2021, A Scrapbook
It really does feel like just yesterday that we were ringing in 2021, but just like that you blink and we've welcomed another year! While some exciting plans have us looking forward to all that 2022 will bring our way, I like to take a little time at the start of each new year to reflect and take stock, appreciating how far we've come. In particular, I love being able to dedicate a little time to sorting through personal photos for our annual family scrapbook, and it's always such a beautiful reminder of all that we've experienced together as a family and how much we've grown together in the past few months.
Here are some favorite highlights from the past year:
Winter days might have been short, but we made the most of them by spending hours baking cookies (Evelyn loved "helping" to decorate ;), taking lots of family walks with the pups, and little by little making plans to fix up the beautiful old house we had bought the year before. I also spent a lot of time knitting, baking some more (lots of bread in particular!), and planning out my flower garden for the summer.
Luckily by the spring, Jesse and I were both able to be vaccinated which led to the highlight of the year for us: a visit north to see Evelyn’s grandparents! We had done socially distanced visits before then, but with the winter travel hiatus we had decided to take, and given the distance our out of state move had introduced to the equation, it was such a special moment to finally be able to hug everyone again, and we spent weeks celebrating with each of our families in turn. It had been more than a year since Evie’s grandparents had held her, so we made sure everyone got in plenty of hugs and kisses :)
Later in the spring we were able to travel together to the Outer Banks for a week away with family and Evelyn was able to experience the beach and the ocean for the first time! She loved playing along the shoreline and watching the tide come in, but the most exciting part of the experience for us all was seeing her together with her little cousin who she met for the first time during this visit.
Summer and fall brought even more traveling our way as I continue to spend several weeks each year photographing families in New York. By the end of the summer I calculated that I had driven nearly 9,000 miles (and listened to probably about that number of podcasts too ;). In between all of the time spent in the car, I still managed to spend almost every scrap of free time in the garden. The biggest update was the addition of a large wildflower bed at the front of the house complete with cosmos, dill, russian sage, peonies, daisies and asters.
Happily, the easing of restrictions this past year has also meant that we've been able to enjoy a little of local exploration as we visit more of our new home state too and I was also lucky enough to photograph a beautiful engagement session in Barbour Rock, PA (in an area known lovingly as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon). I also photographed my very first Pittsburgh wedding this past fall (complete with bridge and skyline portraits!).
After a busy wedding season (and navigating several daycare closures in the winter months), we were able to take a little time away from work to travel with Evelyn and celebrate the holidays with our extended family for the very first time since our move to Pennsylvania. It was one of the most beautiful things to see her experiencing the season surrounded by loved ones—and we also had a blast celebrating her turning 2!
Our trip home to visit family was made even more special this year in particular because just before the holidays, Jesse and I learned that we were expecting again! We loved being able to share the news with our family in person as we looked forward to the year to come, when Evelyn will officially be promoted to big sister.
