31 unscripted split-seconds from our January... for the 7th year running!

This project fills me with gratitude for the time spent with the kids all summer! We camped with the coolest crew, holidayed with awesome family, and tackled some demolition at a new family holiday spot. We watched as Paige the famous pregnant sea lion made my parent's front lawn her home for a couple of days (just FYI, we are standing here at a distance with a DOC worker!). We crafted, cricketed, got soaked in all the ways possible, Louie conquered the pedal bike, and Jake's tooth fairy hid his coin in a giant courgette. None of these days came without life's little normal challenges... but sooo many amazing memories were made!
The hardest part is picking which teeny moments to share! Some I choose for the connection... others for their dynamic energy or because they make me laugh. Some are maybe photographically more creative, some are really just a simple snap... but one that brings us joy! The boys get the final choice... it's their project too.

I LOVE the creative kick I get from photographing. It engages me in the kid's play and helps me to celebrate the ordinary little things of childhood! It makes me soo happy having these memories captured forever. Funnily enough though, one of my little goals for this year is to take slightly FEWER photos of my children (slightly...haha). I’ll still do it daily, but I’ve gotta find that sweet spot between capturing all the amazing, fun stuff, annnd putting the camera down and just enjoying being in the moment too... and maybe (just maybe) reducing the mountain of unedited photos on my computer!
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These are the days... the special summers with our boys that we will treasure forever.

\\ Photo-A-Day - January 2024 \\
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I had total overwhelm this year with way too many thousands of photos... so I’ve gone with not overthinking it and just picking one without going through them all… to continue sharing a slice of our January like I have the past 6 years!
2024 began with marshmallows for breakfast, while snuggling in a tent battered by wind and rain. January had more football, mud and water fights, playdates, and fun home days. And Louie was chuffed to be given the scuffed-up match ball by the Black Caps at the end of a T20 match.
But the highlight was definitely a highly anticipated and increeeedibly special extended family trip to Fiji for 11 days! Experiencing the ultra-friendly nature of the beautiful Fijian people, swimming in warm waters, a spectacular family wedding where Louie carved up the d-floor in a nappy until the end, beach soccer, sunsets, coconut husking, snorkelling with tropical fish, incredible music and culture, frog hunting, torrential rain, boat trips, awesome village kids, kayaking, fire lighting, reading, jetty jumping, water parks... all with cousins, grandparents, and aunties and uncles! It was the absolute best experience for us all
I also tried a tiny bit of underwater photography with limited success …. (remind me next time that it’s VERY hard to change manual camera settings and see what you're capturing through fogged-up snorkel masks and a thick waterproof bag..... whilst also trying to hold up another child and keep yourself floating too!)
I actually completed a full-year photo-a-day project last year... and am doing it again this year. I love it SO much... 365 photos give such an awesome slice of life in one photo book... the people in our lives, the daily mundane, the little childish features that change so quickly, the evolving personalities, the obsessions... a little bit of everything! So for now I'll just keep going with the photographing... and one day I'll catch up with editing them! I'll be back Jan 2025 x

This is you.
Our gorgeous three sons! 2yrs, very nearly 5yrs, and 7.5yrs. We are in awe of you. Your energy and zest for life. Jumping out of bed far too early, as if today will be the most exciting thing you could ever do. The laughter and boisterous noise our home is filled with. And the mountain of spilt weetbix and muesli that our entire kitchen is filled with by 6:37am. The wondrous ways that your minds learn and grow through playing and experimenting and fighting and repairing and building. Loving you is our greatest privilege.

Every year, January promises time to connect. And this Jan was no exception. We holidayed with grandparents in Hawea and cousins in Invercargill. We hosted good friends from Christchurch. And all the days that had no specific plans were easily filled in at home... our favourite place to be.  This was the year that you helped Dad to build you a climbing wall, and him a garden shed. I love seeing the different DIY projects he does each January through this Photo-A-Day project, with you pottering around with him. You adore him and his talents - I see you all watching him closely and learning not only his craft and handyman skills that translate to your own creations, but his attitude, his perseverance, the way he looks after me and you, and how he loves by serving others. 

