us lately

put the toy down. slowly. no sudden moves, okay? just puuuut the toy down and no one gets hurt.

trips for treats.

one happy family! all love!

crazy playtime with hiro-san and favorite (growing up so fast) little girl!

E: "get me out of here!"

ah! fingers! mine, all mine!

we call this "belly CPR"

which leads to "oooof".

and lots of laughter.

there's been some flight time.

and a little tea time.
"sure, i'd love a second cup. 2 sugars if you please".

there have been upside down giggles.

tug-o-wars

hugs

silliness

and lots of this...

life is never all smiles and fun and rolling around on the floor, soaking in the infectious joy a new puppy brings or celebrating the milestones of your beautiful and growing daughter. it is filled with countless challenges and the mundane routines, that are so easy to get bogged down in that you easily lose sight of what these photos represent: the essence of who we truly are as a family. at our core, this is our foundation. but on our individual and collective paths there are numerous and sometimes what appear to be insurmountable "bumps" in what can appear to be a seamless and smooth road. life is not meant to be this way- handed to us on a silver platter, something to be taken for granted- and we are not foolish or naive enough to believe that. yesterday i stopped dead in my tracks as i said to E, 'well we were teaching Ransom to "touch" at puppy class, remember, as a way to come to us when he is called?"... and the tears came. the knot in my throat and chest stayed with me most of the afternoon. yesterday E was told it was time she moved to her big girl room (again)- with all kinds of encouragement and support, picking out a new toy and canopy for her bed, a chart of her choice printed with smiley face stickers for each night she does sleep there and bigger rewards at the end of each week she is successful. she slept there for the first time in months, after what seemed a smooth and easy transition in January (she has been back in our room since the end of February). and though it went well, all things considered, it certainly was not easy for her. and in this space, on this site, i don't speak to her physical challenges which are private because they are hers. but they are still there, our reality. it has been 2 years and g and i have yet to have a date save one night (thank you aunt "kayen" and uncle jay) over a year ago when we drove to another city to see Ellis Paul.

and kindergarten is exactly 2 weeks away, from this day.

so many milestones as a family. so many milestones for her and her small and fragile heart. lots of stressors. lots of pressure and strain. so much light and love and happiness. we are incredibly blessed.