Kathryn February 26th, 2011

It’s true…. I have become a member of the Bonds Baby Bandwagon….

Over the past few weeks on Facebook I have seen many links appearing, saying
“I just entered my little bub into the 2011 Bonds Baby Search. See how cute ‘insert childs name’ looks and remember to vote when the polls open on 28/02/2011″

I debated and debated …… but just for a bit of fun, I entered Josh in the competition! I would love you to go to the Bonds Baby Search website and vote for the cutest kid… Of course it would be great if the cutest kid was my baby, but if it’s not then that’s ok! I know several others who have entered their babies as well, and I’ve looked through the gallery…. all I can say is I’m glad I’m not judging the competition!

Isn't he cute!?

Just so you know how it works – on Monday 21 March they announce the shortlist – The Shortlist is the top 50 babies as chosen by Bonds. It will be announced along with the People’s Choice Top 10. Then on April 4 they announce 10 winners, including 2 peoples choice winners.

I’m not the sort of Mum who believes in entering their child in every baby competition known to man… I am completely aware that I have rose coloured Mummy goggles on when I look at my boy, and he’s probably not as cute to everyone else as he is to me… so really I’ll be completely surprised if he comes out of this as a Bonds baby – but hey, it’s worth a try!

Also taking polls on which theme you like better… this one or the other one?

And if you haven’t already and would like to receive updates of our blog (and Dallin’s Flickr feed) by email then just subscribe using the box at the top right hand side of this post….

• Family , Photography
• Comments(1)

Kathryn February 23rd, 2011

So I had turned off the computer, was getting ready for bed and suddenly I realised… I have a load of washing that I planned to do today, and I never did it! I also checked the draws and confirmed the fact that it can not wait until tomorrow…. I turned to my husband and he looked at me and said ‘Well you better get it on then….’
Well, there goes my early night! I now have to wait up for another hour for my washing to finish!
So I find my self with a spare hour and I’m thinking…. What to do?……Blog of course….housework will wait! And just to warn all those who can’t handle completely biased mothers who rave about their children….. stop reading NOW!

On Feb 14 my beautiful boy was 18 months old….. where has the time gone!? In some ways it feels like it was only yesterday he was born, and at the same time it feels like he has been part of our lives forever! It seems like he has always been walking, chatting to me as we drive along, standing at my feet saying UPEEEEEEE (Up please) and completely destroying my kitchen every time I cook a meal! – But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I love watching him learn! Josh started swimming lessons in Term 4 last year, and has continued this year. I wondered how he would go getting back into the swing of things and it took a total of about… 15 mins, and suddenly he was doing twice as well as he did last term. He now kicks (something I hadn’t been able to get him to do before) and he loves blowing bubbles in the water. He now plunges his head in face first and blows bubbles. It’s even a struggle to hold him now! He just loves going under the water, and when he comes up he always has the BIGGEST smile on his face! It is such a joy to see him so happy and growing so well.

Joshua at his swimming lesson.... loving it!

Most children, and adults these days, upon picking up a camera would hold it out in front of them and expect to look at the screen to take a picture. However, as most of you know, Dallin has a digital SLR camera which requires you to look through a view finder (remember those!) to be able to see your ‘shot’ – Joshua now knows what a camera is, no matter what it looks like! He was outside one day with his Grammy’s compact digital camera, holding it up to his eyes just like his Daddy does…. how he made the connection we don’t know, but I sure think he’s a clever cookie!

Joshua having his first photography lesson...We're getting there!

He loves reading books, making animal noises, running around outside, riding his bike, blowing bubbles, running around with things over his head… He just loves life, in a way that only a child can. I often struggle to keep up with him and find things to interest him, and that’s before I even think about what I should be teaching him!
It’s no wonder he can sleep 12 hours at night, and have a nap in the middle of the day…. If I put as much energy into absorbing and living life as he does then I’m sure I would need it too!

Children are such a joy, whether they are your children or not…. I love my nieces and nephews like they’re my own and am (almost) as proud of their accomplishments as their parents are! If you have the opportunity to be a part of a childs life, grab it with both hands and use it for good. You may be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, teacher….. but whoever you are you can guarantee there is a child watching you, so be careful what you do! Yes, they’re hard work but the love you receive in return it more than worth it…. Let alone the joy you receive from watching them grow and learn. Love a child – the rewards are priceless.

• Family , Thoughts
• Comments(0)

dallin February 2nd, 2011

Just Starting Out

Originally uploaded by D@lbo

Last night as I was doing some Wii Fit and Kathryn was organising and ordering some photos, we realised it was exactly one year since I had received my DSLR. So, in honour of my photographic journey over the past years, and especially this last year, I wanted to highlight this photo – the beginnings of Joshua’s photographic journey.

Ok, sure, he has a few issues of technique to sort out. But I think he’s doing marvelously well for picking it up by observation only. I’m actually quite impressed that he made the link between Grammy’s camera (this pink one) and mine (which requires looking through the viewfinder).

Joshua will be 18 months old in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to imagine where all that time has gone – it has been so quick and so wonderful.

I just wanted to put in another reminder about my flickr photostream. I’m trying to upload photos there regularly. But the best way to keep up (if you want to keep up ) is probably through RSS. I’ve set up a feedburner feed which combines my flickr feed and this blog, so you can keep up with all things Howes at one convenient location. If you don’t use RSS (including things like Google Reader and iGoogle homepage) then you can even subscribe by e-mail. Click on through to HowesThat Feeburner to check it out. And you’ll never miss one of Kathryn’s inspirational posts again!

• Photography
• Comments(0)