Floriade Fun

The 'Floriade' festival is in town ... a month's worth of garden bed after garden bed, filled with the most magnificent blooms.

Canberra really does know how to put on festivals like this - and with free entry for the entire month, I just knew my camera & I would be having an excursion or two!

 

Today, with the gorgeous Spring sunshine giving us our first really warm day my daughter & I headed out for a wander around.

 

I think her favourite part about the whole day was the flower pin-wheel 'she' won & the icy-pole given in lieu of standing for 1/2 an hour to go into the free petting zoo .....

 

 

Challenge winners & faves

Imagination play

The world and workings of a three year old's mind are simply amazing. I can't get enough of hiding out of sight and just listening to my little girl take herself and her toys on fun-seeking adventures.

Do you do that too?

Tara isn't one for often playing on her own, preferring to have me by her side as we dress up like fairy princesses and trot about the house on our pretend horses on the way to our pretend homes/castles/shops/the beach, or to just read books with her (which I love, by the way). But sometimes she will lose herself in the world of her toys, and I tip toe away to allow her this time to create her own play and guide her own stories.

Usually I think "Phew... I've been allowed a reprieve from being the Fairy Godmother to her Cinderella, I should use this rare 10 minutes to quickly make the bed/put a load of washing on/clean up the now caked up breakfast cereal from her table and chairs"..... but more often than not I find myself just listening at the door and she chatters away to her toys.

Most of her toys take on the names of her closest friends, so Jamesie, Ethan, Amy, Annica and Gracie animal/person/knight/fairy, and Tara animal/person/knight/fairy are kept busy with their adventures, generally along with Teddy (who plays the role of Teddy so very well).

 

We will also 'tell stories', which is a fun & incredibly entertaining way to pass some time (great for car trips).

 

Tara will say "Tell me a story about Me, Teddy and Mummy" ....... and so I start.....

 

"Once upon a time there was a little girl called Tara, her Teddy and her Mummy, and one day they decided to go to .........(and she will fill in the blank). And before they went, they had to pack their .......... And they got on their ...... and rode all the way to the .......... On the way they saw......."

 

I tell you, some of the funny places we've been on the wild rides of a 3 year old's imagination make me giggle.

 

This post was inspired by The Paper Mama's TOY CHALLENGE

 

 

And edited to add ..."Whoo..... 4th place in The Paper Mama's photo comp!!" :D

Also linking up with



Happy Sunday

We had a happy Sunday, enjoying the sunshine that has arrived with the start of Spring....

.... she made me a birthday cake of dirt in the backyard and sung me a very unique version of "Happy Birthday" (it's not my birthday - but that didn't matter)....

I taught her how to roll a frisbee on the ground and we planted some flowers......


And today Tara taught me how to play a new app that I had installed on my iPad and did her own hair ..... this little girl of mine is growing up right before my eyes......

What I have learnt from photographing children ...

..... go with the flow....

Let them be themselves.....

.... let them be silly .... and be silly right along with them.......

Have fun.

You will get a lot of great photos that way - I promise!

For more photos from this session, please click HERE

The First Day of Spring

So believe it or not, these photos below were taken on the first day of Spring!

And although it was a minus four start to the first day of Spring, there are plenty of the most gorgeous and striking blossom already blooming around town - I just LOVE this time of the year... the colours are amazing!

Spring outdoor family session

Spring has arrived, the blossoms are out in full force and I am, for one, very glad to be saying goodbye to winter.

Yesterday we took advantage of the warming weather, and headed outdoors amongst the blooms for a family session full of fun, handstands and running around.

Thank you Sonya, Todd and the gorgeous little Logan for allowing me to take some photos for you - you all did a marvellous job and kept me smiling.

 

 

I love a session where the Mum is willing to get down on the ground, climb trees, poke her tongue out ... Sonya, you were a real trooper and made the session move along so well.

 

 

 

Photo sessions with young children never really go to plan .... well really.... who 'plans' what to do with an almost 4 year old boy!! Logan was full of beans and the undeniable sense of adventure that fills him with his wonderful spirit. If there were trees and poles nearby, they were to be climbed .... which sometimes meant you end up with a group shot with one member of the photo upside down! But hey - I'm all for monkeying around, so at one point of the session I up and started doing handstands with Logan :)