Muse Part 1

This girl is such a sweetheart. She is statuesque and obviously stunning–and has a very good head sitting on top of her shoulders. She is a top student who is off to university this year and man, such an articulate and well-spoken young lady. I met her at church and I didn’t lose any time getting her in front of my camera. There’s a lot more from where these came from, but for now, these will have to do!

One Year

I can’t believe it.

She’s already One Year Old.

Where did the year go?

When she came in July last year, she came as a big surprise. She wasn’t supposed to make her appearance until the beginning of August so when my waters broke just on my first week of maternity leave, we weren’t exactly prepared.

And she came very quick too. After just two and a half hours of labour. The midwife didn’t even have time to administer any pain killers.

The first three months stretched like eternity. But the next nine went by like a flash.

When she came, she pretty much turned our lives upside down. And everyday since then, she is teaching us the beautiful lesson that upside down is in fact the right side up.

Happy Birthday, our little Aeyen Isabella. You are loved more than you will ever know….

Exhibit Update

Hello everyone! The Create for Charity Exhibit last Friday was fantastic! A very big Thank You to those who came! There were about 400+ people who turned up to see the different displays of the 25 artists who took part in this year’s exhibit.

Here are a few snaps from the evening:

It was such a great evening!  The event was held at an old factory and it had such a unique vibe. I loved the whitewashed brick walls and the raw feel of the industrial space. I loved it! I actually did a photo shoot on the same location a few days before the exhibit–when the space was still so beautifully messy! I will post some of the photos here soon.

It was also  a fantastic way to advertise Bitten Smitten. I spoke to a few people who were very interested in having family portraits taken and I am looking forward to speaking to them again soon.

Now that the big event is over, I need to get the next big thing sorted out–Aeyen’s first birthday party!

Create for Charity

Another late night for me.

And this is why—-

I will be exhibiting some of my photographic work at the show.

If you are local and would be interested in coming, please contact me!

On the other hand, if you are from far-far-away, fret not as I will take photos during the event so I can show you just how much fun it was!

Zombie

My clock says 12:25 a.m. and I am still wide awake.

I have just finished proofing photographs from one of the sessions I did with a family last week. I promised myself this morning that I would do them tomorrow, but I couldn’t sleep tonight so I decided to get on with my work instead.

Motherhood has officially screwed up my sleeping habits. I used to be such an excellent sleeper. Nothing and no one could ever keep me away from my nighttime sleep. I remember when we used to live in Japan, I even slept through my fair share of strong earthquakes. And it wasn’t so much the quality of sleep that was important. For me, it was the quantity that mattered. I slept everywhere, and in every position–on a large bed, a small bed, on the couch, on the floor, on the bus, on the train, even standing up or slouched behind a sweaty Japanese businessman

How things have changed. Now, the tiniest sound from her bedroom wakes me up. And I am as energetic as the Energizer bunny after only three hours of sleep.

It’s so ironic, really. Months ago, when she was just newly born and was waking up for her feeds every two hours, I used to cry and hanker for my sleep. And now that she sleeps through the night, I find myself wide awake and not so sure what to do with myself.

Wine. Maybe a glass of wine would zonk me out.

See you in a few hours.

Baby Friends

Stripey print from A Print a Day.

Very very busy at the moment! But I wanted to post these very sweet photos of my little girl and her *future* boyfriend. Teehee! She’s become so interested in other children now and I really love it. I am enjoying seeing her play with others. I think every parent wants their child to have friends or at least, be able to play with other kids. When she was going through a very painful clingy stage, I honestly thought she was growing up to be anti-social or something. She used to just stay glued to my hip and refused to play with others. I am so glad she’s not as clingy anymore. She gets so excited when we go to toddler groups and loves it whenever she sees other kids-especially older ones-at the playground.

My little girl is turning into a mini social butterfly!

Have a lovely week-end!

Here Come the Girls

A little break from little people.

I did a photoshoot with these two lovely ladies at the woods in the spring. Don’t they just look gorgeous? One of the things I enjoy about photographing big people is talking about what to wear and coming up with the look of the session. Back in the days when I still cared about clothes and fashion, I used to pore over magazines and get ideas for photos from them. Embarrassing little tidbit–because I didn’t feel confident then to ask other people to model for me, I used to practise on myself! Now, I am more thick-skinned at asking people to pose for me and besides, I find myself lacking the energy (and time!) to experiment with different looks when I am at home…. Ah, the joys of motherhood. Seriously, I cannot imagine the last time I went shopping for myself.

Oh well.

Thank goodness for people like these two! This will be the final installment for the bluebell wood series. It has taken me such a long time to show them all here, but I am so proud of these sessions and would definitely look forward to doing them again next year.

More girly gorgeousness after the jump!

Spring Princess

This is the beautiful daughter of the mum I posted previously. Isn’t she just adorable?

I love love ringlets on little girls. I think it makes them look angelic and cherubic (is that even a word?)!

I have so many good ones of her that it was so hard to pick my favourite, so I am posting more! (Just click on the link below!)

No

I cannot even count anymore how many times I have said that word in the last 48 hours. Or in the last 10 minutes for that matter!

She’s started crawling and now that she’s on the move, she’s developed a fascination for wires, electric sockets, screw drivers and all the things she is not meant to play with. The kitchen suddenly becomes as appealing as Disneyland and the minute you put her down, she heads straight for it.

We’ve babyproofed the house as much as we can–moved everything slightly higher, installed a safety gate by the kitchen, covered all the unused sockets and hid the wires. Nevertheless, she seems to still find something dangerous to play with or put in her mouth. Yesterday, we found her chewing on a wooden splinter. Where she got it from, I have no idea.

And so I keep saying “No”, hoping if she hears it enough and hears it in a stern manner, she would know what it means. I think I am getting there. Yesterday, she made her way to one of the sockets and as she was about to reach it, I called out, “Aeyen, no!”. She looked at me in mid-reach and immediately put her hand behind her. She, of course, tried again and got the same response. By the fourth and fifth time of this tiring exchange, she got fed up and crawled away.

She is one of the late crawlers among her friends and I used to lament about her laziness. Now that she is actually moving, I wonder why I wished so much for her to crawl!

Daddy Love

Dear Daddy,

I love you because…..

… you always make me laugh. From your silly dancing to your funny morning-hair. You never cease to make me giggle.

… your smile is the first thing that welcomes me when I wake up in the morning.

… you work so hard both at home and in your job to make sure that I have everything I would ever need and more.

… you always applaud me with everything I do–from my first attempts to walk or crawl to finishing my food, and even when I have very loud wind!

… you always take me on the best adventures–the zoo, the farm, the mountains, the lakes and even the grand prix!

and most of all, I love you because I think you’re simply great and I am your number one fan.

Happy Father’s Day!

with love,

Aeyen xox