Oh Christmas Tree

The best part about having a new family is new traditions.

This is year two for Ernie's tree lot:)

Wishing all of you a fabulous holiday!

{ See last year's adventure HERE }

The Big One

Dear Emmitt,

one. whole. year.

12 months, 365 days, 82.359 sleepless nights, 3920 dirty diapers, endless loads of laundry,

countless hours and minutes and seconds of you, my little love.

 the night before your first birthday, i softly kiss your head as i tuck you into your crib.

i remember the same night just one short year ago, when i had yet to lay eyes on your sweet face.

i had dug out all the old things, the jakie things. 

 plush blankets, baby swing. teeny tiny green and yellow clothes and shoes and jammies. 

some still smelling faintly of babe, sweet.

the rickety old bassinet that has cradled so many precious heads was set up beside the bed,

i was ready. you weren't:)

you were giving me a hard time then, one year ago,

and i had already been in labour for the better part of a day.

it would be another day yet before i would get to meet you, but it was worth it.

one whole year of joy and light and excruciating love.

one whole year of you.

{ Photo Courtesy of Lyndsay Doyle Photography }

'Round the hood...

...hillbilly style.

The family vehicles,
'cause that's just how we roll...

Hot Child in the City

We have made it home in one piece, and after a surprisingly successful plane ride, with our sanity intact!

Flying with a toddler is no walk in the park let me tell you.

(major props to the lady behind us who was travelling by herself with 4 kids, 

all who looked under the age of 5; that poor poor woman...)

Anywho, Calgary has some awesome splash pools, and with a hot hot prairie summer in full swing

we set out to cool off and have some fun.

Wild in Water Valley

Back again at the cabin, one year later : )

Until next year.....



Photo of the Week

Week #17

When I was small, my daddy started building a cabin out in the woods in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

I watched him drive his tractor out into the woods where he had selected only the finest, straightest trees,

with which he built the most amazingly beautiful log cabin.

Today i live too far away, and no longer watch him drive his old tractor off into the morning light,

but i'll never forget how big he was to me, nor how incredible he remains...

Happy Fathers Day daddy! and to all of the amazing daddies out there : )

AHEM.

Wandering....

...into the sunset.

and into the weekend.

Happy Friday!




{ Shoot. Edit. Submit. }

That Special Something...

...that exists between a boy and his Grandmother : )

{ Wonderful Wednesday }

Give a Dog a Bone

Fortunately the Little and the Hannah Dog have been getting along these days, but it's not always the case.
I remember when the Little started walking, it was really hard on Hannah; this little person was all up in her face, in her space,
and even in her water dish!  Before she got used to the idea, she was definitely a little bit upset about the whole thing.
 So I can't help but worry sometimes, at the end of the day she is an animal...
and considering that she is roughly three times his size, can you really blame me?

However, we lucked into a free seminar this weekend about toddlers and dogs at our little library,
hosted by the highly recommended Tamara of Unleashed Pawsibilities.

We definitely learned a lot, and it's sometimes always good to have some sense scared into you too: )

Did you know that when a dog's upset it's body temp rises and it's mouth gets dry so it starts licking it's lips?
Or that they sort of purse their lips?  Or lay their ears back, pulling back the skin on their head, revealing the whites of the eyes?
Or that dogs don't actually like hugs?  WHAT?!?!  This of course does not apply to our dear Hannah Dog,
as she LOVES all my hugs and kisses and cuddles, right?

Anyways, i learned that i am NOT the amazing dog / baby coordinator that i thought i was,
but rather fail quite miserably at the whole supervision thing, and need to clean up my act.
   Despite all of my jokes, we really do take this seriously, and hope and pray that everyone behaves themselves.
It certainly is a very real issue, with very real (and scary!) consequences.
Does anyone else have difficulty with their kids and pets?

Judging by these photos, as long as Jake keeps playing with her and feeding her they seem to get along just fine!

{ And Then She Snapped }

Wordless Wednesday

What's not to love here?!

A Family Photo Adventure

When my friend Lindsay Doyle contacted me to do a family photo shoot for her,

I was floored!  She is an accomplished photog in my area, and I was extremely flattered.

When it was decided we would do a trade and she would do our photos,

I was so excited!  I have never been on the other side of the camera before, and it was such a great day...

We all braved the cold and spent a super fun hour in the village of Peggy's Cove....

They turned out so beautifully!

I loved the whole experience, and definitely learned so much from her. Thank you Lindsay!

( Be sure to check out her blog too, she's got some of the chubbiest cheeks around to photograph! )

And watch next week, I'll post the photos i did of her and her handsome men!

( All photos were taken by Lindsay, but i did all the editing )