anyone other than us [2012]

PROJECT LIFE: Week 3

2012-02-11T12:07:00.001-04:00

Here we go, Week 3! I've had this done for a little while now (we're starting Week 7 tomorrow!) but I just never got around to taking pics of the layout (I'm more focused on actually finishing the layouts than taking pics of them afterwards! haha)

Nothing too spectacular or different about this week; I did more Instagram and regular photo collages, used digital elements on a photo (again, a freebie from Ali), writing on photos (something I really enjoy doing), the 'constants', and random bits and pieces. I also included a card that Dan's nan sent with a package for Violet (bottom left corner, it's vintage and so sweet!), the business card from the tattoo salon where Dan got his tattoo, as well as a hidden journaling card from the Project Life kit with a message to Dan about his tattoo that's meant only for him (I stuck an Instagram on the front). I had to include our "Weekly Review" on the Title card in the top corner, but that's ok, I think that I will get better at narrowing down my pictures as the weeks go on (and I'm sure that I'll have less photos as the weeks progress, since right now I'm still super enthusiastic about the project and am snapping quite a few, almost everyday).

Sorry for the crummy photos, the layouts are hard to photograph and are much cooler in real life!

I finished Week 4 and am just a few pics away from finishing Week 5, so I'm not too behind, which is good, I'm hoping to get them done this weekend so that I can start documenting and working on the week we're actually in (if that makes sense, haha).

Still loving this project!

I still need to do Violet's update, but who knows when that will happen :S

PROJECT LIFE: Week 2

2012-02-01T17:29:00.001-04:00

Back to share Week 2! I am enjoying this project so much, I can't even say, I just reaaallllly hope I can keep it up.

This week I actually included my first extra insert (didn't take long!) I did Violet's 3-month 'official' photoshoot so I wanted to include shots from that as well as our weekly shots, so that meant inserting a 6X12 page protector to include 6 more 4X6 photos. I LOVE having different sized protectors throughout the album, so I will be doing it at least once a month I think.

Other things I did this week: Digital elements on a photo (the "love you" text was a freebie from Ali Edwards from awhile ago), a letter to Violet 'collage', writing to her about her photoshoot (created in PS), writing directly on the photos ('old school' scrapping, I tell ya!), labels and journaling spots on photos, a little 4X6 card with an instagram strip, and the 'constants' I mentioned last time (grocery receipt, iPhone weather shot, weekly review card).

I just finished up Week 3, so I'll post that soon, and I hope to have Week 4 done before the end of this week so that I'll be 'caught' up officially (I don't mind being a week behind but I don't want to be more than that or else my mind gets too foggy).

<3
Geneviève

(PS-Didn't mean to do it, but this week's layout is ALL about Violet, haha, there's only one picture of Victor, none of me or Dan, and a few of inanimate objects...oh well, not going to stress, some weeks will have more going on for certain family members than others).

PROJECT LIFE: Intro and Week 1

2012-01-27T23:38:00.000-04:00

Hi! Sorry I haven't been back sooner, but I've been busy! Of course, that's always the excuse isn't it? At least I can say it was partly due to some craftiness :)

You see, like I mentioned in my last post, I decided to give Project Life a try. For those who aren't part (or on the sidelines) of the online scrap/crafty community, Project Life is basically a simplified system for documenting/scrapbooking your life. It's really nothing more than specially sized page protectors, journaling cards, accent papers and an album that you buy as a kit. You print off your pictures, slip them inside the page protectors, write on the journaling cards, put them in the smaller pockets, add whatever you want as decoration, and voila, instant scrapbook. It's been around for a few years now but this year it just seems to have exploded in popularity, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

I was actually really lucky because my online friend Stephanie actually gave me her 2011 kit that she didn't end up using in exchange for some Canadian food goodies (poutine sauce anyone?), so I didn't have to pay for any of it (she just sent me the page protectors and the cards, not the album or papers). I was waiting anxiously for it to arrive and it did a couple of weeks ago, so I've been working on 'catching' up ever since.

And so far?

I FRIGGIN' LOVE IT.

Here are my random thoughts/philosophies on the process so far:

-I'm approaching the album in the same way that Ali Edwards does hers (yes I copy Ali a lot, so sue me). Basically one two page spread covers a week (Sunday to Saturday in my case). Which means at the end of the year I'll have 52 spreads (unless I combine a few weeks, which very well may happen one life starts to get busier). I'll add extra inserts when I can't fit everything on a spread, but for the most part it'll just be the 2 pages.

-I'm not focusing on taking a picture a day (which the spreads allow for), but instead am looking at it as a weekly overview. So if one day I didn't take a picture, I use more shots from an event where I did take more than one, or whatever.

-Ideally I will journal as the weeks happen, and have been trying to do that this past week, but since I'm 'catching' up from the first 3 weeks (we're ending Week 4 tomorrow), I'm more or less journaling from memory/using the pics as jump off points. But like I said, I'm going to try and journal more 'in the moment' when I can. I'm thinking about using an App on my phone to prompt me to journal in that way too.

-I'm also trying to include as much 'stuff' as possible, since I find it's a nice change from just photos and journaling. Receipts, cards, tags, whatever, it's fun to collect little bits of life.

-The key for me in this project is keeping it out and visible for me to see and work on. I have everything set up on my dining room sideboard. The album is open there, along with a basket full of random bits to use on the pages (will get into that in a second), along with my cutter, glue, journaling cards, anything I think I'll use. By having it all (neatly) out in the open, I'm always reminded to work on it and can pick at it during the week in my few free moments as opposed to putting it away, lugging it out and working on it once a week for a few hours and putting it back away...that would never work for me. The sideboard is also a perfect height to work standing up, which I really like.

-I borrowed my mom's photo printer which is also a HUGE help. I print off a few pics whenever I'm at the computer, then put them in the protectors right away to decorate at a later time. Again, doing one big batch once a week at Wal Mart or something would never work for me, I'd fall so behind that I would just quit, I knew it.

-My main philosophy for this project falls into line with my Goals for 2012: Keep my expectations of it realistic, finish what I start, and KEEP IT SIMPLE. So if the photos aren't perfectly edited (I just quickly edit them in iPhoto, nothing beyond that), or the journaling is messy, or something is crooked, just leave it be. This is a marathon project, not a sprint, so it's important to pace myself, not make it more complicated/elaborate than it has to be, and to just have fun with it. Make it mine, something for my family only, not something to impress the online world or anyone else. Making and keeping memories, that's it.

-I love how this project has already prompted me to pick up my camera more and to observe things more closely. Sure, it might be in an artificial way ('ooh, that'll be cool to put in the album!' type thoughts), but still, I'm happy to have the incentive always there reminding me to document more (something I've been really slacking on lately).

Ok, enough rambling, here we go, Week 1!!

(I haven't worked on the cover page yet, not sure when that'll get done, I have an idea of what I want to do though. The album itself is a simple AC cloth d-Ring album in chocolate brown, goes great with the colour combo of the kit. The kit also includes clear dividers for each month, that's the teal thing you see on my first spread.)

There are a few things I've decided to include in every week to make the album a bit more cohesive (but I'm not going to be inflexible about it either, this is as long as it works for me):

-The Week Title Card in the top left corner (with a letter sticker/large 'W' at the beginning)

-A "Weekly Overview" Card somewhere on the layout (basically just a bit of journaling reporting what we did that week, this time it's in the bottom right corner)

-Our grocery receipt when we do groceries (always in the same small pocket on the second page)

-An iPhone screenshot of the weather for the week (didn't include in the first week but have been doing it ever since...and idea I saw on Cathy's blog)

That's it for now, I may start including other 'constants' later on, but I'm finding that it's hard to fit everything in as it is now, so I'll probably leave it at that.

My idea on the whole 'scrapbooking' part of it is to keep it quite simple, but I still want to add a bit of flourish here and there, which to me is coming in the form of 'sticking sh*t on the photos', haha. Lots of labels and journaling spots (great way to include more journaling), stickers, letters, rub-ons, date stickers, anything that can fill in the negative space of a photo. (It's old school scrap style, but whatev.) I don't do it to every pic but I try to add something to most of them. I have a lot of scrapbooking stuff leftover that I will never use for actual pages, so using it up here is perfect for me. I'm also using digi elements when I can (which you'll see in Week 2 and 3 once I post them). I just tweak my photos in PS before printing, usually it's super easy and quick (again, keeping it simple).

I'm also really enjoying including 'collages' of various shots, either from my phone or my camera, whatever I can fit into a 4X6 slot. This week I did a collage of 6 Instagram shots from the week.

There is SO MUCH inspiration online right now for this project that there isn't a shortage of ideas for things to do to keep it fresh if I have a slow week, so I'm excited to try a few ideas I've seen online from time to time, but again, it's more about just documenting life and creating this for my family to look back on one day.

Finally, why am I doing this? It's our first full year as a family of four. I want to do it justice :)

Ok, back soon with Week 2, if you have any questions about it just let me know!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

For the past 2-3 years I've done a ton of 'real life' goals as my resolutions. Things that I either could and did or didn't do. But this year I thought I would try something new, more of a 'philosophical' approach to resolutions and goals (although I still hate philosophy, I'm not going all crazy or anything!)

After last year and all the surprises/work/stress/joys it threw at me, I knew that this year would most likely bring more of the same. With 2 kids under 3, my business going into its second year (and needing to stand on its own two feet), and a new (old) house that needs tons of labour and money, I can already image what 2012 is going to be like, so instead of just kidding myself by setting all these unrealistic goals (start running! finish all my old scrapbooks! go to the market every friday! etc etc), I just kept thinking these three things over and over (really, they all tie in together as one general idea, but it's split into three mantras).

Keep my expectations in check: I'm old enough now to know when I'm bullshitting myself and when I'm serious about something. My ambition is far greater than my capabilities. Every time I set a goal this year, I need to ask myself "Is this realistic?" "What's my motivation for wanting to do this?" "Am I going to be disappointed if I don't accomplish this?" "Is this something I really WANT to do, or do I feel like I SHOULD?". I'm not trying to weasel my way out of doing anything, I just want to be sure that when I'm setting my goals, that they can actually get done, which leads to...

Finish what you start: Pretty simple in theory, very hard in practice. I start sooo many projects but always lose steam about halfway through. Doesn't matter what it is, home decor projects, baking, reading, blogging, crafts, scrapbooking, I barely ever finish anything, and I hate it. I have this guilt hanging over me forever afterwards, and I just don't want to have those feelings anymore. I'm going to try really hard to just let go of what hasn't been done and focus really hard on finishing what I start from now on. Keeping my expectations in check will help with this since I won't be taking on anything for the wrong reasons or taking on anything that I know in my heart I won't finish. That's the idea anyway. I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this, it's a symptom of our Internet crazed, multitasking, busy, ADD society. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to change though.

Keep it simple. In everything. Keep.it.simple.

So there you have it. My 'goals' for 2012. All the best to you in yours, and wish me luck in mine :)

Back next week with some scrappy stuff and kiddo updates.

Review of Goals for 2011

2012-01-04T15:40:00.001-04:00

Ok, time to check in and see how I did with my Goals in 2011 (my comments are in bold after the goal).

1. Work full-time as a photographer. DONE! I'm very proud to say that I did accomplish this, with a lot of work and struggle, and a bit of help and flexibility too. From January to March (when my Mat Leave with Victor finished), I worked on my business plan and my application for the Self Employment Benefit Program (a government program designed to help people starting their own businesses). I was approved for that program in March and I believe that it was on March 11th, 2011, I started working officially for myself full time! I launched my website and blog, bought some new equipment, got my business cards, created my Facebook page, and got to shooting. At the end of the year I had shot 36 sessions including 4 weddings, sold several product packages (which surprised me the most of all), met a lot of amazing, supportive clients, and learned a lot about how to run a business and about my style as a photographer. One thing I didn't do was get rich, but I think that at the end of the day, I didn't LOSE any money so I consider that a success. I am going to continue working this year, but once my SEBP ends in March, I may need to bite the bullet and get a part time job to supplement our income a little bit, but hopefully I'll be able to support myself with my business alone. This was a huge one, and I'm very pleased that I accomplished it.

2. Buy a house. DONE! Another huge one for us. We bought our house over the summer and moved in officially on August 16th, 2011. So happy with our choice of home and with everything so far. It feels so good to be a homeowner :)

3. Finish another quilt. NOT DONE. No time, no motivation, but perhaps this year; now that Victor is in a big boy bed and needs a cute quilt for hid room, I'll be inspired to get it done.

4. Get pregnant. DONE and DOOOOOONE. Got pregnant way ahead of schedule, had Violet in September, and never want to have a baby again! lol

5. Take 2 trips outside of NB (one with Victor and one with just Dan). NOT DONE. Again, just too busy with work, too poor from buying the house, and too big from being pregnant. Dan mentioned taking a week off this summer from work to take a few trips, one as a family and one just the two of us, so I'm looking forward to that.

6. Open an RESP, continue saving/paying off debt, 'grow up'. 50% DONE. I did open an RESP for Victor but we pretty much wiped out our savings on the house and actually racked up more debt on our credit cards with house related expenses. Not ideal, but I'm trying not to stress over it. Also didn't get our Will done, but with Violet and the house now in our lives, it's just as well that we waited. 2012 will be the year to get that sh*t done.

7. Read 6 books. NOT DONE. *Hangs head in shame* I suck at reading, really I do. I read 1 book I think, the 2nd Hunger Games book (and it took over a freakin' year to finish!)

8. Put more effort into my friendships (and make new friends). MEH. I did hang out with Sara a lot this year (mostly because Victor was going to her until the end of summer, so I saw her every day), but my faraway friends (Anna, Heather, Jelena) got the short end of the stick, it was just sooo busy. Haven't made any new friends either, but maybe having a neighbour will help with that? Who knows.

9. Continue/expand on buying local/organic food. Again, MEH. I tried, I got on stints for a couple of weeks, but fell back into old bad habits. This is probably the most challenging thing for me, I find it soooo hard to change my eating habits, I honestly don't know if I'll ever truly change.

10. Spend less time on the computer. NOT DONE. Not at all. If your count my phone (which I do), I actually spent MORE time on the computer last year, both for work and for foolishness. I want to break my phone habit, because it's crossing over into Victor's life, which is not good at all (having a 2 year old who is addicted to an iPhone is not a good thing). Shame.

11. Take more risks. I'm going to say DONE, though it's probably arguable. It was a huge risk to start my business, not knowing how it would go and if we'd be able to survive financially. We also took a risk by buying our home when we did, again not knowing how we would cope financially. Having Violet in the driveway was risky, though it wasn't my choice (ha!), and I did a couple of small, foolish 'risky' things like dye my hair red. I don't think I lived it up quite as much as I wanted to, but again, our plans for the year changed quite a bit when that positive sign popped up on the stick back in February, so I can't blame myself for not doing as much as I had wanted.

("RISK" was also my One Little Word last year, and I've decided not to do one this year as I found that I pretty much forgot about it after the first 3 months or so, I'm not a meditative person on that kind of stuff, so it was just a word I picked that seemed to fit at the time. It did motivate me in the beginning, but then life took over. Ah well.)

So there you have it. Probably 50/50, which is about average for me and my Goal making. Not perfect, but I never once claimed to be. I like to try :)

G.

2011 in a nutshell

2012-01-02T09:00:00.003-04:00

January 2011

December 2011

First post of 2012, here we go!

After nearly a month of not blogging, but then again, that was the theme of 2011 I think...not doing the things I used to do.

This post is going to be pretty random and jumbled, so be warned!

2011 was an extremely busy year for us and one that in some ways I think I handled well, and in some ways think I failed at miserably. There were a lot of really good things that happened, but it was almost as if too many good things happened all at once, if that makes sense, and I felt like I wasn't able to properly appreciate them all because I was too busy just trying to make it through the days and the huge changes that they brought.

2011 was the first year in pretty much my entire life where I really felt disorganized. And for me, that's a big deal. I like being on top of things, being organized, checking things off my lists, but this year I was lucky to even get the lists written. It taught me a lot, taught me how to let go (a little), and brought me back down to reality a little bit.

