Hold you Tight : : Kitchener Family Photographer

Emery has always been a snuggler.  From the day she was born, she has been happiest curled up in my arms or sitting in Daddy's lap.  She is just that kind of kid. And I have to admit, I truly dread the day when she outgrows my arms and wants nothing to do with snuggling.  I love having her cuddled up  with me, her fine hair smelly sweetly of fresh air and her heavy weight warm and soft against me.  Sigh.  Pure bliss.

As a photographer, it is hard enough to find time to be in front of the camera, but particularly, to capture those everyday moments that you cherish for a lifetime.  The morning kisses, the midday snuggles and the bedtime stories.  Sometimes I wish I had my own personal photographer to follow me around to capture these memories, and show the world "I was there too!".  But for now, I have to settle for some stolen time, on a warm fall afternoon, to sneak out into the backyard, put Brielle on a stool, set the camera settings and hope for the best.  She took 64 frames and this one was the only one that was even remotely in focus or had our heads in it.  But one is all I needed.

Love you Em-er!

{M} xo

One More Frame : : Cambridge Children's Photography

I had to share just one more from the library.  I love how pensive she is in this moment.  It makes me wonder what she is thinking...

Thanks for looking.  Don't forget to leave some love in the comments section!

{M} xo

Birthday Portraits - Part Two : : Cambridge Children's Photographer

Okay, here is part two!  The location we chose for this part of the session was the Hespeler Library in Cambridge.  It is a gorgeous building with a glass exterior, lots of light, modern features and really friendly staff.  Redesigned in 2007, it wraps around and preserves the historic Carnegie Library, and it is an architectural wonder. We got there a little later than planned, after taking advantage of the gorgeous winter-afternoon light outdoors, and we arrived with around 45 minutes to shoot (including an outfit change!).  Brielle was a real trooper, and we moved quickly and quietly through the library, shooting right down to the wire!  Brielle did stop for a few minutes to read some pages from Charlotte's Web, the first novel she and I read together.  Even though the light was fading fast, I couldn't refuse her request to take a reading break.

Brielle has blossomed into a very confident and avid reader over the last few months, progressing quickly through the reading levels at school and becoming more interested in deeper stories.  This makes my heart so happy.  I am a MAJOR bibliophile, often reading three or four books at a time, getting lost in each story with equal intensity.  I am so glad that Brielle will have the ability to lose herself in the world of literature, to always have a way to fill the spare moments.

Here are a few images from our time at the library, a new entry on our list of favourite places to hang out.

Love you Lulu!

{M) xo

Birthday Portraits - Part One : : Cambridge Children's Photographer

Every year, around my girls' birthdays, I take each one out for her very own portrait session.  We pick the outfits together, choose the locations and set a date. Brielle decided on two different locations for her shoot, both of which show a part of her personality.  The first part was set in the woods behind and around my parents' property, which backs onto Crown Land and the Grand River delta.  The sun was shining all morning, but wouldn't you know it, it was playing peekaboo with the clouds when we finally got ready to shoot!

Brielle is such a lover of the outdoors, a camper, a hiker and an explorer.  She loves being outside in the fresh air, discovering new things and learning about nature.  She chose to have this part of the shoot in the forest because "I love nature, Mommy!".   Adorable!

Stay tuned for part two!

{M} xo

The Calm Before the Storm : : Kitchener Baby Photographer

Nine months is a great age.  It is the golden time, right before your little one starts to talk, sing, dance and generally make a lot more happy noise.  Just preceding the stage when they are learning to walk and therefore  fall constantly, often leading with the head...and thus causing much gasping and mom-diving to save tender skulls. This little lady is right at the start of this wonderful phase, crawling around, stealing her big sister's Lego for a taste test, pulling the keys off of Dad's laptop and keeping her Mommy on her toes all day long.  I am fortunate to be friends with both of her parents ( they were each my husband's boss, but at two different companies - long story) and I dropped over on a lovely, but rather gray, morning to snap some shots of their little darling.

She was so fun to shoot, with a few big smiles and lots of curious pondering, but no tears or playing shy.  She did, however, take a great liking to my camera strap and we had a couple of tug-of-war matches over it while I was snapping away.  I don't want to brag, but I won! ;)

Thanks for sharing your morning with me, ladies!

