Ten on Ten :: September 2016

Been a while since I've been in this space... a lot has happened since I was last here. I don't have much to say about that right now. Maybe one day... not today.  Today I'm staying in the moment and choosing to focus my attention on finding the joy that surrounds me when I choose to look. 

Today... Today was a very good day. Xx

Ten on Ten :: May 2015 >> My First Mother's Day!

Happy Ten on Ten!

Finding life and beauty in the ordinary things of our day to day!

Such a lovely first Mother's Day. Brunch with family. Beautiful weather. And being reunited with my husband after a long two weeks apart. I really couldn't have wished for anything more...  My heart is so full. xoxo

{Finally, a little ME time} {Mama Bear} {Fresh Berries and Coconut Cream} {Papa and Baby Girl} {All I want for Mother's Day is a decent photo with my daughter... Is this really too much to ask?? - and yes, that is spit up on my shoulder.} {Love my Nana} {Taking a Break} {Already??} {On the Road Again} {Last stretch of the journey... finally homeward bound to Portland!}

11 / 52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015.

"Warm and Cozy"

12 March 2015

Caitlyn tested out her new Nature Sway sling and helped mommy with a quick trip to the market today. Clearly this sling is kid approved! :)

Ten on Ten :: March 2015

Happy Ten on Ten!

Finding life and beauty in the ordinary things of our day to day!

Admittedly, I was a little disappointed with this months installment of Ten on Ten. One, because I'm late posting, and two, because I only managed to capture half the set. Such a bummer! I really had high hopes for this month considering it will be my last Ten on Ten set in New Zealand as we're moving back to the States in just two short weeks... It was definitely a challenge this month. Had my hands full with the cute little peanut featured below, but I do believe I managed to capture the beauty of my day in all its simplicity nonetheless, which I guess is the point of this project...

Today was really just about celebrating the little successes. For example, little miss actually napped long enough this afternoon for me to pack a suitcase! Yippee! We are sloowwwly chipping away at our lengthy to do list of things that need sorting before our rapidly approaching departure date arrives. And Caitlyn and I managed a lovely walk through the park with our friend Imke, who has been an awesome support to me throughout my pregnancy and has been regularly checking in on us about once a week since Caitlyn arrived. Today she had impeccable timing and showed up at my door just in time to help distract my fussy baby so that I could put some makeup on, get dressed, and throw my wet hair up in to messy bun so that we could actually get out of the house! Thank you, Imke! Guess the other success to acknowledge is that I actually managed a shower this morning without my daughter waking from her nap 5 minutes into it and serenading me with her disapproval... It really is about the small things when you have a little one, isn't it? ;)

{The wee small hours} {Getting sorted...} {My little munchkin} {Bright eyes} {Pout face} 

{It was a take-away kind of night} {All clean!}

10 / 52

Miss Caitlyn Ann turned 9 weeks old on Sunday (08 March) and celebrated by sleeping a full eight, yes, EIGHT full hours uninterrupted through the night! Ahhhhh Bliss..... actually I kinda freaked out. I woke up like clockwork at 4am for our regular 'dreamfeed' wondering what was wrong. After a quick peak at my babe and listening to her peaceful breathing I laid back down stunned...and then drifted off myself. Oh sweet sleep how I've missed you! Baby girl woke for a quick meal around 6:00 AM Sunday morning and then went straight back to  bed for nearly another two hours! Finally waking up refreshed and full of smiles and coos around 8:30 AM to the sound of her daddy making coffee... I have such an awesome kid. My heart is so full.

Thank you little miss! Let's make this a habit shall we? :)

 A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015.

"Such a good sleeper"

Photo taken Wednesday, 04 March 2015

The 52 Project

9 / 52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015

"In my Sunday best"

Sunday, 01 March 2015

The 52 Project

8 / 52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015.

"Precious moments with my girl"

19 February 2015

The 52 Project

7 / 52

A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015.

