26/52 {right now, part 4}

For the past two years I have been pausing every six months to take a couple of portraits of my two little loves and quickly jotting down their likes and dislikes.

Oh my they have changed since the first 'right now' post.

You can find the other two right now posts here and here.

And in the name of time management, I'm being completely cheeky and selecting these shots as my 'Project 52' entries.



Finn James  5 years, 3 months

 

[LIKES]

Playing fire-fighters, singing and discussing the lyrics to songs, library day at Pre-school, reading, telling knock-knock jokes, exploring information about war/the army, drawing, making vehicles out of mobilo, uninterrupted play sessions, riding his scooter, writing and posting letters, box construction, and drawing maps.

[DISLIKES]

Spicy food, having his hair touched/washed/brushed/cut, “scary” things and getting organising for school.

 

 Harper May 3 years, 7 months

 

[LIKES]

Dressing up as a princess or fairy, rough play/rumbling with her brother and dad, attending parties, fairy tales (except the ones with evil queens/witches or fierce animals), looking after her baby dolls, playdates, telling people that she is "three and a half", reading bedtime stories with Mummy and helping to prepare/cook dinner.

 

[DISLIKES]

Wearing jeans or tracksuit pants, eating mushrooms and saying goodbye to friends after playdates.  

 

The B-sides (because two photos seems a little minimalist for me…)

{trying to distract Finn during his little photo shoot. It worked.}

{a kiss for you}

{giving a little love back}

{Wearing her Dover & Madden dimple hat. This little hat has seen Harper through three Winters. I would say that is money well spent.}

{watching 'Playschool' with Little Ted}

{one more day until our road trip from Canberra through to Queensland}

17/52

 

{Harper} Hanging with the "big girls". Girls who Harper has been around since her birth, girls who have been in my mother's group/Finn's playgroup since Finn's birth, gorgeous and kind girls, girls who Harper looks up to and who include her in everyway possible.  


{Finn} Technically it's not a great photo but it's a moment that I am glad I captured. Finn showing tenderness with his youngest friend, Miles.
I am slowly learning that making gains skills-wise is important to me, but looking for the moments of connection between those I love is what this project is all about. It's far greater than any photograph that shows technique. Reading this blog post by the amazing Tim Coulson was a friendly reminder to look for love over anything else. The photos with love, cheekiness, connection and spirit are the photos I will look back on with fondness in years to come. 

The B-sides (because two photos seems a little minimalist for me…)

{captivated by the ball run at Questacon}

{after attending the ANZAC parade in the city we returned home and made ANZAC biscuits. This book recommended by My Little Bookcase was a great way to talk about the realities of war and sacrifice and make a strong link to the real life experience of baking these traditional biscuits.}

{ANZAC day was a public holiday so we were blessed to have a mid-week family day. We finished off the day with a walk to the ridge in our suburb.
Sidenote: I love how lately Finn has taken to holding onto his Dad's pocket when they walk together. Hand-holding Finn style}

{when the kids refuse to pose for me, he always steps in. love this guy}

{listening to me call out this afternoon's fire emergency. he listens, then tells me whether it's a "big enough" emergency. If not, I have to come up with something grander. this goes on. all. day. long. I'm getting really good at creating really elaborate and dangerous situations that's for sure!}

16/52

 

{Harper} We spent the majority of the week at my mum's house, which is conveniently right near the beach. Being a true country kid harper was not fazed about being in the water on a cooler Autumn day. She kept calling out to me "It is massive! It is so big!". The waves were tiny and were barely brushing her ankles but in her eyes the sea was enormous.


{Finn} Not a big water fan Finn assured me as I packed our bag ready to visit an outdoor water park that he didn't want to go in the water so I wouldn't need to pack his swimmers. So I didn't. Once we arrived Harper immediately jumped into the little wading pools and I began take a few photos of her while Finn rode his scooter. Several minutes passed and I looked out to towards the bike paths to check on Finn and I couldn't locate him. I turned around and directly behind me was Finn, completely naked.
Me:"Buddy, what are you doing?"
Finn:"I want to have a swim."
Me:"But you said you didn't want to go in the water so I didn't pack your swimmers."
Finn:"I can just go in like this."
Me:"Ummm, well if we were at home in our backyard yes you could, but I think you need some pants on at this busy pool"
Finn:"Oh"
Cue me quickly putting his undies back on.

The B-sides (because two photos seems a little minimalist for me…)

{trying on soccer shorts in preparation for his first season of soccer}

{picking out soccer boots. Just quietly (and don't tell his Dad) but I think he is more excited that his boots have "spikes" over the anticipation of actually playing a game of soccer}

{harper the hugging monster}

{finn stood on the dry sand just watching. harper turned around, walked up to him, held his hand and lead him to the water. "It's ok Finny, the water isn't scary"}

{plenty of sand on the beach, but these two were just as happy digging in the dirt}

15/52

 

{Harper} This week I did some work for a post-natal yoga teacher I know, taking some photographs to update her website. As it was during the day Harper joined me. Before we left I packed her a bag full of colouring books and toys to keep her occupied. Upon seeing the bag she said "I don't need those. I'll just play with the babies". Bless her. She did end up sitting quietly drawing and reading, but did stop every now and then to join in with the nursery rhymes and giggle at the cute babies.


{Finn} Finn's portrait this week was taken by Harper. Yes, I can pretty much hand half the Project 52 duties over to her now.

The B-sides (because two photos seems a little minimalist for me…)

{now that day light savings has ended the kids can actually stay awake during golden hour. yay! }

{just chopping down a tree, mum.}

{we seem to have a little tree theme going on this week. completely unplanned too.}

{finn hearts mobilo}

{What I want Finn to do: Stand still so I can get a portrait of him in front of today's beautiful blue sky.
What Finn does: this.
Aghhhh!}

{sibling love is.......accepting a leaf that your sister said was food...}

{...and eating it}

{Harper's most frequently used word: "Ummmmmmmm?"}