Oh my heart. I can’t believe I’m writing you in celebration of your very first birthday. Already. I remember your birth day so vividly: seeing your pops crying tears of happiness when our midwife handed you to us; being placed on my chest for the very first time; the feeling of love that swept over my whole body when I looked at your sweet face.

You’ve changed us. You have taught us unconditional, unrelenting, forever-and-ever-and-ever love. The kind of love that we could only dream and wish about. A love that makes me want to hug strangers and wrap my arms around the whole universe, if I could.

I feel sad I can’t explain in words exactly how special you are. You exude warmth and joy and kindness, and bring happiness to everyone you meet. You’re independent and strong and clever and the smartest one year old I know. I’m so proud of the person you’re already becoming, and the kind of person I know you’re going to be.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for making us better people and for teaching us the truest sense of the word LOVE. Thank you for being patient while we learn about parenting one minute at a time, and for choosing US to be your mama and papa.

Here’s to an amazing first year, my little possum blossum. We are the luckiest two people in the whole wide world, and we love love love love love love LOVE you so very much.

xoxo

[Thank you to all our friends and family for helping to make Pippa's first birthday so special and memorable. We LOVED having you there to help join in celebrating this amazing milestone, and are so grateful to you all! Special thanks to my sister Mary and her husband Eric, who hosted the party at their lovely Seattle home!]

But I love the busy-ness. I revel in the busy-ness! :) I’m sure many of you can relate: I seem to be way more productive when I have a billion and one things to do than when I only have a million and one things on my To Do list.

I just wanted to share a snippet of my past clients and families that I’ve not blogged yet (but will do so soon!). The biggest reason why things have been quiet here on the blog is because… WE ARE REBRANDING AND RE-WEBSITE-ING! Hurrah!

Things are going to look pretty special and different around here, and I’ve already approved the designs for both the logo and the blogsite (yup, we’re combining the website and blog into one spiffy home), so it’s just a matter of time and coding before everything launches. I cannot wait to show you. You may just very well fall over backwards from the awesomeness of it all. (I hope.) :)

Wish us luck on the long haul flight tomorrow… I’m packing so many toys, games, movies and food for our little (almost) one year old. (Thank goodness for Facebook, where I got the most awesome tips on what to take with me to keep Pippa entertained!)

xoxo

Today you are 11 months… This marks the last month I get to attach a “month” to your age when people ask me how old you are. (Yes, I’m tearing up as I type this.) This month has flown by with yet even more new skills you’ve acquired, like TALKING and UNDERSTANDING and TAKING STEPS.

These things baffle me. I spend each and every day with you, and even though it seems you’re just the same old you each day, you manage to do something brand new and amazing every day. Like walking. That remains one of the most crazy awesome things I’ve ever seen: how do you go from standing upright on your own to taking that first wobbly step? You are a talented, skilful, amazing girl, my sweet Pippa. You’re brave and bold and audacious and everything I wish I could be.

And you are starting to communicate more clearly now: I ask you questions and you respond with a very Korean, very dramatic “uh.” Sure you may not know what I’m asking, but you know I’m asking a question, which makes me conclude that you are a genius. :)

Your games are getting more complicated too: you like me to hide things and then ask you where they are. And then you like to hunt around for it, looking under couches with your butt up in the air, or head first into your toy bucket. And when you find it, it’s as if you discovered the most wonderful toy in the whole wide world (when really it’s just your bath toy that you play with every day, Mr Quack Quack).

You amaze me.

I’m not sure I’m ready to call you my one year old yet. While I love that you’re getting more and more fun each day, I’m also aware that the days and weeks and months are passing all too quickly for my liking. I remember your birth day like it was yesterday – it still feels so fresh in my mind, and when I think about the day I held you in my arms for the first time, I get weepy with emotion. How can it be that you’re now nearly ONE?

I love you my darling girl. Thank you for making your Month 11 so funny and hysterical and charming and filled with so much new skill and talent. You are the sunshine of my life, and your pops and I adore you to the moon, stars, galaxies, infinity and back.

Happy end of Month 10 and the start of Month 11!!

As I sit here writing this to you, you are frantically reaching for the world’s tiniest crumb on your play mat, with the hopes that your newly acquired dexterous skills will allow you to put said crumb in your mouth. “Old Me” (i.e. four months ago me) would’ve rushed over and swatted it out of your hands faster than you could say, “Mamamamaaaa!” But “Present Me” is okay with it all. I’ve come to accept that a crumb from the floor isn’t going to kill you.

