Portraits of 2020

As I mentioned before I was distracted by a fungal plague (more on that in the next post) and COVID exposure (my brain may be damaged by the test, but it was negative; also more on THAT in the next post), we got our family pictures back last week!

We took them on a Sunday evening in a mostly empty downtown Fort Worth, in and around Sundance Square.

I really wanted to be downtown, where I (usually!) work, amidst the skyline we look at almost every day.

Sundance Square is such a classic part of this city-- this little big cow town where we NEVER imagined we'd live, but have come to truly love.
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When we moved here in 2012, we almost chose to rent rather than buy, assuming we'd be leaving in 3 years or so. But here we are, 8+ years later, with friends and community and roots growing as deep as our giant oak tree out that's been thriving in front of our house for at least 150 years. I rarely, if ever, go to the grocery store or run an errand without seeing someone I know.

Between schools and PTA Boards, Barre teaching and yoga going, James's swim school and our kids' activities, I am continually surprised by the threads we have woven into this downtown urban suburban neighborhood, and after spending several lonely years when we first arrived, I never take seeing a friendly face for granted.

Everything shut down for the pandemic around the time I decided we needed updated family photos this year (the last round was in 2018; we've had the same sweet photographer since Cora was a baby. Here's 2014, 2015, and 2016), so I didn't get to do much shopping.

The girls both loved this dress from Old Navy online, Landon was fine with a polo as long as he could wear shorts, I already had the blue dress for work, and James wore that white button-down in our wedding. We kept it simple. It's always a big deal to me that everyone look like themselves, just an unusually coordinated version.

Cora insisted on having her hair blow-dried straight again, like the stylist did after her haircut. And while I missed her beautiful crazy curls, I feel strongly that you should get to look however you want to look in your pictures.

And on that note, I let each kid bring a change of clothes - anything they wanted - to get some updated individual portraits along with the family ensembles.

Landon, who turns THIRTEEN in a few weeks, obviously went with an Under Armor athletic shirt and shorts.

He got some jumping pictures and actually maybe had fun with it!

He's always a good sport- his willingness to go along with things and have a good attitude is one of my favorite things about him. He knows the pictures matter to me and so he grins and bears it.

He still loves to just play, particularly with little kids like his toddler cousins and our preschool-age neighbors, and continues to play games and make believe with his sisters long after the age I was quite over my own younger siblings. He reads voraciously, a book a day when he can keep getting his hands on new ones, and now embraces fiction and nonfiction with equal fervor.

He's funny and smart and truly kind. He can be annoying and loud and leaves his giant size 10.5 mens running shoes everywhere. He does the dishes every night without complaining and loves playing frisbee after dinner with his dad. If there is something I am truly grateful in this pandemic, it's spending more time with our almost-teenager and getting to know layers of him we maybe didn't before.

Claire, our recently turned double-digits second baby, opted for a fancier ensemble.

She had so much fun posing for pictures and kept wanting to run back to see the images on our photographer's camera screen.

She was game for anything and always had a big smile on her face, which fits who she is away from the camera too.

She LOVES to sing and dance, is willing to read but never does so without being prompted, loves to write stories and make cards for family and friends, ALWAYS wants a hug or cuddle, is easily hurt but is also quick to bounce back, needs to know the plan and is happy to dig in and help you make it. Wants to be part of all the things and loves her family very much. Still can't believe she has a kitten.

Sisters! (I'm printing this shot to their room for sure.)

And Cora. Long past the days of princess dresses and opera gloves (sob; who knew how much I loved them?), she opted for a hand-me-down dress from her big sister.

She is "six and a half and almost seven," an amazing reader with perfect handwriting (I often get hers and Claire's confused and Claire's handwriting is beautiful) who only reads when repeatedly prompted. Independent, super strong, and occasionally emotionally fragile. Somehow equally focused and scattered, she will work on a project she's invented for hours and later be truly apologetic when I've had to ask her to do the something for the 67th time. A memory like an elephant, she'll recall (and rely upon) any time you ever bent a rule for her, but also tracks the appointments or illnesses of anyone she cares about and ask about them days and weeks later. She remains somehow 100% herself while parroting phrases she's heard from her big siblings. She's a roller coaster ride we're all (mostly) delighted to be on.

She was also VERY OVER the pictures when it got to her turn, so we got a few and then let Cora be Cora.

Which mostly involved running around in circles and dancing in the middle of the Square. Our photographer captured that too.

And finally James and me.

We've got our own milestone in 2020 - 15 years of marriage on September 3rd.

Highs and lows, we've had a share of both, but man do I love this guy and love how much he loves this family we made together.

And that's us right now! At 38, 37, 13, 10, and 6-and-a-half.

Everyone says it, but the years- they fly.

But for now I just need to stop critiquing myself in each picture and pick a favorite to print for the mantle...