maternity photography: Katie

Last week I got together with my dear friend Katie to take photos of her belly and her boys. This baby boy is due early in the new year and I can't wait to meet him!

To be honest, the afternoon was a comedy of errors beginning with the 35 degree weather we were having. We had to shoot at the worst time of day (thanks Clementine) so the light was harsh, and juggling the needs of two small people and a baby while taking photos was pretty damn funny. At one point, just as I was shooting, Katie's bra strap spontaneously broke and I had to tie it back together. We joked that at this rate, it would hardly have been surprising if she went in to labour!

Despite the challenges (ahem), I have to say that I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. I just love taking photos of families.

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"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: In the big bath, eating her duck. 

Normally we bathe Clementine in her baby bath, but this week I've been putting her in the big bath with me and oh my, it is so much fun! She splashes and swims, and plays with her rubber ducks. It's the sweetest.

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

finding our groove

After three weeks back in Sydney, I feel like we're finally finding our groove. As I mentioned in this post, I found it really hard to adjust to spending my days alone after having so much help for 2 months. As always, the biggest challenge for me is learning to cope without much sleep. But I think we're getting there.

Our days are punctuated with friends and coffee, evening strolls and lots of sunshine. In the morning we play, and I eat my big bowl of oatmeal (good for breastfeeding mums) with a cup of tea. I take advantage of Clementine's first nap to shower, get dressed and tidy. Usually sometime mid morning we meet friends for coffee in our neighbourhood. Spending time with my friends really does keep me sane and I'm so grateful to have such a great community nearby. I don't know what I'd do without them.

By lunchtime we're back home for Clementine's longest nap. I almost always curl up with her and hope for sleep. Sometimes I get a good nap, sometimes it's just a rest but either way I think it's an essential part of my day. In the afternoon we might go to the shops, run an errand or just hang out at home. Then it's off for a stroll to get the little one to nap again. I've come to cherish these early evening walks of ours as a beautiful, grounding part of my day.

In the evening, my husband gets home and gives Clementine her dinner (two egg yolks) and a bath. She adores the bath and could happily spend half an hour splashing around. Getting her to sleep takes quite a while, so by the time she's finally down I'm ready for bed myself! My husband and I eat together and I crawl into bed by 9 pm.

On the days where I teach yoga or my husband works late, our rhythm does get thrown out of whack a bit, but for the most part, this is how we spend our time. I'm learning that slow and simple is best - that doing one thing a day is more than enough. My house is never perfectly clean or tidy, and dinner doesn't always get made but I'm practicing the art of letting go. Everyday I remind myself: close enough is good enough.

a photo walk with ellen arthur photography

Way back in July, Ellen (of Ellen Arthur photography) and I went for a photo walk. We matched her lens with my camera body and took turns snapping photos of each other. She is so talented, and I loved getting the chance to pick her brain and chat photography. Like most things in life, the more I learn about something, the more questions I have. As I fall more in love with photography, I find myself asking all of these talented photographer friends of mine for tips and advice. It's a great way to learn.

p.s. all photos of me are by Ellen. All photos of Ellen are by me. She edited all photos.

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"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: I love her tiny, dimpled hands.

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

where do you live?

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about home. For all of our apartment's perks (space, location, air conditioning) it has one major problem: noise. Noise so bad that it's waking us all up multiple times a week. On the weekend, Clementine was woken up 3 times in 12 hours, and as any parent will know, that pretty much makes you crazy. So even though it's a huge hassle and we really don't want to, we know that we need to move.

The problem is that we live in such an expensive part of the world that we will probably be renting for a while yet. And the rental market here is insane! Overpriced shacks can entice dozens of people to an open house. It's all getting incredibly stressful. We have toyed with the idea of moving slightly up or down the coast, where the cost of living is so much more reasonable. But we always come back to community. Our family and friends are here, so we put up with the insane rent prices and we stay.

So I'm putting it out there to the universe... We need a new home, and in an ideal world my wishlist would include:

• an outdoor space (balcony, backyard, whatever...)
• hardwood floors
• bathtub
• good light
• built ins
• in our neighbourhood
• air conditioning

Where do you live? Urban or rural? City or suburbs? House or apartment? Why do you stay?

5 month Clementine

Our Clementine turned 5 months old last week. My husband says that even though he's always loved her, he loves her even more now that her personality is showing more and more. She is a funny little cherub, that's for sure. While we were travelling, people would always remark on how happy and friendly she is. She smiles at everyone, will let anyone hold her and just generally makes herself loved wherever she goes.

In this last month she's become way more dexterous. She's playing with toys, and grabbing everything she can to bring to her mouth for a taste. This sometimes includes our faces, which she likes to grab affectionately. It also includes her books, which I am always trying to read to her and she is always trying to eat. She's also rolling like a pro. She's been rolling for a while but she's totally mastered it over the last fortnight. In fact, she won't stay put now!

Over the last few days we've started the solids adventure. I would have liked to wait longer, but being the wee babe that she is, we've been encouraged to push the solid food to get her weight up. Clementine has tried runny egg yolk, mashed avocado and homemade applesauce (all mixed with a little breast milk). So far, she only likes the egg yolk. But watching her facial expressions as she tries a new food is absolutely priceless. We love her so!

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"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: Afternoon siesta. After taking this photo I curled up next to her and we both slept. A daily necessity.

Joining in on Jodi's 52 project.

the art of doing nothing (in Colombia)

"What if you pulled away from this constant stimulation? Stepped out of this forward-gushing wave of modern life and did something else? What if you found your own rhythm, one that's insightful and nurturing like the lapping of waves on a sandy shore — sometimes rough, sometimes quiet, sometimes still like glass?"

- from The Way of the Happy Woman by Sara Avant Stover

While we were in Colombia, we spent a week in a small town called Villa de Leyva. Several of my family members, including my mom, have holiday homes there.  My mom's house belonged to my grandparents, and as they hadn't been in a long time it was needing some TLC. My husband and my mom spent the whole week gardening, cleaning, decorating, organising repairs and then gardening some more. Me, I took care of Clementine.

The pace was slow and the days were long. With no wifi, I found myself bored for the first time in, well, a very long time. It was so good for me. I couldn't edit photos, write blog posts, watch tv, check comments, scroll through instagram or look at Facebook (boy am I disliking facebook more and more these days!). Instead, I took photos, gave Clementine my undivided attention, ate well, watched the fire, contemplated, admired my aunt's beautiful quilts, did nothing, napped, and read books. Two whole books: Death Comes to Pemberly and Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, both of which I loved.

It was grounding and made me hyper aware of my surroundings in a way I haven't been in a long time. I was present, because there was nowhere else to be. It's a practice I think I should embrace more often, perhaps for shorter stretches here and there and for one long stretch a year.

How do you unplug?

p.s. do you bring your iphone to dinner? and do you check your phone first thing in the morning?