We got together with some awesome little families to show off some of their quality, snuggly, everyday family wear! Enjoy this wee peek into their range of clothing (there's so much more too!), with some pretty cute little faces too :)
I've got some seriously talented friends! Friends who do cool things - like design and handmake beautiful clothing, create amazing decor, and up-cycle the most gorgeous furniture... and open up their own shops! My friend Becca and her Mum Judith are the talent behind Spruce Design Store - a stylish and affordable shop in Mosgiel! They have just moved to a new shop at 5 Factory Road, and it's filled with the most amazing things... from cute little baby clothes and knitwear, nursery decorations, kids clothing, womens and menswear, cushions, furniture and lots of fun little one-off things!
We got together with some awesome little families to show off some of their quality, snuggly, everyday family wear! Enjoy this wee peek into their range of clothing (there's so much more too!), with some pretty cute little faces too :)
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I have a preeetty special place in my heart for my wee nieces and nephews! And they are growing in number... and height! Little Annabelle is the latest addition to to the Truman family... she's actually 9 months old now, and ridiculously adorable! She always has the biggest smile plastered across her face any time you lay your eyes on her :)
But going back a year now... my beautiful sister Sarah was 26 weeks pregnant while were on a winter holiday in Hanmer Springs. So we set out to unknown locations with her gorgeous family, to capture this awesome time for them. These guys are no strangers to the blog... if you've been around here for a while you have probably seen me share photos of Penelope and Matthew, along with little Victoria, who they sadly lost at 38 weeks. This is a rather large blog... because there are just so many photos that I love from the maternity shoot through to darling little Annabelle making her entrance into this world! When the sun begins to show its face for the day, and a beautiful young family is already out enjoying the ocean, good things happen! Evie, Vegar and Vetle's family shoot was amazing - at the beach bright and early, before the sun was even up... we got all sorts of different light to play around with. This beautiful family were living in Dunedin, but were only a few weeks short of moving back to Norway. They were keen for a sunrise shoot, as 6am was when 4 month old Vetle (meaning 'Winter Wanderer') was at his absolute best! Even though I do love my sleep, I definitely obliged... who doesn't love the amazing light as the sun rises?! We were blessed with an incredible morning at the iconic St Clair sticks, and this family were a dream to photograph. What a cute little muchkin Vetle is!! And Evie is suuuuuch a gorgeous Mumma! Both her and Vegar didn't need any direction in front of the camera... true naturals... Thank you soooo much, you beautiful family! It was a real treat to photograph you all. I hope you are loving being back in Norway... I'm sure your families aren't complaining about having you all back! All the best xx
Any day now, our hearts are going to burst with love for a new tiny person! A little baby for Sarah and Nick... and a new niece or nephew for me and Liam! Yuss... we're always keen for new mini humans to try and squeeze favourite Aunty and Uncle status out of. They are known as 'Rainbow Babies' - babies that are born following the loss of another baby through miscarriage or stillbirth. At first I thought that sounded a bit airy-fairy. But there is a beautiful and very true meaning behind it... Beautiful, bright rainbows come after a storm. They are symbols of hope and promise. Everyone experiences storms of differing degrees. But these storms shape us and grow us... and we appreciate the rainbows at the other end even more. Last year we shared the story of my sister and family losing their precious girl, Victoria, at full-term. I wrote that blog wanting Victoria's little life to be celebrated, not swept away as if it didn't happen. We wanted to acknowledge the times in life that don't always go the way we plan them. At the time there was nothing could have prepared us for what happened, it was so unexpected - everything was looking normal and healthy until the moment her heart stopped beating. But looking back, we can see the many ways our family was being prepared. We can see the abundant blessings that Victoria brought us and many others. We can see how much she changed so many hearts, without her even seeing the world. Her short life was more than valuable. Amongst the huge sadness and grief, there is a strength and a unity that grows through the storm. And there is an incomprehensible happiness knowing that soon they will be blessed with another beautiful child. We are beyond excited about meeting this little bundle who is already such an incredibly loved and valued part of our family. Sarah and Nick are the perfect parents for this little one, and can't wait to hold him or her in their arms.... for the next step in their family journey. I've been sending telepathic messages to the baby to stay in that tummy until I was able to post this blog though, and to arrive into this world on a day that fits around my schedule! So far, so good ;) How ridiculously adorable is Penelope?! She's such a big girl now... Three years old, and about to be a big sister! And apparently, a mother soon too. She's been having extremely frequent scans with her toy stethoscope and over the past 8 months has had many different babies in her tummy... ranging from baby caterpillars to her latest - a girl called 'January'. January has been coming out in '5 weeks' for about the past 3 months! If I got $1 every time someone told me they thought Sarah was one of the most gorgeous pregnant women they have ever seen, I'd be rich. And it's true, she really does do pregnancy extremely gracefully! She's all baby... and that's one pretty big bub inside that tummy. She also doesn't complain. About anything. If all I knew about pregnancy was through her, I'd be thinking it was a dream! The beach and Penelope have never reeeeally mixed. The feeling of sand between her toes is more of a terrifying, world-ending situation, rather than relaxing or fun. We amped her up about going to the beach for the photos though, and she kept asking if it was time to go yet! But when we arrived and there were horses galloping around, she opted to watch from the safety of the car, because the horses might eat her. Fair enough. If I was faced with an animal about 10x my size, I would probably stay in the car too. Sarah, you are a true beauty. When I do maternity shoots with Sarah, they seem to be multi-faceted, multi-day shoots. It's just what you do for sisters who you love photographing! So welcome to Day 2... something a little more fancy for the ladies of the house! And I'll end with these images, because as one of my fabulous friends said to me... they are such celebration images, and Sarah is a preggy babe!! The fact that these are blue actually holds no clues as to whether it will be a boy or a girl - Nick found out at the 20 week scan, but Sarah didn't! How they manage that, I do not know... but if anyone can keep a secret, it's Nick. Sarah, Nick and little P - ah! SO excited. It's so surreal to think you will have another child sometime in the very near future... you are such an amazing family and we love you so, so much. Can't wait to come down to meet him or her! All the love and prayers and blessings in the world xoxoxo
Little Juno has the biggest personality, the most gorgeous wee facials, and hair that could rock anyone's world. She is utterly adorable. Laura and James wanted to celebrate her 1st birthday a little differently. They brought her up to Dunedin for a fun day out, some family shots, and a wee party for three! Unfortunately the weather was less than ideal, and despite Laura's perfect ideas and gorgeous party plans, we just couldn't control that rain and wind. But little Juno had a blast, and we managed to find some shelter for her favourite part... when she got to tuck in to the cake she had been eyeing up all day! Fairy bread time!! The moment you give a 1 year old fizzy drink for the first time ever... WIRED! Laura and James are such amazing parents. They give their world to Juno. They treasure her and have such a beautiful way with her. I have so loved capturing their journey right through from their engagement and wedding, to Juno as a newborn, through to her first year. Cake smash time!! "I dont know what this is.... ... but I'm not stopping!" After eating far too much cake, we got that little face cleaned up again for a few more special photos with Mum and Dad... Juno you are the cutest! Your parents are amazingly fun and love spoiling you to bits, and I don't blame them. Thanks for braving the cold and having me along to your wee birthday fun day! Looking forward to watching you grow and learn over the next year too! xx
"What a beautiful world it would be, if all people had hearts like dogs..." Aimee, Richard and Bandon are family. They are all best friends... doing life together. But Bandon is getting older... he doesn't quite have the agility and endless energy he once had... so Aimee and Richard really wanted some portraits taken of the three of them having fun at the beach, to plaster around their house. They have had adventures all around the world together... Aimee is from the States, and Richard is from France, but for now they are settled in good old Dunedin. Bandon has the most hilarious dog personality I have ever seen, and Aimee and Richard laugh and giggle like nothing else. I think we also picked the windiest day we possibly could have, but it all just added to the excitement and fun. Brandon and I became pretty good mates. While I was taking photos of just Aimee and Richard, Brandon was standing beside me barking orders at them like my wee assistant. He is seriously cute. Man's best friend. There's not a lot that's technically right with this photo, but when a dog is running his nose into your lens, all you can do is giggle! Thank you for the hilarious and awesome time we had together!! I loved it! You are a great wee family xx The Aitkens and Makahununius are two fully amazing families. We have had the pleasure of getting to know them over the past 7 years, when we have visited my sister in Invercargill. It's awesome seeing their tight network of friends support each other through the ups and downs of life. And their kids?! Probably some of the cutest wee munchkins you will ever meet. We had an awesome morning running around Queen's Park in Invercargill, capturing life as it is for them at the moment. Naomi and Sarah are sisters, so the wee cousins are the best of friends... and they really are just one big family, which is so amazing to see! I know this blog has been a long time coming... with wedding season in full swing, it's a pretty crazy busy time of year for us... but this shoot was one I really wanted to share... so here we go! Meet Naomi, Sione, Lile, Elisapesi and Asher... ...And Sarah, Andrew and Abbigail! These two couples are completely devoted to each other and their beautiful children... they pour everything they have into their marriages and their parenting. Sione likes to give Naomi the occassional heart attack though! Is this not the sweetest thing ever?! Pure joy! These beautiful girls kept picking up flowers off the ground and giving them to me as presents! Soooo precious!! Beeeautiful, beautiful sisters! Big tough Daddy! Love you all! Always looks forward to seeing you down in Invercargill! Thanks so much for such a fun, relaxed shoot! I loved every minute of it :)
