30 in Daylesford

A week ago I turned 30. And instead of a big party, all I really wanted was some time out...so off to Daylesford we went with the family in tow. We stayed at a beautiful property called Amici, with a massive spa bath and warm fire. My birthday started with a breakfast of pancakes and champagne and was made ever so much more special by surprise snow falling outside the window! The snowflakes were large and floated softly to the ground before melting quickly. We ran from window to window, taking photos and gasping at each other in excitement. It has probably been over 15 years since I last saw falling snow! Here's some of my favourite pictures from the weekend.

30 | 52

"A portrait of Atticus, once a week, every week, in 2013."

He would live in a puddle if he could. Thankfully his gumboots are still a little too big, and the only rain pants we could find were a size 5, so this slowed him down a fair bit...but it would never stop him. "Let's go jump in muddy puddles mama, like Peppa Pig"

As always, joining in with Jodi. 

29 | 52

"A portrait of Atticus, once a week, every week, in 2013." 

We're off to Bali in a couple of weeks and the preparations for our first overseas trip with Atticus have begun. I've been stocking up on stickers, matchbox cars, mini books and other small new trinkets to present to him at various intervals during the flight to keep his little hands and mind occupied. One essential ingredient in the preparations has been the purchase of his very own set of headphones. We ventured into JB HiFi on the weekend where Atti loved trying on different headphones and was thrilled to walk out of there with his very own pair! Our car trip home was unsusually silent as he listened to his tunes on my ipod. Every day since then he's been asking me "want to listen to moosic, mama?" and sits there quietly marvelling at the sound and requesting different songs. 

This week's shoot also coincidentally captured a knit I made for him last year from this gorgeous pattern. It's a little too short and I'm a little too precious about him getting it dirty or ruined when he wears it. But the organic wool is super lush and cozy and I love seeing him in something that I sent countless hours creating.

28 | 52

"A portrait of Atticus, once a week, every week, in 2013." 

Oh, kiddo, if it wasn't for avocado sushi and milk I think you would probably starve to death. Sometimes I think you agree to come and sit at the dinner table just to humour me, swirl your spoon around the plate for a bit, poke at something for a little, then look me straight in the eyes and say "No, finished!" And that's that. Food doesn't interest you AT ALL. It's not your thing. Even cake and chocolates you won't eat after the first bite. The only thing that saves me is avocado sushi, and your bottles of milk before naps and sleeps. Apparently your dad was the same as a kid, which really doesn't make it any easier for me. All this mama wants, is to see the goodness of a home cooked meal make it inside your little belly once in a while. I'd love to chunk up those skinny baby thighs up a bit. 

27 | 52

"A portrait of Atticus, once a week, every week, in 2013." 

What a rare sight to see these two together. Typically Harry likes to keep as much distance between himself and Atticus as possible (unless there is food involved of course). This week I pulled out some new natural building blocks (that smell amazingly like the pine forests of the Baltics) that seemed to take Harry's interest long enough for him to forget about the distance rule.

As always, joining in with Che and Fidel and all the other lovely 52 project participants.

three | 52

We're half way through the year and looking back at my portraits of Atticus, I'm feeling pretty proud that I've managed to keep up, kept my camera on manual, and managed to capture some pretty special moments in the life of my little man. It was so hard to choose three favourites, but the images above are all very representative of my delightful boy. His wild and adventurous nature, his love of cars and sand, and the wonder I see in his eyes, little snippets of stillness and calm.

I'm finally getting into Lightroom and narrowing down my post production process. Looking back at my year in photographs, they are all so different as I have been playing around with different settings, programs and filters. I'm looking forward to narrowing down a "style" and getting a sense of consistency with my images.