welcome to the Blog 

(This blog post is part of a blog circle, after you are finished reading click the link at the bottom to read another ‘Letters to Our Daughters’)

Dear Cecilia,

You stopped sitting still. No longer do you want to sit and cuddle, you are too busy. The world is your playground, everyday you are discovering. Everything is new, everything must be touched, explored, tasted and stared at until it makes sense.

In some ways, I mourn my baby that is disappearing and morphing into a toddler. I also welcome this funny toddler, with a sense of humour, with a presence that can be heard throughout the household. You like your routines, you prefer your bed, to any other place to rest your head. You listen for the sound of your Daddy every afternoon.

As busy as you are you, you also take your time. There is no rush for you to walk, you are happy in your playpen with your pile of toys, that your brothers and sister give you. You seem to laugh at us when we ask if you are going to step on your own. Your big blue eyes tell us you are in no hurry. You will venture on those chubby legs when you feel the time is right.

When I photograph you, you like to remind me that you are no longer a little baby…you are my big girl who was just put on the floor…and you crawl away and laugh at your crazy mother! Taking pictures of you now requires skill and patience but I have so much practice from you brothers and sisters and you do not know all my tricks yet.

After bath time, in your fuzzy jammies, drinking your bottle of milk I find my baby again. Here, you cuddle close to me. Here, you you are still. In these quiet moments I stare at your capable little fingers. Chubby and soft as satin. Round with little dents and dimples. This evening those little fingers discovered with Daddy the wonders of a light switch. To us older folk the light switch is nothing to stare at but to you it was magic! You made light and took it away. As you finishes those last drops of milk, your eyelashes are fluttering because you are tired from todays adventures.

Our bedtime ritual is always the same, tucking the quilt around you, making sure Sock Monkey and Kitty are in either arm, a binkie in your mouth, the soft lulling sounds of the fan and the twinkling music from your mobile.

As you drift to sleep, and for a few short hours will be quiet and still. While the house is quiet I write this letter to you, my little daughter.  I know the silence  will not last long because tomorrow will bring another adventure.

.

To read another blog post from this series, click here to read Heather Meyer’s Letters to our Daughter.

(This blog post is part of a blog circle, after you are finished reading click the link at the bottom to read another ‘Letters to Our Daughters’)

Dear Cecilia,

You stopped sitting still. No longer do you want to sit and cuddle, you are too busy. The world is your playground, everyday you are discovering. Everything is new, everything must be touched, explored, tasted and stared at until it makes sense.

In some ways, I mourn my baby that is disappearing and morphing into a toddler. I also welcome this funny toddler, with a sense of humour, with a presence that can be heard throughout the household. You like your routines, you prefer your bed, to any other place to rest your head. You listen for the sound of your Daddy every afternoon.

As busy as you are you, you also take your time. There is no rush for you to walk, you are happy in your playpen with your pile of toys, that your brothers and sister give you. You seem to laugh at us when we ask if you are going to step on your own. Your big blue eyes tell us you are in no hurry. You will venture on those chubby legs when you feel the time is right.

When I photograph you, you like to remind me that you are no longer a little baby…you are my big girl who was just put on the floor…and you crawl away and laugh at your crazy mother! Taking pictures of you now requires skill and patience but I have so much practice from you brothers and sisters and you do not know all my tricks yet.

After bath time, in your fuzzy jammies, drinking your bottle of milk I find my baby again. Here, you cuddle close to me. Here, you you are still. In these quiet moments I stare at your capable little fingers. Chubby and soft as satin. Round with little dents and dimples. This evening those little fingers discovered with Daddy the wonders of a light switch. To us older folk the light switch is nothing to stare at but to you it was magic! You made light and took it away. As you finishes those last drops of milk, your eyelashes are fluttering because you are tired from todays adventures.

Our bedtime ritual is always the same, tucking the quilt around you, making sure Sock Monkey and Kitty are in either arm, a binkie in your mouth, the soft lulling sounds of the fan and the twinkling music from your mobile.

