Monday, September 26, 2011

The shot of the Summer

This has got to be my favorite shot from our summer. Taken the week after hurricane Irene hit this beach.

My three most favorite people in the whole world... together...walking into the ocean...I just love them!



entered into the I Heart Faces peoples challenge

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Modeling for Kenabows

Last week we received the items from our first booking with Little Diamond Models. A candy corn themed bow tie for Freddie and headband for Bella to model from Kenabows.
I knew the props I would use for this shoot straight away but had to put a bit of thought into their outfits. I knew in my head what would be perfect but whether I could pull it all together from the contents of their wardrobes was another matter.

Freddie was pretty easy, white polo shirt and amazingly I found that he had some shorts with the same shade of orange in it to match his bow tie. It was a checked pattern, so far more interesting and eye catching than a plain solid colored pair of short.

I desperately hoped I'd find something black or orange for Bella to wear but we had no luck! So I had to think about the coordination with Freddie and what would work together. I then noticed her white dress, but still it was missing something. Luckily remembered some leg warmers I had bought Freddie when he was younger...they were black!! Now to decide if she should wear them on her arms or legs? We tried them on both, but it was a definite yes for her legs on this occasion!
Her outfit was still missing something... but thankfully I am a horder and pretty crafty because I found some orange ribbon tucked away in my odds and ends box and it immediately tied her whole outfit together.

I shot Bella's photo shoot first. I knew I'd only get the shots I wanted of Bella if she had my complete attention and no big brother running around. So as soon as we got back from taking Freddie to preschool that morning I set up, being careful it was not too close to any other distractions (i.e. swings!!!) whilst she watched some TV.
The best thing about doing it this way was that as soon as I took her out already dressed up she was keen to check out the "set".
It was great to have somewhere for her to sit as it kept her still long enough for me to snap and the props kept her busy rather than running off.
Freddie's and the joint session happened the following day in the afternoon. The sun annoyingly kept peeking out from behind the clouds and seemingly at the times where I would get good smiles! so the inevitable shadows kept happening. I reluctantly moved the setup to the only shaded area...near the swingset! I had to put up with trying to push Bella on the swings with one hand and taking photos of Freddie with the other...luckily I am a great multitasker!

Overall the shoots went smoothly and I was extremely pleased with the results. 

Here are the photos...





















Monday, September 19, 2011

A Touch of Sun



I took this shot of my mother with my children in August when they visited us for a week from England. I love the sun fighting it's way through the trees, the sun flare, and of course the subjects!

This has been entered into the I Heart Faces "touch of sun" weekly challenge.
To see more entries click the button below.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Big School for a Little Guy

I love this photo, my oldest son Freddie only just turned 3 in August and started preschool last week.

It's just as if he is in total owe of the big school building, the big kids and the big "step" he's about to take into starting his new schooling life.

Good Luck Freddie, we know you'll do great.

You can see more photos from his first day at school here


This photo has been entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge. To see other back to school photos click here

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Freddie Starts Preschool

Well Freddie first day of preschool came round last week. It was a BIG event for us. Freddie has never been to daycare or anything where he's been apart from me, I am so lucky to have been able to be a stay at home mum with him his whole life. I can even count on my 2 hands the number of times he's stayed with my parents or sister for a no more than a couple of hours at a time.

Since January when we went to the preschool open day (when we first moved this this area), Freddie has been excited about his new school. I would keep telling him when you are 3 you can go to school, but 8 months is a LONG time in the eyes of a 2 year old!

I was anxious about how he would be on the actual day, I knew that if he was unsure, worried or scarred I would find it heartbreaking to leave him. But I must be very lucky because he was perfectly fine. I explained to him the night before what would be happening and on the day he said bye and went straight to playing with the train table. It was far too easy! It was another story when I went to pick him up though. As soon as he saw me he started crying...the teachers said he's been fine the whole time and most of the other children also cried when they saw their parents so I guess it was just the emotions of having me back! Everyday since then he has asked to go back to school, even on the weekend so I guess he enjoyed it really!

I took Freddie back there at the weekend anyway, just to take some "start of school" photos of him. As on his real first day I wanted to keep things simple for his sake.

He refused to let me remove his "Thomas" tattoo! But I left it in these photos to remember how he was and what he loved at age 3!

His school bag and lunchbox is a Dart-frog Stephen Joseph go-go bag. I wanted to get him something that he wouldn't get bored with quickly, there were so many designs to choose from all equally as precious, it was a tough job for me to decide but Freddie picked the frogs immediately, he loved it! Throughout the summer he was changing the "character" he wanted on his backpack from week to week, so thankfully I didn't buy one of those.

When this bag arrived I was so so pleased with it, I was amazed by the quality, it will definitely last him through the year and beyond. Any dirt will easily wipe down, and it's very sturdy and strong. It's the perfect size to fit his school folder in plus anything else he may need yet doesn't looking too large and uncomfortable on a small 3 year old. The lunchbox is fully insulated and has a velcro strap to hold his drink in place inside. I love that he can easily unzip this himself unlike conventional lunchboxes that he struggles with. I love the bright, bold colors on it, and the applique frogs are pretty cute. I am actually thinking of buying my youngest daughter one from the range now even though she won't be really needing it for another 2 years, because I already know we will buy her one from this range anyway!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Messy with Paints

A picture from the day I let my kids loose on plain white lining paper, with only poster paint to use and no paint brushes! 


I am entering this into the I heart faces "white" photo challenge...well, it was white to begin with ;)

see more from this set here





Mini Artists

I set the kids loose on some plain white lining paper, we started of very clean and proper and ended up...well...painted! Perfect for our playroom walls, both the original art they created as well as the photographs of the process!