The Prophet Family | Photos for Columbia | Saluda Shoals Park Photographer

Meet the Prophet family - Leonard, Vanessa and their fabulous children. Vanessa reached out to me after the flood as part of Photos for Columbia. It was delight to meet this beautiful family and see all the laughter, warmth and smiles they exude for life, and for one another.

We had a wonderful time exploring Saluda Shoals Park for their portrait session. Watching all the siblings hug, joke around and have fun with their parents was such a sweet sight. The bond they have as a family unit is truly a solid foundation, despite the bumps and curves and valleys that have come their way.

Though the rains came, and the flood waters rose, the Prophet family stood firm. What a fantastic thing to be able to look back and remember - how God was faithful in the midst of the storm!

Happy 10 months, Madison!

Madison's Monthly Highlights

Weight: Since we've been off a month for her checkups (our doctor's office was so busy, the earliest they could see Madison for her 6-month appointment was when Madison was 7 months!), we went to Maddie's 9-month checkup this month. She weighed in at 19 pounds, 6 ounces.

Clothing: She got to wear her first little Easter dress! And bunny ears! Of course we absolutely keep the focus on the Lord's resurrection. He is the reason we celebrate! It is so sweet to have the same tradition I did growing up. My sister and I got a new dress to wear to church each year and we just adored the fun frocks we got to put on. Dressing up in your best clothes and twirling around just reminds me of how much God adores us, His children, and delights in us.

Sleep: About 11 hours each night with 2 naps a day. We have started rocking her not quite as long and putting her down in her crib drowsy but awake for naptime. It has been difficult to hear her crying and crying for those minutes (that feel like hours!) until she settles down and falls asleep but her naps have been so incredible since introducing this method!

I think crying it out is hardest for mamas and daddies because we think, "Oh no! My baby is hurt/in pain/needs me!" It's hard to allow the space and time for a baby to get it out of their lungs, while we're feeling helpless and like we're making the wrong decision. I'm so grateful Dean and I have been able to talk it out and continue allowing Madison to learn to fall asleep on her own as she grows. It makes for a much less tired mama and a very well-rested baby!

Eating: Madison is still eager to try new foods. Most recently, it's whatever is on Daddy and Mama's plates! We generally give Maddie some Cheerios, cut up pears or a fruit and veggie teething wafer for breakfast followed by a squeeze pouch for a late morning snack. Lunch is usually some variation of shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt, more cut up pear bits or the latest thing - almond butter bites. (Basically I smother a whole wheat wrap with almond butter, fold it over in half and tear it into small pieces for Madison to devour). Her dinner usually consists of the items mentioned above she didn't already eat that day along with bits of what Dean and I have for dinner - maybe some whole wheat pasta, cooked veggies, baked sweet potato fries, bits of chicken.

I've also given her some smoothie (usually frozen banana, frozen spinach and a handful of strawberries/mangoes with some water or almond milk for the base) through her sippy cup with a straw. I already feel like an undercover food smuggler by trying to sneak greens and veggies in her food when I can! haha not that she won't it otherwise but some things do taste better in the guise of a smoothie, you know?

Personality: Madison has become quite the little explorer! Since she doesn't do much crawling, just scooching as we call it, she really hasn't been able to maneuver around the house on her own. Until now. I think she realized that she can scooch from place to place just fine, thank you. No need to wait for that crawling thing to all come together, let's just move around on our bums - across the nursery, out of the play room and under chairs.

So in the Fairweather house, baby proofing from the ground up has officially kicked off! We are finding ourselves saying no and putting those things on a higher shelf/off the ground more and more. It is just delightful to watch Madison move around and find new, exciting things in her world though - such a large pile of decorative yarn that quickly became tangled around her leg or peeking into cabinets in the kitchen.

Madison has also started dumping things (namely her books) and pulling out everything from bags or containers (like my purse or a box of tissues). I gave her the tissue box so that was my bad. I honestly didn't think she would pull so many out! Dean was like, "So you get to use all these, since you allowed her to pull them out." haha :) Maddie is also communicating more - shaking her head no, saying yeah along with dad, dog and mama as well as fussing/grunting and pointing to tell us she wants something. She is standing with assistance and has almost starting cruising from the outside of her crib. She has loved getting to take steps while we hold her hands.

Firsts: She got to see a horse up close at a family portrait session for our dear friends. She also attended her first birthday party for twin girls we know from church, and she tagged along for not just one, but three portrait sessions (one for my head shots, two that I photographed).

This month Madison also rolled over onto her tummy in her crib. She has been a pretty still sleeper up until the rolling started. She also had some eczema pop up on her chin and neck, which has been itchy and unenjoyable as you can imagine.

We bought foam letters and numbers for her bathtime so this was her first experience with more than one toy in the tub. She only had a rubber ducky up until now. I dumped a handful of the letters into her bath and Madison was definitely overwhelmed by them all. We know to only give her two at a time now.

