I've been trying to write this post for a week now! Our life has been slightly turned upside down this last week with sleepless nights and feeding on a schedule - we welcomed a new family member into our home! Meet our super-cute Miniature Bull Terrier pup named Yohsi! (Yoh-si) - 9 weeks old! Ever since our beloved dog Elke passed away 2 years ago, we've been doing some serious thinking about getting another dog as a companion to our little fluff-ball Dutchy . The time never seemed right, it took us a long time to get over losing Elke, and we came up with all kinds of good reasons why having just one dog was just fine with us. But in the last year, little Dutchy has become increasingly clingy, suffered separation anxiety and we noticed he just didn't seem to have a lot of fun anymore, and he's only 6 years old. So we decided that the time was finally right, and then had the agonising wait for the litter of pups to be born... it was love at first sight when we went to choose our little girl. The kids knew she was coming but didn't know quite when - so we surprised them last Wednesday night when they got home... eeek so much excitement!!! Stand by for lots of puppy spam in the coming weeks - but right now we are all a little bit tired from lack of sleep - having a puppy is a bit like having a baby in the house again! 3 month old baby Elizabeth came for a studio session here at Tamborine recently. This gorgeous little girl has the most captivating blue eyes, she was just like a doll and has just about the cutest smile I have ever seen! She tried very hard to hide that smile from me though, especially whenever the camera came out - but after many attempts we managed to capture a few of those precious grins! Here are a few of our favourites from the session:
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Can you hear that? Shhh... its the sound of silence. Its the sound of nobody fighting, its the sound of the nobody asking for snacks or complaining that somebody wont play with them... its all peaceful and quiet - ahhhh! Is that a bit over the top? Haha maybe, sorry - of course I totally love and adore my kids, but honestly, but after 2 weeks of school holidays, by the time Easter rolled around and everybody was home and overloaded on sugar, the crankiness & craziness set in and mummy had had enough. The Easter Bunny of course went crazy (despite my best efforts to hold back, I was thwarted!) and we are swimming in a sea of chocolate and lolly heaven here, as I'm sure most of you are too. Anyway, now that school is back, here's to a quiet and productive week to you all! I was totally thrilled to be asked to capture a newborn twin session recently - double the fun! Breanne and Russell did an amazing job at getting their two gorgeous boys to sleep, so much so that they slept for the entire session and made my job so easy! It was a super hot & sticky day so I set up my portable studio on their big deck area outside, and the boys snoozed through the whole thing! I say it all the time but I really am SO lucky to have this wonderful career, meeting so many lovely families and also getting to cuddle such amazing little babies! Here's a few of my favourites from the session, and also a few behind the scenes images showing our set-up - with thanks to Breanne! Thanks guys, I loved snuggling with your two precious little men!
Wow, that was a crazy weekend we just had, wasn't it? I definitely did not expect that amount of water in such a short space of time! How did you fare? We are feeling incredibly lucky at the moment, as some residents of Tamborine were really badly hit. Our only damage was a small drip from the roof (we had to move miss 7's bed for the night as she was getting dripped on!) and a portion of the fence in the back paddock was knocked over from the force of the water. We didn't even lose power, which was incredibly lucky. Our dam, which is normally dry, completely overflowed and in fact, had quite a river rapids running through it for a few hours. But it wasn't until we went for a drive on Friday and Saturday that we discovered the extent of the flood waters - Tamborine was almost completely landlocked - the only way out was up over the mountain and even then that was doubtful with all the fallen trees on the mountain road. My heart goes out to all those who have lost everything - it really makes you appreciate the little things! A couple of images from our weekend - the dam, the dam overflowing into the paddock, and the flooded road to Beaudesert! Casey and her family were my first newborn/family session in the studio! Gorgeous little Isaiah - 9 days old and just loving cuddles with his big brother! This sweet little man was not keen on sleeping for the whole session, so we captured some lovely wide-awake memories as well... here are some of the favourites! Miss 6 has been begging us for months to be allowed to watch the first Harry Potter movie. We've resisted, since her brother is only 4 and would want to watch it too, and we thought it may be a bit too scary and would give him nightmares for sure. But now its school holidays, and the other night we finally decided we'd let them see it - a family movie night! They LOVED it! Funnily enough, Mr 4 was totally fine with the reveal of Voldemorts' face on the back of Professor Quirrell's head, and Miss 6 