The 52 Project, photos 15/52:
Beany: In her very first nightgown, which brought more joy to that 4-year-old girl than I ever could have imagined. “I just can’t believe I get to sleep in my nightgown — this is so exciting,” she whispered while we tucked her into bed. Talk about finding joy in the simple things. So often, I think kids do this life thing much better than the grownups.
You might wonder why, for a girl so excited about her sleeping gear, she has such a solemn face. I told her she could stand on the bed, just this once, so I could take a picture — but only because Mommy was watching her. This, of course, was very exciting, so she jumped up there right away. Then what I expected to be a smiling, giggling photoshoot suddenly turned into a sweet preschooler confessional.
“Mommy, you know, a few times I did stand on your bed, and you weren’t here, and I didn’t ask you first.”
“And one time, I was supposed to wash my hands, but I forgot, and then I was busy.”
“And one time, I played with Bunny in my bed when I was supposed to be sleeping, and…”
Oh, you sweet, sweet girl.
Bear: I’ve always seen a lot of myself in Beany’s bouncy personality and endless energy and a lot of Jared in Bear’s more thoughtful, easygoing nature, but Bear’s place as second born is something I understand so completely. He’s changing so much lately, his vocabulary is growing by the day, and he’s more than happy to go on any adventure. But I think his all-time favorite activity right now is following his big sister and copying her every move. He says what she says, moves like she moves and laughs when she laughs, and fortunately for Bear, his sister is more than happy to have such a receptive audience. Like usual, he’s following after Beany in this photo, who’s blazing a trail up ahead. But the older he gets, the more he stops to make his own discoveries, too.
“Tee, tee!” he says. “I see a tee!”
XO,
Katrina