, but oh my. my heart.

little miss marlowe dean, 4.5 months