The Mama Journal | Little Artist

There are those parenting moments that I knew happened in theory, but never really expected. The ones that catch me off guard, make me doubt myself as a mother, make me count to ten slowly in my head and sigh deeply. Those moments where things don't go as planned. Where my little one's needs seem to ruin everything, where my own frustrations swell up and make me want to join in on my toddler's tantrum. Those sleep-deprived, emotionally intense moments when I can't help but think this isn't what I signed up for. Life doesn't always look like the cover of a Sears catalogue- family laughing, sun shining, picnic basket overflowing, butterflies fluttering - you know the one. But that's just life. And we go with the flow. I have those days, and I think we all do. My daughter can throw it down with the best of them. But here's the cold, hard truth (or, more accurately, the warm and fuzzy truth): Motherhood rocks. It really, truly does. There are too many "memes" and jokes and stories out there about how hard, exasperating and annoying motherhood is. And I get it, sometimes we feel like we are losing our mind, and we need to talk about these moments.

Please don't misunderstand me, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Not all. But much of it is. And somehow we mamas so often forget to share the sunshine and rainbows of motherhood. Like early morning snuggles, when my girl gives me a hug and says "hi, maman" and kisses my cheek. Or family dance parties in the kitchen on a Saturday morning, or a Wednesday evening for that matter. Snuggling with books at my girl's request. Or watching her sneak brown sugar crumbs while "helping" me bake. Truthfully, for all those moments that make me sigh and wonder if I'm really cut out for this, there are so many more moments that make me catch my breath and smile, because it's exactly like I thought it would be - wonderful. Fulfilling. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Fun, crazy, unpredictable.

I always wanted to be a mom. And I spent a lot of time daydreaming about how amazing it would be.  And yes, there are those moments when I feel like I live in a circus (hint: I am sadly not the ring leader in these moments). But more times than not, it's exactly the way I pictured it - but better. More times than not, I can't help but think this is the best moment. Each day holds many of these moments. Here is one from today.

I have always been passionate about art, and it makes my heart so happy to watch this love of creating blossom in my girl as well. Today was the first time I pulled out my easel, paint and canvas for her. She loved it. And watching my little girl reach up on her tippy toes to spread paint on her very first canvas felt just as unbelievably wonderful as I always thought it would.

Project Ten | February (Pink)

I am so excited about this project. Last month's "self-portrait" theme (while totally out of my comfort zone) was so much fun, and this month we are taking on "pink". This set isn't particularly unique or "out of the box". Let's be honest - the cute toddler on the bed scene is not exactly uncharted territory as far as indoor lifestyle photography goes. As much as I love these images, I almost didn't use them for this project, because I felt like there were so many other interpretations of this theme that might be more interesting to you - the viewer. But something about these photos kept drawing me - the mama - back in. And so here it is, my sweet and simple interpretation of pink. To most, perhaps just another toddler in a tutu. But to me, she's my little Neve Adele -  silky wisps of baby hair, an infectious laugh, an affectionate spirit, and looking far too grown up in her big girl tutu.

Please make sure to visit the lovely Alana Harris to see her take on this month's theme, and keep clicking through the blog circle until you've made it around. Grab a coffee, it's going to be good.

xo

The Mama Journal | Favourite Things

It's such an unbelievably wonderful experience to watch my little girl develop her own little personality. While I was pregnant, my mother told me that a child is like a gift that you unwrap a little bit more every day. Boy, was she right. My daughter is no longer my little "sub-human", she is her own person. Neve Adele, spirited, active, playful, affectionate, brilliant girl. Everyday she blows me away with how much she understands, what words she decides to add to her ever-growing vocabulary, how sweet and affectionate she is with us, with the dog, with her babies. She has a sense of humour that is so much fun, and she loves to make us laugh. It would be impossible to document all of her favourite things in just one post. The girl loves a lot of things. Going outside, music in all its forms (atta girl!), pushing her babies in her stroller and all things PUPPIES are some popular themes notably absent from the photos below. But the following photos do represent some of her favourite things at the moment - books (oh, how she loves to read. And oh, how it makes my heart sing!), Caillou (in French) on the iPhone, my jewelry, and anything related to animals. I took these in the span of about an hour one day last week, and I just love their authentic, sweet simplicity. I love how the morning light spilled out of her bedroom window and illuminated that silky soft baby hair that is growing and thickening a little more each day. I love the quiet focus as she tries on my bracelets, examines a book and handles the ol' iPhone like a pro. These photos make my heart immensely happy, and naturally, I wanted to share them with you. A morning in the life of Neve, at 18.5 months old.

