When Emily’s friends approached me about gifting her a maternity session just a week before her due date, I was so happy for her. To have such amazing friends understand how special pregnancy is, and to see how beautiful you are as you are creating a new life is not something to take for granted. These girls came together to support their friend and provided her with such a special gift.

The sun played tricks on us for most of the session, but came out from behind the clouds at just the right time. Emily and Dillon, congratulations on the birth of sweet Landon. I hope you cherish these photographs as your family grows, and I am looking forward to seeing you all again in December.

If you are looking for a Chatham-Kent Maternity Photographer, please fill out the contact form below!

The way Gryffin watches his big brother so intently is amazing to me. Already he is learning so much from Archer, and the times that Archer plays intentionally with him fills me up. He is so good to his little brother. When he cries, he says “It’s ok Bubby, I know, I know”. I realize this will not always be the case. Archer told Eric yesterday that he couldn’t wait for Gryffin to get “big big tall like me” so they could fight (what?). When Eric asked him why he wanted to fight with Gryffin, he replied “Because we will be big and strong brothers”. Greeeaaaaaaaaat.

In the meantime, I will enjoy the nice stacking of cups and looks of awe. And someone please remind me that I will miss the mess. I repeat, I will miss this mess one day.

In other news, Archer started skating lessons this year, sans parental involvement. He is doing great. On his first night he took a few small steps on his own, but mostly just stood amidst the chaos yelling that he had to pee, while no one could hear him. Or maybe the adolescent volunteers just weren’t sure what to do with that information…

He has designated this young lady as his favourite, and now follows her around the ice until she is able to give him one-on-one attention.

Maybe I should start doing blog posts of hilarious things Archer says. Cheers to toddler hilarity.

B

I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not always 100% engaged with Archer while we play (#momguilt). I mean, I know I can’t give him all of my attention all of the time, but there are times when I catch myself drifting. Spending too much time on my phone, thinking about work, chores, my endless to do list, instead of soaking up the moments that matter. I have a hard time letting go of those things. But on this gorgeous Monday morning, I made a point to leave my list and my phone inside as we walked out, and we just played. Talking trucks, learning to hang from the bars, getting wet bums from the dewy slide, and exchanging silly faces.

All of those things that make up my reality were still waiting for me when we came back inside, but miraculously it didn’t matter that I hadn’t done them yet.

And just so you think we forgot about Gryffin…

After finishing my 100 Days of Summer series and a very busy August, I decided to take a little break from my camera and not worry about picking it up daily. Although it felt good, it means I have barely any images from Week 35, hence why this post is for 2 weeks! It worked out nicely anyway, with the theme of the images being quite similar.

Archer is only getting better and better at this big brother thing. He loves hanging out with Gryff, and has started to want him to be with him while he plays, and even asks to wake him up while he is napping (um, no.). I can already see how much Gryff looks up to him too, with his eyes constantly searching the room for him, and saving his biggest smiles for his big brother. These two boys have lit a fire in me like nothing else, and just when I thought it couldn’t get better, it does. Easy? No. But it is so good.

Archer loves to climb into Gryffin’s crib when he wakes up from his naps. It usually starts with some gentle words and kisses, and ends with me pulling a wide-eyed Gryffin from beneath the jumping man-child Archer.

Despite being a little rough with him, Gryffin has yet to find a flaw in his big brother. And who can blame him? He really is the best. Happy to share toys (you know, like 75% of the time), and talking to him non stop (which, if you’ve ever met Archer should not surprise you at all. It took him 35 minutes to eat his breakfast this morning because he wouldn’t stop talking).

At this point gentle tickles quickly turn to WWE moves, and my googly heart eyes are replaced with the mom-voice I didn’t know I had.

After finishing my 100 Days of Summer, I was happy to set my camera down and take a breather for a few days, step back and enjoy our days without documenting. I love doing little projects like that, but I always find I put pressure on myself to create something exceptional each day, which just isn’t possible. This summer we spent more days than I would like to admit at home, in our jams, playing inside. Between the humidity, and the harsh sun with a baby, none of us wanted to spend a significant amount of time outdoors. This was the last few days of the project, and I was trying to let go of the idea that I had to create “summer” images, and instead focused on our home life. So instead of trying to create adventures that none of us wanted to go on, we found our fun at home.

Archer has started asking me if he can take pictures too, so I helped him hold the camera to take this one. Not bad for an almost 3 year old who’s hand isn’t big enough to focus and click the shutter at the same time.

The witching hour is a real thing over here, so usually while I am making dinner it is melt-down central, but this rare day Archer asked if he could help me make dinner…

Not sure whether these ginger hairs are going to stick around forever, but getting proof while we can.

Our weekly trip to the library, and Archers haul…

Our 4th anniversary was spent on the deck with a fire, some s’mores, and our boys. A lot has happened in 4 years.

And the only picture I took at our friends Labour Day bash while the kids swam in the big river. You know Eric is a dedicated father when he gets in the St. Clair River…

Happy Sunday everybody. I hope you’re spending it with your family, doing what you love.

B.

I may be a little behind on blogging my client sessions, but that does not mean I am not still extremely happy for Joe and Laura. Joe and Eric have been best friends since first grade, and through years of enduring their antics, Laura has become a very dear friend to me. When Laura asked if I would do their maternity photography, I was more than happy to oblige. I laughed when Laura was asking me what to wear, I gave her some ideas but said to make sure she was comfortable and in something that reflects their life and personality. When she showed up, she said she thought about wearing a dress, but decided to wear something that she knew was a little more reflective of her: shorts and a t shirt (my kind of girl!). And you know what? I love it. Their comfort and personality shows up so much more in their images because they are just being themselves.

I am so excited to see these two go through this journey together, and there is no doubt in my mind that they will make exceptional parents. Here’s to hoping this babe brings them a little closer to home in the near future! We miss you guys!

Congratulations Joe and Laura! We can’t wait to meet this little one!

If you are interested in Chatham-Kent Maternity Photography, please contact me below.

One of the biggest positives of my brother moving home is having the ability to have his kids over for a day to play. I was more than happy to watch them while my brother and sister-in-law were busy for the day, and Archer was obviously beyond excited. All of the cousins get along so well. Although our house was a bit louder than normal, it was actually a very relaxed day for me because they all just played together while Gryff and I supervised.

This is one of my favourite pictures from the summer. Nothing artistically special, but the reason I love photography. These kids will see this picture one day and have a good laugh at their outfits, their haircuts, and their funny faces.

And just a day later we hung out with them again and hit up our favourite park with Grandma and Papa for a little picnic lunch. 3 little monkeys.

For a little end of summer fun, Meme and Pepe took us to African Lion Safari for the day. We drove up a day early to make the drive a little easier on the kids, and of course staying in a hotel is super exciting for a 2 year old. Gryffin, not so much.

Archer loved the bus ride through the park, seeing all of the animals and running from window to window.

We got to see the elephants go for their swim at lunch time…

Archer and Dad had a nice little ride on Jenny…

And we ended the day on the massive splash pad, where Archer concurred his first water slide. He loved it so much he went back for more about 5 times.

Thanks for stopping by!

B