Monday, March 03, 2014

9/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Getting good at this sitting thing!
Taken: 24/02/2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

8/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

My baby girl had a lip tie snipped on this day, this was taken just after and she still managed beautiful grins for Mama
Taken: 20/02/2014

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Easy Canvas Prints Giveaway!!

This month I am super excited to be hosting the very first giveaway here on twoninenine, courtesy of Easy Canvas Prints! Given that many of my loyal followers are either recent brides or recent Mummas, I'm pretty sure all of you have many photos that you would love to see displayed beautifully in your home. Well, here's your chance to win one!

I'll now hand over to our very first guest blogger, Stephanie from Easy Canvas Prints, to let you know a little more!

What will you do when life hands you a canvas?

We are all artists in our own way. Figuratively speaking, we paint our canvases to define our paths, our goals, our destinations. We live for the most passionate moments, yet we savor the little things, the tiny details of the day that keep us moving forward. Whether you're thinking about that vast, big picture or pausing on a single moment you want to cherish forever, I encourage you to visualize the way you would express those instances on canvas.

Now I realize that not everyone is a painter, and this figurative canvas may be nothing but blank in your mind. Lucky for you, we live in a digital age, and there is an alternative way to capture these moments in the physical sense.

Upload an image of your choosing at Easy Canvas Prints and turn your life experience into a long-lasting photo canvas. The process is designed to be easy for you to customize the product. The canvases are durable with material made for high-quality color prints. Most importantly, your finished canvas will "paint" your world in a meaningful way.

The lovely Amanda has been so kind to host a giveaway for an 8x10 Canvas Print! The giveaway is open to US residents only (Alaska and Hawaii excluded).

What moment would you capture on canvas?

Stephanie at Easy Canvas Prints

To enter the competition, please use the rafflecopter below! Winner will be drawn on Monday the 3rd of March so start spreading the word! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, February 16, 2014

7/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This face is priceless.
Happy Valentines Day!
Taken: 14/02/2014

Sunday, February 09, 2014

6/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

First time in her new, big highchair! She loved it. Mama was a little sad how grown up she seemed!
Taken 09/02/2014

Sunday, February 02, 2014

5/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Legs in the air. Balancing a rattle.
As you do.

Taken 31/01/2014

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

4/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This has got to be one of my favourite photos of my little bug. Apparently, I'm exasperating. I love it.
Taken 20/01/2014

Monday, January 27, 2014

::4 months::

FOUR MONTHS
26/12/2013 - 26/01/2014

Weight: 5.2 kgs (clothed) & 62 cm long

Clothing Size: Slowly but surely crossing over into the 000 camp, all of your singlet jumpsuits in 0000 have been passed on to Aunty Dee for baby Kendall, but your sleeved onsies in 0000/NB still managed to fit...for the moment. You are definitely in 000 for any long sleeved jumpsuits now!

New Milestones/Firsts: First roll from back to belly on 03/01/2014! Realised you can splash in the big bath on 05/01/2014. First swimming lesson and time in the pool on 16/01/2014 and you went to the public pools for the first time the next day. You really started flipping from back and belly together repeatedly on 17/01/2014.

Loves: Violet the Dog, Lulu Ladybug and Olivia the Owl. Standing on our legs and "dancing", "jumping" and stamping your little feet! "Big" baths with Mama where you can splash and float around. Your new Sophie the Giraffe!!

Milestones I think she is close to: Sitting up! Getting first teeth...

Sleeping: The month started off very, very rough and Mama and Daddy were close to tearing their hair out - mucked up night sleep, struggles to get you to sleep during the day...it was tough! You fight sleep so much during the day (although when you are down for the count, you sleep like a champ for an hour and a half - 2 hours) and at night your wind pain seems to be waking you up. Mama and Daddy purchased a little iPod dock CD player to play white noise and lullabies through (check out Rockabye Baby Albums...they are awesome!) in an attempt to help you snooze. Unfortunately, the upset sleeping pattern continued through most of the month and your needles on the 23/01/2014 didn't help! That night was filled with lost of crying and not much sleep for anyone. Mama has made the decision to have a nursing/sleeping vacation with you for the whole next week, in an attempt to get you used to settling yourself and getting enough sleep during the day! Let's hope it works! As I write this, you are asleep in your cot after falling asleep without being picked up for the first time in months...and as you drifted off "You and Me" came on the CD player

Favorite activity/toy: Definitely your new Sophie the Giraffe. She's been a Godsend, not only for your sore gums, but as something you will finally squeeze while nursing, to stop you pulling and scratching at Mama! You took to her straight away.

