365

This kid.

On Lili's fourth birthday, I embarked on my first ever 365 photography project, vowing to take a single picture of her every day from her fourth to fifth birthdays. Today, I've amassed 156 images...or 157...or somewhere around there. I sense that a few days may have been lost in the shuffle. For the most part, though, she and I have stayed jointly on task, and our collection should be complete come next spring. There's something intangibly swift about the progression from four to five, when both parent and child attempt to navigate the inevitable changes (full-day kindergarten, anyone?), while still encouraging and strengthening the essential ties to childhood. By necessity, many of the images I've captured thus far reflect the obligatory minutiae of our everyday--naps, art projects, meals, bath time (life with a preschooler isn't always as glamorous or photo worthy as one might think). Occasionally, though, I'm fortunate to snap a money shot that successfully captures the essence of Lili. Pink tutu. Saggy knee socks. Hello Kitty shoes. Socks and shoes a physical reminder of Mama's daily negotiations surrounding required leg and footwear, and the ensuing upstairs battle cries. A reminder of our last fall day spent out of doors, pieces of bare skin exposed, climbing trees and building squirrel traps (don't worry, Grandma Kool--the squirrels have not been lured by the empty egg carton bated with crab apples and dry leaves). Photographic evidence of our fearless, climbing girl, tinged with her trademark girlish trappings.

As with most things, I do this for Lili. My hope is that, as an adult, she will see my encompassing love for her, the sincerity with which I parent her, reflected in these images. All love resides primarily in the details, after all, and it is in the bits and pieces of the everyday that we coalesce to make ourselves whole. As children, as parents, and as a family. For 365 days and counting.