(I'm not saying that I was a perfectionist/super productive before this past year, far from it, but it just felt like I wasn't even able to keep up with myself or my life...but that's the point I guess, my life shifted into a new season and I wasn't ready for it.)

Anyway, like I said, a lot of good things happened this past year, including some big, life changing moments:

-We were shocked to discover that I was pregnant at the beginning of February (and I'll honestly admit now that it was definitely a break-down moment for me, I didn't handle it very well!) So for most of the year, I was pregnant, which I barely had time to acknowledge most days...

-I spent the first three months of the year preparing for the Self Employment Benefit Program, wrote my business plan, built my websites, and in March, officially started working as a photographer for Geneviève Flynn Photography full time (something that I'd like to get into more, but will save for another day). Needless to say, that alone was momentous enough to fill my year!

-We spent the Spring and Summer looking for, and eventually buying, our first home (another dream come true, but one that came with a lot of financial stresses and 'growing up').

-We spend the Fall and Winter working on the house, and of course, welcoming our daughter, Violet (who couldn't let us have a moment of calm right from the moment she was born in my parent's driveway in the middle of the night!)

-We watched our barely 1-year old go from a baby to a full blown toddler in what seems like a short amount of time, and were kept on our toes with all the of the changes he went through.

So yes, new business + new baby + new house, all in one year. Crazy really.

It was a year full of dirty dishes in the sink, boxes and packing (and unpacking), babysitters, first steps and words, baby kicks, Mac converting, trips to Bathurst, painting, shivering, Photoshopping, belly growing, guitar playing (and buying), a new car, pink clothes (!), weird weather, bangs, iPhones/Androids, SEVERE iPhone/Android addiction, TV shows (but not a lot of movies), swimming, Pinterest, new cameras and lenses, projects, renos, teal nails, wood fires, bread with peanut butter, Musical Moments, family reunions, credit cards, cuddles and kisses, big boy beds, cousins and friends, photography classes and WETT certification courses, mortgages, messes (so many messes), new kitties, and becoming a whole family.

That really just scratches the surface, but like I said, our 2011 in a nutshell :) I wonder what 2012 will bring?!?

To finish up, I'm just going to post one random iPhone pic from each month (thank God for the iPhone and Instagram, as crappy as the quality is sometimes, I'm still so glad to have our day to day captured through this device. Thank you Steve Jobs!)

January-Baby Victor!

February-The shock of the year.

March-New business, new equipment :)

April-My boys

May-Lots of walks with our new walker

June-New Hair

July-New House!!

August-THE BUSIEST FREAKING MONTH EVER.

September-Welcome Violet Marie

October-Stuff in the toilet (this is probably the funniest picture I took all year)

November-Colour

December-1st Christmas at HOME

Be back hopefully this week with a check-in on my Goals for 2011/One Little Word and my new Goals for 2012 post...really there are only 2 or 3, going to keep it really simple this year. I also need to come back to report on how A Week in the Life went (yes, I did do it, just didn't blog everyday like I had intended), and talk about Project Life (yes, I'm insane and decided to give it a go!)

Hope you all had an amazing 2011 and that your best day in 2011 in your worst in 2012!

G.

10 Random things about Victor at 21 months

2011-12-08T13:03:00.002-04:00

-He 'talks' to himself, babbling something and then saying 'mo' ("no"), as if to correct himself. It's funny.

-He's obsessed with Teletubbies ("beebees" or "eeesss"); his favourites are Poe and Lala.

-His favourite book is "Cats", which is just a flip book with all sorts of pictures of cats, with pull out tabs, 'real' fur to touch, and a squeaky ball. I have to read it (only me, not Dan), in the exact same way, and he says "abatte" to get me to start (no idea what that word means).

-His vocabulary is probably 70/30 French to English, unless you count names.

-He can almost jump, and is learning to run.

-He loves to play with the toilets, and has been caught throwing various things in there (other than entire rolls of toilet paper, which he also does).

-He is a very picker and light eater, but he loves Ketchup and milk.

-He's still snuggly, but will quickly push you away when he's done.

-He wants to do everything by himself; right now he's trying to learn how to put his socks on (this means that he constantly pulls his socks off and is barefoot most of the time).

-He's getting scarily good at using my iPhone; he can unlock it, pick out his App game, play it, and knows how to make folders will all my icons (which means every time I pick up my phone everything is out of order and some Apps are probably deleted).

I love this little guy. He tests my patience more than anything ever has, and I often fail at being patient with him, but when we're both in a good mood, there's nothing better. He's so smart, and funny, and quirky, and sweet, and I'm marvelling at how much he is learning everyday and how much he is growing. Only 3 months 'til he's 2!!

Back with Violet's 4-12 Weeks update soon!

(PS-I'm still planning to do A Week in the Life starting next week, though I'm pretty nervous about it! I bought the papers, so I have no choice now, I spent 13$! haha)

A Week in the Life/December Daily 2011

2011-11-19T23:33:00.001-04:00

Ok, so maybe I'm insane for trying this, but as I mentioned in my last post, I've been feeling super creative lately (my 'mojo' is back), and I just want to do all sorts of crafty things, so I decided to attempt another A Week in the Life in December, since I enjoyed it so much last year and want to continue doing it.

A couple of reasons I think doing it now is a good time to document our lives:

-It'll be 18 months since I did my last one (I did it in June 2010), and to say the least, A LOT has changed since then!

-It's our first Christmas in the new house, which is a big deal. Also, it'll give me a chance to document the Christmas-ey things in our lives without having to commit myself to an entire month, like in December Daily (which I totally failed at doing back in 2009).

-Violet will be about the same age as Victor was when I did it the first time (he was a little over 3 months, she'll be a little under 3 months).

-It'll be the beginning of winter, which corresponds well with my wanting to do a Week in each season (I did the beginning of summer last time).

-Work will be slowing down so hopefully I'll have more time to focus on taking photos at home and blogging personally (something I've been terrible at lately).

-I miss scrapbooking!

***

So, this is my plan (you can read about my preparation for it the first time around here):

-I will be using the same binder as I did last time (the American Crafts D-ring album). I like the 8.5X11 format, it's less space to fill. The cover 'matches' the papers I used in the first Week I did, but that's ok, I'd rather have all my Weeks in the same album than an album for each Week (there's still tons of room in the one I have now).

-I'll also be doing basically the same format as I did for my first week, since it worked well and should go even smoother this time since I know what I'll be doing. Here is the basic layout:

So an intro page to the Week with a 5X7 photo (or larger, we'll see), then a Daily Opener page with another 5X7 photo. Then the Divided Page Protectors (I really liked these last time), filled with photos and journaling cards and maybe ephemera of some sort. Then a Long Journaling Card (front and back), and finally a closing page with a collage of photos from the day.

The only thing I think I may do differently is to have a big photo next to the long journaling card (meaning the page protector would be 8.5X11 instead of a cut down 6X11, and I would sew it down the middle instead). On one sewn side would be the 4.5X11 card, and on the other, a 4X11 photo (or more realistically, 2-4X5.5 photos). Just a chance to include more large photos I guess. I'm also not 100% sure about the photo collage at the end, I think I will wait to see how many photos I have and will decide at that point.

As for the Divided Page Protectors, I have several journaling cards I want to include, so I may not end up with many photos in them at all, which is fine. Some of the cards include:

-Violet's eating and sleeping schedule (I had these with Victor and think it would be fun to compare)
-The weather (because I'm a nerd an am interested in those kinds of things)
-What we watched on TV (might not include everyday)
-What we ate (might not include everyday...only the days I actually cook!)
-My Tweets and Facebook Status for the day

I also want to reserve several spots for Instagram photos (which will be mounted on special 'Instagram photo cards' with room for a caption at the bottom), since in all likelihood I'll be using my phone to take some of the pictures, especially when we are out of the house. I also want to include my to-do list (I had it on my long journaling card last time but I might move it elsewhere), as well as special spot to record any Christmas activities we do. And, like last time, I will include a self portrait with my outfit for the day. I want to keep the format somewhat consistent throughout all the Weeks I do, so apart from a few minor changes here and there, the 'bones' will be the same.

-As far as patterned papers and card stock, I'm still deciding what I want to use. Again, in order to stay consistent I think I will choose a Basic Grey line. I was thinking of using some of their old Christmas papers (if I can find them!), since they don't necessarily scream Christmas, but will obviously go well with any Christmas photos I include. I will use white card stock as my base for the intro, daily opener, and collage pages, but will choose a coordinating card stock colour for the small and long journaling cards. I won't be using any embellishments, same as last time, since I'm fine with the 'clean' look.

-I will be documenting everything on my blog again, since it worked so well last time (I was able to just grab the text and print it out for my long journaling card). It will probably be harder this time to jot down random thoughts and observations in my book like I did last time though, so I'll be using my phone to write notes (or even voice recordings) to help me document what I want.

-One thing I want to try and do this year though is to have the album 'bones' built before I start the week. This includes having all the small journaling cards created in Photoshop and ready to go (I won't print them until after though since I don't want to include any of my handwriting this time), and having my intro page and daily opener pages built with the patterned paper, that way I can just stick on the photo when I'm ready. This is kind of the same approach as the December Daily, and will hopefully help me stay motivated to finish quickly after the documentation process is done.

Well, I think that's everything. I'm excited and nervous about it, I worry that my life is too busy already to be adding something like this onto my plate. But it's exactly that, documenting us and the busyness of our days at this point in our lives, that I feel the need to do for some reason...I know it will be worth all the effort.

So, this is my official statement: December 11th to December 17th, I will be document the lives of the Flynn family of four. Wish me luck!

G.

I actually did something I saw on Pinterest...

2011-11-19T14:20:00.001-04:00

Source: andreasteed.com

And my version:

An 18X24 poster printed at Staples for 15$, put in an old Ikea frame I've had forever.

Not bad.

Working on more projects (too many actually, I'm feeling super creative lately! Just wish I had the time and energy to match my ideas...)

Be back to share more (I'm planning to do another A Week in the Life project next month, so I'll be back to share my plan of attack for that huge project).

Have you created anything lately?

G.

Violet's first month (in Instagrams)

2011-11-12T20:04:00.001-04:00

(Oh yes, she is most definitely a second child. While I have taken a few 'real' photos of her with my camera, there are faaar fewer than I took of Victor. Things are so much different now, so much busier, that snapping quick iPhone photos is all I have time and energy for most days. I did get out and do an outdoor newborn session with her a few weekends ago, and I keep meaning to do an indoor session too, but she's now past the newborn stage so I'm not sure if it'll happen or if I'll just wait until her 3 month session. I just keep telling myself that any form of documentation is better than none, so even if it's just iPhone pics, it's still something.)

Well, here we are, time is flying and little Miss Violet is 4 weeks old already. Since I don't have a baby book for her (I'm looking to get the 'girl' version of the one Victor has but I can't find it in town), I better blog what I can remember now so that I can put it in later, or else I will forget for good, I know it.

So here we go, in random point thought form, the only way I can write these days:

*One thing for sure about Miss Violet is that she's going to be bigger than her brother was. When we took her for her doctor's appointment she weighed 8lbs 10oz, and I'm sure she must weight more now since that was over a week ago. She was 8lbs 5 oz at birth, so quite a bit bigger than Victor, and longer too (21.5 inches versus 20). Not sure if that will carry on throughout their lives, we'll see I guess.

*She's a great eater (although messy, like Victor was), and even though I'm using a nipple shield again, it's going well. I don't love breastfeeding anymore this time than I did with Victor (which means I don't like it at all, haha), but I'm still determined to do it as long as possible because honestly, we can't afford for me not to! She's eating about every 3 hours during the day but will go longer at night, usually 4-5 hours, which is nice.

*Speaking of nights and sleeping, that's one area I'd like to try to fix a bit. She's great during the day, sleeps for long stretches with a few awake times in between, but it's her 'witching hour' that I have an issue with, because it usually falls right around when I want to go to sleep and hit my limit of tolerance (from around 10:30-11:00 to 12:30-1:00am). And because Dan is working this time around (he was unemployed for 6 months when Victor was born) it means that I can't rely on him to stay up with her like he used to do with him. Also, I can't sleep in because Victor has been getting up earlier and earlier these days, so all around I'd say I'm more tired than I was when Victor was a newborn, but of course I knew that would be the case. Anyway, Violet usually goes down between 10:00-1:00, and then wakes up for the day at around 8:30am or so.

*She's into looking at things when she can, but most the time just snoozes and sleeps. She likes to be held but is definitely ok with being put down on the couch, which is nice because her brother still requires quite a bit of attention! She doesn't cry much, and I try to respond to her as soon as I can so that we can keep her calm for the most part (Victor was never much of a crier either, I've been lucky with my babies.)

*Speaking of her brother, for the most part he wants nothing to do with her and still gets a bit jealous if he sees me holding her when he wants me to do something with/for him. He won't go near her and refuses to touch her. He has occasionally pointed at her and said "baba" (bébé/baby"), so at least he understands what she is, but he's still too young to really 'get it'. I think he knows she's here to stay though, so we'll see what happens as they both get older.

*I'm not sure if it's because this is my second baby or if it's because it's Violet in particular, but I find that she's quite amusing, and I find myself smiling and laughing with her more than I did with Victor. It's probably because I'm less nervous/worried than I was the first time around, so now I'm more observant of just how pleasant a newborn can be. Her little faces and expressions are so cute (she has really deep set eyes so her brow furrows out quite a bit, resulting in grimaces and little funny frowns), and everything she does is just funny to me.

*She looks very different than her brother (I know I keep comparing them and that I should stop, hopefully I will when it starts to matter!) She has blue-ish grey eyes that aren't as big, and almost no hair (except for a little bit in the back), no eyelashes, and a bit of millia on her chin. I'm not saying that she isn't cute, it's just that Victor was so 'pretty' when he was young, that her look is totally apart from that. We have no idea who she looks like (she sometimes looks to have Dan's mouth, but it's hard to tell), and a different temperament too. I'm very curious to see who this little lady will become in the next year and beyond.

Well that's it I suppose, considering I started this post 3 weeks ago (she's actually 7 weeks old now) I better just write what I can and call it a day! I want to try and update every month like I did with Victor, so hopefully I'll be back in a couple of weeks to write about Weeks 4-8 (she smiles now!), but I'm learning not to promise anything because it's rare that I can meet a deadline or goal these days. That's just life with two little ones I guess!

I miss blogging, but it's just a phase in my life where there's not much room for it...but that will change in time too.

Be back, not sure when, don't wait up,
G.

What should I put on my walls?

2011-10-22T23:33:00.000-03:00

Source: woodwoolstool.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: charmhome.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: None via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: twogirlzstuff.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: None via Geneviève on Pinterest

Apparently, photo collages and large quotes on wood/canvas/whatever. Looking through my 'Decor' board on Pinterest tonight and I noticed this pattern right away. All of the walls in my house right now are pretty much blank, so I guess I better get to work!

Happy Saturday night, I'm going to go see if my daughter is finally asleep (the crying has stopped...)

G.

Birth Story of Violet Marie Flynn (or, How I had My Baby in the Driveway)

2011-10-11T22:06:00.002-03:00

[I already posted this on my Facebook profile but I thought I would share it here as well...]

DISCLAIMER: This is a birth story, which means I'll be sharing some body and birth related details which may not appeal to everyone. Don't read ahead if the idea of a woman giving birth freaks you out or if you don't like the word "placenta", etc etc. Thank you. Also, I apologize for my gross overuse of parentheses, it's a writing sickness that I have and cannot cure.

It's hard to know where to begin with this story…if I were to read what I'm about to write on someone else's blog I'm sure I would scoff at it and say 'no way, that's crazy!', and think that it was something that could only happen to someone else and NEVER to me. It's too extraordinary for my very ordinary life, but I guess sometimes the Universe surprises you to keep you on your toes, and that's definitely what happened when my daughter, Violet Marie Flynn, decided to enter the world.

