Happy 8 months, Madison!

Happy baby smiling | Columbia wedding photographer | Lorin Marie Photography

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 :)

Baby laughing | Columbia SC wedding photographer | Lorin Marie Photography

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 :)


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

The Parker Family | Photos for Columbia | Columbia Portrait Photographer

Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography

In one weekend, life changed for the Parkers.

In October, Mike, Eugenie and their daughter Sarah were among the many families in Columbia who lost their homes, their car and their possessions during the record-breaking heavy rains that flooded the Midlands. The 1,000-year-flood spread across the Famously Hot town, leaving behind destroyed roads, crumbling foundations and hurting people.

Through Photos for Columbia, I had the opportunity to photograph the Parker family, whose home and belongings were flooded, including most of Mike and Eugenie's wedding photos. Despite the incredible loss and hard time they've been through, this sweet family was all smiles, joy and laughter during their portrait session at the South Carolina State House.

Although nothing can replace the waterlogged photos, picture frames and albums destroyed in the flood, Mike and Eugenie's tried-and-true love for each other was shining despite their current circumstances.

Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Candle of hope | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photo Session | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photographer | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Portraits | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Christmas Engagement Ring Ideas | Lorin Marie Photography
Photos for Columbia | Columbia State House Photos | Lorin Marie Photography

A Look Back at 2015 | Columbia South Carolina Wedding Photographer

Why hello, January. Nice to see you again!

As the new year has kicked off I find myself now with the margin to reflect and look back a few of the beautiful, funny and wonderful engagements, weddings and portraits LMP had the opportunity to capture in 2015. So without further adieu, here are the top 10 moments of last year:

 
Folly Beach wedding photographer | Lorin Marie Photography

Incredibly joy-filled portraits on Folly Beach

Adorable ring bearer | Lorin Marie Photography

The most adorable little ring bearer (those suspenders!)

Winery engagement session idea Adorable ring bearer | Lorin Marie Photography

A tender embrace that makes time stand still

Sparkly reception decor ideas  | Lorin Marie Photography

Beautiful, thoughtfully selected wedding reception details

South Carolina wedding photographer | Lorin Marie Photography

A kiss between newlyweds

Pink bridal party dresses | Lorin Marie Photography

A beautiful fall wedding (at the very venue Dean and I said I do!)

Rainy day engagement session | Lorin Marie Photography
Pastel bridal bouquet | Lorin Marie Photography

Exquisitely arranged bridal bouquet

Beautiful wedding veil photo | Lorin Marie Photography

Swept up in love

South Carolina state necklace | Lorin Marie Photography

A bride's tribute to the Palmetto State

Happy 7 months, Madison!

Baby's-first-Christmas-Columbia-photographer
Madison's Monthly Highlights

Weight: 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces as of earlier this month. She has the cute chunky baby face and a little bit of a tummy but is pretty lean overall.

Clothing: She is getting longer/taller still! At 29 inches, we are finding a lot of her bottoms, leggings and sleepers are quickly getting too short. Maddie is mostly wearing 9- or 12-month bottoms and a few of her 6-month tops and sweaters. Socks and shoes are staying on her feet a little better this month! I think it's mainly because she's discovered there's a whole big world of more interesting things to touch/pull than what's on her feet.

Christmas-baby-outfit-idea
Christmas baby outfit

Sleep: About 10-12 hours a night, and as of last week, we just started transitioning her out of her amazing magic sleep suit (seriously, if you have a baby that doesn't roll in their sleep yet, get thee one of these!). Because she's sprouting up like a little bean stalk, we knew the day would be coming where we couldn't just zip her into her cozy sleeping bag and call it a night. As silly as it may sound, I found myself getting so worked up about it! What Madison doesn't sleep ever, ever again?? What if she's up all night long?? After talking to a dear mama friend, I was reminded that it would be all right. What, like God isn't sovereign over everything except how Madison goes to sleep? It's the little AND big things we have to turn over to the Lord.

Since cramming her into a too-small suit was quickly not becoming an option, we purchased a Halo SleepSack (a wearable blanket) to keep Maddie feeling snug as a bug when her marshmallow suit was gone. I decided the best time to start the transition was when Dean was off work so I had him there during the day in case things went poorly and I didn't get adequate sleep at night so Christmas break it was! The first two nights we tried it, putting her in a zip-up onesie and the SleepSack, and Madison did wake up. We put her back in the sleep suit for the rest of the night each time. Since then, she has slept through the night. Cue the hallelujah chorus! Although she has been sleeping about 10.5 hours which is less than before, it's great that our baby girl is sleeping in her cute little sack like a big girl!