The past four weeks have seen us playing games together. Except this time, I’m not playing peek a boo with you; you’re playing peek a boo with ME. You seem to think that if you can’t see me, I can’t see you, and find it hilarious when you pop your head up from behind the couch to see my surprised reaction. You love it so much I’d say we play it for a good part of an hour some days!! :) The other game you like to play is, “Let’s-test-mommy-and-see-who-gives-in-first.” This game isn’t really a fun game for me, as you like to test my patience by crawling to the TV to see if I’ll say “NO” to you. To which I always do, and to which you always turn around, look at me again, and crawl towards the TV just that one teeny extra step. To which then I say “NO!” again. To which you look coyly at me and do it all over. The challenge here is two-fold: I have to resist your smiles and stay firm with my NO’s so you know it’s not really a game; and I have to hold back with every ounce of my being to smile back at you. It’s very hard to not smile back at a smiling Pippa, you know.

I’ve been reading The Wonder Weeks and it’s clear you’re about to go through another “leap” in your development, and I can’t wait to see how the next four weeks unfold. Some of the skills in the next leap seem way too advanced (for example, when I say, “What noise does a cow make?” you’re supposed to say “Moo.” Seems terribly advanced for an 11 month old if you ask me!), but nevertheless, I’m so looking forward to seeing how you acquire even more skills.

But above all your cute Pippa-isms and skills you’ve learned this past month, there is one thing you do that makes me melt and giggle and laugh and smother you in kisses. We’ve begun to take walks out in our neighbourhood around the time that your daddy is supposed to bicycle his way home. We look at the trees and point at the birds and sing quiet songs as cars drive past. And when you see a bike approaching, you practically leap out of my arms, flash the biggest smile, and loudly shout, “DADADADAAAADADA!!!”

Except the first nine bikes that ride past is not dada. :)

Oh you make me giggle, sweet Pippa girl. There is no one I’d rather spend my days with than you (well, except your pops. We love spending days with him too!). I love our adventures to cafes and libraries and play gyms and mother’s group outings and giggle + wiggle and paint n’ play and shops and the pool. I love that you wake up every morning with bright eyes and a smile, as if you’re so excited to start a new day with me too.

Here’s to an adventurous and fun month ten. My predictions are that you’ll stand for more than 10 seconds, you’ll learn to say “moo” (not in response to anything; just saying, “moo”), and you’ll no longer shout “daddadadaaada” to the female cyclists that pass us by. :)

Happy end of Month Nine and the start of Month Ten! :)

But here we are! So when Jessica (founder at The Define School) emailed me last year asking me to teach at her inspiring online school for photographers, I didn’t hesitate for one minute. Somehow I always knew I’d come back in some capacity to teach… I love it too much to ever omit it from whatever chosen career path I take. So I knew it’d be the perfect home for me to do what I love best: incorporate shooting and business talk all in one happy forum.

The Define School is revolutionary on so many levels. It seeks to build a new kind of informed photographer, and strives to offer something so comprehensive yet so bold and unique. I love that there are so many wonderful teachers there with so many different backgrounds and stories and histories to share. I love that the format of the school ensures that it’s a school for anyone, anywhere in the world, at any given point in their photography journey. But mostly I love what the school stands for and its principles that guide its very foundation upon which it was built: giving back. I’ve always taught this point at all my Pobke Magic workshops: give back to your community. Give back to the people who supported you from the very beginning. Find some way to give back, whether small or large. Just make it a habit to be a philanthropist in your business. And that’s just what The Define School does.

I’m honoured to be a part of this school, this faculty, and amongst these students. And I’m beyond excited to announce my class, “Building Your Business,” as part of its offered curriculum! It’s a six week class that’s about running a business that feeds your heart and your belly. It’s a course that’s focused on building a holistic business from the ground up, covering topics such as business plans, pricing structures, marketing 101 + social media, shooting assignments, workflow, and personal critique of work. I know what you’re thinking: BAM! That’s a lot of things to cover. Yes, yes it is. But we’ll get through it together over the course of six weeks and we’ll be better business people by the end of it. :)

It begins on April 8th, and registration begins on March 25th. I hope to see you there!!!! :) :) :)

I’ll call Month Eight “The Month of Standing, Letting Go, and Feeling Proud.” Yes, my sweet, this month you’ve gone from standing up and walking along the furniture gripping with both hands, to standing on your lonesome without any support, which is such an amazing accomplishment. I think you may have stood even longer than five seconds had I not shrieked with excitement while you were doing it (which consequently startled you, making you sit back down). :)

But you know what’s pretty neat, my little blossom? You’re not the only one who’s learned to “let go” this month–I dropped you off at your lovely child care centre for the first time last week. Granted, it was for less than two hours, but it took a lot on my part to “let go” as well. As I waved goodbye and walked out of the centre (you didn’t even notice me leaving), I immediately imagined 12 million scary scenarios of things happening to you while I was gone. (I won’t go into detail but trust me when I say I think I should consider a side career as a movie consultant of the “let’s scare parents” horror genre.)

