Week 24: Kristyn

Now I introduce you to my little baby sister Kristyn. I refuse to let her grow up, which I'm sure is really annoying to her.

I'll never forget the night I found out about her existence. I was so excited. I was no longer going to be the baby. I was eleven. Then she was born premature and in the hospital for a time, and I distinctly remember not thinking twice about cutting all my fingernails short that I had worked so hard to grow out; I didn't want to hurt her when I put my hand in the incubator because sometimes she'd wrap her tiny hand around my pinky finger.

I always forced her to let me take photographs of her as she was growing up way faster than I would have liked. Oh the pictures I could show you... I thought I was such a good photographer. She was such a good sport.

The things you should know about this beautiful girl is that she's not just a beautiful girl. She is so much more than that. She's hilarious. She's really intelligent. She's fun and spontaneous. She's full of life and adventure. She's kind and giving. She's caring and would do anything for anyone she cares about. She's worked extremely hard to get where she is. She is inquisitive. She's hopeful. She's athletic. And she's loving. She's a lot more things, but you get the idea.

I love this little girl (because she'll always be a little girl to me) more than anything. I want to protect her and keep her out of harms way. I want to fix everything for her. I want her to never feel any pain. I want to lead her in the right direction at all times. Unfortunately I can't do all these things for her.... but I hope and pray that somehow, being her big sister has helped her in some way. Because she means everything to me!

**This is part of the 52 portraits series**