The C Family | Toronto Family Photographer

Happy Monday! It's always nice to have some good online distractions as you ease yourself back into the work week – so here's a fun family shoot from a few weeks ago. It was during that crazy week where it would go from sunny to pouring rain in about 60 second flat, then back to sunny (I got caught in the rain at least 3 times that week!). Luckily, I arrived for this shoot right after a massive downpour of rain, only to find beautiful hazy sunlight, along with a pretty awesome family to go with it!

Jess, Jay + Bump | Toronto Maternity Photographer

I mentioned that I've been shooting again over the past few weeks – so it's time to start showing it! Although it can be tough to be away from Brooke while she's so young, it's also a nice break and it feels so good to be holding the camera and focused on nothing else but my lovely subjects. And this shoot was particularly awesome because Jessica and Jay are good friends of ours, and they are expecting their first baby in just a couple of weeks. We couldn't be more thrilled for them.  

We booked a sitter and spent an entire Saturday evening with Jay & Jess. We started at their new house and then headed to the Ancaster Old Mill. It was fun to have Kyle as my assistant for the evening and by the end I was a sweaty mess with muddy feet (I took my chances with a swamp in hopes of a great shot). Relaxing with a glass of wine was the perfect ending. A beautiful sunset, catching up with good friends, Pinot Grigio and dinner. That's my kinda night.

Twelve weeks already?!?

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!ToesDaddy and his girlsHelping 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.

the not so pretty...

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...

life at 'almost' 5 weeks...

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"

My newest muse... Introducing Brooke

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...

Baby L | Toronto Newborn Photographer

Last summer, I had the pleasure of spending a beautiful day capturing this couple's wedding vows and reception up in Muskoka...  And 9 months later, I was delighted to meet the newest addition to their family!  He might look like a tiny peanut, but he was actually born early and still weighed in at a good size. This guy takes after his Daddy!

Baby G | Toronto Baby Photographer

This family is near and dear to my heart as we've become friends over the past 2 years. Last summer, they welcomed a fourth member into the family – baby G. We had a beautiful summer day for G's newborn photos. And 6 months later (on a much colder February day), I spent some time again with baby G. His mom and I agree that this is just one of the sweetest stages that babies go through. They're sitting up, but not yet crawling or walking. And they are still so happily entertained by the simple things – toes and feet, Sophie the giraffe, and of course Mom's smiling face...

Oh my, don't you just want to squeeze him!?! 6-7 months is a GREAT age for a photo session and I (although biased) highly recommend it. It's a time that goes by much too fast.

Amy + Chris | Toronto Wedding Photographer

This will brighten up your Monday! When our friends Amy and Chris decided to get married, they opted to head to the west coast in May for an intimate ceremony with only their parents as witnesses. A few months later in July, they threw an awesome party to celebrate in Amy's sister's backyard with delicious food, beautiful DIY decor, and all of their family and closest friends.

Dress: Sarah Seven. Purchased at White Bridal (Toronto, ON). Jenny Yoo belt Catering: Chef and Wife (Dundas, ON) Cake: Sweetness Bakery (Dundas, ON) Rentals: Ancaster Party Rental (Ancaster, ON) Hair: JC Salons (Toronto, ON) Invitations: pixelpaper on Etsy.com Decorations: "bit of a mix and match"  Some purchased from  BHLDN (Anthropologie's bridal website), and some from West Elm (Toronto, ON)

Change is in the air...

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.