“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” – Rumi
This post is honestly just for Ez and me. I’m putting it together almost a year later. This was a difficult time in our lives and I lost interest in this blog. After Laurie passed we decided to pack up our apartment in Minneapolis and Alexandria and move to Iowa to be with Dave. I was quite alright leaving Alexandria but Minneapolis was challenging for me. I had so many memories there because of Indra and our place was just starting to feel like home. This was a time of nostalgia and sadness. I just wanted a place to put together pictures so that I could remember some of the sweetness as well.
I never took Indra to a photographer for 3, 6 and 9 month pictures. So every few months I’d try to capture some of her sweetness on my own.
Celebrating Ezra’s cousin’s wedding. Indra loved all the attention from family and the dancing!
Daddy-daughter dance : )
Just hangin’ out and playing at Nana and Papa’s.
We made a concerted effort around this time to spend more time together as a family. Walks in the evening and grabbing a drink or food. At one point Indra actually liked avocados (in the form of guacamole) but this crazy kid has since changed her mind.
Imbibing in our drink of choice at our neighborhood brewery.
The day before Mother’s Day I got four hours to myself. It was magical. I got a massage and drank green juice and sat on our balcony and (almost) didn’t know what to do with myself! Ez took Indra out to watch one of the boys’ soccer games.
Mmmm, she makes that food look good.
My first Mother’s Day! Walk around the lake with coffee, a hillbilly pool on our balcony and a picnic at the park. What more could you want?
Naked cuteness. Indra, not Ezra!
Say “cheeseballs!” 
Checking out the rain.
10 months!
Cousins!
Indra’s first professional soccer game. Not a fan of all the noise.
Just wanting to remember what our apartment looked like.
Loves climbing on the gate and looking outside.
Enjoying Lake Harriet.
Sometimes I get sad thinking about how this sweet cuddliness will end all too soon. So I take pictures to remember this sweet chubbiness. 
Do you think these were posed? Ez was a little bit reluctant, I think he would have preferred to actually nap, but I wanted some photos of these two before Father’s Day. He may have fallen asleep while I was taking these.
They have a coffee date on the mornings I sleep in. They’re regulars.
At the zoo, watching the monkeys.
This may be my favorite picture of the two of us.
Indra’s favorite book.
Eating Nana’s camera.
Upgraded from our hillbilly pool.
How is she almost a year?
Babes, brews and books.
Don’t let this picture fool you. She absolutely hates being in the crib. We pretty much use it for decoration.
Helping me pack.
One of our last trips up to Alexandria. Thank god.
First Carousel ride, despite the smile, she was a little freaked.
A trip with Nana to the conservatory followed by a sleepover!
May not be a five star hotel, but it’s a bed.
New carseat! Such a big girl.
My daughter, who needs to touch at all times.
11 months!
We all went to Iowa for Laurie’s birthday. We spread some of her ashes around the yard and in her gardens. When we were finished this butterfly came and landed on all of us individually on the deck. She stayed with us for about 45 minutes. Even flying with us as we walked across the yard to the tree we planted for Laurie. It was one of the strangest and most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed. 
Almost packed up.
Pals
Low key first Father’s Day.
Poor Diesel is not doing very well. Indra was one of his only sources of joy.
Since our bed is packed and we’re sleeping on the floor, it’s hard to keep this one in bed. Sneaking off the read books. Stinker.
Picnic on the dock. Enjoying one of our last family strolls around the lake before we move.
Indra’s friends from the birth class and ECFE.
Feeling so damn nostalgic, which is not usually how I roll. Taking a last walk on the trail with Indra.
Getting ready to check-out for good. Last nap, last bath, last glance at our empty apartment. This is where I labored and brought my baby home. 
Diesel is not doing good. Ezra went and bought just about every kind of food available trying to tempt him to eat.
Although this time was melancholy, having family around made all the difference. Letting go can be hard and moving forward some times looks a little different than what you imagined.
cultivating joy 