Monday 31 January 2011

Activities for toddlers to do in Bristol: At Bristol

One of the things I want to start doing on my blog is sharing ideas on fun days out with your toddlers. We have a very busy schedule as I am a crazy mum who is obsessed with quality time for my kids but we are missing playgrounds and the outside time because it's either raining or cold. So a couple of weeks ago we went to a toddler takeover At Bristol. It's been only half a year since I got my full driving licence so it took a lot of determination to actually brave out a trip to the city centre. I was holding on to my steering weel very tightly! You have no idea how proud I was that we made it on one piece! It was so worth it though. We had so much fun, that the kids didn't want to leave. I mean it was quite empty when we were leaving!
It really helped that they have big glass wall, so there was plenty of natural light. Even though it was raining!























I was very surprised to see that one of Lucy's favourite things to do was to built and launch little rockets! She kept coming back to them and so did her little friend.
Another favourite place was dinosaur pit where they could uncover "bones" if they wanted to. However, they mostly chose to use it as they would use sand.

And upstairs - having a lot of fun with Animate It, though I think we as parents enjoyed it even more!
Should I mention my special skill - shooting with a baby in a sling? Errm shooting with a camera that is, or course! My lovely friend held her for a bit when we were wanting the girls play - I suddenly realise how big she has grown already.

And then it was time to go home, to drive home I mean! We really enjoyed it and will come back again for the next toddler takeover, you can check the dates on At Bristol website.


Friday 21 January 2011

My favourite things!

I am always looking out for some great products to help you with ideas to display images of your family. I found an amazing framing company and was trying to order a lot of frame samples the other day. Even though I sat down having a full intention to order a good range of different frames, I ended up ordering just two! It's not because other frames were not nice though. Mostly because I loved one of them so much that I just wanted to use it for all my favourite images. You know how some people can listen to the same song 20 times in a row? Well, I am that kind of person... But I resisted the temptation and decided to order more samples later.
Anyways, back to my current favourite. My favourite image in my favourite frame! When I received it, I fell in love with it even more! Have a look:

Distressed white. So in love with it. Makes me happy every time I see it. I realise though that other people might like different frames. There will be a lot more samples, I will be sharing them with you as they arrive.


Friday 14 January 2011

The best age to photograph your baby.

I’m often asked what is the best age to photograph a baby. It’s a very good question. Now that I have 2 children and experience in child photography the answer is very obvious to me, but I realize that it’s not that obvious for others.

It's a little bit like baby clothes sizes. Newborn, 0-3, 6-9, 9-12, 12-18, 18-24 and then sizes become 2, 3,4, 5, 6, etc. Notice how often you have to buy new sizes for your baby in his or her first year? It's because during the first year they grow very fast, they double and sometimes tripple their birthweight and then they slow down. Because as parents we see them every day, we don't notice how they change. Lucy is turning 3 next month and I wouldn't even remember her being a baby if it wasn't for the photographs. I don’t notice how fast my kids change because I see them every day. Funny enough, though, I notice how fast my baby grows because her clothes get too small and I need to to to the next size.

There are a few big milestones in the first year to be aware of when you are planning your sessions (Please remember all babies are different and unique, so they will develop differently, but most seem to fit in):

Newborn: sleepy shots to show off littleness, softness and newness of your baby. Excess skin, swollen face, perfect little fingers with the tiniest fingernails - love newborn babies so much! I would  recommend to have a newborn session at around 5-14 days after birth. The session takes a long time – 3-4 hours to accommodate baby’s needs like feeding and changing nappies and make sure the baby is asleep. That stage of your baby’s life will definitely feel like a blur to you – with the lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions of having your first baby or an addition to your family.
Here is a photo of my Klara at 14 days:
After about 2-3 weeks the baby sleeps less and less, wakes up easily and doesn’t want to miss a thing. So I would suggest to wait until 3-4 months – your baby smiles and maybe laughs now, is interacting with you and others, has a lot of funny expressions. Can also hold her or his head up during “tummy time”- which might seem like a small thing but it’s a big variation from just laying on their back all the time. Should I also mention the lovely baby chub they have? And those toothless smiles that you start to miss and appreciate only after they are not so toothless anymore?
Here is my Klara at 4 months:


6-7 months – such a lovely age! Your baby can most likely sit up – a big difference! And probably doesn’t crawl yet and can’t run away from me, yet! Your baby smiles, laughs, interacts even more and gives all sorts of expressions.
Baby M at 6 months:

9 months – is crawling and will give me a run for my money. Might be able to stand if hold on to something. Plus all of the 6-7 months part. And a lot more personality coming through. Oh, and looks very different, again.

Around 12 months – your baby is doing amazing things – trying to walk and stand up anaided or already walks. This is a big milestone not just for the baby but for the whole family and a big reason to celebrate! They are a lot of fun, show their personality very well. Also, once they can walk, it’s very easy to photograph them outside. Although nothing stops you from having a baby on a blanket or being held before it can walk.
Here is baby M again, at 1 year:
I hope you found this useful and will make another post about 1-2-3 years very soon!
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