Luckily, none of those scary things I’d imagined happened to you while I was gone. You played with new friends, enjoyed some pikelets and fruit, and discovered new toys and books. I, on the other hand, played loud music in the car ride to a cafe, enjoyed a hot coffee and delicious lunch, and discovered that it’s kinda fun having “me” time. :) But an hour or so into this solo trip, I realised I missed my little wriggly possum. I missed that game you play when we go to a cafe and you stare at people and try to get them to smile at you before you smile at them. I missed you watching me eat, with your mouth agape wondering why I wasn’t feeding you what I was eating. I missed how much you self entertain with just a straw and a spoon. I missed you doing your pretend sneezes so I’d “bless you!” And I wondered what you were doing and if you were happy or sad and if you missed me too.

So, I rang the centre. Yup, I cracked after 30 minutes.

They must’ve expected it as they laughed as I nervously called. Before I could even ask how you were going, I was given a full run down and that you were doing fine. More than fine, in fact! You were playing and eating and crawling around and enjoying yourself. “Sorry mum, I don’t think she even knows you’re not here!”

I’m proud of us, little Pippy. It’s fascinating that we are taking this new journey as “mommy” and “baby” together yet independently. I love that we teach each other and learn from mistakes together. I see so much of your personality and characteristics and idiosyncrasies and YOU already. It’s quite amazing. You’re independent, warmhearted, determined (some may say stubborn), funny, cheeky, inquisitive. You’re an explorer. And you’re gaining skills at a rapid rate, it’s getting incredibly hard to keep up! This month, for example, you’ve started shaking your head “no,”; you shout, “dadadadaddaada!” when daddy comes home from work; you’ve started clapping; you turn pages in your book when we read together; you’ve grown three more teeth, for a grand total of SIX!

I still can’t get over the fact that you’ve now been outside my belly for as long as you were inside my belly. Time sure passes when we’re having fun, hey Pip? :)

Happy end of Month Eight and the start of Month Nine! :)

Emma and Ben: thank you for a fun-filled afternoon. You really do have the best boys around! Wish I could have stayed and played a bit longer! :)

When you were in my belly I wrote to you often. I thought about you every single minute of every day, and I loved the time I spent writing to you about your kicks, your developments, my dreams for you and how excited your pops and I were to meet you.

Now that you’re here, I still think about you every single minute of every day. You nap and I miss you. I look at you and I miss you. Other people hold you and I miss you. (I’m pretty certain this feeling will go on for quite some time.) I think because you’re here, I haven’t made the time to write to you as often as I should. I haven’t written down all the amazing things you do everyday… probably because I talk about it with your pops all the time. But my New Years Resolution is to amend all that. I want to keep writing you letters so that you know how amazing you are, and how quickly you’re learning and growing and developing. And since you were born on the 13th, I want to write a “wrap up” letter of all your achievements on the 13th of every month.

People told me all the time that the first year with you would pass me by. I never believed them. But now, my little peach, I get it. This past year with you has flown by, much faster than I ever imagined, and much faster than I ever wanted. Already you are closer to ONE than you are a newborn, even though in my heart of hearts you’re still brand new to this world.

So my possum blossom, let me tell you a few things about you at Month Seven:

1. You’ve learned to move those limbs and explore the world by crawling. It’s so amazing to see you go. No one taught you to do this; you just did it on your own. What started as a few commando crawls and push ups at the start of Month Seven has turned into fast paced action by the end of Month Seven. Incredible.

2. You’ve accepted the fact that mommy can’t handle mess during food time, so you’ve learned to let me spoon feed you. And guess what? You actually love food. I was worried there for a while, thinking you hated it and only wanted milk. But no. I just needed to find the RIGHT foods for you, and once I did, it was like fitting missing puzzle pieces together. Synergy! :) You love avocado, blueberries, quinoa, tuna, potato (you are your mother’s daughter, after all), mashed pear, mangos, and rice. You especially love eating meals when daddy comes home from work and eats with you. And your appetite is growing stronger and stronger every day, which I so love seeing.

3. You’ve now communicated that you do indeed recognize Mommy and Daddy, and I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled we are. Truly. :) We love that you reach your little arms up when you want an “uppie,” or twist your body over towards either of us when you want wizzies (daddy) or milk (mommy). :) You are the cleverest girl we ever did know.

As you can see, so much has happened this past month, and I couldn’t be more proud of you than I am right this second. You continue to be hilarious and giggly, and radiate so much warmth and happiness. I love you so much, my sweet Pippy girl.

Happy end of Month Seven and the start of Month Eight!

Meet her gorgeous little family. Baby R is just learning to walk and had just taken 21 steps the day before our shoot… Clever little thing! Thanks Mikaela and John for such a fun afternoon and for adventuring with me in the wild wild fields! :) xoxo

It’s so clear to me that Rohan and Clare are perfectly matched in every way. And I love that they finish each other’s sentences and giggle when they’re around each other, even though they’ve been together for years and years. The affection and love they have for one another is infectious, and I’m so grateful that I have a job that allows me to be around this kind of energy every weekend. :)

Mr and Mrs Wato, congrats again on your special special day. I’m so excited for you guys and hope you have the most amazing honeymoon! So much love to you both! xoxo