London Ontario Lifestyle Photographer | Samantha, Justin and Colin at Home

Many families I speak with are still pretty skeptical when it comes to in-home lifestyle sessions, so I'm always so happy when I have a client that is willing and excited about this type of photography that is so dear to my heart.  

Samantha, Justin and Colin are three of the cutest kiddos around, and I had so much fun capturing them in their home, playing together, snuggling together, reading, and just hanging out. Authentic, unposed, unscripted. My sincerest hope is that mom and dad will treasure these photos and look back on the real-life moments captured with a smile. Here are some favourites!

London Ontario Family Photography | The Mortier Family

The morning of the Mortier family's sunrise session, it started to snow. A lot. (honestly, the photos don't even do justice to just how hard it was snowing). At one point during the session it was snowing so heavily that I could barely make them out in the photos I was snapping. It was also quite cold, as you can imagine. And the outfits they had picked out ended up hidden under Winter jackets. But we went ahead with it, and I am so glad we did. There is something to be said for spontaneity, for just rolling with an unexpected situation and making the best of it. Often the best stories emerge from the crazy situations we find ourselves in when things don't go quite as planned. And I feel like these photos definitely tell a story. Remember that time we had photo done the morning of a blizzard? Remember how cold it was, and how the snowflakes kept falling in our eyes? That was crazy. And so fun. I love these pictures. They are unique, and they are real. I hope the Mortier family loves them too! Here are some favourites.

London Ontario Family Photographer | Nadia,Yousef, Tara and Aubrey

Nadia wins the prize for travelling the longest distance for a session with me! After we started corresponding, I was surprised to learn she was writing me from Egypt. Not where she was visiting, as I had understood, but where she lived. Ok, ok. So she didn't come all that way just for a session with me. But I was still honoured that she asked me to photograph her with her beautiful son Yousef while she was in London visiting her friends and family. One of those friends, the lovely Tara (whose adorable family I had photographed just a week earlier), joined in on Nadia and Yousef's session along with her daughter Aubrey.

It was so neat to learn about their long-lasting friendship that is rooted in their childhood. Everyone wishes they had a friend like that -  And now to see their little ones interacting together must be such a special feeling. We had a blast exploring the trails behind the Elsie Perrin Williams Estate while chatting about motherhood and capturing some memories that I hope they will treasure forever! Here are some favourites from our session!

St-Thomas and London Ontario Photographer | The Fletcher Family

Meet Evan, Melissa and cute little Teagan.

We've been friends with these beautiful people for a few years now and we just love them to pieces! I had the honour of capturing their pregnancy, their fresh little babe and now their first family session. This session took place in St-Thomas and the light was simply perfect. I love the mix of industrial and natural surroundings in this shoot, and as always, my favourite shots are of them snuggling and laughing together. Such a sweet bunch! Here are some favourites from our session!

London Ontario Couple Photographer | Melissa, Will and Parker (the dog!)

It was so great to see Will and Melissa again, just over a year after I shot their wedding. They were as sweet and radiant as ever, and they brought along their new addition - Parker the dog - to the session! Anyone who knows me knows I am a HUGE dog lover, so I had a blast photographing him. I truly understand that feeling of unconditional love you can have for an animal. My dog is truly my baby (and my daughter's "big sister", hehe), and we try to include her in all of our photos. Will and Melissa had adorable Christmas accessories for Parker, and he modelled them like a champ. I fell in love with him and sort of wished I could have snuck him home with me! Here are some photos from our session. :)

London Ontario Newborn Lifestyle Photographer | Baby Arie

It's no secret that I'm in love with newborn lifestyle photography - in fact it's now the only type of newborn photography that I offer. There's something so special about capturing a family's life during those sacred first weeks with a new baby - the nursery, the sweet cuddles, the quiet wonder, the little routines that make up a day, like changing, feeding and dressing... Of course we always capture baby on his own, but it's those moments where mom and dad are loving on their bundle that really make my heart skip a beat. Baby Arie was 8 weeks old when his family welcomed me into their beautiful home. A few other photographers passed up on the opportunity to photograph him because of his age (many photographers only photograph newborns in the first 3 weeks) and I am SO glad mama found me and gave me the honour of photographing her precious baby boy. I simply loved this session. Here are some favourites!

