… we’d call this ‘Stink Eye’.
She’s still cute… even if she doesn’t like having a camera in her face while she’s trying to eat a yummy jam piklet.
Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
I believe…. | Mornington Peninsula baby photography
September 9, 2010Happy Father’s Day
September 6, 2010Happy fathers day to all the daddy’s. I hope you all had a wonderful day. Our fathers day… well it was a bit of a flop really. Poor Brett didn’t even get a sleep in! Ethan woke about 3am, sick with a tummy bug, and I ended up with him every half hour or so, until we both crashed around 6.30am. I didn’t even hear Brett get up, and by the time we did, he’d already eaten breakfast, so there was not even a special breaky in bed. He did enjoy opening his pressies from the kids. Tonight as I was cooking dinner I found this little sight, and thought it was too cute to pass up a photo opportunity.
I’ve been doing a little thinking about the whole blogging thing lately. YEARS ago, I started my first blog. It started as a way of keeping family and friends up to date with our lives. When Amelia was born I stopped posting on that blog for a few reasons, but with the issues she had (being prem, and then discovering she had a heart condition), I ended up starting up another blog to record our journey through it all. Each day when I’d get home from the hospital I’d have a stack of emails and phone calls from family and friends all wanting to know how she was going, and I was too exhausted and emotionally drained to call everyone and repeat it all over and over again, so we started her blog so friends and family could just log on to see photos and read her updates. After we got her home and life as a family of five hit full swing, my updates became fewer and fewer until I just stopped. Recently I went back and visited the old blogs, and I sat and cried, and laughed as I read the posts. I started the first blog just before Ethan turned one, and Liam had just turned 4, so I had so many stories of their development and milestones all recorded. The funny and crazy things they did and they said. I sat and read for way too long pouring over the memories, it was the wee early hours of the morning before I tore myself away from the computer. Ever since then it’s been nagging at me. I know I can’t maintain two blogs (believe me, I’ve tried!) I have shelves full of scrapbooks for the boys, while Amelia has *one* page (it’s a double page spread… does that count for bonus points?) I just don’t have the time to scrapbook anymore. Being a mumma of school age kids is hard work! Throw in a baby and a business… oh yes, and a husband, house etc, you get the idea… I have no time to record our day to day, but I know I’m going to miss having it to look back on. So I toyed with the idea of adding a few more personal posts over here. And I’ve chewed over all the reasons why I should and shouldn’t, over and over again. But I think I’ve decided I will. Why can’t I mix business with pleasure. I mean, hello? I get a fair amount of pleasure from my business! LOL. And while the beautiful families I have the honour of meeting and photographing may walk in the studio doors as clients, each and every one of them walk out those doors as friends. My job is personal. My clients share themselves and their hearts with me every day. So I’m going to share my own life and heart with you all too. I guess time will tell whether it’s a good idea or not, but for now, I’m happy, and I hope you enjoy the little peek into our life. Our busy, crazy, funny, messy life.
