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This is part of the 52 Portraits weekly photo collection. See more portraits at Jodi's. 

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

We like to read out loud to ourselves.  And no matter the book, we always revolve back around to the story about the cow.  "No cow, bad cow."  Often slurred over with the pacifier in our mouth.  And though we love to have Mama read to us, over and over again, especially the one about the baby wearing all over the world and the ones with rhymes, we also enjoy tearing out pages and bending the covers beyond recognition.  We haven't quite yet associated fondness with care.

We sometimes wear Daddy's old earphones as fashion accessories.

My husband has departed, and it's the two of us now, until we can join him in Wales.  I think of watery winters and mild summers, clumps of hydrangea as big as cabbages and creamy buttercups, plunging hills peppered with sheep, the jagged rocks of the Irish sea.  There's a story in Gwynedd of how a young Merlin buried treasure in a cave after he saved his life in service to Vortigern.  It is said he prophesied a native child with blue eyes and blond hair would be the one to to discover it, lying dormant and glittering in a cave of Snowdonia.  I half belief that child is mine.

He, with the curious defiance of a frisky northern wind.  It's like he's too wild for this tame land of wide, flat neon green and retirees.  I can see him running, tripping in mud, his cheeks windburned and his smile a-chatter from the thrill of cold.  But just tame enough to come home to a hot cup of tea in the evening.

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Last week, I was floored by the gorgeous photos of Eliza, all soft pinkness and light; the perspective in this shot of the two boys; and Lamb Loves Fox is always an eye-catcher.  Splash, splash, I can almost feel the startling drops, so much movement!  Also, these little things.  c;

I find myself inspired and my resolution renewed each week browsing these photo collections.  Everyone has  styles unique to their vision and environment, at all levels of skill and learning, and each good though differing drastically from the next.  I think there is something to this: we are capturing children, apples in our eyes and hearts bursting with affection.  It's hard for that not to show through in our portrait-taking.