I'll start by saying that I had a very uncomplicated, uneventful pregnancy. It was about as normal as normal could be. The only thing that was strange about it was that it lasted so long! With Victor (and yes, I will be comparing this story to Victor's, which you can read about here), he came 1.5 weeks early after stripping my membranes, so being 40 weeks pregnant was a new thing for me. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for about 4 weeks (although looking back they may very well have been my version of early labour!), and for the last week or so of my pregnancy, I was slowly 'unplugging' (people who have given birth know what this means), but it seemed like no matter what I did, she was not budging. I gardened, picked Victor up, painted, washed floors, lifted boxes, and went about my life, which was a stark contrast to my 8.5 weeks of bed-rest, don't-do-too-much-or-your-heart-will-explode pregnancy with Victor. Besides a few aches and pains, and the inability to get comfortable when sleeping, I felt fine.

I did manage to get to sleep on Thursday, September 22nd, but at around 2:30am I woke up to the familiar feeling of a contraction. It was like a Braxton Hicks but a bit stronger and after having 2 or 3 in a row, I woke Dan up. We laid in bed and timed a few more, then decided that we should get up and get going, since we didn't want to risk not getting to the hospital in time (ha!) Dan was in a bit more of a rush than I was, and he even said to me "you're probably further along than you think you are", and I said "well I'm sure that we have at least an hour!" (again…ha!) Anyway, the contractions were definitely stronger than the ones I had in the early hours with Victor; it was different too because my water hadn't broken (with Victor it did before the contractions started, like on TV). But, like with Victor's labour, I found that the most comfortable position for me was to be sitting in the bathroom, on the toilet (classy, I know). So I was in the bathroom most of the time while Dan packed and got Victor ready, and I was already not looking forward to the drive, even just to my parents' place. I was trying to breathe through the contractions and for the most part I managed, but it was definitely more painful than with Victor, which made me a bit anxious and tense (though I tried to appear calm).

Once we got Victor all packed up (poor baby, I always feel so bad when we have to take him anywhere late at night in his PJs), we headed out for Sussex. On the way I had a few more contractions that were definitely getting stronger and stronger, and as I squirmed around in my seat, I thought 'oh god this drive is going to be torturous'. I swore a lot and tried to breathe through it but I don't think I was masking my pain all that well, because Dan was very quiet and getting more and more nervous with every contraction. About 5 minutes outside of town, I felt a weird little popping feeling and my water broke (but it wasn't a huge gush like with Victor). Immediately after that I had a few more contractions but they had changed to something completely different; instead of a pain in my lower abdomen (where the baby was), this was more of a burning feeling 'down below'. It was weird and I didn't know what to make of it. I even said to Dan 'it's burning and I don't know why', but I figured it was just a different kind of contraction that I didn't have with Victor. Anyway, it was unpleasant and it made my dread over the drive to Moncton even worse.

So we arrived to my parents' place and I told Dan that I wanted to go inside to change my pants (and to go sit on the toilet a little bit, to be honest), while he went across the street to get gas (we should have been more organized, but of course we weren't…actually I had just packed my bag for the hospital the day before and had put it in the car 'just in case'). We brought Victor inside and my parents were there waiting for us. I went upstairs to the bathroom and sat for a bit through a few more contractions, but after about 2 or 3 of the burning ones, it got MUCH worse. I happened so, so fast (looking back, it was probably transition). At this point it was about 3:10am or so. I could barely move and actually had to get on my knees for one of them. It didn't feel like a contraction at all, it was just a crazy feeling of burning and PRESSURE. The pressure was so strong, I felt like I was going to break in half and was actually using my hands to hold 'myself' in (again, looking back, I was actually holding her head in). My mom came upstairs to try and help me through the pain (she thought that maybe it was in my back but it wasn't), and Dan got back shortly after and came up to see what was going on. At this point the pain was pretty overwhelming and I told my mom that I didn't think I was going to make it to Moncton and asked her if we should go to the Sussex hospital instead. She said that they couldn't do anything for me and would probably just put me in an ambulance to bring me to Moncton. All of a sudden I felt really panicky and scared because with the pain I was having, I couldn't imagine being stuck in a car for 45 mins. Dan saw how bad it had gotten while he was gone and he started to get panicky too, so he was trying to rush me, saying 'come on, come on'. So he went down to the car to get it started and I tried to make my way downstairs, but it was just so bad at this point. I tried to suck it up and I tried to be brave but inside I was all nerves.

And this is where it gets a bit crazy…

I got outside onto my parents' deck and walked down the stairs onto their driveway (which, by the way, is paved and actually cobblestoned in one section, so it's not like it was on a dirt patch or anything). Dan was in the car waiting for me, so he saw when I stopped and leaned over onto my mom's car. He got out to come help me, and saw right away that something intense was going on. I don't exactly remember how it happened, but all I know is that I stopped, leaned, and this huge rush just overtook me; I think that I pushed, because I just couldn't stop it at that point, but it could be that I didn't push either, I don't know. I felt something come out between my legs and knew right away what it was. I yelled "the head is out!". Dan came around the side of the car and saw this round shape in my pants and started saying "Oh my God" over and over again. My mom was up on the deck (not sure if she came out before or after her head came out) and Dan yelled at her to call the ambulance. He grabbed onto me and got me down on the ground (I don't really remember how), and pulled off my pants/underwear and saw what had happened. Her head and her shoulder (at least one, maybe both) were out and she was on her way. He held her head and for a few moments, we just kind of laid/sat there…which sounds weird. I had to wait for another contraction to come though, so in the meantime we just kind of checked to make sure her mouth/nose wasn't blocked and that she seemed ok. At this point I felt much better but still had the urge to push. Dan wanted to pull her out because she wasn't making any noise, and I said to go ahead and try, but after a little tug I kind of cried for him to stop (it hurt!) and we waited for the next contraction. It came, I pushed, he pulled, and with that, Violet was born. Dan took her and brought her up onto my chest. By this point my mom was outside with us on the phone with the ambulance and was describing what was going on. They told us to make sure she was breathing and that the cord wasn't around her neck and to cover her up to keep her warm (my mom had brought out some blankets and towels for me). They also told us to tie off her cord with a piece of string until the ambulance got there and was able to cut it. We knew that she was ok though because as soon as she came out, she started to cry. Her mouth and nose were clear, she was a good colour, everything was ok.

About 5-10 mins later the ambulance arrived and they took us into the vehicle, where they cleaned off the baby and Dan cut the cord. The crazy thing was that after it happened, I felt so much better…abnormally so. I was a little shaky trying to get up, but overall I just had a huge feeling of relief (both physical and mental). After a few minutes in the ambulance, we took off to the Sussex Hospital where the ER team was waiting for me. They haven't delivered or dealt with babies there since the early 90s, so to say it was a surprise/new experience for them was an understatement. They took great care of me though and helped me deliver the placenta (which took almost as long as it did to deliver her!) They cleaned me up and checked her, and we just kind of relaxed for about an hour or so. We had to wait for my dad to bring us the car seat from home (we TOTALLY forgot to bring the carseat, haha!), but once he arrived, we loaded her up and took the ambulance ride to Moncton (Dan followed). I tried to get some rest (by this point it was going on 6am and I was pretty tired), and tried to recover from the whole experience.

So that's about it…everyone who heard about the story kept saying how afraid they would have been and how they could have never done it, and while I would have agreed with them before, having gone through it, it really wasn't that bad. Sure there were moments where I was scared, and yeah, it hurt like hell for a little while there, but at the same time, I didn't have a chance to let the fear take over, because a) I was in labour and the pain was taking over, and b) it happened so fast that my brain didn't have a chance to properly understand what was going on and imagine all the terrible scenarios that could have happened. The same thing happened with Dan I think; when he saw the head come out I think that he just kind of went into auto-survival mode. He didn't have a chance to think about it, he just did it (and let me just say how proud I am of him for how he handled the whole situation…I'm not sure that many guys would have handled it as well as he did.) It was only after the fact that it kind of hit us what had happened, but at that point it was over and we were just grateful that it went as well as it did.

And now, 2.5 weeks later, I feel fabulous (I only needed one or 2 stitches, was up and about almost immediately, and had no post birth hormone dump like I had with Victor), Violet is doing great (we were out of the hospital the next day, another stark contrast to the hellish one-week stay with Victor), and everything is falling into place. She has assimilated into the family fairly easily, and despite a few jealous outbursts from her older brother, it's going well. Her birth story is one that we'll always remember and one that I'm sure will be told over and over again throughout the years.

It's my last birth story, but it's one helluva one!

(Be back soon, I feel a 'random thoughts' post coming on, just need to find the time to type it all out...)

G.

A little late, of course...

2011-10-01T19:04:00.000-03:00

Welcome Violet Marie Flynn

Born on Friday, September 23rd, 2011 at 3:30am

8 pounds, 5 ounces and 21.5 inches long

Mama and baby are doing great!

One week old already...be back soon with her birth story (it's quite the tale!) and more pics, of course.

PS-We're kinda famous...see story here.

Yet more blog filler...

2011-09-19T20:12:00.001-03:00

This time the Pinterest kind :)

I usually am on Pinterest everyday, and now that the holidays are here (meaning September to December, the most awesome time of year), I'm getting really inspired by all the Fall-goodness (and Halloween-goodness) that I'm finding on there lately. Here are some of my most recent pins:

Source: None via Geneviève on Pinterest

I CANNOT WAIT to fit back into normal clothes, and just in time for Fall's awesome and comfy fashions! This look would be flattering post baby (anything with leggings, haha)

Source: skinnychef.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

These look really yummy, and are relatively healthy!

Source: letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Craving apple crisp like nothing else lately.

Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I've decided that although I like white walls IN THEORY, in real life, I need colour in my home/rooms (with lots of white accents instead). We just painted the mudroom a bright yellow, and I'm seriously debating painting the den a dark autumn orange...I may hold off though until Fall is over to make sure it's not just a seasonal thing. LOVE this bedroom though.

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Oh I could go for this right about now (reminds me of where we went for our first wedding anniversary).

Source: littlethingsbringsmiles.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I need a good wreath for our front door, and if I had the time/patience, I would attempt this because I love it.

Source: loveoffamilyandhome.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Pretty and simple Fall decor (planning on getting some pumpkins this week!)

Source: flickr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

And just because they're cute :) (I'm hoping that one lives nearby in the fields...)

Well, those are just a few of my fav pins right now, I plan on doing another post just for Halloween pins, because I have a ton, and will be collecting them like mad from now 'til then (only 6 weeks 'til Halloween, yay!!)

Also, I've seen lots of other bloggers writing posts about things that they actually DO with their pins (meaning they don't just pin and forget them, they attempt the recipe/craft/photo idea/decor), so I plan on doing that as well (I already have one done, just need to take a pic).

Ok, blog filler over, next post may very well be an introduction of our little girl!

Until then,
G.

Warning: blog filler 'til I can properly update...

2011-09-17T21:34:00.002-03:00

A. Age: 28
B. Bed size: Double, wishing for a Queen.
C. Chore that you hate: Dishes, especially cutlery.
D. Dogs: Yep, love 'em! Hoping to maybe get one next Summer (maybe a greyhound).
E. Essential start to your day: Not much, checking Facebook I suppose (ack, embarrassing!)
F. Favorite color: Hmm, probably yellow or brown (earth/Fall tones).
G. Gold or Silver: Silver all the way!
H. Height: 5"6
I. Instruments you play: I used to play the flute and tenor saxaphone, not sure I could play them now though...
J. Job title: Photographer, business owner, mama :)
K. Kids: Almost 2! Victor, 18.5 months and soon to be _______, 1 day old.
L. Live: Norton, New Brunswick, Canada (yay country living!)
M. Mother’s name: Jacynthe (hard to describe how to pronounce it, it's super French, haha)
N. Nicknames: G., Vev
O. Overnight hospital stays: Just when I had Victor, 5 miserable nights.
P. Pet peeves: People who drive slow, especially when they drive under the speed limit!
Q. Quote from a movie: It's been sooo long since I've watched movies...umm, how about "Save me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Younger sister, 1. T. Tea or Coffee: Usually coffee, but I drink tea with lots of milk and sugar as well.
U. Underwear: I can't see them past my belly :S
V. Vegetable you hate: Not a fan of lots of them, sadly, but I'll say tomatoes.
W. What makes you run late: Victor!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, arm when I broke it in Grade 4-5, I think that's it...
Y. Yummy food that you make: I make Martha Stewart's spice cake once a year and it's delish! I also make a really good quinoa/hamburger meatloaf.
Z. Zoo animal: Any big cat, or the monkeys.

Before...

2011-09-16T16:31:00.000-03:00

Before there was her (only 1 week to go!)...

Before there was him (at the Balloon Fiesta fair)...

Before there was her (and soon to be another little kitten)...

There was just us.

5 years ago today I married a young man who wasn't sure what he was doing with his life (who am I kidding though, neither did I!). We were young, but already had 3 years together under our belts, and were ready for the next step. We had no idea what would happen in the following 5 years, but several moves, career changes, and now 2 kids, 2 cats and 1 house later, here we are, still happy and building this life of ours. I feel like we're at the point where we have the major building blocks 'done' (kids, house, jobs, settled in NB, etc), but I'm sure that there will be lots of changes to come in the next 5, 10, and 15 years. It's no longer just the two of us, but at the end of it all, we'll be the ones left...together.

Happy Anniversary babe, I love you.

(Ps-I've been meaning to blog (oh my have I ever), but I just haven't had any photos to share...awesome photographer I am, I know, ha! Soon though, we're starting to paint this weekend so I'll try to snap a few before and after shots...and update on the rest of this crazy busy life we have at the moment. Back soon!)

Quick and dirty tour of the {empty} house

2011-08-26T13:46:00.000-03:00

(All shots taken on my blurry iPhone, better 'before' pics to come soon! These aren't in any sort of order, I'll just describe each one underneath the shot...)

The family room/den/TV room, between the laundry/mudroom and kitchen

The family room/den/TV room, looking at the entrace to the mudroom/laundry room from the kitchen

Kitchen, looking into the den/family room/TV room and mudroom entrance

The dining room, off the kitchen

Built in in the dining room, looking into the kitchen

'Formal living room', which will act as my office/studio, off the dining room

My office

Front foyer/entrace, looking into the dining room (from my office)

Back room, behind my office, which will be Dan's music room for now

Downstairs main bath, right off the front foyer

Bathroom

Looking out to the front door from the bathroom

Kitchen, looking in from the den

Staircase

Stairs and bathroom (Dan's room off to the right)

Victor's room

Looking into the foyer and my office from the dining room

Victor's room

Landing at top of stairs/closets

Nursery

Our room

Landing, looking from the 1/2 bath

Eventual guest room (needs lots of work!)

Eventual guest room

1/2 bath upstairs

Mudroom/Laundry room (the first room to be getting a makeover!)

Back entrace into the mudroom (the main door we'll be using)

So there you have it! Lots of work to be done, but tomorrow is the 'big move', and we'll be spending the night there, very exciting!

Be back with the mudroom makeover (for some reason I'm the most excited about this one!)

Enjoy the end of summer, I can't wait to see it go.

Instagrams and Point Form Lists.

2011-08-03T21:21:00.001-03:00

Yeah, that's all you're going to get right now. I've been meaning to do an update post for weeks now, but of course with work, house, baby, all that fun stuff, this little blog is falling to the wayside. Perhaps once the kids (!) are a bit older I can get back to blogging regularly, but for now, you get Instagram photos and point form lists.

Victor (aka bébé):

*Has gone through a crazy amount of changes in the past 4-5 months (since I last did a proper update on him)

*Is 17 months old

*Weighs about 25 pounds and is over 30 inches tall

*Walks everwhere and has mastered climbing onto chairs, coffee tables, beds, etc

*Is in the process of learning to jump

*Can say Mama, Daddy, Cheese, What, Bye Bye, Wow, and some other babbly/half words, but isn't 'talking' yet

*Has his top 4 teeth, bottom 4 teeth, and 4 molars

*STILL drools like crazy

*Likes to watch Thomas the Tank Engine and Caillou

*Is annoyingly obsessed with our smartphones

*Has recently enjoyed 'helping' us do dishes

*Is kind of a scare-di cat (afraid of the vacuum, dogs, etc)

*Sleeps through the night every night no problem, and is SUPER easy to put down for naps and bedtime (we're very lucky!)