Love and hugs xx When I was asked to photograph Chrissy's bridal shower, I had no idea about the extent of the celebration, the traditions, and the colour and joy that would burst out of this day! Chrissy and David were preparing to get married back home in Tanzania, Africa in August... and I had the privilege of capturing Chrissy's pre-wedding celebration here!! They did ask us to photograph their actual wedding in Tanzania too... which we obviously would have been a dream come true, but unfortunately we couldn't work it around other bookings... gutted!!!! It looks like they had an incredible big day over there though :) I left this bridal shower just feeling totally filled with joy - us kiwis have a thing or two to learn from these beautiful African people about celebrating!! They sure know how to party! There are no limits, no inhibitions. There is freedom to dance and sing and laugh and talk to your heart's content! There is colour galore, bright happy smiles... and more dancing. There is music and drumming and good food... and more dancing! There are speeches and gifts, words of wisdom from mighty women... and more dancing! It was an absolute, total privilege to see such passionate culture, and to celebrate with these incredibly beautiful women xo Chrissy was veiled for her entrance... and after some time, David and his crew of men were danced in to unveil her. They went away after this to leave the women there to give Chrissy useful marriage advice and plenty of gifts, and to perform for her! Chrissy and David, I am so happy for you! You are a beautiful, humble couple and it really has been so lovely getting to know you through this!! We were so disappointed to miss your wedding day - but we know the celebrations must have been even bigger and brighter! Thank you for allowing me to see your amazing culture and inviting me to capture this awesome time for you. Love and blessings! xx
Meet Alix and Johnny and their gorgeous kiddlywinks, Matt and Hayley! They are one beautiful little family and we can't wait to see them again in October for their big wedding day in Port Chalmers! We decided it was super important to include Matt and Hayley in the engagement shoot, because they are obviously such a massive part of Alix & Johnny's lives and their relationship. They have been together over 5 years, and the next big adventure of their love is about to start - marriage! These kids are really ridiculously cute! Hayley is about 11 months old, and has the sweetest little face and cheeky grin, and four year old Matt is full of energy and personality! I just loved watching Alix and John interacting with their beautiful children - they obviously completely and utterly ADORE each other, and have such playful and loving relationships! Here is where all the mothers reading this have a mini heart attack, and all the fathers wanna go out and see if they can chuck their son even higher... We tired the kids out with running around, boxing, getting thrown in the air, and doing flips... and then we let Grandma take them away, so we had some time with the awesome couple by themselves! They spent most of the time fighting with each other. But not the yelling type, or the silent treatment type, or the evil looks type... more like the flirting, giggling, poking, hassling, play-fighting type! Alix and Johnny up a tree... K I S S I N G!! These two love birds used to spend hours and hours sitting talking in a huuuuge tree at a primary school when they first got together... so a giant tree was a must for their photos! Alix, I cannot wait to see you as a bride on the 26.10.13! You are going to be GORGEOUS! These two beautiful engagement rings have the four different family birth stones in them! Soooo pretty! Alix and John, you guys are so awesome together - and it was soooo amazing watching your incredible parenting. You are such a fun family... bring on October!! xoxox
Three months ago today, my life was touched so deeply. And I want to share a bit of the story with you. It's a personal story, and it's taken me a while to put any sort of words together. I write, and I discard... and I write, and I discard. I think constantly about it, and form the perfect words in my head. But then I come to write again... and I'm somewhat blank. But I want to honour a little wee life that has had a powerful influence. A perfect baby girl who unfortunately never made it to see the light of day. Sadly my darling niece, Victoria Kate, was stillborn at 38 weeks, to my beautiful sister and her husband Nick, for no known reason. I want to honour the strength, faith, and incredible love and positivity that Sarah and Nick have. They have so graciously accepted this new and unexpected journey. While this has been a hugely sad time, they are filled with God's peace, and continue to trust in His goodness, which has been proven over and over again during the past three months. They are so thankful for the opportunity to have carried this precious little girl for nearly nine months, and continue to be the most amazing and adoring parents to two year old Penelope. Above all, we honour God for his peace beyond all understanding, for giving Sarah and Nick another beautiful daughter, and for giving them the strength needed to carry on without her on earth. Many of you have seen a couple of maternity photos that I posted along the journey of Sarah's pregnancy... but because we did small maternity shoots over a few months as her belly grew, I never had the chance to blog