Today is a big day for us. Not only is it Easter and my dad's birthday, but it's also our little girl's first birthday. I love her beyond the words I could put here on a page, and it's very difficult to imagine a life without her now.  Not a lot of words today... just a lot of images.  Here's a quick trip through Saige's first year in 4 minutes.

What the?  Saige turned six months old this weekend.  Ok... hit the pause button.  Where has the time gone?  Just yesterday she was a baby, and now she's like, a little person.  Well, a little person with BIG needs, but still... Seriously, it's hard to grasp how much she's grown in such a short period of time.  I find myself thrilled each day Saige days something new for the first time, like the other day when she had her tongue poking out just a little and was blowing and making (probably unknowingly) little bubbles.   So cool.  Now, if she's still doing that when she's 18, not so cool... but for now, rock on.  I wish I could freeze those moments in time and just hold on to them.   This daddy thing has reeled me in hook, line and sinker.  Shoot, even yesterday we passed a new Honda Odyssey in a parking lot and I told Kylie, "That's a sweet lookin' mini-van." And I wasn't joking.  What the??  What's happened to me?  I tell ya what, though, I wouldn't trade it for anything either.  Before we had Saige I remember people that had kids consistently saying 2 things... 1) "Hahaha... better sleep now", and 2) "There's nothing greater."  I've found both to be true, although I can't really complain too much about the sleep thing because Kylie gets up with Saige if/when she wakes up in the middle of the night. [High five, babe!]   Every day when she wakes up in the morning and smiles at me the first time she sees me, regardless of how my morning's going, she makes it better.  When I come home from work and see her giggling with Kylie, it doesn't matter how great or how lousy my day's been, that's the highlight.  Now when I see funny videos of kids doing silly things, I laugh because I can relate. Conversely, when I hear stories of little ones getting cancer, losing a parent, or tragically being left in a car in 100 degree temps, it moves me more now because things like those are now my worst fears.  I feel like now that we've had Saige, God has unlocked this part of my heart I never knew existed, and it's an amazing thing.   I better get on with the images or I might decide to crank up some Journey lullabies and go totally sappy here on the blog.  Sooo... here's a few images of Saige from the last couple weeks as she hits the 6 month milestone.

Hey, we still have a dog!  Poor Mia... I think she's still a bit shell-shocked and longing for the days when she was our only girl.

Love my girls!

Strangely this next image seems to be foreshadwoing for what's happening to my hair. I think Saige is wearing my future do.

Moments like the one below are my favorite.  I turn into a complete sap when she falls asleep in my arms. I desperately wish there was a way to bottle that feeling because there's nothing better.

Kylie took Saige to the pumpkin patch last week and took one of my cameras with her. I think her little pumkin thug hat is funny.

Saige's big on the knuckle sandwiches these days.

Two words. Thunder. Thighs.   BTW, thanks to Kim Boyd for this rockin' onesie baby gift. One of my favorites!

It's not clear who enjoys bath time more... me or Saige.

A few weeks ago (I know, I'm delinquent in posting), I had the pleasure of meeting baby Molly.  Long time friends Eric & Liz, God bless there weary souls, drove up from Houston on a Sunday morning (5 hours), spent a couple hours with Kylie and I for Molly's first photo session, and then drove back to Houston. All in the same day.  With a newborn.  On minimal sleep.  My vote for Parents of the Year has officially been cast. Little Molly had a heart issue when she was born, so she had to spend her first couple weeks in the hospital, but she's doing much better now.  She's such a sweet soul, and it was amazing - and a little sad - to see how much Saige has grown since she was that age. She was a GIANT compared to Molly. Here are few of my favorites of this precious little girl as well as a few from 2005 at the end before Eric & Liz were married. Fun stuff!

I had intended to shoot her within the frame, but she didn't quite fit, so we improvised and did something a little different. I think it turned out nicely.

Eric & Liz were one of the first couples I ever photographed 6 years ago. I really had next to no idea what I was doing from a technical perspective back then, but fortunately Liz & Eric were so easy-going and patient (and likely unaware I was crossing every finger I had that something ould turn out). I couldn't have asked for better guinea pigs first clients.  Here's one of the images from that session back in 2005.

Liz was also the very first bride I ever photographed. It's funny to look back at images from years past.  I think I've been at least 4 different photographers over those 6 years, and even though the image below is a little over-processed for my current taste, there's something about it I like. Liz was such a beautiful bride.

Still one of my favorite images from her bridal session in '05.  She has such killer eyes.

Saige is (unwillingly) in my photographer assistant internship program.  Her aptitude and progress are a little, ahem, lacking so far, but give her another year and I have high hopes she'll be an awesome 30" reflector-holder.

Emily had a rough start in her first few weeks, but she's doing much better now and we were finally able to schedule a session to capture a few sweet images.  Such a precious little girl!  More to come of this sweetie.