Category Archives: Personal

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366 pieces of life | Day 366. We made it!

December 31, 2008 – 8:03 pm

The last image of Alicia-Rae is such a typical one of her.  We used to have a yard full of Hydrangea plants. Well, we still do, but most of them are missing their leaves and petals by now. Our little ‘botanist’ has a fixation with all things floral and loves nothing better than to pluck a handful of flowers from where ever she can and carry them around for as long as is practical. Sometimes it’s not so practical, but she makes it work anyway.  :)
These were today’s companions. As with most days I’d find them in random places throughout the day as she’d put them down in favour of another activity, only to collect them later and carry them around till the next one. Who needs dolls, or any other toys for that matter.

You may have noticed that I switched the photos around today. Normally I’ve been putting Jaedon’s up first, but today it seemed fitting to end with his.
Nanna and Papa popped in today, and whisked Jaedon away for a couple of hours. They all got to spend some time together, and I got a bit of time to myself while Alicia-Rae napped, so it worked out well for everyone.
Because he doesn’t see them that often the last time he got in the car with them he howled all the way up the road. I could see his sad little face pressed against the window as he disappeared from view. I can still see it. But today he was such a big boy, looking almost wistfully out the window as if trying to remember where home was before he left, then cheerfully waving me goodbye.
As soon as I dowloaded this photograph I knew it was the one to end the project on.  I’d had so many grand ideas of what I could do for the last day, but when it came to the day it was just like any other really, so that’s what I decided to capture. So in saying that I just love how this one turned out. It says just what I want it to, without me knowing exactly how to put that into words. So I’ll let you decipher it yourself. That’s what photography’s all about anyway, isn’t it.

Wow. We’re done. 366 days of harassing my poor children and following their every move with my camera in hand. One day they’ll thank me for it.
I can’t believe we’ve finally finished. There were days where I felt like I’d be doing this forever. But there were also days where I wished I could.  I’ve captured a lot of stages in their lives this last year, especially with Alicia-Rae (being the age she is), and I know this time in life passes far too quickly.  Though I’d like to do it again at some stage, I don’t think there’ll be another time as opportune as this one.  Nor can I imagine the kids as innocent and complying as they’ve (mostly) been.  :)

Below is a little slideshow I put together using all the photographs from this year. Every single day’s worth.  As I watched it play back it was hard not to cry. From relief. From being proud of myself for seeing this through. From being immensley proud of my children, and incredibly grateful for them and for the moments they give me, day by day.
I’m sure I’ll be forever glad I did this. And I really do hope that one day they do thank me for it.  :)

 

If you made it this far - well done!  :)  But before I sign off I wanted to wish all my friends, family, clients and other folk who follow my blog, a very happy, healthy and blessed year ahead.  Your love and support this year has been very much appreciated.

Happy New Year to you all.
Narrelle x

By Narrelle | Also posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (11)

366 pieces of life | Day 365 (1 day to go…)

December 30, 2008 – 9:47 pm

Gosh - only 1 day left. It feels unreal - in all senses of the word.  And I just realised that had it been a normal, or regular, year this year we’d be done by now. I almost feel sad. Almost.

We were going to go visit my brother and his family this afternoon but I decided at the last moment to head down to Brighton instead. Can you believe I have been in Melbourne for however many years now (granted, 6 of the in between ones were spent in England) and have not, as far as I can remember, ever been down to the bathing boxes there.  I figured today was as good a time as any, and should hopefully get me some good shots for our second last day. Plus it’s an extra half hour on the train from where we normally get off, so that had to make the kids happy at least.
When I eventually maneuvered the pram onto the beach (don’t ask me how many times I got the thing bogged in the sand…) Jaedon’s face lit up as he yelled ‘Beach!” - though it sounded slightly like another word which I won’t meantion here.  ;-)   He promptly jumped from the pram and ran after a bird into the surf, where he slipped and fell on his backside into the water. Not good. If I’d thought to bring his swimmers the world would have gone on as it was, but no. Jaedon was devestated. The world had actually come to an end. Luckily I did have the sense to pack a spare pair of pants for him, so a quick change and a 10 minute spell (read wind-down) in the pram made it right again. Watching Alicia-Rae running around having fun without him certainly did wonders in helping him get over it.
So, now that that novel of an explanation is done, I couldn’t not post the photograph of him in the throes of his distress, proving once again where my priorities lay… ;-)   (Don’t worry - he did get LOTS of love and consolitory cuddles when I was done snapping).