Best part about being a mum: You started giving Mama kisses on Australia Day - grabbing Mama's face and smothering her in slobber. Best. Thing. Ever.

This month we: Went to your 3rd cousin's Baptism (Mama's cousin's little girl), had your first swimming lesson/time in the pool, saw our midwife at Aunty Dee/Kendall's appointment, had your 4 month needles, celebrated your first Australia Day!

I've decided to stop monthly updates in this format and start with an open letter to my baby girl instead, so look for that next month! Thanks for reading!
-Amanda xox

Friday, January 24, 2014

2/365 :: 3/365

Yep, I feel like I have already fallen behind before I've really started! The post I had scheduled, or *thought* I had scheduled for the second week didn't post. So I'm putting 2 and 3 together...just in time for week 4 on Sunday! Eventually I'll get my blogging act together ;)

2/365
This week was an emotional one for me as a Mama. I finally started to really see myself in my daughter, and she started to fit into some of the little outfits I purchased for her, before I even knew who she was! In this pic, I started what I hope will be a lifelong love of reading like her Mama...even if she is reading upside down! (#reading...you'redoingitwrong!)
Taken 11/01/2014

3/365
This week Olivia started her swimming lessons! It was her first time in the pool and she loved it! This photo was taken the next day, at her playdate with her playgroup friends at our local kiddie pool. Growing up too fast!
Taken 17/01/2014

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

1/52

This year I will be linking up with Practicing Simplicity for a photo a week of my little Olivia, for the year. 52 photos in total, shared here on the blog. I've been following this series for a while and I'm excited to start it this year with my little bug. Of course, my photos won't be anywhere near as gorgeous as others in the link up as I only have an SLR on the occasion that I borrow it from my dad, and I have barely a clue how to use it...but it will still be fun to look back on at the end of the year! Many photos will probably be phone photos, so I apologise in advance!

But for now, here's week one! Gosh, we take so many photos in a week that I can already tell this is going to be difficult...but this week, little miss rolled from her back to her belly for the first time and this grainy, badly lit shot was taken just after she did so. She looks so cool about it, "What I rolled? Oh yeah, no biggie". Despite better quality photos, this one has to be my favourite for the week. (taken 03.01.2014)

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Monday, January 06, 2014

::3 months old::

Dear Livie,

Please slow down. Please, please. You are so eager to jump ahead to every milestone, and you want so badly to just take off running that I feel like I barely have any time with my little newborn daughter. From the word go, you have always been so alert and ready to see the world and dive on in - it's wonderful but it makes me so sad to see you growing so fast. I feel that you will be such an independent little girl, whose Mama will always be mourning your lack of reliance on her. So when you do need me - those precious snuggles into a familiar body in an unfamiliar place, those 4am feeds, those chest to chest moments when only Mama's skin will calm you...those moments I treasure. For I fear you will need less and less of them, far too soon.

Try not to dive ahead too fast my baby girl. I will miss my baby too soon.

Love, Mama xxx

THREE MONTHS
26/11/2013 - 26/12/2013

Weight: 4.82 kgs (clothed, 12/12) & 59 cm long (19/12)

Clothing Size: You went up a nappy size on the 30/11 and are now in infant nappies instead of newborn - a proud but sad moment! You looked so teeny in them though, it was like you were a newborn again, for a moment.

We put you in a smaller sized 000 (0-3 months) for the first time on 03.12.2013.

