As soon as a child is born,one of the first questions that everyone asks is “who does s/he look like?”
When my oldest son, Kyle, was born, the answer was simple – John (my husband). We basically made a carbon copy of my husband in miniature form. However, the resemblance to family members doesn’t stop there. My son’s personality resembles many different people in our family that I’m often questioned if my husband is the true father or not…
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I’m sure most of us had our parents read us nursery rhymes when we were younger. Some of the rhymes we remember and some we forget. However, having a toddler and a newborn, we get to revisit our beloved nursery rhymes. Some are truly classics:
I’m a little teapot short and stout,
Here is my handle, here is my spout
When I get all steamed up hear me shout,
Tip me over and pour me out.
The rhyme is simple, fun, playful and realistic.
However, there’s some that just boggle my mind!! This one starts off nice and innocently, but the kicker is the last line…
There was a little girl who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead,
When she was good, she was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid. Continue reading
While we’re raising our children Jewish (I’m Jewish, my husband isn’t), we do sometimes “celebrate” non-Jewish holidays. After-all, one set of grandparents isn’t Jewish and we don’t want to deprive them of what I’m sure was their life-long dream of spoiling their grandkids during the holidays. So this season, the two competing holidays that we’re celebrating are Passover & Easter. However, I have to hand it to the non-Jews, Easter seems to have the upper hand, and here’s why.
Dinner
Easter – nice and quick one course turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
Passover – nice long four course meal which includes reading of the Haggada before and after the meal. The reading adds an hour to the meal each way. While the singing is nice, it’s a little hard to keep a toddler entertained, not to mention awake, for a 4+ hour meal.
Food
Passover – no chametz! which means no rice, pasta or bread. The three most favourite food groups of a toddler. Food consists of mainly eating Matza; or as my son calls it, big cracker.
Easter – chocolate & candy! Need I say more.
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When I was pregnant with our second child, the most common declaration that my husband and I heard from other parents is that the biggest challenge of parenthood was going from one child to two. Even my sister-in-law who has FOUR kids said that this statement resonated with her. So we were prepared for the “worst”. However, so far our experience (albeit… we’re only 7 weeks in with our second child) has been quiet different.
You see, both my husband and I feel and remember our experience with our oldest son to be absolutely CRAZY. We both deem that having him was the biggest change in our lives; and going from one to two hasn’t been all that bad.
My first born son, Kyle, was very colic for the first 3 months of his life. So beyond not knowing what “to do” in general as a first time mom, I really couldn’t do much to help ease his pain but let time pass. I was in a lot of physical pain after labour and breastfeeding wasn’t as natural as everyone told me it would be. Oh ya, I also had the baby blues. Needless to say I wasn’t truly prepared for motherhood (is anyone really?). In my mind it was all lollipops and gumdrops, la, la, la. I don’t think I truly understood how it would change my lifestyle, and how bringing a third person into our family would change the dynamic between my husband and I. Continue reading
What tops my list for must-have items / services for newborns is professional photography of the baby and the family. So of course I looked for a photographer months before my due date.
When Joanne from Kaianne Photography Studio approached me, I was really excited for her to take our newborn and family pictures.
Joanne has a great eye for action shots and she’s great with kids. My son happily smiled at the camera for her when normally his reaction to the camera is “NO PICTURES!” Joanne was very patient with our newborn son, who refused to sleep while she was there, making it a bit tougher to take pictures. Nonetheless, the photos turned out beautifully. Joanne was also very open to my creative input and together, we had some great ideas for the shoot. Joanne captured some amazing pictures of my newborn son, Ryan and of the family; both posing and candid. I will let the pictures speak for themselves…
GIVEAWAY: One lucky reader will win a Children / Family session from Kaianne Photography Studio. The giveaway includes a one hour photography session worth $250. A minimum of 25 edits in color and black & white are provided on DVD (High Resolution). Travel fees outside of Toronto & GTA not included. Enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter below the pictures (please give it a few seconds to load). Contest is open to all residents of the GTA. Contest ends Friday, April 5, 2013.
Anyone who knows me, knows I’m obsessed with pictures. I’m only an amateur but I’ve been attached to a camera for as long as I can remember. Of course, for special occasions, I leave the picture taking to the professionals, including my wedding, special family events and sometimes vacation pictures. The only thing I haven’t captured on film (or now, digitally) is the birth of my child. To be honest, I haven’t heard about birth photography until recently. That’s why, when I received an opportunity from Andrea of Mommy Gearest to get professional birth pictures done of the birth of my second son, I signed-up immediately. Below is my account of the experience and my thoughts on birth photography. You can read my full review and enter for a chance to win your own birth photography service, valued at $600, from Mommy Gearest here: http://www.mommygearest.com/2013/03/06/at-first-sight-birth-photography-review/
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When I initially signed up for birth photography, I naturally had some questions for the photographer, Amber from At First Sight Photography. When I first met Amber, it was as if I’ve known her for ages. Her smile is contagious and she has such a warm personality. I immediately felt at ease knowing she would be in the labour room with my husband and I. I believe that this component is very important when considering your photographer. You need to find someone that you like, trust and feel at ease with. After all, you will be sharing one of the most intimate times of your life with them.
We went over the details of the day, what I should expect, when I should contact her, and if there was anything specific I wanted her to capture. For me capturing the first interaction between my older son and my newborn son was of great importance to me.
While I was immediately onboard with birth photography, my husband needed some convincing. He wasn’t as comfortable having a “stranger” in the delivery room or having someone taking pictures of his wife’s private parts. In order to ease my husband’s worries, Amber sent me a customer’s testimonial and a link to images taken by other birth photographers that show husbands supporting their wives during labour. Also, seeing her portfolio of work allowed us to see the type of pictures we should expect (i.e. no “Hoo-ha” is shown). This definitely helped us both feel comfortable with what we should expect. Continue reading
Fact: gun violence in Canada is not as bad as it is in the states. Stricter laws make it harder (but not impossible) to get a gun here. It’s also not a social norm to own a gun in Canada whereas it’s common practice in some American states.
Reality: Canada is not immune from gun violence
I took my son to LEGOLAND Toronto on Friday for their grand opening. When we arrived, we were welcomed by chaos and teenagers who were franticly trying to figure out how the cash register worked (or in our case, why they weren’t working). To be honest, I wasn’t surprised. Even though we were the second people in line, we still had a long wait. Almost 15 minutes (maybe even 20… I stopped checking after the “incident”). Continue reading
