Happy New year!

We're into February so this is a little late...

We ended 2015 with the arrival of our third baby girl. She was nearly five weeks early and thankfully I had wrapped up all of my sessions for the season and was able to hunker down to focus just on my family these past few months. Throwing a newborn into the mix means that I've had to adjust my priorities and accept that there is only so much that can be done in a day. While the beds may not be made and I can go days without washing my hair – my children are dressed, fed, and seem relatively happy so I consider this a success!

While I'm loving this time with my little ones, I am also looking forward to the sessions I have booked for this spring starting in May. If you are interested in newborn or family photos this spring or summer, please click here for details and availability. 

I'd like to say that I will be blogging more soon, but seeing as it has taken me over eight weeks to post this and I am currently typing with one hand while holding a half-asleep baby, it's doubtful you will be hearing from me anytime soon :)

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!

First day of junior kindergarten

After waiting all week, it was finally Robin's turn to join the masses and make the trek to her new school for her first day of junior kindergarten. 

Thankfully she was brave and the only tears were my own.

Back to work

Back in the office after a great vacation and working on some blog posts. Lots to share! Also, details for my annual Fall Mini-Sessions will be released next week, AND I'm offering a promotion on family sessions booked on weekdays between now and August 29th! Email me for details. Stay tuned...

Cottage-bound...

Cottage-bound and hoping to eat s'mores, swim, kayak, hike, read a good book, and relax over the next week… when I'm not chasing two kids, that is. 

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.

tree-hugger

Robin & Me

I'm feeling quite nostalgic this week as Brooke's first birthday approaches. This past year has gone by so quickly and I can't believe how much both my girls have changed. When I  became pregnant with Brooke, it seemed natural that at some point I would have some maternity photos taken – I even had a few ideas and spoke to our photographer about it. But like it always does, life got busier. We had a very rough winter with multiple illnesses, and I felt less and less inclined to be in front of the camera. So at some point, I decided to forgo the photos. I told myself that I didn't really need them. I had photos of me pregnant with Robin and that would be enough.

And then, about 2 weeks before my due date – panic struck. Robin would not be my baby anymore. At 2.5 years old, she was becoming more and more independent and it wasn't going to be just the two of us. We would be bringing a new baby home and I was acutely aware of how much life was going to change. I was going to have to figure out how to be a mom to two little girls, splitting up my time and attention. And at the time, that seemed a bit crazy.

I blasted my photographer with a text, email and phone call. "You have to come and take photos of us" I begged. I realized how wrong I was to not capture this time – while it was still Robin and me.

Thankfully, she obliged and I have these wonderful keepsakes of us being us. Cuddles on the bed, a stroll down our street and sharing banana chocolate chip muffins. I will be forever grateful.

Photos taken by the lovely, talented, beautiful-inside-and-out, Scarlet O'Neill.

Looking back, I see my belly and it's fun to think about how Brooke was there with us. We just didn't know her yet, and we didn't know how much joy and love she would add to our lives. I'm so glad I was able to give Robin a baby sister and I still can't believe how easy it is to love them both so much.

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.

Happy Valentine's Day!