This January another tooth was lost, a gappy smile was gained, and you asked your tooth fairy 'Tooth Man' to set up elaborate clues to find your coin. We kayaked. We biked as a family. We got scrapes and bruises. We played the FIFA World Cup 'Dreamer' song on repeat. We made mistakes... all of us. We jumped in goo. You asked "why? why? why?" 1000 times a day. We had meltdowns. Our hearts melted with all the utterly adorable things that come out of your mouths. And we melted in the 30+ degree days too. We read books... so many books. We attempted to bake cookies in a homemade pizza box solar oven. We had satisfyingly good productive days at home. And some very unproductive days too, where I achieved absolutely nothing but supplying 1347 snacks. We longed for more sleep, but... that wasn't on your January plan. Climbing out of your cot constantly was a higher priority. You learnt what felt like a hundred new words a day. We randomly morning tea'd up in the ceiling together. Chess was the winner of the month. We prepped for a 5th birthday party and covered books for the very first day of school. We swam, we explored new places, and you spoiled us rotten on our wedding anniversary - sleeping in the lounge the night before so that you could set up an amazingly thoughtful extravaganza for us by the morning. You spent the month with your best friends... your brothers. I loved documenting all of it. 

And each and every day... we were so blessed by you.
xoxoxo 

I'm laughing at myself posting this in mid-March, but hey... you do you & I'll do me! Life's been a little crazy... but this annual project is something I LOVE doing... and as long as the boys are happy for me to, I'll keep doing it! It's a record of our family life each January - that month where no one remembers what day it is, there's no routine to life, and all sorts of fun happens. We actually shifted house 6 weeks before, so this Jan the house was a total mess (okay, that's nothing unusual haha)... boxes lingered... we explored a new neighbourhood and made new friends on the street... slid up and down stairs 10,671 times... had 6 little boys under 6 under one roof for 5 days... had cousin time and a late family Christmas... beached and got sand in all the places... learnt to ride a pedal bike.... lost a first tooth... built 'Spook Hut' under the outdoor stairs... got well accustomed with the pool at our new school... gobbled green blueberries straaaaight from the bushes... and just caused general mischief pulling everything out of everywhere (I'm looking at you, Louie).

The biggest problem for me doing this project isn't getting my camera out each day, but choosing which ones to actually put into 31 days! I'm not aiming for any sort of perfection here (you'll see mess and piles of washing and questionable outfit choices and all)... it's about telling the story of our kids personalities and quirks and latest obessions... their experiences, emotions, connections and environments. You can check out the past few years here!

Our 3 little monkeys... Eli (6.5yrs), Jake (nearly 4yrs) and Louie (14 months)...

31 days. One photo a day. 31 photos.

Annnd, true to form, I ended up with a ridiculous number of photos... like, well over 5000... which makes choosing just thirty-one stupidly difficult, but I hope to sum up the little typical moments of life right now.

So I'm giving myself some grace this year for how late I'm posting this... January was filled with the absolute joys and busyness of having a two month old baby (welcome to the tribe, Louie!), a preschooler, and a school kid at home all the time... as well as trips away, family staying, kids playdates, a retirement party, a 3 year old pirate party etc... you know the drill! Such a great month for connecting as a family - slow paced home days, and fast paced adventuring days. So many laughs, so many tantrums, not enough sleep, so much noise, so much energy expended, so many things created, so much testosterone, so much mess, so many heart-melt moments, so much baby spew, so much amazing imaginative play, so much poo talk, and so many 'patience building' days! With kids you get it all... and I wouldn't have it any other way...

So here's to our January 2021, with Eli (5yrs, 5mo), Jacob (2yr, 11mo), Louie (2mo)...
(also ft. amazing grandparents, Daisy the dog, and some very special little besties) xxx

(Check out 2019 and 2020 photo-a-day blogs here)

Unstaged, documentary photos of my little loves (and occasionally my big love and some little friends too) living their best life during Dunedin's torrential rain and thunderstorm-filled "summer"! Here's my second year of a photo-a-day January of my boys - Eli at four and a half (very important that we add the half)... and Jacob at very-nearly-two!