*Can do 'head and shoulders' (points to his body parts)

*Has been having 1 crazy long nap in the afternoons (3 hours)

*Loves going in the car and being in his carseat

*Still enjoys his books and likes one with actions

*Knows actions for giraffe, elephant, monkey, crocodile and a few others

*Called cats (chats) 'yyyyyya's

*Says 'WOW' everytime someone turns on a light or ceiling fan (and loooves turning lightswitches)

*Is still a picky eater but has a decent appetite

*Is pretty whiney sometimes (well, a lot of times)

*Copies us doing things that I didn't know he noticed (like putting on deoderant or putting dishsoap under the tap)

*Still likes to be (and gets) picked up more than he should

*Understands when I ask him to put his dirty clothes in his laundry basket

*Still cries whenever I leave him at Sara's

*Has a 'mortal enemy' (Eli); pushes him whenever I'm around

*Has a mop of thin hair that blows in the wind and makes him look bald, it's so cute

*LOVES my mom (grand mama) more than anyone else in the world, though my dad (grand papa) is coming into close second these days

*Still fairly shy in public places and with new people, tends to cling to me

*Gives the biggest, drooliest kisses ever

*Likes to 'pat' (aka smack) Félix and Shimi

*Puffs his chest out when he walks, not sure why

*Likes to 'sweep' with the broom

*Can play well by himself but most of the time wants us involved

*Is a full blown toddler, no more baby at all :(

Shimi (aka 'yyyyya', 'jerk', 'kitty'):

*Has been outside most of the summer

*Probably has fleas

*Is losing weight and looking kind of mangy

*Is about to get a younger brother soon (my sister's cat had kittens and we're taking one of them)

*Still annoys me but Dan loves her

Dan (aka 'Daddy'):

*Has been working more hours at work and taking on more responsibility since becoming the main installer

*Takes care of and plays with Victor without ever complaining

*Has been very patient with me and my preggo moods

*Bought a 12-string guitar and loves to play it

*Is obsessed with UFC/MMA

*Is excited for all the work he has to do at the house (well, maybe not excited, but ready for it anyway)

*Is as steady and calm as she goes (he's like my north star, wherever I am I can always find my way with him)

Kid A-2 (aka 'baba', aka 'bébé', aka 'ta p'tite soeur', aka '_________'):

*Is 32 weeks grown and taking up a lot of room in my belly

*Is a GIRL!

*Has a first name, but we're still unsure about the middle one

*Likes to kick a lot but luckily stays away from my ribs most of the time

*Is about 3 and a half pounds

*Is most likely already used to Victor's voice/crying

*Is healthy and happy as far as we can tell

Me (aka 'Mama', aka 'Geneviève', aka 'Geneviève Flynn Photography'):

*Is getting REALLY busy at work and feels quite behind at the moment, but is also thankful for the chance to see her business flourish a little bit before going on a short Mat Leave

*Wants to see her business grow and expand, but worries how she will do next year

*Has been packing up boxes in between editing, parenting, and cleaning

*CAN NOT WAIT until she gets a dishwasher!

*Has been finding it hot so far this summer even though it's not

*Is incredibly annoyed with the lack of pants in her wardrobe

*Prefers to live in leggings and tight shirts

*Has been eating way too much junk food lately

*Has the WORST legcramps every morning and can't figure out how to stop them

*Is spoiled sooo much by Dan

*Wishes she could finish reading the 2nd Hunger Games book but has no time/patience for it right now

*Fears going into early labour, even though the doctors told her she's fine

*Misses her far away friends

*Appreciates having her friend Sara and her parents nearby

*Is incredibly excited about moving and decorating the new house, but also daunted by the task

*Feels like she has a million things on her to-do list all the time

*Enjoys her new bangs but kind of wants to go back to dark hair

*Is seriously considering switching from a PC to a Mac

*Struggles with being patient with Victor-the-toddler

*Has been tricking herself lately into thinking it's Fall, even though it's still far away (boo)

*Is really excited for the Flea Market this year (it's the weekend of our move, so perfect timing!)

*Loves Pinterest but wonders if she'll ever do any of the things she pins on there

*Needs to get back into the habit of taking photos at home

*Misses scrapbooking (and debates doing A Week in the Life this Fall)

*Is throwing out/giving away lots of things that she thought had value to her but in reality don't

*Longs for a trip away with just Dan

*Is anxious to meet her daughter

Well, that's about all for now, off to watch some TV with the hubs! Be back eventually with some photos of the move and hopefully some more belly shots (only 3 more shoots left if I keep scheduling them 3 weeks apart!)

Until then,

Maternity Series |29 Weeks|

2011-07-27T21:55:00.002-03:00

Woah, talk about late! I took these shots at least 2 weeks ago but forgot to post them on my blog here (you can see them on my photography blog, along with an explanation for the 'raciness' you see here, haha).

Too tired to post much else, I'll try to be back with a point form update on us all and our crazy busy lives, but I can't promise that packing, working, tending to a needy baby, and growing another needy fetus won't take place first. Perhaps in the dead of winter when things slow down I'll be able to take a breath, but for right now, it's just go go go. I have to tell myself Dorie's old motto "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Have a good one!

House Update

2011-07-15T13:48:00.000-03:00

I said I would be back to update you all on the house, so here I am, and I'm VERY happy to say that everything worked out and WE GOT IT!

The last 2 weeks were very hectic for me, getting all of the conditions met, finding insurance quotes, going to inspections, paying appraisers, finding lawyers, and a bunch of other things I had to do to line up our mortgage and 'close the deal'. It was stressful (and pricey), but it's done now so all we have left to do is prove our downpayment to the mortgage folks and get our insurance lined up before we move on August 22nd.

The inspection went well, all of the majors were old but ok, the only thing we weren't really expecting was some (well, a lot) electrical issues, so that was a bit stressful, we had electricians in telling us different things, but in the end we managed to get a bit off the price of the house to bring it up to code, so that's good at least. Plus we got some extra money from the mortgage folks to do a few repairs that we felt were necessary (gutters to draw water away from the basement, replacing the pump that's outside in the shed, and adding a railing to the staircase). Those repairs, plus getting the house ready for winter (and a garden patch ready for next summer), will probably be the only things we'll do for the rest of this year, but we have our whole lives to work on it, so we don't need to be in a rush. The inspection report is really useful, we're going to use it as our 'long term to do list', checking off things here and there as we get them done (trust me, there's A LOT to do). But it doesn't matter, the important thing is that's it's OURS.

So yeah, 6 weeks 'til we move again, which means we're back to having boxes everywhere and I'm packing up what we don't use on a daily basis. I'm also purging as much as possible, I really don't want to bring anything into the house that I don't either love or find useful...old sentiments and gifts included. This is our fresh start, I want to make it our home and not just a place where we keep our stuff, so only having what I want in there will be very important. Many trips to the Salvation Army drop-off are planned :)

I think that's everything, I'll be taking LOTS of pics of before and afters, and our progress as we head down this journey of home ownership. I can't wait :)

G.

PS-The layout above is my first attempt at digi scrapping, yay! I got the template for free from Cathy Zielkse over at Bits and Pieces...she's a cool lady, that one, I'll be using the template again very soon!

Maternity Series |26 Weeks|

2011-07-05T08:30:00.006-03:00

Two words for this week: Leg cramps. I had completely forgotten about them from my last pregnancy but in the past couple of weeks they have come back with a vengeance! Terrible Charley Horses that almost bring tears to my eyes, usually first thing in the morning, waking me up and leaving my legs sore for the rest of the day. Yes, 26 Weeks in my mind has been defined by Leg cramps.

(Shots taken at the old abandoned mall near my house, also where I took my 16 Week shots...it has come quite in handy as a play area for Victor and as a photo backdrop for me! You can see my new hair a bit in these shots as well, though it's definitely not 'styled' as well as it could be, tisk tisk. I suck at hairstyling and personal grooming, what can I say?!)

I love my little helper :)

Be back later this week to let you know how all this house stuff is going, we're sooo close I can taste it!

Until then,

Maternity Series |24 Weeks|

2011-07-04T11:26:00.005-03:00

Oops, falling a bit behind in posting these (at least I'm taking them!) These shots were taken when I was out location scouting for this maternity shoot I did the following evening. I find it funny that the client and I both wore a similar pink shirt, I guess it's a popular colour (and it popped against the background, so it works!) I'm not sure if there's much of a difference in my size from week to week, I mean there must be, but looking at the pictures sometimes it doesn't seem like that much...but he/she's growing, I know that for sure!

There were several tractors and cars going down the road as I was taking these, and I always made sure to look busy 'adjusting' my camera settings until they were gone...I don't think I'll ever get used to taking self portraits in public. Hence the far out locations, they tend to offer some privacy.

Back in a bit with Week 26.

Until then,
G.

Currently...

2011-06-27T15:19:00.000-03:00

editing...photos of two cute little boys; determined not to fall behind

eating...crab salad sandwiches on whole wheat toast

enjoying...my new hair cut and colour (but still getting used to it)

thinking...about the house

dreaming...about decorating the house

wishing...that someone could style my hair, paint my nails and do my make-up everyday

listening to...a random 'indie mix' I made on Grooveshark (Mumford & Sons, Bon Iver, Death Cab, etc)

drinking...water, and can't get enough

remembering...what it's like to have pulled groin muscles while pregnant (I forgot all about it!)

wanting...some fun alone time/date night with Dan

wearing...black leggings and a shirt/dress type thing (running out of wardrobe options)

thankful for...my parents, our real estate agent and our mortgage broker, who are all making this home-owning thing become a reality for us

struggling with...choosing a name for this baby

marveling at...Victor and his ever growing abilities and comprehension

frustrated with...Victor and his ever growing tantrums/picky eating

knowing...I should paint the nails on my other hand

giddy over...my fancy new 27" computer monitor (it's like a little TV!)

debating...whether to skip work this afternoon and head out into the sun

deciding...yes, I think I will

Happy Monday!

Quick House Update

2011-06-25T13:06:00.001-03:00

So if you're following me on Facebook or Twitter you may have seen me mention a few things about a house...if you don't, I thought I'd quickly update you on what's going on. It's been exciting and stressful at the same time!

About a month ago we went to the bank to see if we could get a mortgage on our own, with help from my parents, since we had settled on a house (the one above, mentioned in this post here). At first it looked pretty promising, but we then found out that we couldn't get enough because my income couldn't be counted and our debt to income ratios didn't work out. So we were pretty bummed for awhile, and even debated buying a mini-home instead, but then decided to try with a mortgage broker, just to see if our odds were better that way. Well it went really well with the broker, and with a few minor adjustments (Dan is applying alone, so technically I'm not on the mortgage), we were able to get pre-approved for the house we wanted, yay!

So a couple of days ago we put in an offer and yesterday we settled on a price (with some perks, like them leaving behind all the appliances, including a deep freeze and dishwasher, woohoo!). We signed the papers, and now we're in the process of waiting for the lenders to actually approve us for the sale price (and maybe a bit more for some repairs). Once that's done we need to get the house inspected (a very important step since we need to know if there are any major issues in this old house besides the ones we already know about), do the water test, line up some insurance, and if everything is ok, then we can close!

We have until July 8th to meet all the conditions (what I just said above); that kind of stresses me out since I'll be the one doing most of the arranging and logistical stuff, but our real estate agent is really good so he'll be helping me out every step of the way. The closing date isn't until August 22nd, but I wish it could be sooner, I don't know if I can wait that long! haha.

So that's about it...still quite a few steps to go before we can actually say that the house is ours, but we're well on our way, and I can't believe that we might actually be homeowners before the age of 30!

I'll be sure to update again with the results (after this crazy 2 weeks is up most likely). If you could, cross your fingers and send good house vibes our way, we could use them!

Be back soon with some photos of my new hair (see, all kinds of stuff going on around here! haha)

Thoughts on this whole photography thing [LONG]

2011-06-21T11:25:00.002-03:00

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time now, but I haven't had the time and brain function to articulate what I want to say (not quite sure I do at the moment either, but I thought I would try, on this rainy, rainy June day). I'm hoping to be completely honest about the whole thing, but I may gloss over some details or whatever for my own well-being (and perhaps to spare some feelings)...we'll see. I'm typing without a plan, basically.

First, a bit of background for those who may not know: Last year while I was on Mat Leave I bought a new camera and started taking photos of my friend's kids. I posted them on my personal Facebook, and for some reason (probably semi-purposefully, looking back on it), I included a watermark that said "Genevieve Flynn Photography". Long before I was on Mat Leave I had this vague dream that someday, maybe, I would get to do photography as a career (because I loved it so much). so that's probably the reason I took the 'leap' and included my name on those photos. Well it seemed to have worked, because I started getting requests from more friends and family, and friends of friends, and eventually strangers, to take photos of them and their kids. I was delighted, and jumped into the 'portfolio' building portion of my job (meaning I was charging near nothing and working my butt off). Luckily I was able to do it because Victor was still small and Dan was home for a lot of it. I shot about 30-35 sessions in 2010 and was extremely encouraged.

Around the Fall I started to seriously think about what I would do once my Maternity Leave ended at the end of February. Of course the idea of staying home and doing photography was at the top of my list, so I started researching ways I could do it. My father in law recommended a federal government initiative called the Self Employment Benefit Program (SEB). Basically it was a program designed to help you get through your first year of owning your own business by providing EI payments while you worked. The payments were small (less than minimum wage), but it was meant to act as a supplement so that you could take a stab at working for yourself. It sounded perfect for me so starting at the beginning of this year, I worked on my application and business plan.

Now, before that (still in the Fall), I also started a Fan page on Facebook and a Blogger blog. I bought a professional blog template and worked on it for months, but couldn't 'reveal' it until I knew I was in the SEB program (one of the conditions of the program is that you couldn't be already 'working' at your job, so I had to keep things somewhat under wraps). The dream was slowly becoming a reality.

Then, around February, about a week before I had to send in my application, I saw that positive sign on the pregnancy test. To say I was freaked out and discouraged was an understatement. I saw all my hard work and possibilities fly out the window. Once the initial shock wore off though, we decided not to let the baby ‘get in our way’ of our original plans, so I applied for the SEB program anyway, knowing full well that I may have to quit early to raise the baby in the Fall.

The rest happened fairly quickly; the application/business plan was reviewed, approved, I sent in a few papers, registered my business name, arranged a sitter for Victor, and by mid-March I was ‘officially’ working for myself (and getting paid, too)!

So that’s how it happened, and here I am now, about 3 months in. And so far? It’s been equally awesome and discouraging.

Awesome for obvious reasons; my schedule is incredibly flexible, which means I can still live my life and not have to plan too far ahead and can take life as it comes (important when you have a little one!) The only obligation I have under the SEB is that I need to work 35 hours a week, but those hours can be at any time, so sometimes I work after Victor has gone to bed, or on the weekends. My ‘work’ is also flexible (for example last week I went location scouting with Dan and Victor on a Saturday afternoon, and it really didn’t seem like ‘work’ at all). I LOVE having the flexibility to do what I want, break when I want, work hard when I want and generally be my own ‘boss’. If Victor is sick I can take the day off, or if I have appointments I don’t have to rush through them to get back to the office, the work-life balance is just where I want it to be.

Of course it’s also awesome because I get to do what I love to do, which is to take photos of people. Despite being generally introverted, I always enjoy talking with clients and getting to know them during and after the session (after the initial jitters wear off). I love the blogging, the organization, the inspiration, the editing (well, maybe not so much the editing, haha), the shooting, and just generally being allowed to be creative.

I’ve also made a great ally and friend through all this, and for that I’m very thankful. We’re both throwing our hats into this photography business world together, and it has been so nice having someone to bounce ideas off with, talk and vent to, and just having someone who ‘gets it’.