the finished product before the unimaginable happened. I am aware this is a sensitive topic. But I do really want to share the love that was poured into this 'bump', the beauty that is my sister, the cuteness that is Penelope, and the wonderfulness that is this family. I want to celebrate the joy Victoria brought to our lives over those months, and the blessing she has been to so many people... not hide it away as if it never happened. I want you to look and smile! The hope and anticipation of a second little baby in the house was definitely obvious - we all couldn't wait to meet the new little button in our family. We are a very close family, and I'm an extremely proud aunty... so I jumped at the opportunity to go down to Invercargill for the month of June. I was going firstly as a sister and an aunty - to be there to help around the house and look after Penelope (who you have seen on here many times before!) when Sarah went into labour and was in hospital. And secondly as a photographer - to capture the first moments at the birth, and to do newborn photos as soon as possible afterwards. Sarah makes pregnancy look easy - full of energy, incredibly healthy, and totally radiant, with a perfect bump. She is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. (And Penelope? Well she is clearly a model in the making...!!) But after I'd been in Invercargill only a day, Sarah realised that she hadn't felt the baby move for a while. Some tests and checks later that afternoon sadly revealed no heartbeat. All of a sudden, the day turned from the excitement of a new baby arriving at any moment, to coming to understand that their precious little baby had passed away, for no apparent reason. This was obviously a huge shock after a very healthy pregnancy... especially being at full-term. We were all heart-broken. Sarah was induced later that evening, and perfect little Victoria was born at 5:50am on the 4th of June, without breath. I am now so incredibly grateful that I was able to do maternity shots for Sarah as her bump grew, and that they have photographs to remind them of the joy and happiness their daughter has brought them, for the rest of their lives. I am also incredibly thankful that I was down in Invercargill and able to photograph beautiful Victoria just after she was born, so they have a record of everything - her little ears, little hands, little feet, little nose. They have memories of their short time with her they can look back on as they work through their grief. Arguably the most important shoot of my life. Unfortunately stillbirth is not as uncommon as I had thought, and so often there are no clear causes. Apparently six in every thousand babies born in NZ every year are stillborn. And Sarah and Nick join the approximately 300 families each year in Australia and NZ who lose a baby close to term with no known cause. I want to acknowledge those parents who have lost loved little babies through miscarriage, stillbirth, and health issues. It's heartbreaking. I cannot even imagine what that must be like for a parent. As an aunty, I've only experienced a touch of the devastation. And I also acknowledge that everyone is going to have very different experiences too. We have been blown away by how strong and positive Sarah and Nick are, but of course it is so difficult, and there won't be a day go by where they don't think of their beautiful daughter. Sarah and Nick had prepared Penelope so well for having a little sister or brother, and what that would mean for her. She knew Mummy and Daddy would be very busy, that the baby would cry lots, and that sometimes the baby would need lots of cuddles. She loved to listen to the heartbeat and cuddle Mummy's tummy, and was excited about having a baby at home. It has been so incredible to see the mind of a two year old processing the fact that Mummy and Daddy's baby had to go and live with Jesus, instead of living at home. She has understood far more than we could have ever imagined. The day Victoria was born, I lay silently listening to Penelope praying, unprompted, to God in the middle of the night... "Dear Dog, Mummy Daddy bit sad. Mummy no baby". "Dear Dog, Mummy tummy get better. Baby Toria in hop-dop... live Jesus now." I will never forget that tiny, sweet little voice speaking in the dark, as tears trickled down my cheeks. So incredibly precious. Victoria Kate means 'Victorious' and 'Pure'... and she is definitely nothing short of that. Her little life has taught me so much. Love you forever little button. Sarah, Nick, and Penelope - you are beyond amazing. We are truly blessed to be your family, and to journey alongside you. Love and hugs always xoxoxox This is something I feel very passionate about, after truly experiencing the importance of those photographs. Without knowing I was writing this at the time, Sarah said to me this morning, "If I could give one piece of advice to anybody in this situation… it would totally be to have some nice photographs taken". I would really like to bless other families that I hear about who sadly have the same outcome, and really want to be able to offer sensitive and private photographs of the baby as a gift to other families who lose children due to stillbirth or sickness. Please get in touch with me as soon as possible if you hear of this happening to anyone you know around Dunedin - if I can help to be part of the grief and healing process through offering photos shortly after the birth, then I will do my best xx
I also hope this opens up some discussion - I think it's so healthy to talk about these things which affect so many families, yet are rarely discussed. Please feel free to discuss, comment, share, think... it's good for all of us :) |
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