She also celebrated Resurrection Sunday for the first time and we read the story of Jesus to her and explained what it meant. Madison also participated in a sweet backyard Easter egg hunt with all her cousins! My mother-in-law is SO smart. Each of the 7 cousins were assigned a specific color egg to hunt for and they all had the same number of eggs. Perfectly done so that no fighting - or hoarding - could take place.

Likes: Pointing at everything, looking at all the lights (lamps, window light, ceiling lights), all doggies, giving kisses to said doggies in the books we read (it is JUST as cute as it sounds!), standing up with assistance, taking steps while we hold her hands. She also loves being tossed back into a pile of pillows on the bed, trying to look at Mama and Daddy's phones, saying, "Da. Da!" everytime I get a call (because she thinks every call is to/from Dean). Maddie also is giving us more kisses, waving hello and bye-bye to people and things, snuggling, giving hugs, turning the pages of her books (she especially likes her Record-a-Story book from Grammy and Grandpa!). Bath time and when Daddy comes home are still two highlights of each day :)

Dislikes: Itchy skin and having a stuffed up nose.

What I want to remember: Madison motioning for me to read to her, watching her bop and clap to her tropical piano music, spending Easter weekend with the Fairweathers and the wonder and amazement of life through the eyes of our sweet child.

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You may also like: Madison’s 9-Month Highlights | Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram

Happy 8 months, Madison!

Madison's Monthly Highlights

Weight: We don't go in for her next well visit til next month. As of 7 months, Maddie was 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces. So definitely bigger than that now, my tired arms would say :)

Clothing: Still wearing a few 6-month tops and onesies and but mostly 9-12 months. For bottoms, on a whim, I bought a few 18 months and 2T leggings, and y'all, they FIT! We have one long baby :) Also, our cute little girl likes looking in her closet with me! She tugs at different sweaters and dresses. I like to think it's because she's already developing great taste, not just because the colors and patterns jump out to her. For shoes, she's wearing Size 4 and we are having even better success with keeping them on her feet (yay!).

Sleep: About 10 hours a night. We're still working through some of the difficulties of transitioning out of her marshmallow suit to just a sleep sack (aka wearable blanket). But overall, Maddie is still sleeping pretty well, with the occasional mid-night wake-up or skipped day nap.

And God continues to remind me, over and over and over again, that our daughter's sleeping/eating/fill-in-trait-or-behavior-here is not a reflection of me directly, nor should I be bound by fear that she "won't ever go to sleep again ever" or "this other thing may be so terribly wrong" or whatever other anxieties I allow to creep into my head. He is Sovereign and it's in Him I find my security, my identity. He is my all in all.

Parenting is so much about trusting in our Father above than I ever could have imagined. What a humbling thought - to have a little child who completely counts on you for everything? And for us to have a Heavenly Father who takes us under His wing, and in His hands, and completely takes care of all our needs.

Eating: Madison will try just about everything once so it's been fun to have her slowly but surely try new foods. This month she tried some string cheese (she gobbled that up faster than an ice cream melts in the dead of July!), rice cakes, purple carrot teething crackers (which sound yuck but she likes them a lot). She's still eating lots of avocado, bananas, apples, squash and a few other fruits and veggies. AND she has started to be able to feed herself! It is the sweetest thing. She has really gotten the hang of picking up crackers and jamming them in her mouth :)

Personality: This child learned to shake her head no! All by herself! As in, I certainly did not teach her that ... we haven't even learned yes yet :) What's funny is after spending time with her older cousin Shiloh on vacation, she starting shaking her head furiously back and forth. But the funny thing is, Shiloh says, "Yeah!" all the time, not no. So we're not sure how/where Maddie got it from but it's her new thing. And it's not connected to not wanting more food, or reading another book or actually answering a question. Just to practice moving her head side to side it seems.

During our vacation, we spent afternoons at an indoor water park. Madison was somewhat hesitant to get in the wave pool (during the non-wave time) which is kind of out of character for her. She is usually pretty eager to lean and look and see and move around in new things/places. Maybe the vastness of the water made it uneasy. Either way, she still ended up splashing around, going down a few slides with Daddy and having some fun by the end of the week.

Madison definitely has a good idea of the things she knows, what she likes and doesn't like. She is SO giggly, loves it when we dance around the living room and just adores her Daddy.

Likes: CLAPPING with a capital C. She mastered it and we spent a good week or so just clapping our hands throughout the day. So cute! Other things she likes: squeezy pouches, snuggling on her grandpa's lap, hanging with her older cousins, making new baby friends on play dates and in the nursery, flipping pages of books, looking out the window, helping me get the mail, assisting in pulling open the blinds in the morning, wiggling around on our California King bed, being worn in the Ergo, sucking her paci at nap times, trying to pull her socks off, kicking off her car seat blanket and laughing.

Oh, and DOGS. The first few times she was ever around dogs they were big and loud and she was so little. But now that is bigger, she is crazy about dogs! We visited our good friends in Tennessee and their big dog Shep was like her BFF! Although I don't think Shep quite got the memo and was like, "Who is this small person that keeps smiling and flailing her arms at me?" No hurt feeling, Shep. We understand it's a lot to take in :) She also loved seeing my parents' dogs, Emmy and Lillie, and squealed with delight when she would pet Emmy and she would try to lick her face in return.