{M} xo

Daddy and his Girl : : Kitchener Family Photographer

I have an image on my wall that melts my heart every time I look at it.  My wonderful husband with Brielle in his lap, kissing her gently on the forehead.  She, with her hair slightly messy, a look of peace on her face and her hands around her Daddy's hands.  Sigh.  What a true moment of unconditional love. This is what drives me to be a family photographer.  To see the love, caring, tenderness, sweetness, laughter and joy that exists within every family.  It is what makes a family a family.  And that I was able to capture this moment for my own family to treasure is better than any gift I could ever receive.  That is what I hope to give to each and every family that I photograph - the gift of memories to cherish.

Remember to hug your kids tight and tell them you love them with your words and actions.  Kiss them while they are sleeping and watch them when they don't know you are looking.  That is joy.

Okay, I'm getting a little sappy and cheesy now. :)  Enjoy this image.  I do every day.

{M} xoxo

if seven is a lucky number : : Kitchener Children's Photography

Brielle is seven today.  Holy moly, it is even harder to write than I thought it would be!  She has grown to be such a kind, smart, sassy, beautiful, stubborn, verbal little lady, and yet today I just want to hold in her in my arms and will her to stay a child forever.  Ah, the joys and sorrows of motherhood, all rolled into one special day. I think this is going to be Brielle's year.  She has started to learn to snowboard, and her smile while she is on the hill is RADIATING!  She has started reading chapter novels and I love watching her hunker down in bed each night to tackle a chapter, calling out occasionally to spell a word for us to help her with.  She is developing stronger relationships with her friends, and beginning to see the value of true friendships.  Not to mention dealing with ups and downs of the school playground and its complex social stratosphere.

This year, she decided that rather than a group party, she wanted to invite her bestie, Taylor, over for her first ever BFF sleepover.  Lord help me, this is moving way too fast for me!  The girls were VERY excited for this big night, which consisted of lots of play time, some Just Dance 3 on the Xbox, hide-and-go-seek and eventually, some sleepy snuggles.  Listening to little girls whispering in bed when they are supposed to be sleeping is pure joy.

In the morning, after an up-and-down night, Carl whipped up some pancakes for the girls and they watched a Bratz movie. And, of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab the girls for a few shots, even if they only cooperated for a few minutes.  They are so darn cute together, cracking each other up with potty humour and whispering secrets.  I just happened to have coordinating outfits in the closet for them to wear! :)

I think these two are going to be the stars of many misadventures together!

And add the third, look out world!!!!

On her seventh birthday!

I love you Brielle.  You are my sunshine.

{M} xoxo

I Miss Summer : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

As I stood this morning, freezing my tush off watchng Brielle snowboard, my face numb and my glasses caked with ice droplets, I dreamed of summer.  Green grass, a warm breeze, the girls whizzing down the sidewalk on their bikes and my feet free of socks and shoes.  It sounds so lovely.  Of course, then I was snapped back to reality by a snowflake in the ear and the dream bubble burst. But I can still put a little summer on the blog!!! Here is one of my friend's little darling, Rachel, enjoying last year's warm temperatures.  A rare serious expression from a little monkey who usually smiles like crazy!

Here's to summer dreams!

{M} xo

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge : : By the Book

This my entry for this week's I Heart Faces photo challenge.  It is my first time entering any of their challenges, but I really want to start pushing myself to expand creatively and this is a fun way to accomplish that goal. The theme for this week is "By the Book" and participants are asked to include a book as a prop in each image.  I love this shot of little Miss Ava, who was featured here on the blog a couple of months ago.  I think it shows so much personality and I smile every time I look at her "Are you done yet, Lady?" expression!

If you haven't already checked out I Heart Faces, make sure to click on over and see some of the other entries,  and stay to take a look at all the wonderful articles and tutorials that they have for the photography community.  It is FANTASTIC!

Mr. Smiley : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

My girls have been going to the same sitter for almost four years.  As a result, they have each claimed one of her sons as a "boyfriend".  I featured Brielle's little man, Ethan, back in the fall, but I just recently had the opportunity to sneak in a mini session with his younger brother, Noah.  AKA Emery's boyfriend.  Sigh.  I didn't think it would start quite this early.  I dread the teenage years. I headed out with Noah and his Mom on a bright winter's morning to capture some new images for the walls.  It was a little crisp, but Noah was such a trooper!  He is so silly and happy that we had no shortage of great smiles and expressions.  In fact, he had a hard time making a straight face - he just kept cracking up!  Sometimes being serious is harder than you would think, especially for a four year old.

