The Hasties

There are no words to describe just how proud I am of my amazing friend, Emily.  Over the past couple of years, I've listened to her speak passionately on numerous occasions of her dreams and goals on the farm.  There has never been a doubt in my mind that she could not achieve any of the things on her growing list, it has basically been a waiting game as she began paving her way.  I've seen her spread at her thinnest: working tirelessly with her chickens and crops, taking care of her family including an exchange student and a friend in need, working her part-time job (consisting of multiple graveyard shifts in a row, no less...), to finally see her momentum up brings me so much joy.  You reap what you sow, and all this girl serves up is love.  Thanks to everyone who has made the time to come out to Schoolhouse Farm over the past couple of weeks to support this lady with a heart of gold.  

In celebration of her massive crop of sunflowers, a session was definitely a must...

Hello Leilani!

Rounding off the last of June's baby week with an old high school buddy I hadn't seen for probably 12 years.  Recently moving into my hood with her young family, she found me on the Instagram and we got to reconnect all these years later.  Malcolm and I met her little ones, Sammy and newest addition chubby little Leilani a week before heading out for our cozy little session.

Leni Saga

Welcome LENI SAGA!

There were so many babies this year, turning many only siblings into Eldest siblings!  Bram became a big brother to Baby Leni at the start of summer and seems more than happy in his new role.  It's pretty crazy and surreal to see so many friends in the place that I was in 6-7 years ago, juggling two little lives so close together.  It seemed to drag on forever, but now that it's passed, it feels like it went too fast and I barely remember any of it at all.  Although I sometimes feel jealous or bitter that I was the first to have babies, it has been a gift in so many ways.  Through blogging and sharing my experiences, it was (slightly) less of a shock of things to come for my friends once they came tumbling down the rabbit hole.  It has also allowed me to better cherish these special times and as a result, be able to capture these special moments with greater heart.  Being ahead of the curve, I know the important things that will be missed or forgotten.  I know the thoughts, feelings, the tiredness and all the internal mish-mash of these early days.  These exhausting times are precious.  Slow down an enjoy it because when it's over, man is it over!  I MISS IT!!!! 

Mix it Up

Taking a moment to mix things up here with an illustration I'm really excited about!  I have been strangely inspired by cement mixers, one local company in particular who has chosen the clean colours of white with teal.  I used a slight different shade of blue-green and added my own fun details to personalize the mixer for the birthday boy, Ziggy.  Trucks.  They are certainly not something I would normally pay attention to, or so I would assume, but having two boys in the house that both rage about trucks, cars, trains, and transportation vehicles in general, I have been yelled out thousands of times whenever one is in sight. Trucks have become a part of my daily life and vocabulary.

I had the idea last year of creating a technically drawn illustration for a friend's son who is also big into trucks.  I didn't have the opportunity to dive into this project last summer but somehow this year I managed to do it.  I'm still actually in disbelief that I managed to knock it out this year with such a full plate.  It was worth it and I'm considering to possibly do more of these, but we'll see :)  Too many ideas and not enough time...  For now, gotta get this baby printed and framed for the birthday boy!