Dislikes: Having her nose/eyes/face wiped off at all, getting ready for bed after her bath (it's like she doesn't want the play party to end), when I leave the room. And when we had to leave the dogs behind to go home :(

What I want to remember: Madison's first trip to a water park, visiting with the Fairweathers and Madison laughing hysterically for MINUTES during dinner one night, without being prompted. Y'all, it is too much!

This was also the month Madison played peekaboo back to me! As in she hid and then popped back out. Melt my heart, why don't you! Oh goodness, I could go on ... but these are the highlights :)

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You may also like: Madison's 7-Month Highlights | Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram

Happy 6 months, Madison!

It was just 184 days ago that our 8 pound, 3.2 ounce baby forever changes our lives. From her early morning entrance into the world on Cinco de Mayo, Madison has been lighting up our days ever since.

When people tell you, "Hold on tight because they grow up SO fast," they are so right. I can hardly believe 6 whole months have gone by. Even while staying home with Maddie, soaking up midday giggles, rocking her in the evening, afternoon playtime and bedtime baths, there is no freeze, stop time and stay in this moment.

So the best thing to do is make the most of each hour, each day we have together. I think time seems to move even more quickly when babies are this small because they are growing and developing at such astonishing rates.

While I could never fully express or put down words to completely describe our little baby girl, I can tell you the first you'll notice about her is her eyes - beautifully blue and dark but with a sparkle. She has big, baby doll eyelashes and is constantly smiling, giggling and laughing. Madison loves to move, squirm and kick. She is so alert, taking in her surroundings, holding new toys and shaking them, peering over our shoulders to see what's behind her and looking up at us and letting out an excited squeal during tummy time. There is so much personality oozing from such a small little girl!

As Madison turns 6 months old today (!) I'll be sharing photos from Months 1-5 on the blog in the coming days. Since she was born, I have intentionally spent less time in front of the computer and more time with her, trying to be present and enjoy every small, but important, moments.

{Madison's Monthly Highlights}

Weight: Just over 17 pounds at her last doctor's visit (about 2 weeks ago). She's getting the chunky cheeks:)

Clothing: Still squeezing into 3-month onesies but wearing 3-6 months in most everything else. And shoes? Don't stay on her more than 5 seconds or so. She is a master shoe kicker-offer. Socks also fall into this category. Also, with her teething comes more drool on almost every outfit we put her in.

Sleep: She is sleeping well and through the night except when she is teething and restless or sick with a cold. Both really terrible to watch your daughter go through. Same goes for naptime - lately she's seemed to be in pain and poking at her gums right when she is also tired and ready to nap.

Eating: It's all good and she has a good appetite except when she's - wait, what's that over there? - distracted. As our friend calls her baby, she is also a major distracta-baby. We introduced some fruit and veggie baby foods several weeks ago and with the exception of avocado, she seems excited to try new things (yay!!!). Bananas are the top contender right now, hands down. Although now that Madison has grabby hands and is reaching for everything in sight, she also tries to grab the spoon. She's quite messy by the end but it's a good start to solids!

Personality: Full of joy, giggles, little sounds, tapping hands, kicking feet. Madison is what I like to call a verbal processor :) She loves to make new noises, pull at her feet (she recently discovered them!), bounce up and down, fly airplane with Daddy, look in the mirror, make noises back and forth with me. She gets somewhat stoic and more quiet in larger group settings but when it's just the two of us or when Daddy comes home, she lights up, ready to play, chat, squeal, laugh, grunt and bounce some more.

Likes: Scratching different textures (the tablecloth, for example, as I'm currently typing this), being thrown up high by Daddy, being sung to, splishing and splashing at bath time, the sound of snapping, holding and tugging at her crinkle books, having her photo taken (really!) and getting to see it after, when I stick my tongue out at her, being tickled, shaking rattles, shaking anything, dropping toys (her newest phase).

Dislikes: Being confined to her car seat (who can blame her?), teething, having a stuffy nose, when Mommy or Daddy sneezes (too loud), wearing shoes (she gets that from her mama), having eye gookies or boogers cleaned off, when bath time ends, being put down for too long (she'd rather be up high, looking around at everything) and missing out on anything fun.

What I want to remember: How she experiences something for the first time - watching me pour coffee, seeing the blinds open, feeling the ocean waves hit her little toes.

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Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram

The Gay Family | Falls Church Portrait Photographer

Evan, Anne & sweet little Grace. It was such a wonderful afternoon capturing moments between this family! We met over by the winding path that leads around the lake near New Providence Drive in Falls Church. The golden leaves of fall hung brightly from the trees & piles of foliage, just as vibrant, crunched under our feet as we made our way around the lake.

Grace's sweet giggles & excitement upon discovering how to throw fistfuls of leaves was so fun to watch! It was wiiiiiindy on that afternoon but Evan & Anne rallied their little girl's spirits up with tickles, a stuffed bunny & lots of snuggling to stay warm. Thank y'all for letting me photograph your wonderful family!