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“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Saxon: Enjoying the company of his father during our visit to the park.

Caelan: He jumped onto his Grandfather’s tractor with excitement & enthusiasm as he pretended to drive it.

The year 2014 has started with a bang and it has by far been the most enjoyable Summer yet. It might have a lot to do with having our own house and backyard now. The waterside the boys got for Christmas has been thrashed, and the jumping castle will send our electricity bill through the roof (thanks mum!) I am also loving the independence of where we live now – so close to the beach, plus my in-law’s are literally over the back fence which is great for us and the boys. They adore their Grandparents.

For the next 52 weeks I will be taking my boy’s portraits & posting them here, on the blog. This will be challenging for me, because following through with a project has never been my strong suit. Along with writing. But I plan to make the very most out of this project. It will give me the motivation to get out of the house more often away from my desk and more adventures for my little family. I am excited about this.

Following along with Jody.

life with Saxon - month eight

Dear Saxon,

This year has been overwhelming & exciting for us. Yourself and Caelan have shown us so much happiness. The way you play together, chasing each other around our home. I love the way you giggle at Caelan, when he beats you to the other side of the room.

Christmas just came & went, and although you didn’t understand a thing of it you enjoyed the company of our family. Your Grandparents visited, you have grown so much since their last stay.

Not a lot has changed this month. You are exploring your surroundings much more, we know that the beach is not for you. You don’t like the feel of the sand – unless you are eating it.

You cut your two top teeth… Your eye teeth. You will be the cutest little vampire going.

You enjoy watching our puppy at the back door. Sometimes, if you are feeling extra adventurous you will stand against the safety gate & poke your arms through. Max loves this, he goes on to cover you in kisses.

Today is the last day of 2013, the year you were born. The year that has come and gone in a blink. Tonight we will watch the fireworks from our balcony & remember the highlights of the year, looking through our photo albums. Once again, i am thankful for these photos.

I love you my beautiful boy.

Mum x

the arrival of Ivy Rose

Little Ivy Rose (named after my Grandmother) was born on the 8th of November at 9:50pm in the presence of Jordon’s mum, her family friend, myself & my son Saxon. Weighing in at 6lb 8oz & 51cm long, she was all kinds of perfection.

I was so lucky to have been there to witness my God daughter be born into this world, I am so thankful to Jordon & so proud.

Here are a few images from the birth of Ivy Rose x

life with Saxon - month seven

Saxon,

You are now 7 months old. Gosh, that time has sped by. Each month I have documented your growth, your milestones & I have taken your portrait. I will keep doing so until you are 12 months old.

It is nearing the end of 2013, and we have already reached our 2nd goal this year – to breastfeed until you were 6 months old. I am so proud of us. Our next goal: 9 months.

This past month not only have you gained speed crawling, chasing us around our new home, but you have learned to pull yourself up on furniture. You are very clever.

You hair. Going blonder each day. You are due for your second hair cut.

Your chubby legs are still that. Gaining muscle now that you’re using them more.

The way you say ‘Mum Mum’ when you are upset melts my heart. You have me wrapped around your tiny little fingers.

You are still sleeping in mum & dad’s bed each night – you love it. You toss and turn between your father and I, soaking up as many cuddles as you can – we love it too.

Thank you for another wonderful month, Saxon.

Love Mum x

life with Saxon - month six

I guess you could say that things have been crazy busy around here, hence the very late post. Not to worry, our computer is back up and running now after moving to our new house & not to mention Caelan jamming a few of my memory cards in the CD drive…

Our biggest milestone for month six was Saxon learning to crawl. At first he was just sliding along – more like an army crawl – now he’s up on hands and knees ready to explore the world.

His features have changed, reminds me of Caelan when he was Saxon’s age – beautiful blue eyes, cheeky grin that makes my heart scream with happiness. But in saying that they are very different. They have their own unique personalities, Saxon’s isn’t much just yet but it is there. It’s kind, warm, caring & quiet. He observes everything, while keeping to himself – he is much like me.

I often try to remember what our lives were like before Saxon. It felt humble and we were happy, but now it feels complete. Caelan has a brother, a friend for life & Matthew and I get to love each of them, watch them grow together and learn from one another. What a beautiful life we lead.

life with Saxon - month five

I think it’s safe to say that our baby won’t be a baby for much longer. Geez, how quickly these last five months have gone by just blows me away. Soon enough he’ll be a walking, talking toddler getting into my tupperware cupboards.

What a personality Saxon has now. Just like his big brother Caelan, he is all smiles.

Loves his feet now that he can reach them & sometimes makes himself laugh because of how ticklish his toes are. He loves them being kissed,

I’d give it another 4 weeks and Saxon will crawling. He’s up on his hands & knees now rocking back and forth.

That. Hair! So soft & still has that ‘baby smell’, it’s getting lighter by the day.

It’s been such a busy few weeks that I haven’t been spending much time taking photos of my boys. I’m almost 2 weeks late with posting this one.. School holidays have commenced, family have visited & these beautiful warm days have been keeping us busy outside aswell. But my main goal here, through all of my rambling is to dot down all of Saxon’s milestones, his ever changing hair colour & cute little phases that i would otherwise forget later on. This blog will be a perfect place for me to look back on not just Saxon’s childhood, but Caelan’s aswell. These boy are my children, and my children are my life. They are my family, they are my best friends, they are my strength. When i look at their photos i see how much they adore not just each other, but ME. They love ME, and it fills me with warmth & comfort & everything else a mother feels when your child tells you how much they love you. And i do capture those photos. When i feel like giving up, or work gets too overwhelming I look at Caelan’s photographs and smile & that photo of him giggling at me and remember why i am a photographer. We will never get this time in their lives back, but these photographs & these stories will be forever.

in our backyard

A little post full of strawberries, sunshine & love with my adored– this is what most of our afternoons look like in our backyard.