Through Their Eyes

One of the best things about having wee ones in your life is the opportunity to experience the world anew through their eyes. As they roam their environment, touching everything (and putting a fair bit of it in their mouths) they are learning about the outside world one bit at a time. They pick things up with no concept of how light or heavy that thing will be. They are entranced by the bark of a tree, blades of grass, or bumpy barnacles. For them, everything is a wonder. Watching children encounter something for the first time is so refreshing, and it makes me appreciate the world around me in a different way.

To photograph the Homeward cardigan I headed down to the beach with my niece Emma. When we got down to the beach she immediately took off her shoes, ran her little toes through the sand for the very first time and looked up with wonder. She was completely smitten with the sensation of the moving earth beneath her. We tried to get her to sit down on some pretty driftwood for a moment, but she just wasn’t having it. All she wanted was to drag her feet through the silky sand over and over again. She couldn’t stop moving and it was a joy to watch… if a little difficult to capture! Emma laughed and ran (and tripped and fell), all while smiling and laughing. It was a reminder to me to take the time to enjoy those fleeting moments. Her sense of amazement made me kick off my sandals, sink my toes in, and take the time to enjoy that sensation too.

Child wearing a chunky v-neck cable cardigan with diamond and bobble cable panels and garter stitch.

As the sun went down the beach began to turn colder. Emma was still toasty, wrapped in her cardigan; a little love from Aunty Alexa. We watched the sun set over the Pacific and then headed back up to our campsite, happy and warm. Emma experienced the feeling of soft sand under her feet for the first time, and while I’ve felt it many times before, it felt like a new experience for me too. ~ Alexa