was the one who freaked! They've watched it a few times since then (the shock factor has worn off now), and I must admit its so cute watching them run around with a stick imagining its a magic wand, shouting "Wingardium Leviosa!" at every opportunity (swish and flick!) and pretending they can fly on a broomstick. Now we just have to deal with the constant requests to watch the second movie! So far, the threat of seeing the giant spiders is keeping that at bay. How are you keeping your kids busy during the school holidays? The very cute little Leo came to visit me recently at Tamborine, along with his gorgeous mum Jo! We set ourselves up outside on a lovely warm morning and proceeded to capture the many varied expressions of this handsome little dude! He gave me the most gorgeous smiles, and was such a happy, cruisey little man throughout the whole shoot, as you can see in the images below... Such a gorgeous little guy! Currently I have about a zillion things to think about. Sleep - who needs sleep? Does anybody actually get enough? I've struggled with bouts of insomnia in my time, terrible endless months where sleep just evades me and turns me into a walking, talking zombie. It can take a while to break the cycle. Do you have one of those brains that just wont quit? I can be perfectly relaxed and calm before bed, and then the second my head hits that pillow - BOOM - I think of a million things I should have done today, or need to do tomorrow. I remember I was supposed to get the steak out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow and forgot. I remember that I meant to call my brother back. I remind myself to remember to do something. I dont just leave it at remembering, I venture into the deep dark depths of WORRYING about everything too. Goes with the mummy-territory I guess. So sometimes, it can take forever to get to sleep. I need to step away from my computer and editing by about 9.30pm, otherwise I'll still be mentally hyped at 11pm. At the moment, that's just not happening. Too much going on!! And lately, if I wake up in the middle of the night, it can take me hours to get back to sleep too. And maddeningly, I have a husband who can fall asleep within 20 seconds of climbing into bed! With all the stressing about sleep lately, its always a beautiful thing to see a new little bundle of joy, sleeping, calm and happy in their parents arms, and thats exactly what little Benji did for almost the entire hour of his family's photoshoot on the beach. This little man is a super trooper! When he did finally wake up, he was super relaxed and happy - such a joy! Awww, nothing better than a peaceful, sleeping baby! So much love... And then he woke up and just chilled out with dad... So much beautiful light during late afternoon beach shoots, I love sharing them with beautiful families. Thank you Brian, Anita and Benji for allowing me to capture these memories for you!
Is it just me, or is this year flying?? School holidays are upon us again and I don't know about you, but the bickering in my house started about 3 days in. I remember when I was a kid, my mum used to complain "I'm going to change my name!!" I didn't really get it then, but I certainly do now. The plaintive call of "MUU-UUUM" is familiar to all of us. Is it even possible for a kid to say "Mum" in a normal tone of voice? The older my kids get, the more I start to sound like my own mother. Here there is a constant chorus of "MUMMY! He's not sharing!" "Mummy! She pushed me!" "That's MY toy!" "I had it first!" etc etc that really begins to grate on the nerves after a while. And I really cant complain, as I only have 2 :) All you mums with lots more kids, how do you do it??! Anyway, I'm no expert but here's my favourite ways to stay sane this school holidays, with a 5 and 3 year old: 1. Keeping them busy. Be it playdates, visits to the grandparents, or taking the scooters to the park, keeping busy means less time to bicker. Also tires them out. Win. 2. Send them outside. My two have been loving the spring weather and spending time in their sandpit. Sure, they come back inside looking like filthy street urchins, but hey, whatever works. 3. Make up a big picnic to enjoy. We set ours up on a blanket outside. I chop up lots of little finger food - carrot sticks, cheese, nuts, little sandwiches, a special drink, and a couple of biscuits to finish - my two love it and it keeps them entertained for ages. The dog quite likes this too and manages to score quite a few tasty morsels :) 4. Quiet movie time at home. Favourites here include Despicable Me, Turbo, Frozen and Tangled. 5. Get them to help! I actually had a surprisingly easy grocery trip last week with both kids helping me, grabbing stuff of the shelves and helping me choose. They also love helping me cook, chopping up soft food for salads etc and helping me do the washing. Do you have any great tips to share? Especially as the kids get older? I'd love to hear them! As a balm to soothe my frazzled nerves, I had this little sweethearts session to edit this week. Miss Ellaria just loved having a WHOLE cake to herself and dived right on in! Her lovely mum brought some gorgeous little props for our set, I especially loved the dreamcatcher, isn't it fab? Oh that face!! "Is this REALLY all for me, mummy??" Ohh yes, this is great fun! The cake carnage!