Now of course, it hasn’t been perfect. Things have been quite a bit slower than I originally thought (and would like them to be). After much debate and struggle, I recently raised my prices to what I felt I needed to survive (and what I felt I was worth), and the response has been mixed (not surprising considering just last year I was shooting and burning for pennies). That of course makes me doubt my self-worth and just how viable having this business will be in the future. While the SEB payments are extremely helpful (in that they are acting as my sole income while any profit money is going back into the business), we’re just getting by as it stands now and sometimes I feel like I’m not contributing enough to the family and towards our dreams (owning a house, for example). I worry all the time if I chose the wrong market (Sussex is a small, lower class town, and professional photography probably isn’t at the top of everyone’s priority list), if I’m being foolish for thinking I can charge more when there are tons of shoot and burners out there (some of them who’s work I feel is less good than mine, yet are rolling in sessions…extremely frustrating), if there’s too much competition, and recently, if my work is just not good enough. I’m full of self doubt and I really don’t enjoy it (I was quite confident in my abilities at my last job, so this is new for me). I’m trying not to pay attention to what others are doing around me, but it’s hard sometimes. I’m proud that I have taken a few ‘risks’ (my one little word for 2011) so far, but the fear of failure is still always right there in my mind.

While I do enjoy working for myself, I often find myself lacking motivation, and will admit to piddling away more ‘work’ time than I’d like to confess (Facebook is evil I tell you!) It’s easy to justify all the online things I do as ‘work’, but really, I need to be more disciplined. Instead of scanning Pinterest for images, I should be out practicing my craft; instead of checking and updating my Facebook several times a day, I should be out meeting people, handing out business cards and finding ways to promote myself. I know all this and yet I sit here, in front of my computer, and passively wait for work to come to me. It’s very hard for me to ‘sell’ myself, so this aspect of owning my own business is definitely the hardest for me. I still kind of stutter when people ask me what I do and I say “photographer”.

Sadly, since photography became my ‘job’, I also take less photos than I used to at home (with the exception of my cell phone). I know this is pretty typical for photographers, but I wish I could get that spark back that I once had for photography, and not let it get bogged down by all the ‘business’ stuff (I read somewhere that owning your own photography business is 90% business, and 10% photography, and I totally agree!) I think that having more sessions would help ‘get the ball rolling’, but I shouldn’t wait around for that to happen, I should get out there and shoot, because once I actually start, I LOVE it. It’s just starting that’s so hard.

I know it’s still really early in the game, only being 3 months in (and really only have about a month of decent shooting weather, if that!), so the fact that I’m not swimming in work shouldn’t be an indication of how things will go in the long run. It takes years to establish a business and brand name, so I know I have a long way to go, I just hope that I can find the courage to not quit and go the safe route of a steady income, less responsibility, and job stability.

And that I can figure out a way to work with a newborn, but that’s another story :S

If you made it to the end of this, bravo! Thank you for letting me spill my mind through the keyboard and the interwebs.

Be back soon with a much fluffier post, about hair! (I have an appointment for Friday, I’m going red! And getting bangs! Oh my!)

Until then,
G.

PS-Are there any other ‘working at home mamas’ out there? Do you have some of the same self doubt issues that I have? Do you love working from home or are there downsides too?

SHAMELESS PLUGGING:
My Photography Website
My Photography Blog
My Facebook Fan Page (come 'like' me!)

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T07:00:00.005-03:00

[Dan with Victor at 4-5 days old, and Dan with Victor at 15 months]

I'm sure if Victor could talk, he would say "Thank you Daddy..."

...for feeding me bottles of Mama's milk late at night when I was very small;

...for staying home and building a bond with me in my early days;

...for holding me and letting me sleep on your chest more times than I can remember;

...for letting Mama take a million pictures of us together because she loves them so much;

...for playing "Rocket Baby" with me;

...for staying up late with me on nights when I wouldn't go to sleep;

...for waking up early with me even though you love to sleep in;

...for reading me my favourite books over and over again;

...for letting me touch your guitars even when you are trying to play;

...for greeting me with a big smile every day when you come home from work;

...for carrying me on your shoulders when I'm too tired to walk;

...for holding my hand and helping me down the stairs and on the street;

...for playing peek a boo and chase games and being 'the energetic one';

...for giving my friends Bill and Duckie and Lovey silly voices;

...for playing with me at the park;

...for spending time alone with me so Mama can work;

...for taking me to the store when I'm feeling restless and bored;

...for giving me my baths and playing with me;

...for listening to my 'baby' music even though you don't like it;

...for being PATIENT (oh so patient) with me;

...for being my "Didi" (and for being the best one ever).

[Click to see larger; photos from March 2010 to June 2011]

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Love, Victor

Maternity Series |22 Weeks|

2011-06-16T09:44:00.003-03:00

Here we are, another 2 weeks later...this pregnancy is speeding up it seems and I don't really like it! I haven't been giving a ton of thought as to what this baby's arrival will mean for us, besides in the general 'wow' terms, so having the weeks tick along on the calendar isn't helping me prepare. Ah well, the baby will get here when it does (in the blink of an eye I bet), and soon I'll forget what it was like not to have two little ones.

Photos taken in my sister's garden on another cloudy/dreary day (you see a pattern emerging here? Gah I hate June...) My companions are Quincy and Nemo, who apparently aren't very camera shy (Quincy stood staring at the camera for about 2 mins, it was kind of weird actually!)

Be back when I'm back...how's that for honesty (ha!)

Victor's books

2011-06-06T11:28:00.001-03:00

Victor loves his books. Ever since he was about 7 or 8 months old, he's been really into having us read him books, or just flipping through them by himself. He went through a short period where he lost interest, but for the past 3 months or so he's really been back into them. We have them all arranged in the living room and every morning/afternoon/night he'll bring us each one he wants us to read, over and over again (to the point where I have to hide them once they've been read or else he'll keep bringing them back!) It's annoying, but I know it's also good for him to have these books and to hear the same stories, told in the same ways, with the same voices, over and over and over and over again :)

Anyway, as part of my 'use this blog as a baby book' philosophy, I thought it would be nice to record what books Victor loves right now, at 15 months. Most of them we've had for a long time, I find it's hard to incorporate new books into his routine, he loves his favourites, but soon we're going to have to, because these books are basically all torn to pieces!

Snowy Bear and friends. Same series as Squishy Turle and Fluffy Chick. We have this in hardcover, not cloth, but he's starting to like it anyway (I think it's the newest one we've incorporated).

This is probably his favourite right now, even though half of the tabs have been ripped off! I read it to him in French (I make up the words), and Dan reads it to him in English, so that I think that's part of why he likes it, both of his parents can read it to him :)

This is another one that has been ripped to shreds, I think there are maybe 4 tabs left to lift, but he loves it anyway. Cute baby animals :)

He wasn't into this one at first but now I think he likes it more than Squishy Turtle.

This is his favourite French one, and mine too. All about appreciating what you have and what the day brings. Plus I think the little boy looks kind of like him and the cat looks like Shimi!

He's starting to like this one more, I think that's it's a bit long for him, we skip over the last few pages and I shorten the text quite a bit, but it's still cute, more kitties!

This one was given to us at the hospital when he was born and it's very sweet. For younger kids, but Victor still loves it (it used to make me cry when he was younger, but now I try to make it more peppy so that I don't shed any tears, haha!)

The classic. This will always be his 'first' book in my opinion, he loved it sooo much when he first started getting into books. It's not the first one he reaches for now, but we still keep it around and he likes it from time to time.

(A note on reading in English/French: We don't really have a 'right' way of doing this, but I find that generally, Victor knows not to bring the French books to Dan (or if he does he quickly discovers that it wasn't the best idea, haha!), but he does bring the English ones to me (along with the French ones). Some of the English books I've translated to read in French (like Where's Spot), but some of them I'll read in English (like Squishy Turtle or Fluffy Chick). A lot of times I'll read the text in English, then point to the animal and say what it is in French, so he's hearing both words. I don't think that it has confused him, he seems to know what things are in both languages. I've been meaning to write a blog post on my experience so far with raising a bilingual child, but that will probably come later, once he actually starts talking beyond a few babbly words that could be English or French...)

Anyway, another fun thing we've been doing with books lately is incorporating actions into the stories. So on certain key words he'll wave his hand, or clap, or make the animal noise, which has been really fun, you can see how his mind is expanding. The more interactive, the better in his mind (and it's more fun for us too!)

Ok, well that's that, I wish I could say I'll be back with some belly shots but truth is, I'm about 3 weeks behind at this point so I don't know when/how I'll catch up! 'Tis life I guess, I'm terrible at keeping up with projects like this, why do I keep attempting them?!

Be back soon-ish,
G.

8 Years...or so.

2011-06-03T14:46:00.001-03:00

8 years and 1 month ago (or so) I met this handsome fellah (ha!) when he subletted my roommate's (and his cousin's) room for the summer. He played guitar, had long-ish hair, and introduced me to Emo music.

8 years ago and 2 days ago (or so), we had a bit too much to drink and had a bit too much fun, and we un-offically started our life together.

(romantic I know.)

8 years later (or so), we're parents to one fun little boy (and soon to be a fun little maybe-girl), adults, in debt, wrinklier, more experienced, maybe more mature, and still in love.

We haven't been perfect to each other over the past near-decade; we've argued, bickered, nagged, judged, and gotten mad at each other...but we've also talked, laughed, been silly, been silent, mended, fixed, built and dreamed together.

I don't give him nearly all the praise and attention he deserves, but I do tell myself every single day how incredibly lucky I am that he rented that room for the summer and that he has been so loyal and caring to me for these past 8 years.

(Or so.)

Happy (late) anniversary babe. I love you.

Dreams, dreams, flitting away...

2011-06-01T15:28:00.003-03:00

Source: kissingtree.org via Geneviève on Pinterest

(Not my family, but I'm hoping to get some shots like this this summer when Dan's awesome cousin Faye comes to take our pictures!)

Still working on those updates, waiting until things are a bit more final before announcing anything, and trying not to get my hopes up (again). In the meantime, I'm leaving you with more of my favourite pins as of late.

Source: giggleberrycreations.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I want to make one of these for Victor, he loves the play kitchen at Sara's place, but I think that the handmade ones are so much more cute :)

Source: bijoulovelydesigns.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I REALLY need to get back to work on Victor's blanket. Aim for before this baby's born?

Source: littlethingsbringsmiles.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I know Summer just started, but man, I can't wait for Fall again, haha. This would be so cute in any colour though!

Source: kirarain.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I realize that the whole 'dandelion turning into birds' thing is being done to death right now, but it's so so so pretty. If only I could find a way to incorporate the kid's names into it, I think I'd be set. I'd want it bigger though!

Source: beautifulplacestovisit.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

My friend Jelena (from Croatia) got married this past Saturday in Italy (where her husband is from and where she lives). Not sure where's she going on her honeymoon, but I think she should go here, in her own country. Spectacularly gorgeous.

Source: veggie-wedgie.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Summertime treat? I think so.

Source: nicholask.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

It's creepy, it's gothic, it's mannish, it's not very practical, but I WANT IT.

Source: thepinkcouch.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I miss scrapbooking quite a bit, and have been thinking about doing another 'week in the life' project, but I just don't think it would be practical right now (besides, I did a summer one last year, the next one I'd like to do would be either in the Fall or Spring...) I need to think of another scrap project to do (besides layouts, I just can't get into those anymore...)

Source: rustyhingesblog.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Trying not to pin too many decor/house things, since we're not in a house yet (and it's looking less and less likely like we'll be getting into one anytime soon), so for now these pretty images will just have to stay in the realm of dreams and not possible realities (this kitchen layout it really close to the kitchen in the house we were looking at, so I was particularly inspired by it). I love the colours, floors, and cabinets...sigh.

Source: nobiggie.net via Geneviève on Pinterest

And this, because it's SO true :)

Ok, sorry for the fluff guys, will be back with more meaty posts later on.

(Who am I kidding, it doesn't matter does it? haha)

Until then,

Maternity Series |20 Weeks|

2011-05-24T15:51:00.006-03:00

I know I should be posting my 19 Week shots instead, but I actually missed that week...things just didn't fall into place I guess...I lacked motivation...it rained...it was cold...it rained...so yeah, one week missed. Still, 8/9 isn't so bad! Luckily on Thursday this past week it was darn right summery out, so I had a chance to prance around in the dandelions for a bit, and even got some shots of me and Victor, who was along for the ride (and played happily in the car while I took these shots.)

As for the ultrasound and the great reveal, it wasn't much of a reveal at all, since the baby had a very obstructive cord tucked between his/her legs, we couldn't tell for sure what it was...the technician was leaning towards girl, but I'm not 100% convinced and am secretly hoping to use my previous 'high risk' status to get in for another ultrasound before September, so once I know for sure, I'll be sure to reflect that in my photos (I had some ideas planned out but didn't feel right doing them without knowing for certain what we were having.) It's annoying/frustrating for sure! But the baby's healthy, everything's normal, so that's the important part (I'm also a week behind in my pregnancy than what I thought originally, so that gave me a chance to catch up with this project, yay!)

I realize that I haven't posted anything about Victor lately, which is a shame because he has changed so much in the last couple of months, I need to get some photos edited and some thoughts written out, he needs an update I think...we all do :)

Be back soon with that I hope!
G.

Maternity Series |18 Weeks|

2011-05-11T07:27:00.003-03:00

I haven't really talked much about this pregnancy and how I've been feeling (physically and emotionally), but I suppose that's normal when it's not your first one, you just kind of get used to it and go through the motions (not to mention you're too busy with your other little one(s) to notice what's going on!), but I wanted to say that I've been feeling really great lately and feeling better and better about this new little bébé coming into our lives (heaven knows I freaked out about 12 weeks ago when we found out, haha!) I've been feeling kicks for a good 2 weeks now and I still love it, it's one of my favourite things about being pregnant for sure. I find that my hands are always reaching for the bump to feel for the little movements (they seem slighter this time around, maybe more pudge to get through? lol), but they are still wonderful. I feel fine, no more sickness, energy back, and I haven't even been gaining weight as quickly as I feared I would, so all in all I can't complain! As long as I'm not put on bedrest then this pregnancy will be even better than the first :)

Also, we went for our ultrasound last week, but I'll report on that when I post my 19 weeks shots....which I still need to take, oops! It's the weather, darnit....

(PS-It was Star Wars Day the day I took these, hence the Leia-inspired hair) ;)

Hmm, perhaps I'll post something non-pregnancy related next? We shall see...

Until then,

House #8 (aka a definite maybe...)

2011-05-10T07:13:00.007-03:00

It seems hard to believe that this is the 8th house we've seen in just 2 months (and I could be wrong, we could have seen more, I just can't remember!) Anyway, this one we actually noticed on the way out to house #7 last time, it's in Norton, just outside of the village (which is about 15 mins outside of Sussex), and the more we think about it, the more we like it. It's on a nice sized lot (1.5 acres or something like that), with only one neighbour and fields all around the other sides. It's a nice piece of property and has plenty of room for a garden/chicken coop, etc. It's 1600sq feet, so plenty big, 4 bedrooms plus an office space downstairs, large kitchen, deck, lots of natural light, brand new bathroom, family room separate from the living room/dining room area of the house, lots of character, all new click flooring throughout (except for one room upstairs). Plenty of good traits in my opinion.

Now, of course, a house like this in our price range couldn't be without its major flaws, and this one has a couple, mainly in the form of the basement and the septic/water system (yeah, not a big deal, right? haha). The basement is sketchy at best and had a lot of water in it even when we were there (it's really damp with a dirt floor, cracked walls, etc). There was a sub-pump down there and the foundation itself looked to be in decent condition, but it could use some MAJOR work to keep water from getting in. Also, the main pump for the water (from the well) is out in a shed in the backyard as opposed to in the basement, underground (like they are supposed to be I guess?), which means it most likely freezes in the wintertime, which is not good obviously. So those things would need to be addressed pretty much right away, so major bucks/work there. Sigh.

The good part is that there isn't much that the house itself needs immediately, so we could sink our money into fixing those issues and wait on the rest and still live comfortably (the roof may need a new coat of paint, but that could wait, along with a bunch of other 'cosmetic' things inside). They recently lowered the price, which is good, and we're actually going back to see it on Wednesday night to make an exact list of everything that will need fixed and how much it will cost to see if it would be worth it. Like I said, we both really like it, but we don't want to get into something that we can't afford to get into and that will cause more stress/work than it's worth.

