Riley is the fourth of four daughters. Since the first daughter was about 18 months, I have had a habit of singing them to sleep. I am a horrible singer, and I know exactly three songs. So far, those three have sufficed.

One night, my wife sang “Beth” to her. Now it’s her favorite. She requests it. Actually, she demands it.

I have the song on my iPhone, so I play it for her rather than sing it. It’s a bit much for my no-talent voice.

After playing it last night, Riley decided to sing. Thank you Voice Recorder app.

Age 35 months.

I try to read to my girls every night. I fail sometimes, and weekends can be dicey, but it’s a tradition. For more than 10 years now, most nights I read to my girls at bedtime.

The other night I was waiting for my 12-year-old, and my wife came upstairs. Isabel had made a mess with fingernail polish, which she’s not allowed to use upstairs.

My wife was admonishing her, also pointing out some of the other damage she had done to her room.

And something amazing happened. Isabel stood there, toe-to-toe, arguing and defending herself.

She was acting like such a big girl.

And it blew my mind.

You see, Isabel’s tall. My wife’s average height, so there’s not all that much difference between them.

So there stood this tall slender young woman standing up for herself.

And it almost made a tear come to my eye. She’s 2/3 of the way to 18, the date we associate with “independence.”

Isabel has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, so her social behavior sometimes lags behind her age and other cognitive development.

But during that argument, she just seemed so grown up.

And I’m just not ready for that.

All right, now for a funny story about Isabel that will likely cause her to kill me later.

As soon as the girls started to be able to bathe themselves, we would always remind them to make sure to clean their neck, armpits, and “butt.”

We didn’t think much about this. Just quick instructions.

But it had the unintended consequences that they call pretty much everything that is covered by underwear their “butt” despite knowing the proper terms.

So the other day, Isabel is with a friend of ours, who has a 10-year-old daughter, the same age as one of Isabel’s sisters.

Somehow the topic turned to the kids getting older, at which time Isabel said:

“Oh yeah, wait until you start growing hair on your butt!”

Heaven help me.

Summer teaching interrupted my attempt to get caught up with this Project 365, but now I will redouble my efforts to get caught up this summer.

Here’s a photo of some hot coals at Aguirre Springs campground outside of Las Cruces, N.M.

It has been a family tradition to picnic here with my kids and parents for years.

Shot: Canon EOS Rebel T1i w/ Canon EFS 18-55mm

1/400 sec, aperture priority, f/5.0, ISO 400, focal length: 43 mm

Photoshop: auto levels

Shot: Canon EOS Rebel T1i w/ Canon EFS 18-55mm

1/1300 sec, aperture priority, f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length: 55 mm

Photoshop: auto levels, slight crop

Maybe that’s because I realize that soon there will come a day where no little girl falls asleep in the car and gets carried to the couch.

And that makes me sad.

So, until that day comes, I’ll pay especially close attention to Riley sleeping.

Shot: Canon EOS Rebel T1i w/ Canon EFS 18-55mm (tripod)

1/6 sec, aperture priority, f/4, ISO 1600, focal length: 27 mm

Photoshop: auto levels, slight crop

Watching Chloé grow and mature in her first season of soccer has given me tremendous pride.

At many times, her footwork and ball handling evidence her first-year status.

But she shows the tenacity and toughness that I try to instill in my girls.

She tries hard and wants to win the ball. She takes small misfortunes on the field personally, and they drive her to fight harder.

No one can predict where her talent and desire will propel her. But she shows the fire of a champion.

And that brings me more joy than any raw talent ever could.

Shot: Canon EOS Rebel T1i w/ Sigma 300 mm lens (lens made for film EOS)

1/3000 sec, manual, f/4, ISO 200, focal length: 300 mm (not adjusted)

Photoshop: auto levels