vicki, simon & mason

as we wander into the darkest day of the year, it felt right to celebrate a bit of that gorgeous summer sunlight... vicki, simon & mason were on hornby this summer & on their last day we wandered out to a friend's place to play. Nothing but spontaneity & action with this gang! Mason does not sit still for long (he is his mother's son after all). Enjoy...

rowan & aaron

it's cold here right now. Well, cold for the west coast. Cold enough for our pipes to freeze, so there's a heater blowing in the pump house & lights hanging here & there to keep things just warm enough. I'm wearing wool socks, a wool tuque & one of marc's big old sweaters as i work away at my computer. It's good to be cozy. All of that made me wander back to those warm days of summer. And i realize i didn't ever post any photos from my fabulous session with rowan & aaron. Towards the middle of august, we wandered out to one of the most beautiful spots on hornby, through an amazing arbutus grove & out to the high, rolling bluffs overlooking the straight. It was magic. Rowan & aaron were just glowing... so full of love & wonder & excitement. When i finally climbed down out of the tree at the end of our session, & wandered over to the cliff's edge, i saw a family of orcas swimming by. I told you... magic! We ran along the edge, following them, watching them pass by & swim out to meet their pod far out from the bay. What a gift. And little luka arrived early, just a few days later... maybe the whales were calling her...

tess - over time

it happens to all of us with digital cameras (i'm pretty sure)... we take heaps of photos & most of them remain in a file, on our computer, rarely to be scrolled by again. Memories of a cupboard or box somewhere filled with 4"x6" prints awaiting an album... And so it is with me. Busy with clients' work, busy with life, busy with dear baby tess. But tonight, i scrolled through my 'tess file' & took myself on a little journey. Here's what i came up with...

1st day - 12 hours old - (LA - Cedars Sinai Hospital)...

2nd day (LA - at Kat's place)...
1 week (malibu)...
1 week (malibu)...
2 weeks (back home on hornby)...
3 weeks (hornby)...

tess' new seat

we have friends on the island who have a little guy who's 1 1/2 years old. And they have everything! And they very happily are passing whatever we think we need/want for tess onto us. So sweet. The jolly jumper, for example. And this rubbery seat that tess is just starting to get used to. She usually only lasts about 5 minutes in it before she wants out & held, but i'm thinking that will lengthen in time. Here she is, sitting in it, with a couple of her favorite toys - the triangle chicken & the bright bug... very entertaining. Tess mostly loves to try & eat them. Hoping that's not a habit that carries on into later childhood (bug eating, at least...)

tes - more jolly jumping

tess is getting more & more familiar with her jolly jumper. Lately both her feet hit the floor & she does these exuberant kicks, several in a row, & then hangs out there for a bit recovering from all that excitement. It's a great name for this fabulous gadget... lots of jolly, for sure...