Enjoy the images!

What a great start to 2012!

{M} xo

Christmas Tea Party at Langdon Hall : : Cambridge Ontario Photographer

This week the Dronyk Clinic, my dad's Chiropractic, Naturopathic and Acupuncture clinic (where I work as a massage therapist), had it's annual Christmas party.  Usually we go out and have a very lengthy meal at a local restaurant, but this year it was suggested that we go to afternoon tea at the fabulous Langdon Hall, located in historic Blair.  This gorgeous mansion was once the summer residence of a wealthy American family and now serves as a luxury hotel, restaurant and event venue.  Being the proud owner of a very expensive but often useless history degree, I was beyond excited to check out this piece of local history. Being a small group, we were able to have our tea in the guest house's beautiful conservatory, a bright, window-filled room filled with wicker furniture and a warm, inviting fireplace.  There we munched on freshly baked scones with Honey Butter made with honey produced on site, as well as an assortment of delicate pastries and savoury sandwiches.  Now, I am not much of a fancy food gal myself, but I tried most of the little delectables and was surprised how many tasted delicious despite their hard-to-pronouce names (and I speak French and Latin, so if they were hard for me to pronouce, trust me, they were tricky to say!).  They even had a special menu for my girls, consisting of mini grilled cheese, PB & J sandwiches and fresh fruit skewers.

I have to admit, I had anticipated a bit of the snobbery and nose-in-the-air attitude that I have come across at some other luxury establishments, but the staff and servers at Langdon Hall were exceptionally kind, warm, friendly and accomodating.  Our fantastic server Alun even took my camera to get some candid shots of our whole party so I could take a bit of a break to enjoy myself.  He treated my girls so well, taking them on a special tour of the house and kitchens, as well as giving them a key to a guest room so they could conduct their own little tours for Team Dronyk!  They were absolutely adorable, Brielle explaining that no one could touch the big feather bed or jump on it, and Emery saying that you could be as loud as you want because the owners were all dead (she had asked me if the people in the paintings were the owners and I told her they had been a long time ago but had passed away)!

All in all, it was an absolutely fabulous way to spend the afternoon and a wonderful ending to another great year in practice.  I have some images to share of our day.  Try not to drool too much over the food shots.

I can't wait to go back to Langdon Hall in the future.

{M} xo

I'm Getting Old : : London Family Photographer

Do you remember when you were a kid and you would visit with adults you hadn't seen for awhile and they always said, "I remember when you were born!  I can't believe how big you are now! I feel so old!" ?  And while you smiled politely on the outside, you cringed on the inside, thinking  "Why do they always act like I would stay small forever?", and you swore you would never say those things  when you grew up?   And the next thing you know, you have reached adulthood and you are saying those dreaded words, and realizing exactly why they need to be said.  No? Really?  Happens to me all the time. I recently celebrated my eight year anniversary with my hubby, and we planned a night away, including a peaceful, delicious dinner and, of course,  the other thing you do when the kids aren't around, which starts with an "S"....  Get your minds out of the gutter, people!  I mean SLEEP!  Ah, the blissful, sound sleep of parents who know there are no middle of the night pee breaks or demands for water-cup refills.  Beautiful.

The next morning, I awoke, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and headed out to meet my cousin and her two teenage boys for a shoot.  And this is what brings me back to my original point.  Eight years ago, these two guys were the ring bearers in our wedding.  They were then five and six years old, respectively, and absolutely adorable!  And while I have seen them occasionally over the intervening years, I was still dumbstruck when they stepped out of the car and were no longer those sweet little boys!  They are nearly men!  After taking a few moments to make the cringe-worthy proclamations in regards to their growth and maturity, we got down to the business of capturing some images.

The boys were such good sports, freezing in the bitter wind, one crouching with sore legs from a championship football game the previous day (they won!) and generally dealing with my odd requests and overzealous desire to see them in a dark, dirty alley.  They are both such respectful, kind young men, and I feel fortunate to call them my family.