So at the moment it's kind of a tie between house #2 (the house in Church Ave) and this one. We may go see Church Ave again too to compare since we haven't been there in awhile, but that one was the asbestos one, so we're pretty wary of it.

Anyway, we haven't gone to see anything else since this one, we've pretty much scraped the bottom of our price range barrel, but we're hoping that with the warmer weather more houses will come up for sale this month...with a potential move in date of 6-8 weeks though, I hope something that comes up soon or that we're able to make a decision we'll feel good about!

Thanks for following along on this house hunting adventure of ours.

Back soon with our 2nd impressions on this yellow and green beaute ;)
G.

PS-We live in a small town of about 5,000 people in a poorer area of the country, in case you are noticing the prices seeming super low, haha. What are they like where you live? That kind of thing fascinates me...

Maternity Series |17 Weeks|

2011-05-09T19:10:00.004-03:00

Oops, there goes 2 weeks without a blog post...time does that I guess! Not much is new around here, been working, watching Victor learn to walk (I have some videos I should upload), growin' this belly, watching Weeds (on Season 3 now), and trying to get out to take pictures on the rare sunny days we have (this project is being seriously dampened by the crummy weather we've been having lately!) Anyway, here we are, 17 weeks, bump full out and running out of pants.

Be back soon with more bumps and houses (seems to be the only thing on this blog lately, sorry about that! Hoepfully they'll both soon be over...)

Until then,
G.

Can't.Stop.Pinning.

2011-04-25T21:58:00.001-03:00

As I mentioned before, a couple of weeks ago I joined Pinterest (who knows why, I guess because I felt bad for not jumping on the Tumblr train), and I've become hopelessly addicted. I'm on there at least once a day, and even though I usually find these types of sites and posts annoying or 'fluff', for some reason I don't find this so bad (I'm noticing though that I pin stuff without hardly looking at it, I think that I should maybe take a day at the end of the week to actually LOOK at all the pins I've found, and follow any links when necessary. Uh oh, already this thing is making me neurotic, ack!)

Anyway, just to spread the prettiness a little further, here are 10 random 'pins' that I really enjoy. They range in everything from photography to crafts to decor to hot guys and cute puppies...

Source: shesherealready.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I very much want a tattoo, and the more I think about it, the larger I want it to be. We'll see how it goes when I actually get in the chair...these birds are beautiful though.

Source: tvloop.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I about died when I saw this photo. Such hotness from two amazing men (though I always had a preference for Jack...)

Source: themusingsofaredhead.tumblr.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

As soon as I come up with the perfect lyric or quote, I'm doing this.

Source: portrait-photos.org via Geneviève on Pinterest

Dream hair colour, though I know it wouldn't go very well with my skin colour/eyes/face. Sigh, maybe I'll get to be a redhead someday.

Source: yellowsongbird.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

LOVE.

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Since I'll be decorating another nursery soon, these types of images are jumping out at me. Love how this would work for a boy or girl (or a shared room).

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

This looks like an interesting book, might see if I can pick it up once we get ourselves settled into our own backyard :)

Source: westerbroek.nl via Geneviève on Pinterest

I want a sink like this, I want a sink like this, I want a sink like this. (And the gray and white combo is pretty fabulous too...)

Source: tarawhitney.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I've been thinking a lot about having family photos done, soon after the baby is born and perhaps a maternity session this summer as well. What I wouldn't give for a photo like this of the 3 (4) of us.

Source: tarawhitney.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

I plan on doing something very similar once we get our house, I want to do a grid like this of square photos with 'fake' frames (love the TTV, even though it's getting a bit trendy/dated). Can't wait!

There you have it, hope you enjoyed what I consider to be 'eye candy'. How about you, would these images go on your 'boards'?

Until next time,
G.

House #6 & #7 (aka yet more 'fixer uppers')

2011-04-24T13:32:00.003-03:00

Two more houses, two more off the list. We went to see these this past week and it always seems to be the same story: the homes have 'potential', but they ALL need work. Of course we knew this going in, especially since I want an older home (and when I say old I mean older than a bungalow, so at least 60 years), but it just seems like all of these homes need more work than we can handle right now.

The first house (the one above) was a really cute home in a great area of country. It was 1100sq, so it did feel a bit small to me, but there were a few other obstacles besides the size that got in the way. Mainly that it did not have a shower (older folks live there), and there's no way to install one without doing a complete bathroom renovation. So yeah, thousands of dollars. Also the kitchen layout was super weird, and the living room was a bit too small. Again, it was cute and had potential, but we weren't sure we wanted to/could afford to jump into a major renovation like that (painting is one thing, ripping out old walls and moving tubs is another).

The next house (below) we saw yesterday and again, it was definitely what you would call a 'fixer upper'. The owner had basically started several renovations but never finished any of them, and half-assed the ones he did start, so every single room in the house needed work, both finishing and more major work. Dan didn't like it at all (the first one I think he said that to), so we scrapped it right away.

So yes, we're going to see this one tomorrow, it will probably be more of the same...we just need to remember that the question isn't "which house is move in ready?", it's "which house needs the least amount of work and/or will cost the least amount in renovations right from the get go?"

We'll find it. We'll find it.

Until next time,

Maternity Series |16 Weeks|

2011-04-23T20:37:00.002-03:00

I'm behind on these, so there's not much to say. It's been a challenge getting out there every week, but I just have to keep thinking that I'll be glad I did once it's over (plus it's for my business so I need to look at it as 'work' in a way).

Anyway, shot at an old abandoned mall a block from my house one sunny afternoon. Still wearing my coat because it was chilly out, but decided to dress it up with heels and a belt (I think that I will be rocking the belt-above-the-bump a lot this time around...)

I need to learn some new poses though, the 'hand in the hair' thing is getting old, ha!

Happy Saturday night to you!
G.

Reflections (or more like Ramblings...)

2011-04-20T20:57:00.000-03:00

Seems like I haven't been on here much to just write and ramble like I used to. My posts lately have all had a specific agenda, whether it be my photography series, Victor updates/photos, and now house hunting. I kind of feel like I'm missing out by not spilling my silly life and thoughts out into this little corner of my cyber world, so I thought I would attempt to do so now (sadly many of my thoughts get lost in the jumble of everyday life, and with my brain increasingly becoming 'preggo' like the rest of me, thoughts are hard to keep...yet another reason to blog!)

*In general, my life feels like the word I mentioned above: jumbled. There's a lot going on, and yet I don't feel like I have a full on grasp of any of it. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant, I stare at my computer screen when I'm supposed to be working and I think 'what am I doing again?', the housework falls behind no matter what I do, I neglect checking our bank account until it's too late and realize we can't do groceries until we get paid (umm, yeah, today), I start undressing Victor and he ends up crawling around for 5 mins in just his diaper because I'm off doing something else...yeah, just jumbled. And it's not like these are all additional things that I'm taking on unnecessarily, it's the everyday, normal things of life (family, home management, kids, work). A lot of the time (more than I care to admit), I just tune out and sit in front of Netflix or with my phone instead of getting myself organized or ahead in any sort of way. This doesn't really bode well for when the new baby arrives, but I have a feeling I'll never fully feel 'caught up' until...well, maybe never!

*Speaking of the new bébé, we find out the sex next week so that's quite exciting, and he's (maybe she's, but probably not, ha!) been kicking a bit stronger this past week. I try to make a point to stop and feel it when it happens, it's such an odd/wonderful thing, I know I'll miss never feeling that again. Also, we have our first round of names picked out (boy only) and we have a few favourites, but we're going to save it until the little guy's birthday just like with Victor.

*As for Victor, he's starting to get this walking thing down, but he's definitely turning into a toddler. I plan on blogging about this sometime, but let me just say that I was soooo right back when I said that toddlerhood was going to be the hardest period for me as a parent, it's barely even begun and I kind of want it to be over! So many wonderful moments, but so many challenges as well. My patience tank is going to have to be re-filled daily to get through the next couple of years!

*I've been kind of obsessing over decor again, and I think it's because I know that we're moving into a house soon. Pinterest has been feeding my obsession, and mostly it has been feeding it in the form of beautiful kitchens. And farmer's sinks, specifically. I NEED a farmer's sink.

*We're still deep in house hunting mode and I could not be more excited. I am slightly discouraged by the lack of choice due to our price range, but I know that we'll find something and that I will love it (or learn to love it). The important thing will be getting my brain wrapped around the idea of us 'settling' there, because so often in our various moves I've put off doing things because we weren't staying...well, this time we're staying, so it's time to make all my ideas come to life! No more bare walls, ugly colours, mismatched everything, it's time to make a real home. And I can't wait!

*Work is going ok, not great, but I account the time of year as the main reason for the lack of greatness. I'm not shooting consistently and that makes me feel like I'm not 'working' enough. There's tons of stuff to do behind the scenes, like I said, but it seems like it's really hard to get started on any of it (I did the major things already, like launch my websites, now it's mostly branding/marketing stuff, which is tougher to deal with I find.) I'm also kind of discouraged by my lack of profits (again, because the time of year), it makes me nervous for when it starts to matter later this year. I don't have as many sessions booked as I'd like. But, having only been working for a full month now, I think it's still a bit too early to despair yet. I'm doing pretty well at ignoring the house (and mess) while I am working, but it's the online distractions that still get me, so I'll have to work on that too. I'm enjoying working at home and the flexibility it provides though, so I'm still really grateful for the opportunity to do it.

*I've been thinking about dyeing my hair red for a little while now...I attempted to do it myself with less than desirable results (meaning no results), so I plan on going to a hair salon to get it done as soon as the money becomes available. I've also been thinking about tattoos lately, and I think that once bébé #2 is here I will celebrate (or reward myself?) by getting another one. Probably something with the kiddos' names, but we'll see. Maybe Dan and I will go together :)

*Craving strawberry Pop Tarts lately and ate 4 of them last night.

*While working the other day I listened to a bunch of TEDtalks (great site with speakers on all sorts of topics) about our food system and how our diets/attitudes about food are killing us. It really got me thinking (and feeling guilty) about what I'm feeding my child, as well as myself. At the same time I just feel so helpless about the whole situation. I mean, I've been eating basically the same way for 25 years, changing is not going to be easy. Look above, I'm craving Pop Tarts! We've made small changes here and there (switching to whole wheat bread, incorporating quinoa and other grains), but the idea of eating only 'real' food seems quite impossible to me, honestly. I know that our diets are not as bad as some people (we're not only eating pizza and burgers every week), but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. Does anyone else feel this way, like it's a losing battle and no matter what you do you're ruining your kids? I worry for Victor and what it will be like when he gets older...if he doesn't get a good foundation of healthy eating at home he certainly won't get it anywhere else...sigh.

*Along the same lines, I plan on starting some sort of garden this year (for REAL), ideally in our new home. I may start a few potted veggies/herbs next month and keep them inside until we move, then if possible, transfer them into the ground. I'm hoping that by doing this it will encourage me to eat more fruit and veggies. My sister is planning on getting chickens this year (both egg layers and meat kings), so we'll be covered there, and we're back to buying local meat. That, along with the farmer's market, should make for a healthier, local diet. Or so I hope :S

Ok, well that's probably enough mutterings. I'm behind on my maternity series again (surprise, surprise), so rain or shine, I need to get out there tomorrow and get my awkward model on!

Hope you're all having a splendid spring evening (even though I use the word 'spring' loosely, since there's about an inch of freezing rain/snow on the ground as I type...I've said it before and I'll say it again, spring does not begin until mid-May around here and maybe lasts 3 weeks, if that!)

Until next time,
G.

Maternity Series |14 Weeks|

2011-04-18T16:14:00.004-03:00

Here we are, my catch-up week (will be in order from now on, I promise!) Not much to say, took these indoors and used a prop, something I want to do in future weeks as well.

Hopefully I can get out this week and take my 16 and 17 Week shots, if only the weather would cooperate!

And the slideshow:

Until next time!
G.

House #3,4,5

2011-04-18T15:58:00.003-03:00

So last week we continued on with our house hunting journey, seeing 3 houses in town...the more I think about it, the more I'm liking the idea of living in town. Of course I still want to have a decent sized yard but I'm not so gung-ho on living out in the middle of nowhere (we drove out to see a few places that were far out, and honestly I'm not sure it would suit me). I still want to have a garden, and plenty of space, but we don't necessarily have to be in the 'country' for me to get that feeling. Luckily, one of the houses we went to see is on the edge of town, so the country is right up the road!

Anyway, the house above is the first one we stopped to see...not much to say about it. It was an old house, which I liked, decent amount of space, but in some ways it was just as much, if not more, of a money pit than the place out in Penobsquis was (and without the gorgeous plot of land). It was neglected and needed A LOT of cosmetic work. The neighbours were also a bit too close for our liking, so we dismissed it before we even left.

I was pleasantly surprised with the second house we went to see (above). I almost didn't even make an appointment to go see it, it was Dan who told me to add it to the list (he's a big believer in looking at basically anything, while I'm a bit choosier...) When we got there, the first thing we were impressed by was the size of the yard. Half an acre and fairly private/wooded, pretty moss, semi-landscaped, lots of room for a garden. Also, the neighbours aren't very close at all (one of them own a double lot so they are on the other side of the field, and the other house might be unoccupied), so that was good. And the house was in pretty good shape too. Not to say it didn't need some help (mainly in the form of about a million gallons of white paint to cover up the colour atrocities in there), but it really had a lot of potential. Mostly cosmetic work, which I'm not afraid of. Lots of character, original floors, windows, etc. Dan said that the heating and everything else looked alright, even though the size implied that it would be a bitch to heat in the winter (as I'm discovering all big houses are). The only concern was the outside wood siding, it would have to be checked out for mould and asbestos before purchasing. The more I thought about it, the more I liked this house. It's in a great location (Church Ave, which I've mentioned before as being my childhood 'dream street' to live on), has decent resale value, is close to everything but on the edge of town, so easy access to the country and fields, and not too far from my parents/Dan's work (in fact it's the next street over from where we're renting now, just up the hill). It's currently at the top of my list.

This house was another case of my head knowing it was nice, but my heart not feeling it. Luckily it didn't matter much because Dan wasn't a fan of the location, busy street, close neighbours, small yard, and back view of this house (it looks upon a series of brand new apartment buildings...umm, I didn't move to Sussex to have apartment buildings in my backyard, thank you). It was in good shape, an ok size, but just wasn't for us.

So that's it so far. Tonight we're going to see this house, which is out in the country a little bit but it's in a really nice area of the country, so I'm definitely willing to give it a shot. There are no indoor photos so we have no idea what to expect, but at this point we're giving everything reasonable a fair shot.

Dan asked me how long I wanted to look before making a decision on a house...and I really had no idea. Is there a recommended amount of time to look? How many houses does one go see, on average, when house hunting? I know I don't want to look forever, we kind of have a ticking timeline in my uterus at the moment telling us that we should be settled before the Fall for sure, but how far we want to push it is another matter. Our price range limits us quite a bit in what we can get, so that is a blessing/curse, but I'm hoping that within the next 6 weeks or so we'll have our house picked out.

Sorry of this is boring to anyone other than family, but it's our first (and maybe last) time house hunting and I'd like to remember the process.

If you have a house hunting story to share, I'd love to hear! How did you know your house was 'the' house for you?

Until next time,

PS-I signed up for Pinterest, and now I'm hooked, so expect a 'Pin' type post soon.

The House Hunting Begins...

2011-04-11T19:56:00.002-03:00

I thought I would write about something that wasn't pregnancy or Victor related (imagine!), and share with you our journey into house hunting...yes, we're finally, finally, getting a house!

I hope.

Last year when we first moved to Sussex we toyed with the idea of getting a house, but with me being on Maternity Leave it just wasn't possible, so we waited until that was over, but now that I'm working for myself (which I haven't blogged about properly yet, have I? Must do that...), the banks/mortgage folks won't consider any salaries I make as income because it's not 'established' yet, so we'd have to wait at least a year. Long story short, it wasn't looking good. I had gone to see a couple of houses without Dan just for fun back in the Fall (including this one), but once I realized the house thing wasn't going to happen, things got a bit quiet. But then about a month ago the house-bug bit me again and I started wondering if there was another way...well, with the help of my very generous parents, it looks like we're going to have a way (they're not buying us a house, just helping us get the mortgage! We have the money, just not the credit...)