As you drift to sleep, and for a few short hours will be quiet and still. While the house is quiet I write this letter to you, my little daughter.  I know the silence  will not last long because tomorrow will bring another adventure.

.

To read another blog post from this series, click here to read Heather Meyer’s Letters to our Daughter.

After bathtime comes quiet reading time…reading with a flashlight just makes it better.

After bathtime comes quiet reading time…reading with a flashlight just makes it better.

Dear Kathleen,

I am proud of your beauty. I am not afraid to say it because it truly warms me to see what a pretty girl you have become. You look so much like my sister Samantha and myself. I love that you are not self conscious, you don’t know anything about being self critical. You are pretty and that is where it begins and ends. In your world all little girl are pretty. Please stay this way! Do not let the world into this point of view!

While your brothers are in school, you have girl time. You play in your bedroom, Barbies and dolls, and I sneak in to watch you play. You take me back  to when Leah and I played Barbies. I watch you decorate your beloved doll house with furniture that belonged to my sisters and I. You dress your barbies and dolls in clothes that all hold a little story and memories. The themes are the same; Barbie gets married, goes camping, has a party with her friends. Although, your dolls are often Princesses and named Cinderella, that is something different.

You watch cartoons and hold your Cabbage Patch doll and absently rock her, unconsciously. At only 4 year old you are maternal and motherly. You worry about your brothers and pester them about their well-being. You complain and bark sometimes like an old woman, your daily routine starts with you barking for the location of your glasses.

You make mistakes and you to try to do little chores without asking, as a way to ask forgiveness. I do the same thing and never realized it was genetic. At 4,  you are stuck between being an independent big girl. You watch Sesame Street intently because you told me they are teaching you to read, and you are going to school soon. Your biggest battle is with buckling your own car seat. You announced this morning that when you learn to cook, unlike your brothers you were not going to learn how to make toast, you would learn how to make cake. You seem so big and grown up but that thought is shattered when you put on your footie jammies.

To you life is a bit of a fairy tale, all you need is a pretty dress and you are an instant ballerina-princess.

Every month I blog a letter to my daughters, as part of a blog circle. To read another letter go to Sunshine Lane Photography by Sarah Cunningham Vaughn  (no relation! but I wish she was because I would visit this cousin on the beautiful island of Mauritius!) and read her letter to her daughter Sofia Anela.

Dear Kathleen,

I am proud of your beauty. I am not afraid to say it because it truly warms me to see what a pretty girl you have become. You look so much like my sister Samantha and myself. I love that you are not self conscious, you don’t know anything about being self critical. You are pretty and that is where it begins and ends. In your world all little girl are pretty. Please stay this way! Do not let the world into this point of view!

While your brothers are in school, you have girl time. You play in your bedroom, Barbies and dolls, and I sneak in to watch you play. You take me back  to when Leah and I played Barbies. I watch you decorate your beloved doll house with furniture that belonged to my sisters and I. You dress your barbies and dolls in clothes that all hold a little story and memories. The themes are the same; Barbie gets married, goes camping, has a party with her friends. Although, your dolls are often Princesses and named Cinderella, that is something different.

You watch cartoons and hold your Cabbage Patch doll and absently rock her, unconsciously. At only 4 year old you are maternal and motherly. You worry about your brothers and pester them about their well-being. You complain and bark sometimes like an old woman, your daily routine starts with you barking for the location of your glasses.

You make mistakes and you to try to do little chores without asking, as a way to ask forgiveness. I do the same thing and never realized it was genetic. At 4,  you are stuck between being an independent big girl. You watch Sesame Street intently because you told me they are teaching you to read, and you are going to school soon. Your biggest battle is with buckling your own car seat. You announced this morning that when you learn to cook, unlike your brothers you were not going to learn how to make toast, you would learn how to make cake. You seem so big and grown up but that thought is shattered when you put on your footie jammies.

To you life is a bit of a fairy tale, all you need is a pretty dress and you are an instant ballerina-princess.

