I have had so many personal projects over the last few years. And they’re all because I became a mother. Somewhere inside of me, the minute the very definition of who I was changed, I felt impelled to document his every move. And I did. I can tell you how long he slept for every single nap of his life up until he was almost two and when he first rolled over, ate oatmeal, blew a kiss, or even the first time he ever skipped his nap. And yet, I know I can’t do it forever. I know that realistically I will have to let my memory serve as the best records I have of all his milestones and accomplishments. I won’t always have the ability, time, or desire to record his every move, but then it occurred to me: What if I did it for just one day? That, I thought was achievable–so one random morning, I just woke up and told Jason, “Let’s do this.” I, well, we, spent one whole day photographing Eli’s every waking, and non-waking hour. A whole day shooting photos of what I saw, what he did, what he ate, how often he slept, and how his life was as it unfolded. We did nothing extraordinarily special that day. We woke up, fed him, changed him, kissed him, played with him, put him to nap, took him to lunch, sang to him, put him to nap, kissed him, read to him, fed him, and then put him to bed.  I didn’t clean my house before-hand, fix his hair in the pictures (trust me, that one was hard for me!), or spend time finding the best light. I didn’t even edit these photos. I just took them. I wanted to document life as it REALLY, REALLY was, and now how, sometimes, I see it in my mind. My husband is the greatest man I’ve ever known and he willingly went along with this crazy idea and helped push the shutter button for the moments I shared with Eli on this day. We are both so very much involved with every minute of his life because of our work, and we are blessed for it. I have wanted to post these images for more than a year, and looking back, it’s hard not to miss how small he was. But I am learning, and Eli is teaching me, life will unfold as it should. Put in the effort, but really, just enjoy the ride. There are instances where some things, are often better with time…

Elijah Armani – January 8, 2013 – 9:15am-9:40pm – 15 mos old

 Love you my Little Angel…Bird. 😉