Anyway, so last week we started doing the official hunting (meaning Dan came along, haha). We saw 2 houses, and are going to see another 3 this Wednesday.

Here's what we've seen so far:

This house is in a quiet area of town and is move in ready. Quite big, lots of space, decent sized backyard, a loft upstairs for my office...it looks really good on paper. But it wasn't for me. I saw it, thought in my head 'this should be a good house for us', but my heart just didn't feel it. I saw nothing but the negatives; the kitchen was really small, there were 2 small living rooms/dens instead of one large central space, the downstairs layout was just awkward, there was carpeting everywhere (on the stairs, everywhere!)...these are all minor things, I know, but like I said, my heart wasn't in it. I quickly forgot about it after we left, even though I know I should have given it more of a chance.

This house, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. My heart was in it 1000% percent, but my head knows that it's just not feasible or smart. I actually went to see this one back in either November or December and fell in total, head over heels in love with it, despite its many and obvious flaws. It was enormous, old (1872!), in a beautiful country setting, had tons and tons of character, land (almost 3 acres, including greenhouses, gazebos, flower beds, grapes, a ready made chicken coop, etc), plenty of light...to me it was perfect. Of course I knew that the septic needed to be replaced completely and the roof probably needed repairing too (I mean, look at it), it would be a bitch to heat, and there was a serious dip in the kitchen floor...but I chose to ignore those things, romanticizing it in my head for the next 6 months.

We went to see it again on Saturday with my parents and Dan, and the list of problems just grew and grew (can I just say how proud/impressed I am with Dan? He's able to find plumbing/heating issues that I would never, ever see...I had no idea he knew so much and am so thankful that he has these skills, it's going to come in handy for sure!) Anyway, the house is a 'money pit', and just not worth it.

I cried on the inside when I realized it couldn't happen, and yet somehow in the back of my mind I'm still dreaming of a way that it could work (I told Dan that the only way it could work would be for us to be rich city folk who would just say 'ok, we'll buy it and sink 100k into making it the house we want, and we'll hire everyone to do it for us and we'll just wait until it's ready then move in'. Umm, yeah, not us!) But maybe somehow, someway...

So that's it so far. We're going to see this one, this one, and this one next. None of them is ideal, but I think that compromise is something we're going to have to accept (especially with our price range). It's hard to get the location, house, and space you want, it's always a combination of one or two of those things, but finding something that has all three is pretty hard. I've also realized that I house hunt based on my heart and general 'feeling' for the house, versus the reality of what it is. It could be a gorgeous, perfectly built house, but if I don't feel something inside saying "I love it!", then I won't be able to get over that I don't think. Luckily Dan is quite the opposite, he looks at this with his head only, so between the 2 of us we should be able to find something.

My rough plan is to move out of here by July 1st, meaning we'd need to give notice by June 1st, so that gives us 3 months or so to find a place. Challenge? Yes. But I'm SO READY.

Thanks for letting me ramble on about this, I'll share more on the houses above once I see them and any others we might find along the way. Hopefully our dream house is out there, waiting for us.

Until next time,

Maternity Series |15 Weeks|

2011-04-11T19:04:00.001-03:00

Yay, I actually got a week done on the actual week! :) I almost didn't though, because the day of the shoot it was quite chilly and windy, and I knew that I wanted to wear this little green dress/shirt, so I almost bailed. Luckily I braved it, ended up with plenty of fun shots, and am quite happy with the results :) Originally I was going to wear tights with it instead of jeans, but decided against it...it is April in Canada, after all, we're not talking about balmy (or even coatless) weather by any means! I also decided to start wearing all the various heels I've collected over the years but never ever wear (I mean, it's just a few minutes for a photoshoot, my feet can handle it.) I paired this pair of peep toes with white socks, how trendy of me (*snort*)

I've defintely 'popped' a bit more this week, I can feel the bump coming up around my belly button and getting harder, versus the usual flub (though it's still there too, ha!) Only a couple more weeks though and then I'll feel less like a fat girl and more like a preggo one :)

I took these photos out behind the Catholic church in our town, and only after finishing editing and collaging did I realize that one of the collages may be interpreted as 'anti-religious'...not the case at all! I was just snapping photos of what was nearby and did not mean to send any sort of political or religious message (in fact I love the Catholics!)

Until next week!

(Week 14 is coming, but I'll be honest...I missed that week, so I'm going to try and do a 'catch up' shoot this week, 2 weeks later...I'll wear a loose top) :)

2011-04-06T13:11:00.002-03:00

Ok, this is it, the final monthly (well, twi-monthly) update for my little Victor Emmanuel. Not to say I won't be mentioning him here anymore on the blog, but my goal was to write a blog post every month recording his life for the first year. These posts will be printed and put into his baby book, since this format has recorded his life in much more detail than a few lines in a baby book ever could. I'm so thankful for blogs and the Internet at times like these, how I wish my mom had written a blog about me when I was a baby! Hopefully Victor will appreciate it later on in life.

Anyway, on to the update...as I said, this is his 12 and 13 month update (so from January 26th up until March 26th, 2011), since the events from that period all seem to have blurred together (I blame my first trimester, ha!)

So here we go, an update on my no-longer little bébé...

*Stats: Eeek, I don't think we weighed or measured him either month! At his one year appointment/needles I believe he weighed between 19.5 and 20 pounds and was 29 inches long, but we haven't weighed him since then, will have to do that soon!

*Still wearing his small cloth diapers (!), but his clothing sizes have changed dramatically. He's running into the issue of his pants being too short but his waist being too small to hold up the larger/longer sizes, and of being a bit too long for a lot of his smaller PJs even though they fit fine in the torso and shoulders. He's been wearing everything from 6-12 months PJS, shirts and pants, all the way up to 18 month PJs and onesies. I've been packing up a lot of his clothes though, soon he'll only have 12M+ stuff out. He's wearing a pair of 4.5 shoes, and we had to switch him into a larger coat since the one he had at the beginning of winter (6-9 months) no longer fits him.

*Sleep has been fairly steady these past few months. On average he's napping once a day late in the morning (usually between 11am and noon) for an hour and half or so (even though he's had some loooong naps too, sometimes pushing 3 hours!) He will sometimes nap later in the afternoon but most days he's ok with just the one nap. He has been going to bed at around 7:30-8:30pm and waking up at around 7:00am or so. He wakes up once in the night at least, but often it's just because his soother has fallen out and he's back to sleep within minutes of picking him up (yes, we still pick him up and often bring him to bed with us). The past month or so he's woken up at around 6:00-6:30am and we bring him to bed with us until Dan has to get up for work, but that will soon have to change once there is no room in the bed (both from my belly and then from the new baby!) He's soooo wiggly when he sleeps though, at least when he's in bed with us, so I think that when we transition into his 'big boy bed' this summer we will definitely need a gate so that he doesn't wiggle right off the bed!

*As for eating, he's basically been eating what we eat for awhile now, but overall I can't say that his diet is ideal. He gets enough grains and dairy for sure, his protein is ok, but his fruit and veggie intake isn't nearly where I would like it to be, which is partly my fault for not offering them enough and partly pickiness on his part. He basically doesn't eat any fruit of veggies in whole pieces, only when they're mashed or from a jar (baby food-fruit only). He likes potatoes ok but ever since he started eating 'real' food with us, he's just not interested anymore. And he's definitely showing signs of pickiness. I've said more than once in the past couple of months that I was worried about his food intake, but from what I can tell it's quite normal for toddlers not to eat consistently or heartily, and as long as they are happy and active and not losing weight, then I shouldn't worry...still, I worry! So I'm always trying to get him to eat, which has basically turned him into a 'grazer'. He eats little bits all day long; crackers, yogurt, bread, string cheese, milk, whatever I can get into him (even some not so healthy things). This next year will definitely be interesting, I have a feeling we're going to be having quite a few 'food fights'! Also, he's pretty much insistent these days that he eats by himself (feeds himself) which is fine for the most part but because he's so messy, he ends up not eating as much as he would if we were feeding him...sigh, all part of growing up I guess. He's getting pretty good with a spoon and fork though! He still drinks a bottle of formula (8oz) at night before bed but I think that I may switch gradually over to milk once I feel like he's eating enough (I kind of look at it like a 'safety net' to cover whatever he's missing in food during the day). Oh, and another trick he learned: drinking from a straw :)

*The biggest new skill this month has been standing/taking a few steps. He started shortly after his first birthday and he's been working on it ever since. He can stand for a few seconds at a time and can also take a few steps (although he basically lunges forward so he doesn't get very far). He will only stand and let go when he's leaning on us, he hasn't let go of any furniture and attempted to walk yet...but it's coming! I'm thinking that by summertime he'll be walking just fine :) He's a bit behind I guess you could say, but at the same time he gets around just fine crawling so there's really no rush. He also learned to steadily sit, finally! For the longest time he wouldn't sit and I didn't really trust him not to topple over if I had him sitting, but he has since learned to sit back on his haunches, so that's how he now sits. So happy he caught on to that, it makes things so much easier! He can sit up in the bathtub, sit to play with his toys, it's all just much better. And his last new/big skill is clapping! This was another thing that we tried to get him to do for months and months, but he just all of a suddent caught on soon after his birthday (it seemed like as soon as he hit 12 months, everything started happening!) We were so excited when he first did it, I think I scared him when I squealed his name in excitement! Now he does it all the time, especially to music. Apart from those big three new skills he's been getting better at using his hands as always, loves to bounce on the bed and enjoys being active.

*Favourite toys these past few months include his books (though he's less interested in them now than he once was), a ball popper that my parents got him for his birthday, a guitar with all kinds of buttons to push (this toy actually spurred on the clapping), his Buzz lightyear ride-on, some bubbles that he also got for his birthday, and basically anything he's not supposed to get into. Still loves to play with jars and lids and containers (which is handy when I'm making supper, I let him stand on a kitchen chair and play with various tupperware type things on the table), and touching everything in sight, especially when he's in our arms (lightswithches, pictures on the wall, thermostats, etc).

*Speaking of pictures, he also loves to look at pictures of his cousins. We have a board up in the kitchen with all their photos and he likes to touch each face as we say their names. He's drawn to photographs...which mama loves :)

*Teeth...we have 'em! 3 new ones to be exact. 2 more on the bottom (he has 4 now), and one hillbilly tooth up top (it's not one of the middle ones, it's the one next to middle one, which looks so funny and weird). Also, every since he got these new teeth he has started grimacing in this weird way that shows off his top gums, he crinkles up his nose and exposes all his teeth, squinting his eyes. It's weird/funny/cute (you can see some of these faces in the iphone pics below).

*He has become pretty obsessed with his soother lately, which is why you see it in so many of the pictures...he used to only really use it when he was upset or to get to sleep, but he now wants it pretty much all the time. I figure it might have something to do with the multiple teeth coming through, or with needing something comforting as he becomes more independent...or he just really likes it. Either way, I'm ok with it and don't really intend on trying to cut him off from it for a few more months yet.

*Activities these past 2 months include taking walks in his new winter sled (in his new winter snowsuit), trips to see his cousins and grandparents, dining out at restaurants (and trying some not so healthy foods), swimming at the Aquatic Centre, the big 'one year' birthday party, and doctor's appointments/needles (fun fun, I know!)

*One big change that happened between 12 and 13 months is that Victor has started going to a babysitter's 4 days a week. He started going to my friend Sara's house during the days so that I could work on my photography business beginning around mid-March, and so far it has been going really well. We went to Sara's house quite often anyway for playdates and babysitting while I was on Mat Leave, so he was quite used to the environement and to the people, so there really was no transition period, he jumped right in with no problems! I miss him during the day of course, but I'm glad that he gets a chance of pace for a few hours everyday (he's only going about 25 hours a week, but we may up it more in the summer once I start getting busier with shoots).

*I almost forgot to mention this because it's not very pleasant, but Victor also experienced his first real bout with being sick (besides having a cold). We all caught a Norwalk-like virus in March and unfortunately our little bébé had it too...throwing up for the first time, diarrhea, and feeling generally miserable. I felt so bad for him (as bad as I could, being sick and pregnant myself!), but luckily he recoverd fairly quickly. Not fun and I hope that he doesn't have to go through that again for a long time (he's generally very healthy, except for the occasional snotty nose, like all kids).

*He is slowly becoming more independent, but overall he still really likes being with us (or with someone in general), and prefers that over solo play. He does go exploring on his own and will play by himself for little bits of time, but more often than not he wants us to interact with him. He's playful and likes to laugh, he's quiet when we're out in public, and he's overall still very sweet. With age though I can see more of his rough and tumble nature coming out, he can be pretty rough sometimes with me and Dan (pinching our bellies, pulling hair, grabbing noses). I know it's all normal but I'm going to miss these days when he'll still occasionally cuddle up to me and is still gentle and mild. I also realize that discipline is going to become a bigger part of our lives soon, and I'm anxious about how that will all go down (considering he cries at the slightest indication of being scolded, it should be interesting...) Let the toddler years begin!

(To finish off, I've included a collage of iphone photos from these past few months...as predicted, most of our daily photos now come my phone and not my camera, but the important part is that his life is being documented, and for that I'm grateful.)

On t'aime Victor,
Mama et Daddy

(If you made it to the end of this, bravo! I hope that it hasn't been too much of a pain, I know that my blog has been mostly kid-centric this past year or so, but it's a stage in my life that I'm very proud of and I want to document it the best I can.
...
Now to print all these updates off, oye!)

Maternity Series |13 Weeks|

2011-04-02T11:57:00.005-03:00

I'm a little behind on these, so hopefully I'll have Week 14 (this week) up soon. I recently bought a remote for my camera and let me tell you, it makes taking self portraits MUCH easier. Now if only the remote could fix me! It was beautiful the evening of this shoot, finally a bit warmer and sunny. I drove out near our house and found a private spot to take photos (I'm shy taking photos in public places, I need to get over that!) Anyway, I know that these first weeks are going to be hardest since I don't really 'look' pregnant, just kind of pudgy, so it's like taking self portraits in a body you're not quite comfortable with, but I have a feeling that I'm going to 'pop' soon, so that should make things a bit easier. Let the blessed 2nd trimester begin!

And here's a slideshow of both weeks so far (I can't wait to see them all together, I love love love maternity series!)

This weekend we're taking it easy since we got a Spring snowstorm (boo) and everything is covered in the dreded white stuff again. Cleaning, catching up on laundry, eating soup, and keeping warm will be on our list of do-tos.

How's your weekend shaping up?

Maternity Series |12 Weeks|

2011-03-25T09:00:00.016-03:00

So, as part of a new package I want to offer to clients in 2012 (still yet to be named), I've decided to embark on a maternity photography series. Ideally I would have had a model to use for business purposes, but since I myself am pregnant and wanted to do another series of 'belly shots' like I did with Victor, I decided to combine both projects into one.

It's pretty simple; take self-portraits (or assisted portraits) of myself throughout my pregnancy. I'm going to aim to do them weekly, but we'll see how it goes, I'm sure I will miss a week here and there (with Victor's I went from 2 week intervals to 3 week intervals once I was put on bedrest, hopefully that won't happen this time!). I've decided that instead of using the same location every week like I did with Victor's belly shots, I would choose a different location everytime to mix it up (and also to double as location scouting for future shoots!) I'll treat each week as a 'mini' shoot and take different shots to include, not just the the typical 'belly' shot, although that will be the focus, of course.

Now, this is NOT my original idea; in fact, I'm drawing inspiration heavily from Bleubird's maternity series that she did last year (check it out if you haven't seen it, she's GORGEOUS and has such great style!) I was also really insprired by Cole's maternity series, which was the one that started them all, I believe. If you haven't seen these, please go take a peek at them here and here. Oh, and check out this adorable maternity book, I plan on doing something similar with these shots. I'm using the idea of writing a mini letter to the baby every week as well, even though it's written in English and not French (for business purposes...and also so Dan can contribute/understand, haha!)

