We have just returned from our family vacation in Jamaica. Sadly, we were struck by a stomach bug while we were there and spent more time ill than healthy, but we still tried our best to make the most of our time by the pool and on the beach. And while most of the photos I took were on my iPhone, I did manage to drag out my camera a few times. And I'm thankful I did.
Happy New Year! After a 3-week holiday with my family, I'm back to work this week. It feels good to be setting goals and making resolutions for 2014. Already it looks like January is going to be a busy month with lots of babies on the way. And above is my own – Brooke at 8 months.
It is hard to believe that my baby girl is three years old today! And like most three-year-olds, Robin is not interested in standing still for anything these days, especially not for me and my camera. So I literally had to chase her around the yard this past week, shouting out my bribes and begging her to stand in one spot. Like a crazy person. And I have to admit, I always finds myself emotional and nostalgic around holidays and thus a little bit crazy. And it looks like my kid's birthdays are turning out to be no different. But nevertheless, I'm glad my craziness resulted in these. My sweet little Robin, who likes to remind me that she is no longer a baby...
Nor is she a big girl.
She's a duck.
I'm late posting these as she is almost 6 months now... time is flying by.
It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 3 months since our little Brooke came into our lives. “Brookie”, as Robin calls her, definitely feels like part of the Walker clan now. When Robin talks about her family, she always includes her "baby girl sister" (not to be confused with a "baby boy brother"). She's eager to help with Brooke's bath and bedtime and is always trying to give Brooke toys. Now if only she could grasp the concept of "gentle"... Thankfully, Brooke has come out of that insanely fussy newborn stage (man, what is it with weeks 6 to 9!?! ). She's almost always happy and to my delight, gives me smiles and coos all day long.
All tuckered out...
And here are a few shots of "life" taken over the last 6 weeks. It's crazy how quickly they grow and change.
Good morning big sister!
Toes
Daddy and his girls
Helping mom with the laundry
"Here you go Brookie"
The "great flood of 2013"
My big girl...
I've started shooting again (already booking into September!) and there are so many bumps and babies this summer – how fitting! I'm going to be catching up on some blog posts over the next couple of weeks so stay tuned. Lots of baby-goodness coming your way.
This is going to the fastest post I've ever written. And it's probably going to have some mistakes because I don't have time to think much about what I'm writing and there is definitely no time for proofreading. That's just how things are these days. I've got 30 minutes before I need to be out the door and my hair still needs to be blow-dryed. Brooke is 6 weeks old today. And coincidentally, we're also having a bad day. I'm bouncing her in her bouncy seat with my left foot right now. She should be sleeping but she's going through a phase where she wakes up every 15 minutes. I actually sort of feel sorry for her – it must be torturous not to be able to stay asleep more than 15 minutes. Either way, this phase has set us up for a bad day. That, and it's cold and rainy. Depressing all around.
I had planned to do photos of Brooke to document 6 weeks. But I decided against it this morning when I looked outside and saw nothing but grey clouds, and when I quickly realized that Brooke wasn't going to be happy (and by "happy", I mean not crying) unless she was in my arms. I gave up on getting anything "done" and eventually settled down to rock her and surf the web on my iPad, something I seem to do a lot of these days. I landed on one of my favourite blogs, Let The Kids, and had my breath taken away by very a moving blog post featuring a fellow photographer and mom, Amy Grace, who is also a very talented writer. The post starts with an excerpt from her blog:
“i have said to myself, at my son’s bath time, hundreds of times: “i wish we had pictures of us here.” because here is as close as it gets, as full of comfort and longing at once. here is where we live. this is the feeling of us, the feeling of the memories on my skin, tattooed in my heart, with pictures like dense spirals of smoke.….i love these because they are true. they are not a set up. they are instant nostalgia. i took a picture of it, instead of waiting, or lamenting the passing of this time later. he is wading the waters between baby and boy, and i am holding his hand, helping him find his balance. he helps me find my own too. the antidote to the dark and twisty parts of me still trying to find their way out. and when they do now, they are met with this crazy light of a boy. ”
I was inspired to get off my butt, grab my camera and capture the complete and utter chaos that is my life today. Dirty dishes, groceries waiting to be put away, piles of laundry, a crying baby, the contents of our dining room hutch piled on our kitchen table ( a long story), my unwashed hair, unmade beds... you get the jist of it.