Alicia-Rae in the meantime was having a ball. Chasing the birds. Throwing sand as far and high as she could (I made sure to stay well out of her way) and eating shells. I was really kicking myself at this stage that I didn’t bring their swimmers. Though it was probably just as well as I can’t imagine having to keep an eye on two toddlers at the mercy of the waves, as well as my beloved camera, and then tackle them both to get them changed at the end.  Sounds like a job that also needs daddy involved to me.
So here’s our little darling with the bathing boxes in the background.  The whole point of going to Brighton was to see the boxes so I figure I had to use at least one shot of them.  :)

And here’s a couple more of Jaedon that I really liked but they didn’t have as good a story behind them to use for the 366…

This time tomorrow it will all be over. Wow. Crazy. Phew.  :)

{ Child Photographer Melbourne }

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366 pieces of life | Day 364 (2 days to go…)

December 29, 2008 – 10:09 pm

When Alicia-Rae was born we bought Jaedon a little ride on tractor, just so he didn’t feel left out.  He had a ball putting it together with daddy then didn’t touch it for months. And months.  It’s only the last couple of months really that it’s found favour with him, and it’s usually one of the first things he heads for now when he goes outside (well, before we had the trampoline that is :) ).  It used to have a trailor attached to it, but that got battered around just a few too many times so now it’s just the tractor by itself and Jaedon 4WD-ing around the back yard.
It’s so much fun to see him on it. He really does love it. And it brings out the boy in him, big time.

Have a close look at this photo of Alicia-Rae. She’s not laughing.
For those of you who won’t believe that she is anything but an angel 100% of the day, here is the evidence to prove otherwise.  :)  Granted, she still possesses angelic qualites for roughly 99% of the day, but when she loses it she does it in style.
I’m not sure what this tanty was about but it was full on for a couple of minutes, then over as quick as it started, with only a big fat tear trailing down her cheek, and pouty lips to show for it.
One day this girl will be on stage - her personality certainly deserves an audience.   :)

 

{Melbourne Children’s Photographer }

By Narrelle | Also posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Comments (2)

366 pieces of life | Day 362 (4 days to go…)

December 27, 2008 – 9:39 pm

I think the last few days were just a bit much excitement for our poor little guy.  He had a bit of a grizzle-fest this morning.  Most things we said or did seemed to make him miserable.  And most things he did himself made him miserable too…
But Nanna came to the rescue.  Out came his beloved Thomas book, and as she read to him he fell asleep - totally zonked out on her lap. We could hear him snoring halfway down the other end of the house. Obviously he needed it (hey, don’t we all,  But we can’t all get away with it in the middle of the day).
I wish I could say it cheered him up some, but it didn’t really.  But we all got an hour’s peace.  :)

And it was back out to our block this afternoon, to show Matt’s brother around. We walked right up to the back end of the property, which backs onto open acreage full of cows, and Alicia-Rae was fascinated by them, calling out to them with her gentle moo’s.  I don’t think they were paying much attention to her though, and she gave up eventually. She kept a good eye on them though while enjoying her cuddles with Nanna.
I can’t wait till we’re eventually living out there, and the cows are a part of their every day. And the space. And the smell of eucalyptus. And the sounds of kookaburras. And no traffic. Mmmmmmmm

 

{ Melbourne Children’s Photographer }

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366 pieces of life | Day 361 (5 days to go…)

December 26, 2008 – 9:00 pm

OK - I cheated yesterday and only posted the one photo - but it contained both the kids, and I was too tired to look at anymore.  And now that I have that off my chest…..

Nanna and Papa (Matt’s parents) arrived today for a few days, and our second Christmas celebration. There weren’t as many kids running around today but Jaedon still managed to have a good time. He just loves his Nanna and Pappa. And this time his Uncle also came to visit. All the way from Perth. Just to jump on the trampoline with Jaedon.  :)
The best part was that we got to have a second Christmas dinner. And a second christmas pudding. And Jaedon even got into the spirit of things by wearing his cracker hat. For a few minutes anyway.
I love his expression in this one.  He has a knack sometimes of looking straight into me - even with a big chunk of camera and glass in the way. 

And Alicia-Rae is also loving having Nanna and Pappa around. Apart from having extra people to play up to, they love playing with her too, and showering attention on her.
In this shot we’d not long ago been playing ‘hi 5’s’ with Jaedon on the trampoline, when she decided she’d give it a go. Nanna would hold her hand up, we’d say ‘Hi 5′, then she’d run over and hit Nanna’s hand as hard as she could and then run off again before we could catch her. She likes to add an element of mischief to most things she does.

 

{ Child Portrait Photographer Melbourne }

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366 pieces of life | Day 359 (1 week to go…)

December 24, 2008 – 10:53 pm

You can tell summer has finally hit here. Jaedon, being a typical boy, went outside this morning, took his top off, and refused to put it back on for the rest of the day.  Of course, being a pale-skin like his mummy, even a bit of slip-slop-slapping didn’t stop his little shoulders and cheeks from going pink.
And his bike is all the rage at the moment - and now the latest thing is getting his ’spare’ bike (he has three…) and having either mummy or daddy (preferably daddy) ride it up the street with him.  Daddy does look a sight - kind of like riding a penny-farthing in reverse - but the two of them do look very sweet together.
I wonder how much time the bikes will get after tomorrow?

