portraits of a two year old.

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     i took these photos of asher right before he turned 3. he is wearing a tie dyed shirt that roman and i made when i was still pregnant with asher. we dyed and tie dyed a bunch of onesies + matching big boy shirts together that summer. asher's hair is long + curly in these pictures and on his birthday i cut his hair for the hundredth time while he sat our little stool in the living room.
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     i love these photographs, the last portraits of my two year old.
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     a little china doll made real.
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     these pictures remind me of these, taken of asher at 21 months old.
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a third year story.

the days before asher's birthday, i spent time scrolling through old photos on my blog and flikr and remembering and crying, of course. pictures are so powerful. pictures tell stories and the life and tales of this little boy, my asher, can be followed in pictures as well. i have so many memories of him that have been saved in this way.
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a tub surrounded by windows where he started making his way into this world, toes wrapped around an umbilical cord, a little mouse struggling to breathe and laying cozy in a warmer, those first days of breastfeeding in the nicu, a chubby baby just learning to stand and walk in the corn fields of indiana, throwing rocks at mountains,
jumping and jumping and jumping on beds.

those round light curls + blue eyes + soft baby fair skin.

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i put together some of my favorite pictures from asher's 3rd year to post here today:

to help tell the story of a little heart full of wonder + wild-boy love.
;)

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brothers // style.

FabKids sent these matching outfits for my boys in April and I'm finally getting around to sharing these photos with you all! If you aren't familiar with FabKids yet, they are an awesome new subscription clothing company for kids! We have truly enjoyed the opportunity to work with this fun brand; my boys love picking new outfits each month!

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     One of our favorite places to walk near our house turned out to be PERFECT for this shoot because it is so lush right now. Unfortunately, lush brings mosquitoes like crazy out here and we were fighting through swarms of them to quickly get these photos!

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     I'll let the pictures speak for themselves this time, but if you'd like to learn more about FabKids, check out their site: here!

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You can also see my boys looking adorable in their other FabKids outfits here + here!

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*FabKids provided me with the clothing featured in this post in exchange for these photographs + this review. 

This post also includes affiliate links. Thank you so much for supporting my family and providing us with these fun opportunities! We truly appreciate it!*

shine.

asher,

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sometimes i catch you in a moment of stillness and it is one of my favorite things in the world.
usually your mind and body are busy and fast, reckless and worried,
but many times you stop in gentle wonder and your sweetness fills me up.
like this evening, in indiana, where the flowers and the fence, the light and the still quiet world
were all just absolutely perfect.

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and i'm certain that the only things that really existed then
were you and i, daisies and soft sunshine, your skinny little legs and soft blonde curls,
country roads and pebble roads,

peace and love for miles around...

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i love these little moments; pockets of beauty in otherwise draining days.

it's nice to stop sometimes,
 and watch you shine.

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shine on, little one, shine on.

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"Shine" is the June writing prompt of The Mommy Blogger Collective. In addition to a monthly writing prompt, the collective hosts a monthly blogger featurette. This month we are featuring Christina of Mouse in Your House. A few words from Christina --- At Mouse In Your House, I’m bringing you stories about being a working mom, quirky family lifestyle trends, frugal living, DIY ideas and the talented people who make life something amazing. I hate getting bored and occasionally use Mouse In Your House to ask people very personal questions that I would, otherwise, never get away with. My goal is to find chicks and gents doing something cool and inspiring, which could lead to a feature about a family who took the year off to travel the world one day and the next day's post could be all about how to dress a stylish toddler. To qualify for a feature, I need only go, holy moly that is frigging awesome....and you may even get a long set of questions for our next Q&A. That's the way I roll. And P.S. I LOVE budgeting and it has taken over our lives in the past. We recently graduated from living in a 400 square-foot apartment to a 1,400 square foot house in my beloved small town of Knoxville, Tennessee. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+. /// The Mommy Blogger Collective /// Christina, Courteney, Dena, Erica, Erin, Gillian, Katie, Misty, Nicole, and Renée. ///