Road Trip

We took a last minute road trip to Florida this weekend!  I love feeling like we're never too old to decide on a Wednesday that we're going to the beach for the weekend and then just doing it! I also love the beach. I love looking at the ocean and hearing the waves crash. Going to the beach was always such a special treat of us when I was growing up. We'd go maybe once or twice a year and I will never forget how we longed to get our first glimpse of the ocean as we drove closer and closer to our destination. I had many family vacations - with grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. - to the very beach we went to this weekend. That place holds so many wonderful memories for me, and now I've added some more memories that I will cherish forever. Here are just a couple of pics of what I can now close my eyes and remember with love:

Family photos

I love photos.  I don't think I always have - I never thought I looked good in pictures and really I didn't during the awkward years of middle school and some of high school.  At some point right after college, though, when I got my first digital camera and could freely take photos and get the instant gratification of seeing what they looked like and retaking the picture until I was happy with it, I began to love them.  I saw photos as a way of capturing memories that otherwise I may one day forget.  Now that I have a son I take a million potos because I know that each moment and each stage in his life is so fleeting... I want to hang onto just a little part of it.

Last month we had some more family photos taken to celebrate Brady's first birthday.  I've posted most of them on Facebook already, but here are a few of my favorites:

Thank to Jody Lynn Photography for such wonderful photos!  Now if only I had enough wall space to display all of them!

Love

I was looking through some pictures that I took last weekend and realized (again) how much I love seeing my husband with my son.  That man loves his baby boy like nothing I've ever seen.  I think I fall in love with him all over again when I see a moment like this:

MrKLB was reading a story to Brady before bed and after the story finished he turned him around to rock him and pat him on the back like he always does.  Almost always, Brady immediately lays his head down on MrKLB's shoulder and wraps his arm around like he is giving him a hug.  I've noticed, though, that even after Brady is clearly falling asleep MrKLB doesn't want to let go.  He just sits there, holding his son, at peace.

Now that Brady is getting older, MrKLB is having even more fun playing with him.  Brady has started to enjoy throwing balls, and this weekend MrKLB got out a baseball and they were playing with it.  Throwing the baseball with his son is one of those moments MrKLB has dreamed about since before Brady existed.

The love MrKLB feels for his son is definitely returned...

And in other news, our little man took his first steps last night!  He has been walking around pushing toys or chairs or whatever he can find for a while now, but this is the first time he has decided to let go and actually take a few steps on his own!  He took one step towards his Daddy and then later 2 steps towards his Mommy.  We are so excited!  There will be no stopping him soon!