My Christmas Letter To You

Dear friends, 

​This year has been good to us. It made us a family. It made us more thankful for the small things. It made us older and way more tired. 

In April, we finally met our baby boy Tucker. Born four days past his due date, we were starting to think he was never coming out. (Walking laps at the mall didn't work. Eating spicy Indian food didn't work. Eating an entire pineapple didn't work, either.) But after 20-some hours of labor, there he was, handsome, perfect and all ours. 

Now 8 months old, he is one of the coolest and funniest people we’ve ever met. He smiles constantly and makes friends wherever we go. He loves speed-crawling to mischievous places (like behind the Christmas tree) and inspecting common household objects (like spatulas and remotes). 

Where April gave life, May took it away; I lost both of my grandmothers in the same week. The lives they lived couldn’t have been more different, but they were both strong, funny, independent women and mothers who saw more than 90 years of life. 

This summer, we enjoyed two trips to the Outer Banks. On our first trip — when Tucker was just 3 weeks old — we learned a very important lesson in midnight newborn poops: They can and will project onto the wall. On our second trip a month later, we learned that your ears won't totally explode when exposed to eight hours of baby screaming. 

In August, Tyler started back to school full-time to earn a degree in graphic design. He also began a part-time job in October. With his first semester in the books, we’re excited to slow down a bit and catch up on lots of family time. 

The photography business has been amazing this year, thanks to so many sweet clients. If you’re one reading this, know I am extremely grateful for you. The time I've spent talking with you and hanging out with your family is the most joyful part of this job. I hope to see you in 2018 as well!

But in the meantime, I'm trying to capture every moment of Tucker's first​ Christmas. I'm trying to bake all cookies and see all the lights. I'm trying to savor every day left of 2017. 

Because this year has been good to us. 

With love, 
Laura 

Kristie Lea Photography