First up is Cam, the older brother and Denver Broncos fan.  He has an easy smile that just lights up the room.

Next is Josh, the younger brother and a Patriots die-hard.  He is more serious than his older brother, but no less happy-go-lucky!

And here is one of them both.  Brothers and best friends.

Thanks Cameron, Josh, Kevin and Kelly for just being awesome!  Love you.

{M}

All you need is LOVE : : Kitchener Family Photographer

This family is one of those families where you can just FEEL the love.  It is in the little things; the laughter, the smiles, the hugs.  They are just really connected. I feel so fortunate to be able to work with such lovely families, and to see them grow and love each year.  This is my second time photographing this family and I can tell you, I enjoy it more every time.

We met on a lovely almost-fall day, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm tempertatures to capture some images.  We had to work fairly quickly, since those of you with toddlers know how tough it is to get them to stay in one spot for more than a millisecond.  However, we did manage to get a few beautiful images, which I know they will cherish forever (or at least until next year when we do it all again!).

Thanks Jen, Ben, Sarah and Molly for being such a wonderful family and great friends.

I had to include this one of Sarah, since it is one of my favourite images from the past year.  The missing tooth, the big grin and the sparkling eyes are just so adorable!

My Girls : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

Last fall, I headed out to take a few images of my girls to add to the calendar that I make for my parents, in-laws and grandma every year for Christmas.  My mother liked them so much that she chose one to print and sent copies to all of our friends and family in her Christmas card. So this year, when she casually asked if I was going to have an updated photo to send out, I said "Sure, no problem!".  So of course, I went out and spent a small fortune on matching outfits (since I know my mom loves when I dress them alike) and set a date for the shoot.  I made props and chose accessories, explained the bribes carefully and away we went.  I was so excited that I even invited a couple of my photographer friends with kids to come and shoot their children as well.  Let's just say I was confident that we were going to have a terrific time playing in the leaves, posing playfully and feeling the love.  So wrong.

I will not recount the gory details, but let's just say there were tears, tantrums, kicking and screaming and I won't even tell you how my girls behaved! ;)  However, I did manage to get some shots that I love (one is already at the lab being printed as a huge canvas) and  everyone made it out of the woods alive (barely), so I will put it in the books as a successful day.

My mom hasn't chosen her favourite yet, so some of you may see one of these in your mailbox soon!

This next one is my absolute FAVOURITE!

Love you girls.  You are my everything.

~M

Urban Gentlemen : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

I love to shoot in the city.  Sure, parks and forests and lakes and fields are lovely too, and I enjoy shooting in those locations.  But there is something about the urban landscape that is so fascinating to me. Maybe it is the fact that you can turn a corner and have a whole new location that is nothing like the previous, or maybe it is just that I appreciate that a building always has one side that has some shade.  No light hunting for me! ;)

I headed out with these two adorable guys on a crisp Saturday afternoon to capture some urban images for my commercial portfolio.  I am starting to make some contacts in the children's clothing market and want to have lots of different looks for all different styles.  Plus, I have a bit of a boy shortage in my world, so it is always fun to hang out with someone who is not talking about Justin Bieber or asking to paint their nails!

I was lucky enough to photograph these monkeys with their parents last year and I knew that they would be perfect models for this shoot.  Zaccardi, the oldest, has amazing ice blue eyes that are crazy beautiful.  He is gonne be a lady-killer someday, since he already has the "smoulder" effect down to perfection.  His younger brother, Milo, is a big personality with the most infectious smile.  He loves to be silly and can really appreciate a good fart joke.

I am so lucky to have clients that are willing to share their time and their family with me.  Thanks Mackenzie, Danny, Zaccardi and Milo for braving the cold!

~ M

T and Q : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

I met these two handsome little men on a gorgeous Sunday evening, with the sun shining and the breeze blowing.  Perfect weather for early fall. With their blond hair and blue eyes, these two are sure to be charmers when they get older.  I know both their mom and dad, and there is no shortage of beauty genes in this family!  I had a great time chasing them around and playing magic chair and king.  They kept me on my toes, that's for sure!

I'm already looking forward to next September for round two!