The Mama Journal | The Flour Fiasco

Have you ever found yourself at that crossroad between I'm going to burst into tears and have a panic attack and this is hilarious, my child is awesome, let me get my camera ? I feel like some of the best lifestyle photography truly happens when you simply let go, release control of a situation, and document. Because I've truly found it difficult to be both the mom and the photographer at the same time. Obviously I am not referring to a situation where a child is in danger or is doing something that puts their safety at risk. I'm talking about nitpicking, face wiping, and all those other "suggestions" we moms tend to give constantly. When I am constantly directing and correcting from behind the lens, not only am I missing out on those amazing moments unfolding before me, but I'm also tarnishing them. It's tempting to tell our children where to stand, how to play with their toy (because if they just held it up to the light like so it would make a killer "lifestyle" shot!) and even where to look. The beauty of true lifestyle photography is in its authenticity, its honesty, and its messiness. If you need to clean up your living room before you photograph your daughter quietly reading on the couch, not only do you risk missing out on the moment, but it becomes staged, artificial, and the beauty that is found in those real life shots suddenly disappears. Ok - moving on.

I was caught at this crossroad early this week. My inner mom and inner photographer were battling it out, and I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. because often the best photo ops are messy, unplanned, and a little... stressful. After a morning of happily baking and playing with my girl, I was content with our day. It was fun, relaxed and just the right amount of messy to make things fun without ruffling my mama feathers too much. I posted the fourth photo in the collage below on Facebook, declaring that the dishes were piling, we were happily baking, and that "mama and bebe are both covered in flour" - ha, the irony of that last statement is pretty hilarious. My kitchen was a mess, but it was a purposeful mess, and I excitedly snapped a few frames here and there to remember this sweet morning with my girl.

And then I.turned.around. For maybe... 45 seconds. And the giant bag of flour we get from our local flour mill, that was sitting on the hardwood kitchen floor, became irresistible to my 18-month-old explorer. I could hear her laughing and squealing "Wooo!! Woof Woof! Wooowwww! Woof Woof! Wow!" - not uncommon. She's very expressive, happy and obsessed with dogs. I assumed she was playing with our lab. Assumed being the key word here, folks.

When I turned around to face her again, I saw that she was using her little dog figurine to dig into the flour bag, and was throwing piles of flour in the air, on the flour, on her head. She was sitting in it, rolling in it, crawling in it, and having the time of her life. This was probably a serious contender for happiest moment since birth.

And I just whispered "ohmigosh" and watched her for a second, trying to decide if I was going to go down the clean freak mama road and have a full blown panic attack (Because what if this set a precedent and she thought it was ok to play in flour? Or what if I wouldn't be able to get it out of the cracks in the hardwood? And what about people starving all over the world, and here is my daughter playing in flour like it's nothing... and oh my gosh I have to clean this up) or if I was going to embrace this moment, this incredibly messy, unscripted, inconvenient, wrong moment and document it, because it was too late to stop it, and heck, this was truly one for the wedding slide show. I took a deep breath, grabbed my camera, and started documenting my girl's delight for about a minute. By the end of that minute, I was covered in flour. She was covered in flour. The kitchen was covered in flour. And her woof woof was definitely covered in flour.

I sat in the flour with her and laughed with her. Because truly, it was funny. I somehow managed to do a preliminary cleanup and get us both in the tub. Several sweeps and a wash later, the floor still has flour on it. But I'm so glad I let this moment unfold, even if only for a couple of minutes, because it's a story that I will tell again and again, and a memory I will cherish forever.

xo