I'll be honest... this January wasn't without its challenges and sickness, so this little project certainly wasn't on the top of my list. I do have my camera out and about just about daily to document random things anyway, and I'd love to say that this inspired me to challenge myself and create some extra magic... but that wasn't reeeally the case. But it has made me get a wee bunch of normal daily life edited and shared so that I can continue this little project! I've had last years January photos on rotation on my computer screen for the past few months and I just love being reminded of their little baby faces going about their pre-schooler lives! So here's a glimpse into our January 2020...

For the past nearly two years I've just been relishing the opportunity to have time with my two little men who melt my heart and push all my buttons and just generally amaze me with energy levels! When I remember, I do occasionally share some personal photos on my public Instagram, so feel free to check out @kimberleycheyne if you want more regular updates! And next year will probably see me working about the same amount as I have this year - just taking on very occasional shoots that really excite me, and that I can fit in around my boys sleeping (something they occasionally do). I've got a few ideas I'd love to run with next year sometime too, but family will always come first, so it will kinda be on my boys terms! :)

Anyway, at the start of the year I entered the Shoot & Share Contest again. This is a massive, international photography contest - to put it into perspective, this year there were 583,150 images entered over 25 categories. So, it's big.  I'm mostly just blogging about this for my own annual record of this contest before the 2020 contest is underway... and as a way to actually quickly and easily choose a few random photos to share with you, out of the thousands I take! Eli and Jake have grown up sooo much since all of these photos (mostly from 2018).

This year was the first year that I decided to enter all personal images. I loooove capturing day to day things of my boys. It's all building up a big collection of documentary images of their preschool life which I know I'm going to be really grateful for when they are big, smelly, grunty teenagers.

So, here's a mix of photos that were either Finalist images, or ones that placed in the top percentages in their categories...
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First up - the That Just Happened Category... because bloopers are always fun...

It's not unusual for me to photograph my kids daily. The good, the messy, the mundane, the laughter, the tears, the chaos... the daily adventures of two little boys. Documenting little snippets of our day and the relationships they have with different people gives me a creative kick, keeps me sane as a stay-at-home Mum, and totally fills me with joy! I often don't get time to edit or share the random daily life photos I take at home though... even though they are the ones that mean the most to me and flood me with memories. So I'm retrospectively 'Photo A Day'-ing it here on the blog for January. For years I've loved following a few amazing photographers recording the first month of every year with a photo a day, so I'm not claiming this brilliance as my own... I'm just gonna run with their idea! But I AM totally claiming these two gorgeous critters as my own! I LOVE doing day-to-day with them (despite the times they drive me bonkers).

So here's to January 2019 with two little brothers... Eli (3.5) and Jake (11 months)...

Why hello! It's getting close to the end of 2018 which means I'm ridiculously late in sharing these on the blog, but better late than never or something eh!? I figure I should probably share them before the 2019 contest begins! The week before Jacob was born, I entered a bunch of images in the 2018 Shoot & Share worldwide contest. This was the third year I have entered and I LOVE it so much every time! The 2018 Photo Contest broke records with 413,000 photos submitted, 175,000 unique entrants and voters, and a whopping 81 MILLION contest votes collected! You can read more about my 2016 and 2017 entries, but I thought I would just quickly share with you a few of this years images - two placed in the Top 100 in the world in their categories, four others were finalists, and others placed in the top percentiles in their categories. It's just a bit of fun, and it's extremely addictive!

Shoot & Share made me this fancy little video... so I'll pop that up first...

I'm really honoured to be able to share Grayson's incredible story with you all. It's a story that begins with absolute heartache during pregnancy, and becomes a rollercoaster journey of every emotion possible. And now, proving to be a total little miracle, beautiful little Grayson is 13 months old, and his story is one of hope, delight, love, strength and bravery! While the journey ahead won't always be easy I'm sure, he's defied the medical odds, and he is now a gorgeous, happy, cheeky, clever little toddler! His family are some of the strongest people I have ever met and it has been a total honour to photograph some of their journey! I'm so grateful that Grayson's amazing parents, Melissa and Wayne, have allowed me to share these images of hope. Melissa also agreed to share a piece she wrote for his birthday, which will give you a bit more of the back story. Prepare your tissues people...