"Mommy's little valentine."

15 February 2015

6 weeks old today. 

Xoxo

The 52 Project

Ten on Ten :: February 2015

Happy Ten on Ten!

Finding life and beauty in the ordinary things of our day to day!

 

Today was a gorgeous day! The weather was perfect. I wanted so badly to venture out and enjoy it with my little one, but I have yet to master this skill solo... I'm pretty sure it's a confidence thing because by late afternoon I finally got irritated enough with being housebound that I was able to put up with baby girl's wailing protest while I strapped her into her capsule and then into the "snap 'n go" for mommy's much needed break from our cramped apartment that is only being magnified by the chaos of half packed boxes waiting to be shipped overseas for our upcoming move back to the States.

The up side is that we were able to meet up with Caitlyn's daddy who was on his way home from work at this point and decided to ditch the major in town (and unanticipated) traffic jam created by the World Cup Games being hosted here in town. We were able to go for a nice little family stroll through the park, I got some exercise, fresh air (and fresh perspective on the day), while Caitlyn finally dozed off for her late afternoon nap before supper.

Definitely a lovely ending to such a beautiful day. Hope you too were able to find some beauty in today's ordinary. Xoxo

6 /52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Caitlyn - "This is what happens when my daddy shops for me...Good thing I'm so darn cute and can make any outfit work." :)

The 52 Project

5 / 52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015."

What's that Caitlyn? You mean you're four weeks old today? No way... How the heck did that happen so fast?!!

The 52 Project

A New Year // A New Project

Well, January is almost over. Man that went blazin' fast! With all the baby commotion and sleepless nights the past few weeks everything has just felt like one big blur of a day and somehow nearly a month of the new year has slipped away...  Before 2015 gets too far away from me and into full swing I wanted to make sure and get my New Year's project finally started!!

I've been anticipating for months finally getting to attempt a new photo project this year called The 52 Project, which I've enjoyed watching other bloggers participate in for the past couple of years. Now that I have a little one of my own I've been super eager to get in on it, especially knowing my baby girl would be a January arrival! I'm already a little behind, but I'm thinking that's ok considering I'm a new mamma who's still getting the hang of things. I've been taking photos for the past few weeks with this project in mind, but haven't had a chance to post any of them yet, so this first post is a little bit of catch up. 

I'm going to do my best to stay committed to this project for the entire year. I would really love to be able to look back at these images at the end of 2015 and just relish in all the sweet moments and memories created throughout the year, and of course watch the amazing progress my girl makes as she grows and develops throughout her first year of life. 

So without further ado, let's get this project started.... "A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015."

1/52

"Love at first sight."

Photo taken by my partner, Andrew, just minutes after Caitlyn officially joins our family and begins her own life journey.

4 January, 2015 

2/52

 "Are you my people?"

Caitlyn and daddy spend some quality time getting to know one another.

10 January 2015

3/52

"Stretch, Wiggle, Squeal."

First playmat session.

16 January 2015

4/52

"New friends"

Andrew and I have been working on Caitlyn's birth announcement this week. This image came out of our little photo session.

23 January  2015

Ten on Ten on Eleven :: October 2014

I completely spaced yesterday. By the time I realized it was the tenth, well, it was almost over. So, I decided to capture today instead, which I guess makes this set Ten on Ten on Eleven... It really was a gorgeous spring Saturday. Unfortunately, Drew spent most of it at the office while I worked on a few projects around the house. At some point, I finally felt  cooped up and decided it was time to get out, so I wandered through the park, down to Drew's office to peel him away from his computer screen and convinced him to take me out to Orlean's for some good ol' American Creole in the heart of Christchurch! This place is so delicious! I could eat there at least once a week if my pocketbook approved... Later Drew convinced me it would be worth my time to bake him some cookies, so I did... and then I thought, you know, ice cream sandwiches would really round out the evening... and you know what? They did. :)

Happy Ten on Ten friends! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Xoxo