"love is what carries you,
for it is always there, even in the dark,
or most in the dark!
but shining out like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery."
wendell berry
Two Mays ago I babysat the three musketeers and grabbed a few pictures of them. Since the original shoot I was married, we added a Rowdy and a TinyBaby Kless (due in a few months!), and we lost two grandparents and two siblings. The documentation of "the passage of time" has become particularly important to me over the last 24 months. Years feel more like school-quarters, months go by in days, days can be brief minutes... but in all that time crazy stuff happens. Crazy stuff including growing, changing and developing. My two best friends have been annually photographing ourselves at a local park (we're scheduling year nine!) and the pictures are important to me. I love this new traditions with my friend's kids.
(If you haven't seen the previous shoot it's worth browsing through really quickly! It gives these pictures more punch -- even though a group of cute kids can totally stand on their own.)
The Ring-Leader // Audrey, of the Remsnyder Tribe, is the oldest. She has had a quirky personality, clear communication skills and incredible weirdness since she was born. She looks like her mama, and dresses like a lady... but she is a sassy, intellectual, creative bombshell.
The Big Boy // Behr is the first boy in the group, and has been the longstanding only boy in the group. He is perfectly made with a set of sincere emotions and a vibrant imagination. He is a sweet little dude, is curiouser than the cat, and says the funniest things. You can't help but watch him as he pudges around, declaring announcements about all he does! We love this young Kless.
The Terminator // Audrye's little sister Edy, also known as "Crunchy" (among other things), has the girliest-lightest-song-bird voice, with velvet brown eyes and charming curls. And she's a beast. She's by no means the left-out third in the group. She holds her own and doesn't back down to a challenge. Her beast-mode has been a defining quality of hers since birth, but it only becomes more special as her tender side comes out more and more. In one foul swoop she can finish her (large) plate of lunch, hit Behr in the head, pat him and carefully cradle a baby doll. Boom boom "aw." That's Edy.
The Little Big Boy // Rowdy Man loves his friends -- even if they don't get to play together as often as we want. And he doesn't skip a beat. He absolutely believes he is as old, capable and strong as they are. He has been an early "mover" -- rolling at six weeks, crawling at five months, walking at nine months -- but his activity isn't just action. He pays close attention to the people and environment around him. He puts "two and two together" and picks up on things quickly. He's a happy baby, but he's a serious one. I love how he reminds me of his dad ;)
There are many ways to experience love -- all different, important, and valid -- but one of my personal favorites is the love of and the love between children. Even this morning, on the four-month anniversary of my mama's passing, I was filled with laughter and refreshment as oversaw these knuckleheads play on bed.
