Last week I wrote a post about raising emotionally intelligent children. It got me thinking quite a bit about the vast array of feelings my children express, even as early as toddlerhood. I am going to upcycle the photo collage I used for that post in order to link up with Memories Captured, hosted by Galit of These Little Waves and Alison of Wishing, Writing.
I have always been blown away by the fact that a simple facial expression can convey so much meaning, especially when you are a child and wear your heart, well, on your face. And pretty much everywhere else.
One of the things that jumped out as me as I pored over pictures of my daughter “expressing herself” was the fact that I could remember every single moment captured in the photos, simply by studying the look on her face. An ice cream cone at the zoo with Mommy. A terrifying first ride on a mechanical pony. The first ever manicure. A coveted treat left in the stocking by Santa. An announcement that it wasn’t quite time for birthday cake. The solemn discovery of a roly-poly in the garden.
I am planning to write a follow-up post to How To Raise Emotionally Healthy Children sometime in the next month, as the subject is just too immense for one post. In the meantime, here are some of the most notable emotions I could capture, as illustrated by my daughter.
Stop by the Memories Captured link-up and see the incredible photos being featured,
or share a post of your own!
Such adorable pictures of Izzy and I know exactly what you mean I can look at pictures of my girls and tell you exactly what they were thinking or feeling in each, too. Thanks for sharing and Happy Wednesday!! 🙂
Oh my goodness, she is a such a cutie pie! My little is also quite expressive with her face, so this totally made me smile! :)-Ashley
I love how people took so many directions with this! Little girls are so expressive. What a cutie, Steph!
Children do it best! Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
Her ‘indignant’ face is INCREDIBLE! You have some awesome expression shots there.
I would definitely have to go with “indignant” as my favourite. Reminds me a lot of my son 🙂
Oh Steph, this post, AS USUAL, was the best! It spiraled my inner eye right back to the 70s and 80s when my kids were tots! Both of my kids love to shuffle through the old photos. Many hours have been spent revisiting the stories around the photos. Now that Thor, our oldest grandchild, is almost 7, he goes through the photos, too, and asks for Grammy to tell him the stories that go with them. Alison and I are starting a scrapbook for him with pictures and stories. It won’t be chronological, just random pictures accompanied by delicious stories. Thanks for reminding me of how important it is to keep pictorial records of kids. In the future, the pictures may serve as guides to remind them of who they are and from whence they came 🙂 Hugs, Mary Beth
Well, as usual, your comments are the best, too! Thank you so much for that- and you expressed the value of capturing memories so perfectly! I haven’t forgotten that I owe you an email either- I am trying to figure out which advice is the best!
Oh I love the Content photo and of course you knew that I’d re-love on the indignant photo because, well, awesome. It’s so cool that simply looking at a photo brings back the memory of the moment. This is a cool concept for a hop – is it always on Wednesdays? (Our Land is Weds)
I could look at those faces ALL day!!!!
She is most certainly expressive! Her indignant face is adorable.
Thank you for linking up with us!
Thanks for stopping by, Alison! Loved this linkup!
Her range is impressive, have you ever thought that you perhaps could be raising an actress or a teacher since we need that too. Love it.