Let Them Be Little

Newlin Mill Park | Easter

When Bob and I first started dating, we took a ride up to where he grew up and to see his mom (now affectionately known as “Granny Sandy”).  We got to see the house he grew up in and then went to Newlin Mill Park to see the waterfall, the fish and the blacksmith shop where Bob used to work (before the fire department).  At the time, the twins were in diapers. We took them on the warm day to the waterfall and just let them wander in the water and play. The water wasn’t moving swiftly and they had so much fun! 

We celebrated Easter a day early on Saturday since I work a 24 hour shift on Easter and the kiddos are scheduled to go to their dads (this is real life ya’ll!).  We let them dress their selves. Grayson of course wore Pop’s Texas belt buckle that my dad gave him just before passing and the American flag boots with his new button up shirt. He always wears shirts he can tuck in so you can see his belt buckle. I love that he dresses this way and hope it lasts a while longer. Right now, he doesn’t worry about anything but being little. He dresses with dreams bigger than the sky. Madelyn also picked out her outfit, an East Coast Loft dress with shimmery sandals (she loves dresses)!  She accessorized it with a cat ear headband, which is oh so cute! 

Even though they dressed up,   they still wanted to go to the mill and jump on the rocks. So just like when they were 2(ish), we let them take off their shoes, socks and roll up their pants to play in the water. Bob skipped across the rocks with them and equally got just as wet, lol! His mom and I knew that was going to happen.  When we were getting ready to go home with a truck full of food, candy, blankets and ipads, we just had Grayson take off his pants so he didn’t have to ride wet the whole way.  

The thing is, instead of getting upset that they may mess up their nice clothes or shoes, we just adapted and let them have fun. We let them be little…cause’ their only that way for a while. I do love capturing them all dressed up under some pretty trees, but some of my favorite images are when they were playing and having fun! Madelyn walking towards the water with a bag of bread thrown over her shoulder and Grayson climbing up on literally everything he could touch. Watching them interact with Bob and just enjoy the day was amazing to me.

 Madelyn and Grayson are twins, but they are also friends. They worry about each other, they are kind to each other (most of the time) and they have adventures together. Something I hope they continue to do for the rest of their lives.  I have 3 siblings. My regret is being petty with them and not allowing my father to see all of us in the same room happy before he passed away. Sure, we do now, I honestly can’t remember what all the fuss was about before then. Every time I talk to my sister on the phone, I think to myself “why didn’t I do this sooner?”  So, be with your siblings, have fun, jump in the creek, get wet and most of all…LIVE and LOVE!!

xoxo,

Jamie