Author Archives: Nicole

Digging Holes – April 5th 2009

Kei is digging a great big hole in the backyard to grow a veggie garden. And of course Thomas is more than willing to help. He even has his own metal shovel.

This is quite the spectacle for the neighbour kids who can see through the beautiful chain link fence. Our neighbour and I were talking about how we really need a gate through that fence.

While Thomas dug the hole, Samuel prowled the backyard looking for fresh dirt to eat. It’s times like this when I reflect on how glad I am that we don’t have a dog.

It was all fun until Thomas dug up a pile of dirt and then proceeded to dump it on his brother’s head. Not that Samuel seemed to mind.

It was about the principle – so it was off to a three minute time out where Thomas reflected on his bad behaviour and then vowed never to do it again during a conversation with his daddy.

P.S. Like the paint job on the house? I swear we are planning to get it painted soon. Colour suggestions welcome.

And time out is just not a time out without an apology. Not that Samuel seemed to notice, but it was about the principle.

Long Days – April 4th 2009

Daylight Saving Time has begun in Portland.

Which means I can take photos of Kei and Samuel chasing Thomas down the street at 7pm and it’s still light outside.

We’re all pretty happy about it.

Classic – April 2nd 2009

We have a claw foot tub that doubles as a shower. Our house was built in 1923 and the claw foot tub fits the style of the house and I love its size and depth. It also doubles as a shower and, until we completed renovations last year, this was the only shower in the house. As someone who loves her shower, I can honestly say that using this shower was one of the least pleasant experiences in my day. It had a shower curtain – actually three shower curtains – that wrapped around the entire bath. The curtains had to hang inside to stop the water from dripping on the floor and when the heat came on, the air pressure would force the curtains to move in and stick against my body. It was claustrophobic and uncomfortable and only became more and more of a problem as I grew more and more pregnant.

Now we have a beautiful shower upstairs, fully tiled with a single pane of glass acting as a shower screen and no shower door. It’s like heaven.

The only question in my mind right now is where should our guests shower? My brother and his fiancee are visiting in a few weeks and I am trying to work out the living arrangements. Do I give them the entire bathroom downstairs so they have their own space, shower curtains and all? Or should they use our shower which is directly off our bedroom and a little less private but a much more pleasant showering experience?

These are the questions that are keeping me up at night. Not the economy or the war in Iraq – it’s all about bathroom usage.

A Connection – March 31st 2009

It is so cute watching them together now that Samuel is a little more aware of Thomas. And now that Thomas is not always trying to get Samuel away from his toys. Every now and again I see a small preview of what I hope will be a wonderful relationship between these two boys.

A Guest Gig and an Old Friend

I am so excited to be guest scrapping for Paislee Press this month. I just adore her clean and simple designs. Of course I had very little to choose from in the store because I already own most of it. Nevertheless I just couldn’t pass up these goodies that were just made for a photographer.

 

I’ve  jumped right in and made a couple of pages. Focus on photos and a minimalist design. Takes the pressure off and I love the results.

I also started deigning for an old digi friend this week. Holly McCaig has started designing again for Two Peas and was looking for someone to help promote her kits. Of course I put up my hand, started immediately and promptly fell in love with this background paper and frame.

In other scrapping news… I am still going strong with the P52 project at Jen Wilson Designs. Her store has been down but the challenges continue to be inspiring.

I also entered the “So You Think You can Scrap” contest…

…and then began to wonder where I would find the time for all of this. I may just be a little crazy. I’m already half way through the contest though and the kits they are offering for 50% off are just too cute to pass up. 

It’s an illness.

All the better to eat you with – March 30th, 2009

I know it’s a terrible photo. Samuel looks a little freakish and the light is missing from his eyes so they look like cavernous holes in the middle of his head…

…but seriously, check out those enormous teeth!

Watching and Waiting – March 29th, 2009

This is Samuel’s favourite place to be now that the sun has finally come out. It buys me at least 10 minutes while he keeps himself occupied watching whatever is happening out in the front yard. Of course if that something happens to be his Daddy and brother playing, contentedness soon turns to frustration and then anger until we let him out to play. Samuel sure knows how to get his point across.

Davis Family Session

I was so thrilled with my first family photo session that I relished the opportunity to do it again. Of course I was nervous. What if the first time was a fluke? What if I lucked out with an extremely photogenic family? What if I really can’t success without that fabulous green chair?

Yes, I was nervous and conditions were less than ideal (Hail (yes, hail) and a toddler who ran out of patience), but I realized that what I love about taking photos is the ability to capture the moment – not the perfect smily photo, but images that reflect real life.

I am just so happy with the moments I managed to capture for this family – complete with the surly 3 year old.

This is quite possibly my favourite…

And this one is a close second. One of those moments where I walked outside, turned around, and there was the photo. I was being pounded by hail, but it was definitely worth it.

And then the hail stopped just long enough for me to catch a photo of little Iver sitting up for the very first time. I hope they always remember that moment when they look at the photo.

I did manage to get a couple of smiles.

And of course at this time of the year you have to make the most of the cherry blossoms.

Thank you Davis family for letting me capture these moments and for giving me the opportunity to photograph some adorable baby blue eyes.