Missy Melly | Mornington Peninsula baby photographer
June 10, 2010
Isn’t that dress just divine! I ordered it from Missy Melly. When I first saw the design I knew it was exactly what I was after, and when the completely beautiful Shan sent me through some fabric choices I fell in love with this one instantly! Amelia likes the birds too, and attempts to say birdy cheep, cheep, which comes out more like “beeehy – chi-chi”. I just adore it and will be ordering another one soon too (shhhh – don’t tell my mum! She thinks Amelia has too many clothes already. ;P)
Here’s a tiny little glimpse at part of the new studio. I love it. All that white makes my heart happy. That sweet little poppet also makes my heart happy. She came out to play in here a few days ago while I tended to some emails and bits and pieces, and she got up to mischief. Typical toddler she wants whatever I have. I’ve mastered typing while having one eye on her, and blocking the cupboards and draws of the buffet with my legs at the same time. (lucky for me multitasking is my speciality!) She’s crazy about the mouse for my computer. She was running up and down the couch with the mouse in one hand and a playing card in the other, squealing in delight as I tried to follow her making sure she didn’t fall off LOL. She’s oh so cheeky, and has the same cheeky expressions as Ethan and Brett. We always thought Amelia and Ethan were very alike, and the older she gets, it’s apparent that she has such a similar personality to both Liam and Ethan. All three of my babes have been so easy going, placid and cuddly and they all also have that same cheeky smile that lights up my heart as well as the room. One difference, which I’m sure is a girl thing… she’s loud! She’s a real squealer. If the boys wanted something they would point, or attempt to say “Ta” . Miss Millie… she’ll just stand in front of you and squeal until your ear drums want to burst! hahaha. And hey, she has all four of use absolutely wrapped around her little fingers, and none of us are ashamed to admit it. So it obviously works for her 
It’s nice to look at that beaming smile. She’s had a rough few days. Last night and today the worst. She’s suffering through a sinus infection, chest infection and croup. Apparently the medication she takes for her heart condition makes her more susceptible to chest infections. Poor little poppet has needed A LOT of cuddles today. Here’s to hoping she’ll turn the corner tonight and tomorrow and be back to her usual self very soon.
Hayden and Caitlin | Mornington Peninsula child photography
April 13, 2010Almost 9 years ago, on a freezing cold Winters night, Brett and I nervously walked into our first anti-natal class. As I looked around the room of other expectant parents, one person who had been sitting with her back to the door turned and smiled a gorgeous welcoming smile at me. I remember most of the chairs were taken, but there were two left next to her and her hubby, so Brett and I sat down. As we chatted we discovered we were due one day apart. Me the 26th October, her the 27th. We chatted on and on, and discovered so many similarities. She had the most beautiful soul and just drew me in. Someone you just know you will like from the first moment. Each week at our classes we’d chat some more (ok, a lot!), and after our 6 weeks of classes were finished, we exchanged phone numbers. Each week we’d have our Ob checkups, and that afternoon call each other to exchange the happenings with our fast growing bubba’s. We finished work the same week, and caught up for lunch a few times. The 26th and 27th October drew near and then passed uneventfully for either of us, but each week we’d call each other to check and update. Eventually we both were booked in to be induced. I remember calling Nat (her name is Natalie by the way!) telling her I was being induced on Wednesday because they wouldn’t induce on the Tuesday as it was Melbourne Cup Day. We guessed she’d be be induced the following day, Thursday. She called back that afternoon to say she was booked in for Monday!! Cheeky thing, how dare she have her baby before me, I’m first!! LOL. And my good little man saw to it that we were first, as he came naturally beforehand Nat said to me in hospital as she cuddled Liam, still waiting to meet her bubba to be born, that she knew at that moment she was going to have a boy, as she knew we’d have the same. She’s my sister in another life I’m sure. Anyway, the point to this long post is that that beautiful soul, Natalie, Nat, Aunty Nat, Nattie… is one of my very, very favourite people in the whole world. And her sweet muchkins Hayden and Caitlin are too (and we can’t leave you out Michael…. we’ll keep you too).
Nat’s birthday has just passed, and guess what she asked her hubby for, for her birthday present
Here you go lovely. I owe you some decent ones, after all those years of letting me LEARN on your children! Happy birthday sweetness. I love you and am so glad you came into my life. xx
Let me introduce Hayden (8) and Caitlin (5) (yes, Caitlin and Ethan are similar in age… and we just share Amelia)
Give that they may grow
April 2, 2010Good Friday in Melbourne, means it’s the Royal Childrens Hospital Good Friday Appeal. I never thought we’d have need to use this amazing facility. But around midnight on February 1st 2009, our sweet Amelia Kate was transferred there at 8 days old. We were thrown into the world that exists beyond those old walls. She spent 3 weeks in 7 West, the cardiac ward there, under the constant eye of Australia’s leading cardiologists and nurses. We are still regular visitors there, and will have to be for a few more years when she’ll have some surgery to fix her heart.
