My Sweet Monnie-Lilly-Lulie-Lally

I remember when I was dating Kev, it had been about a year, and Kev’s sister was prepping for her second baby.  I remember being so excited when I got to watch her oldest, Drew, with Kev while she was in labor with Mon.  That feels like a week ago to me, and now here I am taking her senior pictures because she’s graduating HS already!!  How does that happen???  Monica was my first little chick, my first favorite girl in the whole entire world.  Not to mention, she and her brothers were my very first subjects from behind the lens of a point-and-shoot- film camera.  I mean, there may be an image of Monica with a “little red riding hood” dance outfit on, standing on a white bed sheet that I had hung from their fireplace and used my point-and-shoot to snap some pictures of her.  LOL  Oh the good old days!

Monica and her brothers have lived out in Elmira, NY since she was 6 months old, and Kevin and I used to spend every free second we had out there with them.  Lots of weekends and school vacations were spent in Elmira with all four of the Reilly kiddos.  Those were some of my favorite times… listening to Monica’s dad blare Seal , Elton John & Journey music on a Saturday morning while we were all hanging out having breakfast and chasing four kids around the house.

I am so excited for all Monica has ahead of her.  An exciting senior year of school, some great years in trade school, some love, some laughs, inevitably some tears, and then a fabulous career as a medical aesthetician (did I spell that right?) who has every joy in life she deserves.  She is capable of becoming and doing anything and everything she wants, and I can’t wait to see where life takes her.

Every time we left from a trip to Elmira, I would always leave notes under the kids’ pillows, so they would find them when they went to bed.  Most of the time, my notes would say the same thing.  I think it’s only appropriate that I end this post in the same way:

I love you all the time and every day…

xoxo