So when it comes time to put together Brooke's first photo book, we won't have a pretty shot of her sleeping peacefully or wearing a cute outfit. We'll have these – real photos from the day she was 6 weeks old.
And finally, she slept long enough that I could squeeze in a shower and upload these photos. About 15 minutes...
It has been almost 5 weeks now since Brooke joined our family and things are finally settling down and starting to feel normal – the new normal, that is. Kyle and I are head over heels in love with our new baby girl during the day, although she's less than our favourite person during the night. Robin has accepted that Brooke is here to stay and is embracing her role as big sister – reminding us daily that Brooke used to be in Mom's tummy (yep, that's right – I'm "Mom" these days, not Mommy). I'm taking photos as much as possible, and often just on my iphone, but it's tough when you're chasing after a preschooler and taking care of a newborn (I'd totally forgotten how much attention a newborn really does need – the few minutes I get to myself needs to be used for the vitals - washroom, food & sleep!). So my goal is to at least mark the milestones with my camera – one month old being one of them. These shots were taken last Friday afternoon at 4 weeks and 1 day, and it worked out perfectly that Robin woke up from her nap just as I was getting started. We made it about 10 minutes just hanging out on our bed, with Robin singing songs and cuddling with Brooke. But then the camera had to be hastily put away and Brooke rescued from Robin's interpretation of "5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed"
We welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Brooke Helen, into the world last Thursday. It’s been an amazing week to say the least, filled with so much love and support from our friends and family. Robin is adjusting well to her new role as big sister and is so far eager to hug and kiss Brooke, share her toys and oversee that Brooke always has a blankie (just like hers). Although I’m still recovering from the birth, sleep deprived, and hormonal, I’ve never felt so happy. Cheesy, but true.
I finally spent a few minutes snapping some photos of Brooke yesterday, at 7 days old.
And a few highlights from her first week...
The painters are upstairs working away as I type this post (yes, painters – don't judge). This was Robin's last morning in her nursery (although she may end up sleeping in there a few more nights until her new room is set up). But it won't be the same now that all of her things have been moved out and the walls are changing colour. I'm excited for her to sleep in a real bed and have a bit more space for toys a books, but it was heartbreaking to take down the artwork and essentially "tear apart" the space that has been hers for the past 2 years. Time has gone by so quickly and I will cherish the memories I have of us together in here – hours of nursing in the rocker, quiet afternoons reading books and a smiling face peeking out from the crib bars in the morning. I was only able to snap a few photos as I told her that it was time to get ready for school. I had planned to not rush the morning, but once she picked our her favourite Sesame Street t-shirt to wear, she was was dressed in about 20 seconds flat and running out the door. Sniff sniff.
Of all books to choose to look at on this morning... one of our favourites.
And a quick peak at her soon-to-be new room! I had hoped to get a "before" shot before the light fixture went up, but this change happened unexpectedly last night. (Go Kyle! and the electrician that he paid...)
Ready for the move.
Some of you may have noticed that my website and blog have been down for little while... okay, a LONG while. Back in the early fall (heading into my busiest time of the year), I had the bright idea to work with a designer and combine both my portfolio and blog into one site, and alas it look a bit longer than expected. But over the holidays, we finally got it up and running and I am so thrilled to be back online. There has been lots going on over the past few months, so watch out for tons of blog posts coming your way. I was so lucky to have an amazing two week break over Christmas and New Years, with Kyle off work the whole time! (Okay, he went to the office for 1 day, which was okay because I also squeezed a wedding in there and my first family shoot of 2013). Regardless, the last two weeks were awesome – filled with lots of quality time with Kyle and Robin (more time spent together than our honeymoon!), tons of gatherings with family and friends, amazing presents from Santa (so spoiled!), food, more food, and then some more food, and to top it all off – a few amazing snow days!
Life is good and I'm looking forward to sharing more over the next little while. Stay tuned :-)
