Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.

The album page for my November Our Year in Photos photographs is complete. I added in two favourites this month - one of the kids on the trail we walk on in the afternoons when the witching hour hits and the other an outtake from a second Christmas card photo session I did with the kids. I just love how you can see Angelo's happy, easy-going protective side and Gracie's sassy side.


Happy 1st of December everyone! Even though the first Sunday of advent is in November, I love how the day you turn the page on the calendar just feels like Christmas.

Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.

It's the last week of the month so this week I'm photographing more of the details of our life.

Assignment 22: Photograph their favourite toy.

For Gracie this was a no brainer. She loves her babies. She has a bunch of them but this one is definitely her favourite. She kisses her, brings her over to one of us so we can kiss her and then puts the chooch in her mouth and lays her down for "night night". That chooch goes in and out of her mouth countless times in a day.

For Angelo I wasn't quite as sure. He loves anything to do with trains, diggers, fire trucks and sports. But the sports won out. I think this mini hockey set was a gift from Zio Dino but I'm not completely sure. At any rate, as soon as we've eaten dinner, Angelo is asking Jim to go downstairs to play hockey. It doesn't matter that I've made a no-hockey-in-the-house rule at least a dozen times, the playroom seems to inevitably become a hockey rink when dad is home. And it's quite an involved game. There are face-offs, zambonis, intermissions, puck-drops, penalties, Stanley Cups and a very loud version of O Canada that must be sung with the playroom lights dimmed since that's what they do at real hockey games.

So thankful again for this project. I have lots of photographs of Gracie with her baby but since the lighting isn't great in the playroom and I'm generally banned from hockey games anyway, I don't have any photos of Angelo playing hockey.

I'd love to see what your favourite toys are - especially with Christmas right around the corner! Send me an email or link below with your photographs.

I'm a big reader. And even more than that, I just love books. All it takes is for someone to mention an interesting book quote in a blog post or in an interview and I'm online checking out the book. Shamefully, the "to be read" shelf of my bookcase is overflowing - so many amazing books out there and not enough time to curl up with them all.

In addition to my "to be read" shelf, I have a stack of books on my night table of the ones I'm currently reading and the ones that are next in line. Here's what's in my book stack today.

1. Writing Motherhood. I preserve so many of our memories through photographs but I'm a terrible writer. I regret not having more detailed journaling of our life and my thoughts on our life. That is my goal for 2012 (I know it's early to be setting goals for 2012 but what can I say, I'm a planner). I've had this one for a while but I'm just starting to crack it open.
2. Advent Conspiracy. Something that's been on my mind as we head into the Christmas season as I think about what I want to teach the littles while they are still little.
3. Playful Parenting. I'm loving this book so far, maybe because it's something I need so much. I'm great at doing things with the littles but not great at just sitting and playing with them. One of my favourite lines so far... "when we join children in their world of play, we unlock the door to their inner lives and meet them heart to heart."
4. Surprised by Oxford. Just got this one on a friend's recommendation and I'm going to read it when I don't feel like all the thinking that comes from reading Playful Parenting.
5. What Women Fear. I just finished reading this one along with the Bloom book club and loved everything about it. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't been for the book club as I don't think of myself as someone with a lot of fear but so much of this book really resonated with me.
6. Fa La La La Felt. I bought this last Christmas but never got around to making anything. I had fun last night going through and marking the pages of some ornaments to craft while we're on a little upcoming family vacation.
7. The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I decided against Crossfit in favour of something I can do at my local gym, which is close and has childcare which means I can fit in a couple of daytime workouts each week. I've been at this program for a couple weeks now and am loving it.

At the risk of adding to my ever-growing "to be read" shelf, what are you reading right now?

Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.

I hope you're all really loving the results of last week's prompt. I have so few photographs of me with my kids that every time I do take one it becomes my new favourite photograph.

Assignment 21: Photograph your morning routine.

Our mornings go one of three ways - mornings when I go to the gym (which tend to be crazy), weekend mornings (which involve pj's and pancakes and french toast) and just your average morning when Jim is getting ready for work and the kids and I are getting ready for our day.

We're all up pretty early. I'm a morning person and it looks like I've passed that along to our kids, much to Jim's chagrin. I usually shower before 6AM so I don't need to worry about finding the time to get ready when the littles are running around and we're trying to get ready for whatever activity or playdate we have that day.


