Mixed Nuts: Flash Back Friday

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Friday, September 27, 2013

Flash Back Friday

I was working on a project for Arlington the other day, and during that time I came across some old pictures of her when she was little.

We didn't blog when she was a baby, so I don't really have pictures on here before she was 4 years old. While there are 1000's and 1000's and I could go on forever, I just picked out a couple. They aren't necessarily my favorite pictures, but the ones I came across in this file I found.

It is funny how you don't remember much about their babyhood - even though she isn't that old. I look at the pictures and can't remember what she sounded like, and the funny things she said. I am glad I have their baby books to help me keep track.

So just a few pictures of Arlington from "back when". Enjoy!

This first picture is Arlington at 5 months old. This girl did everything early. She was sitting up by then and she was so small that people used to gawk at her when we were out. She was always a determined little baby. She talked at 9 months, walked at 10 months and has been a motor of activity ever since. The dress she is wearing is one my parents brought back on from a trip to Hawaii. We were living in San Diego when Arlington was this age, so Hawaii wasn't very far to go!

This next picture was taken when Arlington was 10 months old. She hasn't gotten much bigger from the last picture, and really doesn't have any more hair! She was a baldy for a long time. We were home in Pennsylvania visiting for my SIL's wedding, and decided to take some pictures with the fall foliage. We were still living in San Diego, so Arlington didn't really get to see leaves fall off the trees. She was fascinated with them being all over the ground and just picked on up and we snapped the picture. One of our favorite pictures of her of all time.

This next one, she is about 1 year old. Still not much hair, but I was determined to give that girl a pony tail! It stuck straight up and we were always laughing about it. We were still in San Diego (we lived there until she was almost 2) and each year the town up from ours would have this field of flowers that would bloom and you could walk through them. We were having a tough time getting her to go into the flowers without us. They were taller than her (as you can see) so she wasn't thrilled. But we finally got a picture before she freaked.

Ah - the next one. The hair! The crazy! This is the true girl she still is today. She climbed up on this chair and thought she would help herself to our computer. She is almost two here -we were getting ready to move to Florida by this time. Her hair was - and still is - unruly. It would grow all different lengths and it was fine and thin. But she didn't care. She didn't want me to mess with it so.....there you go.

This next one is soon after we moved into our house in Florida. She was starting a new preschool, so we took her picture. She still let me dress her up a bit at this age, but she didn't love it. Her hair has gotten quite a bit darker, and has really filled in. Unlike Finley - her hair really started to grow around this age, which is about 2 1/2 years old. She is still an only child at this time, but only for another year. I loved this picture because she looks so sweet and innocent. She also looks a bit sad, but it was only because she didn't want to be bothered. This girl wanted to GO darn it, and this picture taking thing was for the birds.

Ah - our first Thanksgiving in Florida. By this time we have survived our first hurricane and have settled in. Arlington is becoming quite the young lady. She is almost 3 years old in this next picture. She was quite the ham, so she went around the house, got some of our fall decorations, and set herself up. This is an only child for so long that she knows what to do:

Another one of my favorite pictures is next because this is SO HER. This girl did not like to nap. She didn't need sleep she told me, yet at least once a week I would find her asleep on the couch in the late afternoon - cup in hand. She could fall asleep anywhere, and once she WAS asleep, she slept like a stone. I could run the vacuum and she wouldn't even flinch.

This next one is hysterical because this speaks to Arlington's character to this day. Arlington was never girly. When I first found out Arlington was going to be a girl, I went out and bought the most girly dresses and outfits I could find. That lasted about a year and then she wanted no part of it. She is still that way - choses jeans and casual clothes over dresses and skirts most days. She still likes to look classy, but she doens't like to look ultrafeminine (exact opposite of Finley).

After much waiting, and much asking, Arlington became a big sister when she was 3 1/2 years old. For a long time I mourned for her - her loss of having just Mat and I to herself. But I realized how foolish that was because she was born to be a big sister. She and Finley still rarely fight, and they are the best of friends. This picture was so fun - just look at how she is studying her baby. She was enamored by her from day one and still is.