Red-velvet-baby-Christmas-outfit
White-Christmas-baby-bow
Baby-Christmas-stocking

Eating: She is SO interested in food, y'all! Like if we're eating and I'm giving her baby food, her eyes will follow over to my plate and look at me like, "Seriously, when do I get some of that??" And Madison just is so excited to have her own sippy cup! We fill it with water and has gotten pretty good at picking it up and bringing it to her mouth with both hands. She has tasted some more solid food, too - a nibble of crust twice. And we've added a few more fruits and veggies - pineapple, prunes to name a couple. After giving her organic brown rice cereal for a couple nights, we realized the necessity of prunes since near-constipation became an issue. Thanks to the ABC's of remembering what to feed her in moderation! What to feed/not feed to babies is a whole new world!

Baby's-first-Christmas-photo
Baby-Christmas-photo

Personality: Still as sweet as ever! Definitely a little explorer, Madison is grabbing, swiping, hitting, pinching, poking, reaching for and kicking everything in it. Her sweet innocence and curiosity are just the best to watch in action! She giggles all the time, is always alert, active, moving, rolling over, patting us on the shoulder, practicing her clapping. She's been a bit more fussy than usual. We're thinking it's teething related, which my MIL reminds me, "You can use teething as an excuse to do/not do something for the first two years!" So sweet to hear her wake up on most mornings with cute little sounds (Goo, gah, ma, da, sss). And she said her first word this month - Mama :) And no, that is not a biased-mom perspective. She's even said it in the nursery at church when I drop her off. Her second word - Dada! She practices them over and over, along with high-pitched trilling and rolling of R's and G's.

Likes: Her daddy, being thrown up in the air, bouncing, looking at books, shaking everything, splashing at bath time, sitting on our laps, looking in the mirror, playing peek-a-boo, looking at and interacting with other babies (so fun to see!), her singing apple toy, holding and shaking little balls, sitting in her high chair. She also likes food, my water bottle, anything she shouldn't like (she tries to grab at wires, cords, plastic bags, electronic devices - you name it, she's probably reaching for it).

Dislikes: Waiting to be fed, 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 we say no, when I leave the room.

What I want to remember: Everything. She is growing so much each day. This is of course a given, and a natural part of life. I want to recall the moments that may not seem like much at the time, but looking back, made up the days, weeks, months and years of our lives. This month, there were lots of firsts - trying on all her pretty first Christmas dresses from Granmom and Grammy, went to her first Singing Christmas Tree production, attended her first Christmas party, heard the story of Jesus' birth for the first time, joined us for a candlelight Christmas Eve service and opened presents of Christmas morning for the very first time.


You may also like: Madison's 6 Month Highlights | Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram

Christmas is Come

Christmas ornament | Columbia SC wedding photographer | Lorin Marie Phtoographer

"Jesus' humble birth was not a lack of provision but a sign of purpose."

Hustle and bustle - two commonly used words to describe our Decembers. Each year, the lists get long, our time feels short and we struggle to do/buy/be it all.

Thinking back to right before that very first Christmas, when very pregnant Mary and her betrothed husband Joseph made the required journey to Bethlehem for the mandated census. There certainly was some bustling as they trekked from Nazareth to the little town in Judea.

But in the midst of the travels, government census and last days of pregnancy, the couple wasn't overtaken by worries or overburdened with stress.

Earlier, when an angel revealed to her that she would carry the Messiah in her womb, Mary replied, "Let it happen as you say." When Joseph received a dream that told him that his wife was pregnant and would carry Immanuel, meaning 'God with us,' in her womb, he did take Mary as his bride, despite the cultural stigma of a pre-marriage baby bump and not actually grasping the depths of being the earthly father to the King of Kings.

Instead of allowing their seemingly inconvenient, overwhelming or undesirable circumstances to shape their attitudes or outlook on life, Mary and Joseph were obedient and intentional. What a beautiful way to welcome the birth of the Savior - by having a husband and wife, committed to one another and to raising their baby boy the best they could and trusting the Lord to work all the details out.

As we approach the end of advent and celebrate Christ's coming down on earth, we wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas. Let the weary world rejoice! Christ has come - glory to God in the highest!

"Jesus came to serve in humility...the perfect gift of grace."