Last spring, I read a book called The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff, and it ended up being the book that gave me my quote of the year: “The work of the artist is to freeze time.” As someone who loves taking pictures wherever I go, there’s almost nothing more satisfying to me than hearing the click of my own camera. There’s something so pure about capturing a good picture — the kind of picture that takes a moment in time and freezes it into a forever memory. A good picture is one you can look back upon — days, weeks, months, or years later — and be transported right back into the thick of it. Back to the laugh you shared with someone you love. Back into the sound of the waves crashing the shore at the beach. Back to the little joys that sometimes seem forgettable and the life-changing moments that made you shed a happy tear or two or three. That’s why I love taking pictures… I have all these frozen capsules I can close my eyes and jump back into. What’s not to love about that?

At the end of every year, I always take a moment to look back on the past year’s camera roll. Sifting through thousands of photos, it’s become a tradition of mine to make a highlight reel of some of my favorite memories as captured through the lens of my camera. 2025 is no different. In fact, in 2025, my camera roll saw many changes — the biggest of changes. Entering the year as a family of two, Alex and I saw our hopes of expanding our family turn into reality in November. From January to March, life was all about us, future tripping and dreaming of the day we’d become Mom and Dad to a tiny human. In March, I took a pregnancy test while Alex was on vacation in Colorado; staring at the positive result, I couldn’t fathom what kind of adventure we were about to embark on, but I was more excited about the prospect than I’d ever been. From March to November, my body changed, readying itself to meet our sweet Ava Jay. 2025 will always hold an extra special place in my heart for that very reason — it’s the year I found out I was going to be a mother and the year I actually became one. We ended the year sleep-deprived and tired, but our cup of love was always flowing over!

Looking through and pulling photos from 2025 was so much fun. In many ways, it feels like I lived three different lives in such a short amount of time. And though it took me a lot longer to get this posted than I originally intended (thanks, newborn trenches), I’m finally getting around to sharing it with you today. So, here it is: a collection of photos from my 2025 camera roll — 12 months of memories that illustrate life, love, and happiness in 2025. The best year yet!

Home — A January snow day.

Lake Rim Park — Quiet spaces.

Carvers Creek State Park — Walking through one of our happy places.

Carvers Creek State Park — Enjoying the cool winter air with doggo too. He loves Carvers Creek.

Home — Cozy cat.

Home — Silly selfies are my favorite.

Carvers Creek State Park — But first, coffee.

Home — A card from my husband for our golden dating anniversary. 14 years on February 14th 2025!

Carvers Creek State Park — Testing out my new tripod.

Carvers Creek State Park — The duality of NC. Snow and ice but it’s trying to warm up.

Sunset Beach, NC — A stroll through Bird Island Nature Preserve.

Sunset Beach, NC — Another tripod selfie.

Sunset Beach, NC — Love the contrast of the dunes with the blue sky.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — Last doggo beach trip of the season. Watching wind surfers.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — As the sun was starting to set. It’s giving 1989 (Taylor’s Version), amirite?

Home — The biggest blessing. The start of a new adventure. Took the test while Alex was on vacation in Colorado.

Carvers Creek State Park — Spring blooms on a day where my morning sickness wasn’t as bad.

Carvers Creek State Park — Finding out our baby was a GIRL!

Wrightsville Beach, NC — Early pregnancy beach trip! First one of the summer beach season.

Carvers Creek State Park — Snuck in an evening summer walk before sunset.

Carvers Creek State Park — My favorite person to be out and about with.

Downtown Southern Pines, NC — Little growing bump.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — Love this shot!

Wrightsville Beach, NC — Matching swimsuits.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — The beach, my happy place.

Wilmington, NC — Our first time on the NC Battleship. It was so hot.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — The day we ordered a beach pizza for the very first time. Life has never been the same.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — Beachy evenings.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — The perfect book for a summer beach read.

Home — Summertime Klein.

Downtown Fayetteville, NC — My forever wedding date!

Downtown Fayetteville, NC — Don’t be fooled, it was almost 100 degrees outside. We were very sweaty.

Wrightsville Beach, NC — They’re at the beach again!

Wrightsville Beach, NC — The bump starting to pop.

Milwaukee, WI — A baseball game with the fam.

Milwaukee, WI — Berky loves baseball.

Randolph, WI — Little sister :)

Lake Geneva, WI — A quick little day trip, spending the day with some of my favorites.

Kohler-Andre State Park — Bump Polaroid in Lake Michigan.

Kohler-Andre State Park — Loved spending time with my sweet niece on this trip.

Kohler-Andre State Park — Meandering the quiet trail.

Stevens Point, WI — Ice cream at Belts’!

OBX, NC — The first night of our second wedding anniversary trip.

OBX, NC — Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (under construction version).

OBX, NC — Bodie Island Lighthouse on a windy day.

OBX, NC — Right before a wave took us by surprise.

OBX, NC — Sunrise on the beach.

OBX, NC — The ferry ride to Ocracoke Island.

OBX, NC — A selfie with Ocracoke Lighthouse.

OBX, NC — A delicious taco from Eduardo’s. They closed for good at the end of the 2025 beach season. I think I’ll remember this taco forever.

OBX, NC — Some of our anniversary trip Polaroid memories.

OBX, NC — Feeling forever grateful to be able to experience the beach with Mogul.

OBX, NC — Cute little black clamshell.

OBX, NC — We each had a disposable camera for the summer months. We recently got them developed and I will share some of our favorite shots in another post soon.

OBX, NC — The sunrise on the morning of our second wedding anniversary. So worth the early wakeup call.

OBX, NC — Of course we celebrated our girl too!

OBX, NC — The bump at Jockey's Ridge State Park.

Home — Slowing it down post-anniversary.

Home — Happy bump moments in the backyard.

Home — The start of the NFL football season.

Home — Decorating for spooky season.

Millstone Creek Orchards — First time apple picking!

Millstone Creek Orchards — Searching for the perfect apple.

Millstone Creek Orchards — Of course we needed to see the bump at the orchard.

Millstone Creek Orchards — Two apples!

Millstone Creek Orchards — Such a fun date day.

Gross Farms — Annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

Gross Farms — We always find the best pumpkins.

Home — Just a selfie :)

Cameron, NC — Our friends threw us a baby shower.

Home — Trying to manifest a win for Green Bay.

Home — The way this picture brings me an immense amount of joy.

Home — I’m good for one red leaf photo each fall season.

Home — Halloween with doggo.

Home — Probably my favorite picture I’ve ever snapped of Klein.

Fayetteville, NC — High BP got me sent to the hospital for an early induction. Ready to meet our girl!

Fayetteville, NC — The last bump photo.

Home — The day we got discharged from the hospital.

Fayetteville, NC — Our sweet girl had to spend about a week in the NICU. It was a really hard time, but we’re glad she got the best care from her amazing nurses.

Fayetteville, NC — Holding baby girl after she graduated from her CPAP. Her sweet face.

Fayetteville, NC — The best day. Getting a call from the doctor and hearing him say, “I think today’s the day for your girl to come home!” When we got up to the NICU, the nurses had her dressed in her Ava onesie and ready to break free.