why photos mean the world to me.

we had the honor of being photographed by new friend, lara blair, last week. i met lara last summer in a really spontaneous way (on a farm, in the middle of nowhere!). we share a love of all things mixed media, girlie adventures, boots, ruffles, and flea markets (monticello is a fave). she is a wildly talented photographer of doggies and people and we were so glad she came to capture us last week.

i've seen exactly one photo of me as a baby with my mama - and i saw it for the first time last year. as i made my way into the world, i often wished there were more photos of me as a baby, as a toddler, in the arms of my mom. times were a bit tumultuous when i was a babe and most photos of me during that time were lost in the division, in the chaos. i also don't remember much of my childhood so i suppose photos would have been the story tellers for me, the evidence that i existed, that i once was just born, 2 years old, five years old, and so on - no matter how crazy or broken life was then.

when it comes down to it, i think my longing for childhood images comes from a place of wanting to believe that i was special, that my babyhood mattered so much that it had to be captured in photos. of course, i was special and i meant the world to my family - i just wish there were photos to help tell my early stories, to help me fill in the gaps, to help me see myself more tenderly. and so.....that's part of why it's so important to me to make sure that i capture True's babyhood, of him in my arms, in john's arms, with all of us together. he is so special.

i wanted to share a few of our favorite shots from our day with lara:

thank you, lara, for gifting us with some amazing images that will help tell baby true's story.