One year ago, I gave birth to a tiny human named Zelda. One year later, I can honestly say that all of the clichés of parenthood are entirely true. I’ve spent the year in awe of this little being, watching her grow and learn. It’s been the biggest roller coaster of my life—from sleepless nights in tears to hearty laughs and moments of absolute astonishment. I’ve made new friends along the way. I’ve laughed out loud daily. I’ve reinvigorated my interest in photographing families and newborns.
When I was seven months pregnant, I downloaded an iPhone app called “One Second Everyday.” I had seen the app creator speak at the World Domination Summit out in Portland, Oregon in 2013 (yes, I went to a conference called the World Domination Summit), and after watching a similar video project, I was determined to make this a family project for Zelda’s first year of life. It took a ton of dedication, but now that we can look back on her first year through this project, I’m so happy that we did it. Every second brings back the memories associated with it.
Before Zelda’s birthday party yesterday, I set up my camera for my dad so that we could get a few family photos. I spend way too much time behind the camera, and I wanted to make a point to get a few photos with all three of us to display in the house once our first floor renovation is done.