They are an amazing, amazing team of professionals, who give so much, with so much love, to sweet cherished babies and their families, not just from Melbourne, but from all over Australia. We have to credit the life of our precious baby girl to them. So today, if you can,
Those beads.
March 15, 2010Majority of photos of Amelia on here, she’s wearing her beads. She pretty much wears them full time. I have been asked so, so many times what they are and why she wears them, and I very often get side tracked before answering. So, here’s the answer. It’s a baltic amber teething necklace. I bought it here, but you can google and find a lot of online stores that stock them. There’s a bit more info on how it works here and there’s A LOT more if you google if interested (I just did a very quick google to find that). But in short as her skin warms the amber, oils are released and absorbed into her body which help with the pain associated with teething. I have to admit I was a bit sceptic at first, but thought it had to be better than constantly putting teething gel in her mouth, and worth a try, but we’ve really found it helpful. The added bonus is that it looks cute too
Ahh she melts my heart xx
Ethan & Amelia
March 4, 2010It’s late. So very late. I have not been to bed before 2am for the past two weeks. I’ve been working like a busy little bee to get through everything. Editing, fixing, making changes, making more changes, creating albums, ordering goodies. And that’s just the work stuff… the mummy side is just as busy with parent teacher interviews, school information nights, swimming lessons and another trip up to Royal Childrens for Amelia’s checkup (which is a whole other post iteself). But busy is good!
It’s been a few days since I posted here though, so just wanted to share some pics of my two littlest chickens haveing a ball, playing peek-a-boo under my doona, and being cheeky – and making a wee bit of noise while they’re at it. Bless their cute little tooshies. Amelia is such a little cuddle bum. She just can’t get enough of snuggling up to people and was in a very cuddly mood with Ethan. And he of course didn’t mind one bit.
Enjoy… I”m off to bed
Ouch [Mornington Peninsula baby photographer]
February 24, 2010My poor little chicken. On Saturday morning she woke up with what I initially thought was her first ever nappy rash. I treated that and went off to photograph Martyn and Shannon’s wedding, and when I returned home that night she was asleep. When I got her up on Sunday morning I noticed her legs were a bit rashy. I showed Brett, but he told me she’d been crawling around in the grass the day before, so it was probably an allergy. When I got her up at 7am on Monday I noticed she had a blister on the top of her foot. I checked over the rest of her body, but there were no more. By 9am, after dropping the boys off at school she’d delveoped quite a few blisters on her feet and then I noticed them starting on her hands. I straight away suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth. I checked her mouth but it was clear. I called our doctor anyway and popped down to have her checked over. As we were waiting for our appointment she was playing with me. As she laughed I noticed a blister developing on the tip on her tongue. A few minutes later we were in and out of the doctors, with confirmation that yep, my sweet little girl has Hand, Foot and Mouth 
We’ve never had a dose of it in our house, and I’m hoping the boys don’t get it. I have no idea where she may have picked it up either (not that it matters anyway). Millie is still pretty happy though. Not quite her normal (extra-happy) self, but she doesn’t seem to be too uncomfortable and is still feeding ok. So it’s going to be a very quiet week at home for us! At least I’ll get some work done, and may even catch up on some housework (you never know!)
Look at those poor blistered little tootsies…
[oh, and she's 13mths today!]
Happiness is…
February 20, 2010
Day 31 [Melbourne & Mornington Peninsula family photography]
February 9, 2010
Proof that she only smiles 99% of the time.
Poor little darling. You can feel her pain can’t you
:: Yeahaaaaa I made it through all 31 days!! All be it, a little late. Hope you enjoyed the little peek into our lives (well mainly Amelia’s life) over January::
We’ll be resuming regular programming now, as I have a stack of sessions I’ve been waiting to blog. (I like to keep things in order). So check back often and feel free to leave some blog love. I love reading your comments and I’m sure Amelia will love to read her PAD comments in the future too