Every month I blog a letter to my daughters, as part of a blog circle. To read another letter go to Sunshine Lane Photography by Sarah Cunningham Vaughn  (no relation! but I wish she was because I would visit this cousin on the beautiful island of Mauritius!) and read her letter to her daughter Sofia Anela.

This time of year the cold weather drives us indoors normally and is not thought as ideal conditions for outdoor pictures but I think the snow is the perfect atmosphere! Today was not too chilly, the snow was falling prettily, Kathleen and I were dressed warmly, this was a perfect combination.  The end result was a lot of fun!

This time of year the cold weather drives us indoors normally and is not thought as ideal conditions for outdoor pictures but I think the snow is the perfect atmosphere! Today was not too chilly, the snow was falling prettily, Kathleen and I were dressed warmly, this was a perfect combination.  The end result was a lot of fun!

One of my clients told me how she was not looking forward to picture day, they have a young family with busy little toddlers. To them, picture day is stressful and involves tears and is as popular as a root canal.

As a Mom of 4 small kids, I can completely empathize! Formally posed pictures and little kids do not always go hand in hand but there are some tips and tricks I can share with you to get those family photos you desire.

First, lower all expectations! Getting everyone looking at the camera and smiling may NOT happen. But I aim to get everyone looking at the camera. With adults and older children I ask them to at all times look at the camera and let me work on coaching a smile or even the attention of the littler ones.

Sometimes little ones just need to get up and run around a little bit, no problem! Allow them get those wiggles out and act silly with them and MAKE IT FUN! As a photographer, I always have my camera ready and I am just waiting for those little moments to happen. They may not be perfectly posed and smiling but they are authentic, real and they are 99% of the time my clients FAVORITE pictures.  I snapped this picture of these two sisters, it was so sweet and cute, it is one of my favorites.

 Second, make sure everyone arrives with full bellies. Hungry children and adults can cause everyone to get a little cranky. I also suggest brining a snack, something that is not messy, and then give me that snack to me to use as bribery. Let’s face it, kids are SMART! They can sense the desperation in their parent’s voices. They know you are begging them to be good, they sense you are not just going to walk away from this  and this can lead to some naughtiness. However, when I hold that elusive treat, they don’t know me. They don’t know how far to push me…it often can be very effective.

Try to schedule the session for a time that works for your little ones. If they normally nap in the morning, don’t schedule a session for that time. 

Bring a spare outfit just in case, bring something to wipe their faces with…little ones have a knack for getting dirty:) And dress for the weather. Cute outfits are nice but the focus is on your faces, and warm and dry little ones (and adults) make sessions so much easier.

And third, be prepare to act very, very silly!!  Nothing makes a 15 month old laugh harder then seeing Mommy doing jumping jacks behind the photographer’s head;) For older kids I may break out the very cool phone app with fart noises. Gross? You betcha! But it will make 12 year old boys give those genuine smiles that you see so rarely! Let me know what your kids love, what makes them laugh.

Working together, we can make well prepared sessions fun. I want you walking away realizing that if your kids were wiggly, or making face that is honestly does not faze me one bit. They are just being kids and sitting down and smiling is a little bit boring.

So, don’t stress, my kids are much worse then yours:) I literally have to chase them down with the camera. With Mom as a photographer, they are a little too used to a camera in their face. When I decided to do our Christmas card, not one of the pictures was ‘perfect’ but looking at the numerous tries was more fun then the final result. This shows truly who my kids are at this time and I managed to capture a memory.

One of my clients told me how she was not looking forward to picture day, they have a young family with busy little toddlers. To them, picture day is stressful and involves tears and is as popular as a root canal.

As a Mom of 4 small kids, I can completely empathize! Formally posed pictures and little kids do not always go hand in hand but there are some tips and tricks I can share with you to get those family photos you desire.

First, lower all expectations! Getting everyone looking at the camera and smiling may NOT happen. But I aim to get everyone looking at the camera. With adults and older children I ask them to at all times look at the camera and let me work on coaching a smile or even the attention of the littler ones.

