first pig tails

Are these not the sweetest pig tails ever? Maggie's hair is finally at pig tail stage...and she kept them in! I've been deliberating for a while now wether to get her hair cut (it looks kinda wild now that it's getting some length to it)or to let it grow. If I let it grow then I can say bye bye to those baby curls I love so much...hmmm, am I ready for that yet?

forest fun

Bel received this headscarf a few days ago and it has become a permanent fixture on her head. She was happy to let me take her picture for about 30 minutes before a mosquito she spotted threatened to send the whole thing pear shaped so I was grateful to have snapped what I was able to and call it a day. Anyone know how to cure a mosquito phobia? I told her she could name this post for being such a trooper, oh yeah, that and a promise to grab some cupcakes on the way home :)

for Kristy

Another one

Yeah I know, another one - but to soften the groan that is probably making it's way out I'm going to tell about my day today. I met with my BFF Cindy (can we say that when we're, ahhh, in our thirties?)and her boy at Kangaroo Point for our weekly walk into Southbank. Now, I must say the purpose of this is to walk fast to burn some fat and to catch up on each others lives at the same time and it's damn hard to talk and puff at the same time too. But today we practically strolled, like we had an unspoken agreement because neither of us hurried the other along. So we finally get there and Cin says 'lets get a fresh juice' and gets to the counter and starts looking around for a coffee! I said 'no coffee we are being healthy' and we order our juices. Then we notice there is a sweets shop smack bang right beside the juice bar! Her gaze meets mine and we both say "ooohh, I'd love a chocolate' and off we go in there. Aren't friends supposed to talk you out of these things? Happy as pigs in mud we made our way to the beach with our goodies and watched our kids frolick in the water. We are such try hards, I guess it's just not in us!

little pink dress

Ok, Ok I agree that my blog should just be called 'Isabella & Maggie' because there has not been a whole lot of 'life & in between' going on here. But as you know I've been digging through the million pictures I have on my computer in an attempt to fill frames. I'm afraid I can't promise this will be the end of this random picture posting from the past until those frames are filled- so bear with me. This pic was taken last May, I'd brought my camera only several days before (and had not learnt the importance of clearing ugly background clutter). Maggie was around 14 months old. You know as they outgrow clothes you usually hand them off to someone but you keep those special ones that you can't part with? Well this dress is it for me. I brought it through Etsy and the lady posted it to me from the US (people, if you haven't discovered Etsy then get on because it's awesome).I will keep it forever. Hmmm, well I'd only consider passing it on to Selina if she has a daughter (this goes to show how much I want her to start having babies!).

A snap from summer

I've been sorting through trying to choose some photos to fill several empty frames around my house. I've been meaning to do it for 12 months! I came across this one of my little beauty from way back when the sun warmed the Earth, errr, I believe that would be summer, did I tell you how I so want winter to be over? x

longing for

Isabella to come home after spending most of last week with her dad, we miss her so much when she's away. Particularly Maggie, I know as soon as she comes they will play and chase each other around all afternoon so I know Bel has missed her just as much. It makes my heart burst with happiness to watch. I know Bel  loves the time she spends with her dad and he's a terrific one too- I know that she's in good hands.  I'm wishing winter away and longing for Spring, my fingers are freezing up as I'm typing! If I can't have Spring yet I can sure as hell edit my photos in honour of it. This processing is called Spring Pastels and I'm loving it. Photos taken back in March, see I can barely even stand taking photos in winter I hate it that much. I need to resort to digging through old photos from warmer times to keep me in denial! So here's my big girl who I fall more in love with every day.

the rest from our cupcake date

Last week was not so good. Maggie was sick. I was feeling miserable from a cold and from being up through the nights tending to Maggie.It was like being transported back to the newborn days in the sleep department. Come Friday we're feeling better so after being housebound all week we really needed to get out and I really needed to pick up my camera. So I thought I'd grab some cupcakes and find a nice tree and patch of grass to hang out on. And it was wonderful!

*excuse the random processing, just trying out a few new things.

Skater boy

This is Liam, he's our across the road neighbour. He's a nice kid, he's brought our dog back to us many a time after he's got out. I spotted Liam skateboarding in his carport this afternoon while taking maggie for a stroll down the street, camera in tow. He was happy to let me snap him, a nice change to photograph a boy for once...and a nice change to have a subject that didn't whine about having their photo taken (ehh emm, Miss Isabella). Thanks Liam, I owe you one.

A few hours 'out of the box'

Today I bundled the girls up and took them to the 'Out of the Box' festivities at the Lyric Theatre. I hadn't been before, my mind boggled at how many activities and stage shows there were to keep us entertained. We strolled around, painted and laughed a lot at quirky stage performers. We signed up for the cooking workshop - Isabella was picked to be the chef's assistant for demonstrating, she was beaming over this! They learnt about herbs & fresh ingredients and did fun activities while they waited for their muffins to cook. Check out the little people made out of corn ears! I have a fascination with things made of corn ears since Austin Reed made a stunning evening gown out of them in season 1 Project Runway- I shouldn't get started-I still can not believe he didn't win that series! So anyway, here's a little insight to our day there.

A cupcake date on a nice patch of grass

more to come soon :)

A bundle of precious

the decision to have a child is to decide
forever to have your heart
go walking around outside your body

You might remember a little while ago I spoke of our friends Amy and Paul bringing little 'Lucy Bel' for a visit so I could attempt/ try/ fail or succeed to photograph her 'newborn-ness'. Well, finally I have gotten around to posting some from that day! Their love for this little lady is so beautiful, I hope I was able to capture a bit of it for you to see. Thank you (soon to be) Mr & Mrs McGibbon for being patient with me while I worked on these and for trusting me with your precious little girl, especially when I asked you to let me lay her on the ground under the camelia tree! Still working on the others for you but I hope this little fix will tide you over for just a bit longer. Love you guys. xox