It's starting... something I want, but I am so afraid of... looking through pictures, and I'm laughing at the memories. LAUGHING! That's good, right? It is good, don't get me wrong. It's just not what I expect to happen... yet. But today I'm going to go with it and just enjoy the pictures and the memories, and I am going to share some of them with you!
This one... there was actually a series of about nine or ten photos that I took that morning. I had Shelby sitting up, getting ready for her day, and she was bobbing and weaving to avoid the hairbrush. I was laughing at her and trying to catch her to get her to stop wiggling around. We both got the giggles, and she didn't want to stop playing her game of "catch me if you can." I can still hear the laughter, followed by the hiccups that usually followed a really big silly session. And the hiccups typically caused more laughter. It was sometimes painful to watch her hiccup so hard, but she didn't mind one bit.
You know that feeling you get as a parent when you suddenly realize that it's been quiet for too long... you have a mild pang of anxiety... so you go to your child in a hurry, hoping to find that you overreacted? Every now and then, you find your darling child has put your best make-up all over her dolls or has snuck out on the patio during naptime. This happens with my youngest, but almost never with Shelby. I have found Shelby turned sideways in her bed, but I've also found her triumphantly holding her feeding tube above her head (when it was supposed to be in her belly). I had Shelby on camera most of the time if she wasn't in my line of sight. The day this picture was taken, I had wheeled Shelby into her sister's room and got busy doing a project. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, I panicked and ran into the bedroom. Shelby was looking like a rock star, beaming and having the time of her life.
Can you hear the laughter? We were out looking at Christmas lights at our local Candy Cane Lane. It was late and cold, there were so many people in this tiny little court that it was hard to move, and there was light... so much light everywhere in the middle of the dark night. This was Shelby's favorite kind of evening! She laughed and squealed, enjoying the night, as if the light displays, Christmas music and crowds of people were there for only her. And thankfully, my mom was there to capture the moment on her camera. So enjoy these pictures and smile with me today. I'm going to sign off and go back to smiling and laughing at the pictures on my computer... and maybe even print one off and frame it!