Sometimes little ones just need to get up and run around a little bit, no problem! Allow them get those wiggles out and act silly with them and MAKE IT FUN! As a photographer, I always have my camera ready and I am just waiting for those little moments to happen. They may not be perfectly posed and smiling but they are authentic, real and they are 99% of the time my clients FAVORITE pictures.  I snapped this picture of these two sisters, it was so sweet and cute, it is one of my favorites.

 Second, make sure everyone arrives with full bellies. Hungry children and adults can cause everyone to get a little cranky. I also suggest brining a snack, something that is not messy, and then give me that snack to me to use as bribery. Let’s face it, kids are SMART! They can sense the desperation in their parent’s voices. They know you are begging them to be good, they sense you are not just going to walk away from this  and this can lead to some naughtiness. However, when I hold that elusive treat, they don’t know me. They don’t know how far to push me…it often can be very effective.

Try to schedule the session for a time that works for your little ones. If they normally nap in the morning, don’t schedule a session for that time. 

Bring a spare outfit just in case, bring something to wipe their faces with…little ones have a knack for getting dirty:) And dress for the weather. Cute outfits are nice but the focus is on your faces, and warm and dry little ones (and adults) make sessions so much easier.

And third, be prepare to act very, very silly!!  Nothing makes a 15 month old laugh harder then seeing Mommy doing jumping jacks behind the photographer’s head;) For older kids I may break out the very cool phone app with fart noises. Gross? You betcha! But it will make 12 year old boys give those genuine smiles that you see so rarely! Let me know what your kids love, what makes them laugh.

Working together, we can make well prepared sessions fun. I want you walking away realizing that if your kids were wiggly, or making face that is honestly does not faze me one bit. They are just being kids and sitting down and smiling is a little bit boring.

So, don’t stress, my kids are much worse then yours:) I literally have to chase them down with the camera. With Mom as a photographer, they are a little too used to a camera in their face. When I decided to do our Christmas card, not one of the pictures was ‘perfect’ but looking at the numerous tries was more fun then the final result. This shows truly who my kids are at this time and I managed to capture a memory.

Dearest Kathleen,

You are my first daughter. I have dreamed about you since, I was small. I always assumed I would have a little daughter, I never once questioned that statement.

I wanted that same bond I have with my mother and my sisters, who I adore.

I was so sure of you in my life that I saved my prized China Dolls, saved my favorite pink stuffed cat my Mom brought from Dallas back to Canada. My mother had faith that I would have a daughter and saved numerous dolls and ALL of the Barbies my sisters and I owned. Before you were born there were treasured items waiting for you.

When I discovered I was pregnant I dreamed of my daughter, I picked out pink bonnets and never entertained that the baby growing in my belly was anything but my daughter! When the technician told us it was your brother Peter, I wept.  Not because it was a boy but I mourned the daughter that was not to be. My second pregnancy brought another boy and I wept again, wondering when I would meet you. How I love your brothers!! I would never trade them for a hundred girls:)  But I began to wonder if I was destined to be the mother of sweet little boys, a mother who was learning about trucks and the wonders of mud.

The third pregnancy was hard, morning sickness claimed me as a victim the entire pregnancy…my mother kept saying only a daughter would do this to her mother! I was convinced that this child was a boy and I dreamed of another blued eyed boy and I placed blue sleepers into the dresser but my mother carefully washed frilly pink dresses and soft pink sweaters that I once wore many moons ago in Germany.

We decided to not find out the gender this time…I couldn’t bear the shame of my sadness finding out it was another boy but I knew that at the moment my baby arrived boy or girl I wouldn’t care. When your father declared, “I think it’s a GIRL.” I cried tears of happiness and disbelief. As did your aunts and grandparents. A girl! A daughter! How long we waited for you!