New Milestones/Firsts: First time at a Baby Shower (for your cousin Kendall!), first giggle! (05.12.2013), first wedding and party dress, first Christmas, and first time meeting many extended family members, including your first time meeting your Great-Grandparents and many of your Great Aunts and Uncles, at both family Christmas parties. You also started grasping at your toys (if we give them to you!) and pulling your dummy in and out of your mouth.

Loves: Your new Lullaby Bug that you got for Christmas from Great-Aunty Barbara, your butterfly play mat that Mama bought, nappy-free time!, Daddy blowing raspberries under your arm and taking selfies with Daddy's phone! (we did this in front of our Christmas Tree on Christmas Day and it made you giggle so much!!)

Milestones I think she is close to: Sounds strange to say but....crawling! You have already got the legs going, tucked up underneath your hips and moving you forward, you just can't quite get your arms working so instead you grab onto the mat and pull yourself forward while pushing with your legs (or if this doesn't work, just lunging your chest forward)! I keep telling you to stop, I need my little baby for a little while longer!!

You are also so close to roll on your belly from your back. I watched you trying so hard in your crib the other day and managed to video tape it - you were so very, very close!

Sleeping: On the 29/11 we took you back to the doctors as your reflux was playing up again - around week 8 you stopped feeding well again, you were fussing terribly and started crying during feds again, and your night time sleeps got messed up. We think you were having a growth spurt as well. We started you on Losec, a very low dose, as well as the thickener...suddenly you were sleeping amazing! You slept 8 - 10 hours at night, waking for a feed then sleeping again until 7 or 8 (another 3 or 4 hours). You also started sleeping during the day, and letting Mama know when you want to nap. I didn't know what to do with myself when you are asleep, I wasn't used to having a sleeping baby during the day!

Then, after about 4 days, we were back to our old routine (10 weeks old). No day sleeps and your night sleep even got messed up! By 11/12 your night sleeps were back to fairly normal again, although after your 6 hr stint you were suddenly eating every 2.5 hours, instead of 3 or 4 - Mama and Daddy put it down to either the heat, or a growth spurt!

The rest of the month things went downhill. Your sleeping at night time started to muck up as well as your daytime sleeps and on Christmas Eve you had the growth spurt to end all growth spurts - feeding hourly and draining your poor Mumma! Your feeding has settled down but we are still trying to get you back into your sleep routine. Some nights it works, some nights you wake up and take hours to go back to sleep. During the day, sometimes after a fight you go down and sleep for 2 hours, other days you continually keep waking up. It's all a guessing game at the moment! We think you may be teething...and your poor windy belly keeps waking you as well.

Favorite activity/toy: You love your "Violet" dog from Santa, your Jemima doll from Mama and Daddy and your "Lulu Ladybug" doll from Nanny and Poppy.

Best part about being a mum: Your grins when you first wake up from a really good sleep. Such a beautiful smile my Livie-bug!

This month we: Had a hard time with feeding again thanks to your reflux, and you really hurt Mama. We had a Lactation Consultant come out to the house to try and help... We eventually got it sorted (it seems to be more your reflux then anything else!) and you were back to feeding beautifully again. Let's hope this sticks!

Sadly, this month we also said goodbye to your Great-Poppy, Mummy's paternal grandfather. It was your first big road trip and you were beautiful, sleeping in both directions (although not once during the day!). Although it was an incredibly sad day, you bought a smile to everyone's face and all Mama's family who hadn't met you yet were thrilled to have snuggles and smiles. Your presence really helped everyone heal a little, and your Great-Nanny loves you to pieces and would have kept you if she could! I know that my Poppy would have loved you so much, his first great-granddaughter. He and Nan had been waiting for the day they had a new little girl to snuggle (as much as they love all their boys)...you would have made him laugh that unique little laugh of his and he would have teased you mercilessly, as he did all us girls. xxx

On a happier note, this month we celebrated Christmas with all our families and while it didn't quite *feel* like Christmas, thanks to the crazy blur of days that is our life lately, we were so thrilled to celebrate your first Christmas with you! Your 3 month mark fell on Boxing Day and so your monthly photos are Christmas themed this time!


-Amanda xox
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