Anyway, I'm really excited to start, it will force me to get out and take some real self portraits, which I haven't done in over 2 years (not counting Victor's belly shots). Now, I am sooo not a model, I'm actually totally awkward in front of the camera, so it will probably take a few weeks before I can look natural, but hopefully it will come with time. I'm starting at 12 weeks, and let me tell you, I have a little pooch already by the looks of these shots! I can't wait until the weather gets a bit nicer and I can start wearing pretty skirts and dresses, and for the backgrounds to look a little less...umm...dead.

(Shots taken at my sister's house)

I'll also be posting these over on my photography blog, but I'm not sure when I want to start, I may wait a little bit before posting (not sure when I want to 'announce' my pregnany to clients)

So, here we go, wish me luck! (And I'm sorry if you are tired of seeing these types of series, but I'll keep it down to once a week, tops!)

This...

2011-03-23T13:04:00.000-03:00

...is what has been consuming my mind (and body) for the last 14 weeks or so.

Due September 23rd, 2011.

Not gonna lie, I had a total and complete MELTDOWN when I found out (tears and all).

Pretty much the exact opposite reaction to Victor's conception.

I felt guilty about it for a long time, but then forgave myself and said that my reaction was real, and that I can't blame myself for my feelings.

This was SO not planned, and SO not expected (again, as opposed to Victor).

It's throwing our lives (and especially my career plans) for a real loop.

We're worried, and scared about how we'll manage, but we're dealing as best we can.

And...

As my belly starts to puff out a little bit (much quicker than the first time), I'm starting to embrace and look forward to the arrival of this new little being who is going to complete our family.

We're on the journey again, a bit sooner than expected, but we'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Be back soon, promise this time.

G. (and Kid A-2)

Victor's birthday

2011-03-14T14:09:00.001-03:00

Finally getting around to blogging about this!

So Victor's birthday wasn't anything fancy or complicated, but this year I think that simple and easy was all that we could handle. We decided to go swimming at the Aquatic centre in Saint John and then head back home for cake and pizza. The day before his party and the morning of, it stormed really bad so I was worried that we wouldn't be able to go, but luckily my parents were able to drive us (our car was buried under 2 feet of snow!), and a few people were able to make it, so all in all it turned out. He LOVED swimming and didn't cry once the entire time (even when we went into the 'cold' pools), his little lips were quivering but he didn't want to get out! Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures in there, but I think that next time I may sneak in my phone to snap a quick photo of him swimming, it's so cute! We then went out for lunch (won't mention where, let's just say a popular fast food chain where Victor may have had his first fast food fry *cough cough* McDonald's, don't judge *cough cough*), and then we headed home for the afternoon to rest (all the kids slept sooo well).

I got things ready and picked up Victor's cake, which my friend Vanessa made for us. I wanted to make a cake based on his favourite book, "Squishy Turtle and Friends", but I knew that I would never be able to make anything as nice as I wanted, so I hired her to do it for us since she makes such cute fondant cakes. It turned out great!

At around 5 oclock everyone (my parents, my sister and her husband, and my friend Sara and her family) met up at our place and we had pizza, snacks and then some cake. Victor opened his presents (spoiled again!) and then he 'blew' out his candle. I think that he was pretty overwhelmed/junk food'ed out by that point, because he really wasn't feeling the whole cake thing, which is too bad, but it was a long and tiring day for him so I'll remember that for next time. The photo below pretty much sums up how he felt that night I think, haha.

It's kind of a bummer to have a 'winter baby' because around here it means being stuck inside and not having a whole lot of options for activities (not to mention natural light for photos, ack!), but I'm hoping that next year I can come up with more of a fun 'theme' and make it a bit more of a special affair. For now though, my bébé is 1 year old and that's all that matters.

(Félix partied well into the night, as you can see.)

I still plan on doing a 12-month update for Victor, if I can ever get my act together, so that will be next, and then some non-Victor related stuff, I promise!

Thanks for sticking around this desolate little place,
G.

And just like that...

2011-02-28T15:28:00.000-04:00

He went from this:

To this:

(Much better without the forcept marks, no?)

Be back soon with a few birthday photos,
G.

Last week.

2011-02-21T15:13:00.000-04:00

This is my last week on Maternity Leave. A whole year has gone by, and although I'm not going back to a 'job' officially (though I will be working), it still feels like things are going to change. We're dealing with some new realities around here, both financial and in terms of our future, but we're dealing as best we can, and in the meantime, I'm going to take advantage of any snuggles this little bébé will give me before he turns into a toddler and sees snuggling as too much of a distraction from his world of playing and exploring. Soon his mama will be off to work, he'll be off to Sara's house for daycare, and our first year together will be just a fond memory. I need to cherish this week.

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here, the energy levels are low, but I have a few ideas for posts that I'd like to post soon, and I'll have pictures from Victor's birthday party this weekend, so I'll be be soon(ish), as always.

Happy Monday,
G.

Currents

2011-02-15T12:31:00.001-04:00

(Photo taken with my phone last week while on a walk in the woods with my mom...there is soooo much snow on the ground, at least 3 feet...)

listening: To something at least! I realized that I hardly ever listen to music, and I don't want Victor to grow up in a house without music, so I made a playlist with random stuff on the computer (currently, Elliot Smith...)

eating: Craisins. I need to eat healthier, so I figure they're better than chips, right?

drinking: Nothing, craving water

wearing: Light green/pastel green mint coloured jeans/pants, black short sleeved knit shirt, pink chunky necklace my mom got for me in Arizona, with matching earrings.

feeling: Quite down in the dumps lately (and sick), but trying to get over it.

weather: UGH. Don't even get me started! This has been a looong and hard winter already, and it's only half over! Currently flurries and gray skies.

wanting: To know what the hell is going to happen this year.

needing: A haircut (I said that last time I did a post like this, but it's still true!)

thinking: I should be doing dishes instead of blogging.

enjoying: Planning Victor's first birthday party.

wondering: If Dan will take me out for ice cream tonight. We need to go on a date.

Random Tuesday thoughts for you. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!
G.

2011-02-06T22:07:00.000-04:00

Well, this is it, the last monthly update before the big one year celebration. I can’t say I’m quite ready for my little bébé to turn one, but it’s going to happen whether I’m ready or not, so I guess I better enjoy this last month of Victor’s baby life, before he turns into a…toddler (I’ll have a toddler, that’s so strange, soon I’ll be saying I have a kid in school!)

Anyway, we had a decent month, not great and not terrible, with some great moments and not so great ones. That about sums up life though, doesn’t it?

(Sorry this update is especially rambling, I guess I know that these monthly updates are going to end soon so I want to get in as much information and detail as possible, I’ll appreciate it later in life I’m sure!)

*Stats: Weight: about 20lbs, though he feels much bulkier and heavier than before. I told Dan that he’s kind of chubby in the face now, lol. Height: unsure, probably nearing 30 inches at least (he’s not that much shorter than his pal Eli who is 2 months older, I think he’s going to be tall like his father). Wearing 6-12 months pants, 6-12 and 12 months PJs (he still has some 6 month PJs that he wears, but they are getting too small, I’ll be putting them away really soon), and a variety of shirts, mostly 6-12 months, but I pulled out several 12-18 months onesies and shirts today which fit him fine. Incredibly he still fits into his small diapers, even though they’re getting a bit tighter every month. I still have a few snaps I could loosen them to though so he’ll be wearing them into his 1^st birthday for sure. He has a very small waist and bum, what can I say!

*Sleep this month has been a bit scattered, and we’ve (well, I’ve) gotten into a bad habit of bringing Victor into bed with us for up to half the night, which isn’t good for any of us because the bed is way too small and Victor is way too wiggly for a decent night’s sleep. He’s been waking up about once a night, and he has also gotten into a bad habit of falling asleep in our arms and then waking as soon as you try to put him down (both at night and at nap times). So that has made for some frustrating nights, and for the first time, some ‘crying it out’ sessions. I’ve never done it before, but I figure at this age he really doesn’t need anything from us at night-he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t need to be changed, if he wakes up I hold him until he falls back asleep, but then if he wakes back up because I put him down, well…he’s going to have to get over it. And he has, each crying ‘session’ has been shorter and shorter (the longest was only 15 mins, but it was a rough 15 mins!), to the point now where if I put him down and he wakes up, he knows that I’m not coming back and gets himself to sleep just fine. I do feel bad when I have to do it but at the same time if I hear that he’s crying more than usual I will go in and comfort him, but in most cases he’s just trying to get back in my arms and once he realizes that’s not going happen, he goes down by himself. He’s been going to bed earlier this past month, around 7:30pm, and has been waking at around 8:00am. He still has his morning nap about 90% of the time, and a late afternoon nap around 60% of the time.

*We stopped breastfeeding around New Year’s Eve (even though we had been down to maybe one feeding a day the month before, so we were pretty much done before Christmas). The reason we ended up stopping though was because I lost my nipple shield…I’m pretty sure it got thrown out by accident one day. Anyway, once we no longer had the means to do it, we just stopped and it was easy as can be. He really wasn’t that interested near the end, he was drinking water all day and formula at night, so ‘working’ for the little bit of breastmilk he could get out of me hardly seemed worth it to him anymore. Oddly, I think it was a bit harder on me than it was on him…I know I said I hated it for the most part and would be happy when it was over, but once it actually happened, I kind of missed having the option. To use it as comfort, a distraction, and yes, a way to cuddle and bond a bit…I also didn’t reach my original goal of breastfeeding for a year (although I did reach my later goal of making it to the end of the year-just barely!) I plan on writing a separate post on my thoughts of breastfeeding, so I’ll get into more of it then. Point is, Victor is now surviving on 100% food (plus a bit of formula). PS-I actually tried to feed him a few weeks ago just to see what would happen (I had found another nipple shield lying around), and he totally bit me! So yeah, we’re done.

*Speaking of food, this is another area where things have been a bit scattered. After going through that growth spurt in December, he once again became somewhat picky and has hardly been eating anything. He’ll eat a few bites of something and then quickly tire it of and will refuse to eat more. It’s been pretty frustrating, and even moreso because I know that I’ve been contributing to the problem in some way by giving him too many ‘treats’, like corn puffs (made for babies, not Cheetos or anything!), graham crackers, and other non-healthy foods. He does love yogurt though, so that’s an exception, and still eats jarred fruit and baby cereal without much complaint. It’s the veggies and meats (that he used to love) that have become the problem. I offer them to him everyday though, so hopefully he’ll eventually eat more. I’ve also really been trying to get him to eat what we’re eating, and he has found some new foods that way. As far as drinks, he has become a total milk junkie and occasionally drinks a bit of apple juice. Still loves water as well. He’s been drinking 6-8oz of formula before bed, but usually has a hard time finishing it (and in the past week or so has only taken a few sips, refusing the rest…I think we’re going to be done with formula this month, yay!)

*STILL NO NEW TEETH! Every day I check, and everyday I only see drool. Crazy.

*Still not walking, or standing without support, but like I said before, I really don’t see him walking for another few months at least. He crawls really fast and can climb up without problem, but he doesn’t seem interested in going beyond that. He’s getting much better with his hands (for turning book pages, pressing buttons, picking up small objects), loves to crawl up and over things (especially our bodies while sitting or lying on the couch) and seems more confident in his movements.

*As far as favourites this month, I’m happy to say that it has been books all the way. All of a sudden Victor has been loving books. He got some new ones for Christmas and they quickly became his new favourites (one about colours and another about a dog named Spot). He loves books that have flaps that he can lift up or board books with pages that he can easily turn. We keep his books near his toys and he always goes for them first, which is great. I try to read to him whenever he seems interested, but a lot of times he’s more interested in looking at the pictures and turning the pages, rather than listening to the words, which is ok, I know the interest will come soon. Other favourite toys include anything that makes noise (his Buzz Lightyear ride-on and little ‘singing’ ball in particular), his ring game and his pop-up toy. His favourite non-toy? Light switches.

*This month I’ve also noticed that Victor is becoming interested in not only taking things apart, but putting them back together. Putting blocks in the basket after taking them out, pulling his rings off and then putting them back on, putting lids on jars, he likes doing these things more and more. It’s really amazing to see his mind work with these ‘games’. He has also learned some new ‘tricks’, including putting his hand up to his eyes to play ‘peek a boo’ (he also puts his hand over our eyes to indicate he wants to play), hiding behind the sofa ledge and popping back up (another version of peek a boo), playing hide and seek type games (I’ll run into another room and hide behind the wall and he’ll come after me until he finds me and I say ‘boo!’), and playing telephone (he knows to put the telephone up to his ear and puts it to ours as well). He also squeezes his hand together (I think it’s the baby sign language sign for milk), but we haven’t quite found a pattern as to when or why he does it (we think it might be when he likes something). He hasn’t learned to clap yet but we’re trying, he knows how to grab our hands to make us clap but hasn’t figured out how to do it himself. Regardless, he’s learning new things everyday and it’s been really fun to experience.

*As far as personality goes, he’s still clingy, though a bit better than he once was (a small improvement, not nearly to where I’d like it to be though, haha), and he runs hot and cold a lot (happy one second and crying the next). He’s also experiencing frustration more and more, which is hard to watch but it’s something he needs to go through, I know. When he is happy (which is most of the time), he smiles and plays and is as active as can be. He loves it when you play with him and also loves it when you praise him for doing something right (mouth wipe open, big smile, bright eyes). His response to any sort of discipline is crying, which he gets from me 100% (and also from his dad I’ve heard), so I can’t really get mad at him for it (although I do sometimes). He’s full of amazement, loves to explore and loves to be with us. As much as I complain about him sometimes he’s really such a good boy and I couldn’t be happier having him in our lives.

His birthday is in less than 3 weeks, and I think that we’re going to go to the Aquatic Centre again since he enjoyed it so much last time. I think that my sister in law and her kids may come, and my family and a few friends, so it should be a nice time. I’ll be sure to take pictures of the birthday boy, so hard to believe!

Nearly a whole year with us, Victor; I can’t wait for the next one (and the next, and the next….)

Love,

Mama

Yes, I joined the 21st century...

2011-02-05T16:12:00.001-04:00

[Instagram lovin']

Last weekend Dan and I went on a date (aka shopping and dinner), and we got new phones. Dan's (a really simple flip phone) had died that day and had been screen-less for about a month, so we knew we needed new ones, and we both decided this time to get Smartphones...well, whether this was a good decision or not remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, we're both quite addicted already!

I got an iPhone (the 3, not the 4, I didn't want to pay for it, haha), and Dan got an Android. I would have been perfectly happy with a Droid too, but I knew that the iPhone allowed for some cool photo Apps so that's the main reason I got it (plus I use my phone mainly for surfing the web and apparently the iPhone is the best for that). Dan really likes his Droid too so I'm happy. I haven't really gotten into all the features I could be using I'm sure, but I hooked up my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and emails, plus a few other handy free apps, so I think I'm basically set (I still need to put some music on there though).

Now, I always used to make fun of people who were addicted to their phones(especially iPhones), so I'm trying really hard not to be completely and utterly addicted to it, and I think that once the initial new-ness wears off I'll be ok, but at the moment it's definitely in my hand more than I'd probably like to admit (Dan too, maybe worse than me because he plays games on his!) Anyway, in order to try and keep myself in check I've come up with a few 'phone rules' for myself, including:

-No phones at the dinner table (when Dan is eating with us that is, when it's just me and Victor I allow myself the distraction from the mess, haha)
-No phones in bed (I know a lot of people bring them to bed with them!)
-No phone in hand when talking to the cashier at the grocery store, bank, whatever (I find that kind of rude)

Anyway, another good/bad thing about having this phone is the camera on it. I find myself taking more 'daily' photos of Victor, but at the same time, I'm ignoring my real camera because of it, so I haven't decided if this is good or bad (I'm leaning towards bad, hopefully I'll become less lazy soon!)

Are you an iPhone/Droid user? Any cool Apps I should know about? Are you totally addicted to your phone?

Happy Saturday, be back soon (for real!) with Victor's 11-month update (his birthday is in 3 weeks from today, I better hurry!)

Until then,
G.