This was so much fun! Thank you miss Ellaria for enjoying your cake smash session with me! I loved it! I remember during those long, seemingly endless months of infertility, promising myself that if we were ever lucky enough to be blessed with a child, that I would never take that child for granted. This long wished for and dreamed of baby, who would make our world complete and bring us everlasting joy and happiness, no - not me. You hear so many stories from those older and wiser, that you must enjoy them while you still can. "They wont stay little forever", those wise owls proclaim, as we tear our hair out and wonder if we will ever sleep properly again. You wont get this time back. You will look at them one day and wonder where the time went, how they got so big? Part of me rejoices at each small step towards independence. Part of me whispers "they're not your little babies anymore"... With a 5 and 3 year old, I know that the time for cuddles on laps, kissing "ouchies" and loving on them is now. And though I get frustrated with the constant interruptions, the demands for snacks, the whining and bickering over toy ownership, and the constant chatter & hullabaloo that is the background music to any parents life, I try to stop and remind myself to breathe - remember, they will not stay little forever. One day I will stop and realise that the house sounds empty and I will miss kissing "ouchies" better, I will miss having little hands to hold, and I will miss having a soft warm body climb onto my lap for cuddles and to see what can be swiped from the computer desk. I will miss this stage. I am lucky enough to get to photograph lots of little cuties, and honestly, no matter what the age of my young models, I think to myself "Oh I loved this age..." I do. It reminds me that it wasn't that long ago that my "littles" were that, um, little! And how quickly they grow, and change, and become independent of us... yes, a bit sad, but also a bit awesome too. I was lucky enough to photograph the Richardson family at a nearby park recently, and spent a lovely morning exploring the area and capturing memories. Miss Abigail is 6 months old, an absolutely gorgeous age! She seemed quite fascinated by the sounds of trucks nearby, kids playing and birds singing as we moved to each location. Anyone watching on would have had a bit of a chuckle at me, as I was trying to sing bits of Wiggles songs (her favourite) and busting a few moves to try and catch her attention! Not so easy with a camera in hand I can tell you! Luckily, having mum or dad dance around behind the camera (when they're not in the shot) helps too :) How cute, loving being able to "stand" just like a big kid! And sitting up? Too easy! But you cant beat cuddles with mum and dad :)
Enjoy these special moments while you can - they are only little for a little while. What a wonderful way to celebrate the arrival of a beautiful baby girl - with an updated family shoot! The weather was perfect: a lovely warm winters day, and the sun shone beautifully for us for this shoot. Little Sam was a bundle of energy and certainly kept me on my toes!
Thank you Chevalier Family for trusting me with your memories! |
AuthorHilary Hudson Photography. Natural Light Newborn and Families Photographer based in Tamborine, QLD. Australia. Archives
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Hilary Hudson Photography is located in Tamborine, Queensland, photographing newborn portraits and family sessions in the Gold Coast, Logan and Scenic Rim areas of Queensland, Australia.
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