moments to remember

As Emery gets older, there seems to be more of those "I'll cherish this forever" type of moments. Today, there were two. Normally, I run and grab my camera or pull out my iPhone. Yet, today, I decided to stay put at the risk of ruining the moment. {the following pictures are from a few weeks ago.}

One. This morning, I was laying in bed relaxing for a few minutes. It was almost noon. I was about to get up and make lunch for our family, but then Emery came trotting in our room.  She steadied her foot on the bed frame, clinched the sheets tight, and pulled herself up onto the bed quickly snuggling herself under the sheets and within my arms. Anytime Emery wants to cuddle, the world stops. She is not much of cuddler and prefers her own space. I pulled her into my chest as my chin rested on her head. Rick had followed her in the room and watched this sweet scene play out. Once Emery was settled, Rick and I exchanged looks knowing this moment was rare and special. He crawled in bed and held us both. Soon, we were all fast asleep wrapped within each others arms.

Two. This evening, I took Emery to the pool. It was after seven o'clock when we arrived, but still over 100 degress outside. We played on the splash pad, crawled around like alligators, and practiced blowing bubbles. Toward the end of the evening, Emery crawled up to the most shallow point of the beach entry pool. She turned over and layed down on her back looking up at the sky. I smiled watching her point out the moon and orange clouds from the sun setting. I didn't plan on getting my hair wet, but after a few minutes, I decided to join her. We layed there together in the middle of the pool looking up at sky. We watched the birds fly overhead and colors of the clouds change as the sun set lower.

These moments never last long but will be remembered forever.