my life in iphone photos: round 23

my instagram username is: thislittleport

bump: 16 weeks

 The bump turned 16 weeks old on the weekend, and although you can see it in these photos, most peoples' response when I tell them how far along I am is: "Wow, you can't tell at all!" I'm actually looking forward to the stage where I look pregnant, and not just like I ate too much.

In other pregnancy news, this weekend we booked our doula as well as Calmbirth, a weekend birth preparation workshop. I feel really good about both decisions. There are so many choices to make surrounding pregnancy and birth (choices that many women don't seem to realize they have - though that's a topic for another post!) and it feels great to be ticking things off my list.

Yesterday was hot, and I felt it keenly. Even still, I pried husband away from the cricket to come to a friend's class at a new yoga studio, then cooled off with a dip at Clovelly. We took these shots after, until we, I, was too grumpy and hungry to continue. Ah hormones!

a happy list

Happiness is:

1. Buying yourself a new red lipstick on a crappy day.
2. Books that make you laugh.
3. A stack of pancakes for no reason at all.
4. Mango season!

It's been an uneventful, and slightly frustrating, week. Might as well celebrate the little things. What's making you happy today?

the yoga of closet cleaning

The weather in Sydney has been all over the place lately, but as I looked at my calendar this weekend and realized that December is less than a fortnight away, I decided to ready myself. We keep hearing that this summer is going to be hot and dry and, truth be told, I'm scared. I don't like Sydney heat in the best of times. We're already sleeping with a fan and keeping bottles of water in the fridge at all times, sure signs that summer is near.

On Saturday I packed away my wintery woollens, and pulled out crinkled summer dresses from the boxes where they've been hiding. I like the ritual of changing my closet as the seasons change. It's also nice to be reminded of how much I have, and see that I probably don't need any more (except for maybe some elastic waist shorts...). The theme of the month at Jivamukti Yoga is aparigraha, greedlessness. Yesterday one of my teachers, Keith, reminded us in class that the smaller our footprint, the more power we have. Live Simply so that others may simply live. Something to remember as Christmas draws closer...

finding inspiration

Today I'm finding inspiration in all of your interesting and insightful comments on changing your name. And in this nighttime stroll we took last night. But first, so many interesting points of view on marriage, family and the names that bind us.

I was a bit surprised to find that most of you did take your husband's last name, while just a handful took both or found a new name. The point of family solidarity came up often, as did the legal mess that double-barrelled names can cause. I totally get this, which is one of the reasons our dual citizen children should probably only have one name because their bi-continental lives will be complicated enough as it is!

Something else that came up quite a bit was using your middle name as a way of compromising. Interestingly, this is exactly what my parents did. I go by my father's last name and have my mother's last name as my middle name. I think it's likely that this is what will happen with our offspring as well.

Imogen Eve made the point that since most of us have last names passed down from our dads, isn't there something un-feminist in that? Yes, I think there is. Some Latin American readers explained that every child gets two surnames where they're from - one from their mom and one from their dad. But even in this seemingly egalitarian model, those names come from the paternal side. What's a feminist to do?

I could go on forever, but I'll cut myself off here. Me and my husband of the different last names went down to the sea last night to catch the sun going down through the clouds and take some photos. I am finding so much inspiration lately through the lens, and in this vintage dress that belongs to my mom.  Happy weekend friends!

would you take your husband's last name?

When I got married 3 and a half years ago I kept my last name. It never really occurred to me to take my husband's name; I always knew that if and when I were to get married I would keep my name. There are a few reasons I was so confident in my decision: I'm a feminist and think changing your name is a choice; my mom and most of my female family members kept their surnames; lastly, I love my name.

The one issue that comes up is what to do now that there's a baby on the way. I've heard people say that they want to have the same name as their kids so they feel like a family. To be honest, I would like to give this baby a hyphenated last name but husband hates double-barrelled names! And while I admire couples who create new last names, or use both their last names like this awesome couple, I could never get my fairly traditional husband on board with this idea. That said, I grew up with a dad and a brother with my last name and a mom with a different one. It never seemed unusual to me, and I never questioned that we were a family.

I'd love to know... did you/would you take your husband's last name? How did you decide? Do you like your name? What about kids? SO many questions!

p.s. this is one of my favourite wedding pictures, you can see a few more here

this weekend

This weekend I:

• made scones and enjoyed them with lashings of jam and hot tea
• started reading Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
• snapped some photos of my 14 week potbelly
• played around some more with my camera. note to self: noon in sydney is not a good time to take photos

what did you get up to?

a blate

The lovely Liv and her boyfriend, of the blog Liv + Dave, touched down in Sydney this week. Yesterday after realizing we were in the same area, we met up and went for a wander. I hear that's called a blate, a date with a blogger. It's so nice to meet a blogging friend in person, and put a voice and background stories to someone you know from the screen. I was able to clear up why husband is anonymous (not because there's something wrong with his face, as Liv admitted had crossed her mind, ha) and we laughed over our matching phone cases and purses. Yup, I think we were meant to be friends.

baby makes 3

First off, thank you so all much for your kindness and words of congratulations! My favourite thing about being pregnant has been watching our joy spread as our family and friends find out, and telling you all, well that was something I was excited about!

So... I'm 13 weeks in, and was lucky enough to have a fairly easy first trimester. No morning sickness, just lots and lots of napping. Now that I'm in the 2nd trimester I'm looking forward to my energy coming back, hopefully. Baby's due in May, which means he/she will be an autumn baby in Australia and a spring baby in Canada. Perfect.

A note on these photos: What I didn't mention in this post was that Ellen and I had an ulterior motive for meeting up. I really wanted her to snap some photos of me and my teeny bump for this announcement, and she did a wonderful job! You can see more photos here, and if you're looking for a Sydney photographer to do family, maternity, or couples shoots give her a call. Ellen's blog is here, her facebook page is here.

surprise!

We have a lot to look forward to in 2013!

(Photos by Ellen Arthur)

practice makes perfect

Over the weekend, I got together with a fellow nursery attendee to practice taking photos. Ellen has taken to photography like a fish to water, which meant she was able to show me some cool tricks with my camera and in lightroom. Hurrah!

We headed to a park near her house, with rolling hills, tall grass and lots of trees. The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but we still got in lots and lots of shots before we were kicked out of the park. These are some of my favourites, and later this week I'll share the photos that Ellen took of me. I can't wait for you to seem them!

me and my camera

 

1. At one of my favourite city cafes yesterday, Gaffa Galeries.
2. Purple on the tree.
3. Purple on the ground.
4. Brekky this morning with the husband. I love when he wears a suit.
5. Calico cat.
6. My beloved globe. Jasmine.
7. More jasmine.

My new camera arrived this week, and after getting a memory card yesterday I am finally in business. I've been wandering around taking photos of everything these past 24 hours, and my eye seems to be drawn to all things spring. The jacarandas that don't bloom for long but are magnificent while they last. The toes that haven't been covered up in weeks. The jasmine that smells so sweet. I think I'd be happy to live in a Sydney spring forever.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whatever season it is.