~ M

Miss Brielle : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

Of course, once Brielle saw that her sister had a "special" photo shoot, she had to have one too.  So we headed out on a sunny Saturday to capture some new images for her.  Actually, I am glad she wanted to do it, so I can order new canvases of both of them for the house! Brielle loves music and singing, so she wanted to have a rock-and-roll outfit for some of the pictures.  I think she got the rock attitude just right.

Next she switched to a more casual ensemble, with her favourite flats and super-tight tights.

I wanted to have a little series of Brielle faces, like I did for Emery, to put together as a wall collage. What a goof!

I love you Brielle Grace Anne.  You are so smart, sensitive and stubborn...just like your mother.  ;)

~M

Emery @ Four : : Kitchener Children's Photographer

My baby is four!  I can't believe how much she is growing and changing every day.  It makes my heart ache for the days when she was a babe in my arms.  But, alas, those days are quickly fading into memory as my little angel blazes her own trail out into the world. I took Emery out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon to do her fourth birthday session and we had a blast!  I must admit, there was a significant bribe of TWO donuts for good behaviour and cooperation, but I really think I could have done without, she was so great.  We headed downtown for a bit of an urban feel and to take advantage of all the great colours and textures of the buildings.  I should mention that she did have shoes for the shoot, but complained so loudly that they were pinching that I agreed to let her go barefoot.  Yes, I made sure there was no glass before I plunked her down!

Like most mothers, I think my children are the cutest kids on Earth, so this post has A LOT of images.  I know that her Nanny and Poppy in Newfoundland won't mind looking at more than one! ;)

She is such a ham and loves to be silly.  The next couple of images show her as she truly is, a little monkey who loves to laugh and smile.

I love you Emery Mary Violet and I am so excited to see where your go and how you get there.  Mommy and Daddy and Brielle are so proud of you.

~M

52 Weeks - Weeks 32 and 33

I know, I know, I missed a few weeks.  Life just got away from me and my blog had to suffer in silence.  But now I'm back and the posts will flow once more! My girls were headed to school over these 2 weeks and I wanted to share a couple of images from their first days.  I would like to point out that they chose their own outfits and it is entirely coincidental that they both chose to wear shades of blue.  However, it does make creating a coordinating blog post a little easier, so my anal-rententive heart is smiling just a little more than usual!

First up is Emery, my kindergarten girl.  She was so excited to be starting "big girl" school this year, even though her fourth birthday was only the day before she began!  I must admit, I was more sad to have her start than I was for my oldest, probably because she is my baby and still so young.  I had to miss seeing her off on her first day (which is probably better, I definitely would have been crying) but Daddy reported that she was nothing but smiles.  She is a funny, sweet, compassionate girl who is the first to comfort others if they are sad or hurt.  I know she is going to be growing so fast over the next few months - mentally, emotionally and physically - but I wish she would just stay my baby forever.  Every mother's lament.

Next is my oldest, Brielle.  At six years old,  she is already smarter, sassier and more charming than I have even been in my whole life. Seriously.  She has lots of opinions and loves to tell you what they are, but is a kind friend and a wonderful big sister.  She is off to Grade 1 French Immersion this year and I am so proud of how well she has handled being at school everyday (at least so far...I'm not expecting this cooperation to last!).  The first week she was already saying "Est-ce que je peux aller au toilet?".  Oh boy, I see an adventure to Paris in her future...

My girls are off into the world and all I can do is hope that I have adequately prepared them for all its challenges.

~M

Summer Evening Light :: Kitchener Family Photographer

There is nothing more gorgeous than evening light in the dying days of summer. Rich, warm and bright, it is every photographer's ideal.  As the nights become cooler and the leaves prepare to turn, that beautiful light reminds me that summer is not yet ready to let go of her magic. I headed out on a beautiful, though slightly windy evening to take some family portraits for my dear friend, Jaime, and her beautiful family.  I have known Jaime since Grade 3 and we made it all the way through high school together.  Needless to say, we have plenty of great times to reminisce about every time we ge together, which is usually one evening a week for a rousing game of Boggle (yes, Boggle is exciting for us!).

I am lucky to have such great friends.

This charmer is little Miss Rachel, who recently celebrated her first birthday!  We took some time to get a few extra shots in honour of her big milestone.

Her big sister Sophie also celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks ago, turning three!  She is exceptionally bright and inquisitive for her age and certainly keeps her parents on their toes!