Loves is the first child. She has to set out into the unknown without any older brothers

and sisters guiding the way. She is often hesitant, not knowing where a new adventure

will lead, but she always comes back to something at her core, that every first child has to have: bravery.

So when we said we were going boating, she was hesitant, having never been before. This picture was her first trip, having gone on the tube first with her Dad then piping up that she wanted to go on her own.

We went boating again a few weeks later and, to our delight, she was  quite the entertainer-- devising a secret plan that as we were watching her bob along she grabbed onto the handles in the middle and stood up, riding the tube like a bull in a rodeo. She did it again and again. It was so wonderful seeing her really enjoy herself and have it be something that was just hers... (another hard thing about being the oldest).

I love my sweet Loves.