rain, rain...

It's been awhile since I have posted anything of these two. The weather has been so strange lately, warm then cold, sunny then rainy. It was pouring while we ate dinner and the sky was dark enough that I closed the blinds and turned our front porch light on, feeling like were were shutting down for the night. We started the dinner clean up and the the girls took turns putting ingredients into a bowl for banana bread, and then brilliant sunlight suddenly flooded the back of our house. We dropped everything, pulled on our boots and headed outside.

I'm the crazy lady in our neighborhood, standing in the road yelling things like "If you look at me RIGHT NOW I'll let you have Halloween candy when we get home!!" 

We returned to the smell of baking bread, a disaster of a kitchen, and puddles in our boots. And I was quickly reminded to fetch the box of left-over Halloween candy... of course.

Merry Christmas!

No matter what you are celebrating this holiday season, I hope it is a wonderful time with your loved ones. Merry Christmas from the Walker Family!

A sunny afternoon with my girls | Toronto Family Photographer

I took the girls to one of my favourite shooting spots last week to enjoy what was probably one of the last warm days of the year.

Happy 1st Birthday Brooke!

Happy first birthday to our sweet little Brooke. I have to be one of the worst moms out there when it comes to tracking milestones. I don't keep a log or write anything down. The only way I can "guess" things is by looking back at photos. Brooke has 8 teeth now but I have no idea really when they all came in. I can't remember what her first solid food was (best guess would be sweet potatoes) and I definitely could not tell you which puree she liked best at 8 months versus 9 months.  I have no idea how much she weighs. I'll take her for a check-up next week and they will tell me in kilograms and I'll forget about 10 minutes later (before I've made the conversion to pounds). And her weight will then remain a mystery until the next check-up.

But today, exactly 365 days since she arrived in this world, here's what I do know.

At 12 months old, Brooke is just as in love as ever with her big sister Robin. She smiles and laughs with her more than anyone else and always wants the toy that she is playing with (much to Robin's dismay). A girl of my own heart, she loves peanut butter sandwiches – I hope this never changes! She's crawling, can get around quite quickly and always seems to be looking for trouble. One false move with the gates and I fear she'd attempt to fly off the top of the stairs. She loves reading books and singing songs. She squeals with delight whenever she sees a dog. She enjoys emptying the pantry drawer, only to put everything back in again and she's fascinated by shoes and boots. She's not a great sleeper, but the way she cuddles against me and rests her head on my chest at 3am makes up for that (almost). Her nicknames are Brookie, Brookie Monster, Brookie Bear, Brookerino and Fluff-top.

So here's to our Brookie Monster. I can't believe it has been one year. Here are a few of my favourite photos from this past month.

Swinging into Spring...

Finally! The weather is warming up and we are back to playing outside before and after dinner. It's glorious! And although I'm itching for buds to appear on the trees and for the grass to turn green again, I know those things will come and I am just so happy to have sunshine and above zero temperatures for now.

So on this happy note, I will soon be releasing details for Spring mini-sessions this May, as well as a sale on full family portrait sessions. Stay tuned!

Brooke at 10 months | Toronto Family Photographer

I've been trying to set aside time each month to spend a few minutes with my camera and Brooke, just the two of us, so I can be sure I am capturing her at each stage. The first year goes by so quickly and they grow and change so much. I find I rely so much on my iPhone for photos these days, I forget how much I love shooting with my camera, with my girls as the subject. I missed 9 months so I had been thinking about when I might find the time to do 10 months, but it ended up happening by accident yesterday. Brooke was in her usual favourite spot by our back sliding doors after her afternoon nap and I was getting organized so we could go for a walk while it was still sunny. The back of our house faces west and the setting sun was streaming in on Brooke, and of course I naturally grabbed my iPhone to take a snap, but then something dawned on me  – here was the perfect opportunity capture Brooke, doing what she normally does.  I thought I would take just few shots but once I started, Brooke found it fun to chase after me and we ended up spending quite awhile just crawling around the kitchen together.

She's serious in this last frame. Perhaps starting to find it a bit annoying that I won't let her have my camera to play with.

Our trip to Jamaica

We have just returned from our family vacation in Jamaica. Sadly, we were struck by a stomach bug while we were there and spent more time ill than healthy, but we still tried our best to make the most of our time by the pool and on the beach. And while most of the photos I took were on my iPhone, I did manage to drag out my camera a few times. And I'm thankful I did.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2014...

Happy New Year! After a 3-week holiday with my family, I'm back to work this week. It feels good to be setting goals and making resolutions for 2014. Already it looks like January is going to be a busy month with lots of babies on the way. And above is my own – Brooke at 8 months.

Brooke at 5 months...

I'm late posting these as she is almost 6 months now... time is flying by.

Twelve weeks already?!?

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 3 months since our little Brooke came into our lives. “Brookie”, as Robin calls her, definitely feels like part of the Walker clan now. When Robin talks about her family, she always includes her "baby girl sister" (not to be confused with a "baby boy brother"). She's eager to help with Brooke's bath and bedtime and is always trying to give Brooke toys. Now if only she could grasp the concept of "gentle"... Thankfully, Brooke has come out of that insanely fussy newborn stage (man, what is it with weeks 6 to 9!?! ). She's almost always happy and to my delight, gives me smiles and coos all day long.

All tuckered out...

And here are a few shots of "life" taken over the last 6 weeks. It's crazy how quickly they grow and change.

Good morning big sister!ToesDaddy and his girlsHelping mom with the laundry"Here you go Brookie"The "great flood of 2013"My big girl...I've started shooting again (already booking into September!) and there are so many bumps and babies this summer – how fitting! I'm going to be catching up on some blog posts over the next couple of weeks so stay tuned. Lots of baby-goodness coming your way.