Once the kids hear us downstairs making our coffee, they're both ready to start their day. Angelo pulls one of the dining room chairs over to the island and Jim and Angelo make their toast together. Angelo is very proud of the fact that he can now spread his own peanut butter and jam.

And while they're eating their toast, I give Gracie her bottle. It's probably time for her to give it up - especially since her feet now dangle over the arm of the chair - but both her and I love our morning cuddle time in the rocking chair. As soon as she's finished she hands it to me, sits up and gives me a quick cuddle and then slides off the chair and runs to the table so she doesn't miss anything the boys are up to.

I have long been a fan of art illustrations for children and Sarah from Sarah Jane Studios is one of my all-time favourite artists. If you're a client who has received a thank you card from me recently, the cards are some of Sarah Jane's work. Aren't they gorgeous?

Sarah recently came out with this {be} series of prints and as soon as I saw them I knew they would be perfect for our playroom.


Definitely check them out on her site because they are so much more rich in colour than they appear in this photograph. This photograph is what you get when you use cheap glass in the frames because it's "just" the playroom. I'm really wishing I'd photographed them when they first arrived but I just couldn't wait to get them up on the wall.

Sarah also illustrated a Christmas book new out this year and I have a feeling it's going to be making it's way to our house shortly, along with one of her Christmas prints to decorate our front hallway for the season.

Do you have any favourite illustrators of children's art that you're loving?

Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.

The second week of every month I'm photographing the relationships in our life.

Assignment 20: Photograph you with your kids.

This week's prompt makes me so happy. Since I'm the one always taking the photographs, I'm not in many of them with the kids. And for some reason, I never make the time (or hand over the camera) to make sure I'm in our photographs.


This was my second attempt at getting a photograph of me with the kids. I set up my tripod the day before and got some that I love of the three of us but noticed that we were all peering through very long bangs. Mental note: don't set up the tripod the day before haircut day.

So this day, on the way home from our hair appointment, Jim pulled the car over and we hopped out at the park and quickly snapped away.

I'd love to see you with your kids. If you've posted your photos on your blog or flickr, send me an email or link below in the comments.

reading: what women fear by angie smith.

loving: that they get so much enjoyment out of the little things. if you ask them, glowstick necklaces are about the best thing ever invented.

researching: crossfit. do any of you do it? how did you get started?

eating: chocolate zucchini cake. i made a couple loaves to use up the last of our CSA veggies. and it's part of the reason I need crossfit.

drinking: peppermint tea. when i gave up my afternoon coffee a month ago i replaced it with peppermint tea and I feel so much better for it.

enjoying: the peacefulness of naptime. naps are getting shorter and shorter around here (which means my nights are going to get later and later) so i'm savouring this time while i have it.

Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.

Usually in the first week of the month I'm photographing a room in our home. This week is really more a week of photographing a room in our life rather than a physical room in our home.

Assignment 19: Photograph wherever you spend time for your kids' activities.

There are a few places we regularly spend time at for the kids' activities. For us, we spend a fair amount of time at the the indoor soccer field, the gym and we've just recently swapped the pool for the ice arena.


Angelo loves soccer. From the time he could walk he could dribble a ball. Our soccer club started a U5 program this year so he gets to play in a real uniform, which I think is as exciting for him as the actual playing. His look in the photo? He looks like that all the time - a huge smile on his face the whole time he's there and just celebrating the fact that he's getting the chance to play soccer. On a funny note, this is the exact field that Jim and I met on playing co-ed indoor soccer. I guess it was meant to be. :)

Gracie has just started gymnastics and is loving every minute of it. Because she's too young to do activities on her own and we usually travel in a pack of three, Gracie hasn't really had anything her own up until now. But it worked out this time and now there is nowhere else she would rather be. This kid will climb anything and then proceed to jump off anything, laughing the entire time. Funny considering the rest of our little family is about as far from daredevils as you can get.

What is it for you? The piano teacher's house? The ice rink at 6AM? (I am seriously praying that neither of my kids decide to play hockey.) The dance studio? If you take a photo of your "home away from home" I'd love to see it. Send me an email or comment below with the link.