A whole year has went by since I first saw his sweet face. I could say that he stole my heart, but of course, that’s a given.

At the end of his one-year photo session, his momma handed me a card to fill out. The back of the card says, “first visitor”. It’s for his scrapbook, to be filled out by the first person to visit him in the hospital. It is basically a list of “hopes” with blank spaces to be filled in. What a privilege I have… an honor, really. <3

So, this sweet card gave me an idea. With each of my Birth and First 48 clients, I will feature a “my hopes” blog post. The card is small, so I’ll elaborate here.

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My Hopes for Dylan

I hope you learn a lot. I’m not really sure if this counts as a “hope” because I know that you’ll learn a lot. I’m just excited to see what you do with what you learn.

I hope you love ALL. As you grow, you’ll encounter so many different people, from all walks of life. Some will be nice, some will be mean. Some will make your life seem a little sweeter and some may try to do the opposite. Some will like your favorite ice cream flavor, and some won’t eat ice cream.  It’s important that you love them all, despite your differences. They say that the hardest people to love are usually the people who need it the most. Choose to love.

I hope you get good grades in school. 🙂

I hope you laugh often! Life is SO much better when it’s paired with laughter.

I hope you ignore people who speak badly of you. Let’s face it, it happens to everyone. Understand that their ill-spoken words say so much about them, but they really have nothing to do with you.

I hope you become anything that you want to be. Maybe you’ll follow in daddy’s footsteps and become a farmer… or maybe you’ll be a doctor, or a firefighter, or a chef, or a… photographer. 😉

I hope you respect your parents. Always. Believe me when I say that mother really does know best.

I hope you grow and learn from your brothers, but do not BE your brothers. I’ve been photographing your brothers for the past 5(ish?) years, kiddo. You’ve got some awesome big brothers. I sorta love them. It’s important that you take lessons from them, but you find your own path.

I hope you aren’t afraid to follow your dreams. I hope that you find your passion and I hope that you follow it and I hope that you never ever ever give up (okay, I added a couple extra “I hopes”).

I hope you never forget how much you are loved. Take it from someone who was there in the hospital during your first moments… you’re IMMENSELY loved, kid.

Love,

Taylor

xo