Now we cannot imagine our lives without you. I love how you think you are a princess. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. I have more fun shopping for your Christmas presents. I love sitting with you pouring over the Sears Wish Book, staring at this year’s Holiday Barbie. When you sit on my bed and have your hair braided, pig tailed or curled I feel a certain completion in my life, even when you whine I caught a knot. Painting your chubby toes chokes me up.

Don’t tell your father but I like the drama you bring to the house. I love you have feelings. You make your brothers realize they have to be a little more sensitive and words DO hurt…because you won’t let them get away with anything. Someday, when they are grown they will be good husbands and that will be in part thanks to you.

I know your father swells with pride watching you play hockey in your little pink helmet. Anything the boys can do, you are determined that you can too and you always manage to somehow keep up.

Watching you with your little sister makes my heart swell. I know you are thankful to have another girl in the house, you will now have someone to play Barbies with, someone to play dolls with and someone who will understand a little more then a brother.

I have waited so long for you, you were worth the wait, you were not what I expected and yet, you were so much more.

Letter to Our Daughters is a Project by 12 photographers from ClickinMoms. If you enjoyed my letter, you will enjoy the next letter in this month’s series by Gretchen, visit her letter on her site Gretchen Willis Photography

Dearest Kathleen,

You are my first daughter. I have dreamed about you since, I was small. I always assumed I would have a little daughter, I never once questioned that statement.

I wanted that same bond I have with my mother and my sisters, who I adore.

I was so sure of you in my life that I saved my prized China Dolls, saved my favorite pink stuffed cat my Mom brought from Dallas back to Canada. My mother had faith that I would have a daughter and saved numerous dolls and ALL of the Barbies my sisters and I owned. Before you were born there were treasured items waiting for you.

When I discovered I was pregnant I dreamed of my daughter, I picked out pink bonnets and never entertained that the baby growing in my belly was anything but my daughter! When the technician told us it was your brother Peter, I wept.  Not because it was a boy but I mourned the daughter that was not to be. My second pregnancy brought another boy and I wept again, wondering when I would meet you. How I love your brothers!! I would never trade them for a hundred girls:)  But I began to wonder if I was destined to be the mother of sweet little boys, a mother who was learning about trucks and the wonders of mud.

The third pregnancy was hard, morning sickness claimed me as a victim the entire pregnancy…my mother kept saying only a daughter would do this to her mother! I was convinced that this child was a boy and I dreamed of another blued eyed boy and I placed blue sleepers into the dresser but my mother carefully washed frilly pink dresses and soft pink sweaters that I once wore many moons ago in Germany.

We decided to not find out the gender this time…I couldn’t bear the shame of my sadness finding out it was another boy but I knew that at the moment my baby arrived boy or girl I wouldn’t care. When your father declared, “I think it’s a GIRL.” I cried tears of happiness and disbelief. As did your aunts and grandparents. A girl! A daughter! How long we waited for you!

Now we cannot imagine our lives without you. I love how you think you are a princess. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. I have more fun shopping for your Christmas presents. I love sitting with you pouring over the Sears Wish Book, staring at this year’s Holiday Barbie. When you sit on my bed and have your hair braided, pig tailed or curled I feel a certain completion in my life, even when you whine I caught a knot. Painting your chubby toes chokes me up.

Don’t tell your father but I like the drama you bring to the house. I love you have feelings. You make your brothers realize they have to be a little more sensitive and words DO hurt…because you won’t let them get away with anything. Someday, when they are grown they will be good husbands and that will be in part thanks to you.

I know your father swells with pride watching you play hockey in your little pink helmet. Anything the boys can do, you are determined that you can too and you always manage to somehow keep up.

Watching you with your little sister makes my heart swell. I know you are thankful to have another girl in the house, you will now have someone to play Barbies with, someone to play dolls with and someone who will understand a little more then a brother.

I have waited so long for you, you were worth the wait, you were not what I expected and yet, you were so much more.

Letter to Our Daughters is a Project by 12 photographers from ClickinMoms. If you enjoyed my letter, you will enjoy the next letter in this month’s series by Gretchen, visit her letter on her site Gretchen Willis Photography