And papa was a very lucky man today - for the second day running. He got extra long cuddles from Alicia-Rae this afternoon.  Nanna had borrowed a new dvd from the library and she was transfixed on it, hardly moving.
I’m glad she’s finally settled down with him - she was a bit shy for a few days while getting used to him again (having been nearly 12 months since she’d seen him last).  Now he seems to have a firm place in her heart. Which is just as well because she has him very tightly wrapped around her finger. :)

By Narrelle | Also posted in Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Comments (0)

366 pieces of life | Day 358 (8 days to go…)

December 23, 2008 – 9:17 pm

We had a power outage in our suburb this morning - coincidentally at exactly the same point in time as Matt was trying to re-jig the wiring on our christmas lights.  It was out for 5 hours! 5 long hours.  But we had fun - having to make our own up and not rely on anything aided by electricity.  It was also a bit of a challenge in that all our window shutters (electric of course) were still down as we’d only just gotten up when the power went out, so it was pretty dark inside. The only light we had was coming from one window in the lounge-room which happened to be open still. So we sat huddled by that all morning.
Jaedon got his beloved Thomas collection out and we had a read-a-thon, and it was a moment I couldn’t let slip by. He looked so sweet and gentle, and was totally enjoying himself. And so was I. I’ve actually been thinking it should be mandatory to have power outages on a regular basis.  :)

We also have Uncle Adrian staying with us until Christmas.  Mostly he’s been spending his days teaching Jaedon to play the gamecube. :)  Alicia-Rae has been quite amused (or is that bemused) by it all, and I found her this afternoon with one of the game covers in hand, studying it quite intently. Trying to figure out what the fuss is all about, no doubt. 

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366 pieces of life | Day 357 (9 days to go…)

December 22, 2008 – 8:36 pm

I should probably win bad mother of the year award for this pic, for taking a photograph of my boy in his distress when I should be comforting him.
He had a bit of a late afternoon nap and didn’t wake up very well, and just wanted cuddles. He wasn’t very happy when I had to hand him over to get Alicia-Rae’s dinner.  Not even Nanna’s charms were working.  So nanna had to get his sister’s dinner while mummy did what she was made for - providing lots of love and hugs.  I don’t like to see my little boy so sad, but it is a special thing to be able to make him happy again.

If Alicia-Rae doesn’t become an actress, a comedian or a musician when she grows up the next bet would be a botanist.  She LOVES flowers.  I certainly wouldn’t make a very good one (botanist, that is - I can’t even name the flower she’s fixated on here - but she always goes straight to them when we get back from our walks and stands there hugging the stems (which are taller than her), before plucking all the petals off. On second thoughts she probably wouldn’t make a very good botanist at all - I think she’d have to nuture and care for the plants in that case, and that’s usually not on the agenda…

By Narrelle | Also posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Comments (0)

366 Pieces of Life | Day 355

December 20, 2008 – 9:28 pm

Tis just a couple of shots today of Jaedon taken while we were out at the block this afternoon.
I think I like the first one because there’s something soft about it. And I love his eyelashes (he’s got the longest, longest lashes but they’re so fair…just like his mummy’s). And of course his big, red kissble lips.  Who could resist those.
The second shot was him begging me to let me climb the fence into the neighbours yard. For good reason - they have a swing set over there, while our block is empty of any such fun kind of entertainment. For now.  Maybe he’ll enjoy going out there a bit more when we actually have something for him to do there.

And this one of Alicia-Rae makes me laugh. She is such a little poser.
Those that are meeting her for the first time, or not spending large blocks of time with her, don’t often get to see her crazy side. But she is such an extroverted, animated little girl when she’s with people she feels secure with.  It’s amazing how different she is, personality-wise, compared to Jaedon.  It constantly reminds us how uniquely we’ve all been designed, and how precious we are as individuals.  I learn a lot of stuff from our kids.  :)

And I just had to share this one of the two kids together - sitting on top of our ‘hill’.  When and where did she learn to poke out her tongue?!  Funny girl!
Oh - and we finally got around to putting her hair in some piggy-tails and were suprised at just how long her hair actually is. And how different it makes her look. She’s growing up way too fast.

 

{ family photography melbourne }

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366 pieces of life | Day 354

December 19, 2008 – 9:02 pm

Thomas must be in the bad books today.  Or perhaps it’s because I haven’t repaired his track yet, so Thomas and his friends keep running off the edge of Sodor Island. :)  Oh well, I’m sure his cars appreciated it as they don’t get played with that often.  But we had a fun time this afternoon driving them up and down the yard.  Our little boy is definately all boy. Apart from his dislike of dirt and germs that is…

And I had to laugh at Alicia-Rae this afternoon.  Of all the things printed on her top - adorable, lovely, cute, funny, sweet, gorgeous, and pretty - she was anything but.  She was in the middle of a hissy-fit in this shot (yes - she does have them) - though I couldn’t quite bring myself to post the picture of her full-blown efforts.  I can’t have you thinking anything less of our little angel now, can I…

By Narrelle | Also posted in Child Photography, Children, Family Photography, Melbourne | Tagged , , , , | Comments (4)