I've always journaled in some way, be it with a pen and a diary as a pre-teen, in a never-ending word document that was saved on the old desktop computer that sat in my room as a teenager, through countless photo scrapbooks growing up or, more recently, through blogging. It's always been important for me to relive those moments in my life that take my breath away and reflect on life's beautiful simplicities. Writing and reflecting on life's moments has always been a key component in my quest to be intentionally grateful, and to try and see the good in everything. Writing helps me process, reflect and appreciate. Keeping a blog has motivated me to keep up with photographing my own family and has acted as a way to document the precious moments and milestones of our little life. So when I took an indefinite hiatus from writing my personal blog a few months ago, it felt like something was missing. I would literally lie in bed and "write" in my head about my thoughts. It's different from plain old thinking in a way I can't explain. Everything in me was eager to sit, reflect and write. I longed for a place to share the lifestyle images taken of our simple everyday. I've decided that keeping two blogs is more work and trouble than I can handle right now. I've come to really love my little space here, and the Raw Footage Photography blog has become more than a place to simply share recent sessions (although there is still much of that happening). The Behind the Lens series has given me an outlet to reflect on my journey as a photographer and has received such a positive response, which I am so grateful for. I've decided to add The Maman Journal to the lineup. A place where I can share some photos of my perfectly imperfect little life at home as well as thoughts on my journey through motherhood, which is essentially what my personal blog had become after the birth of my daughter. I worried that maybe my readers here, clients as well as fellow photographers, might not be interested in a glimpse of personal life. This is, after all, a space previously reserved for my photography business. But the reality is that my passion for photography spills over into every area of my life, and the images I take for me are a big part of my journey as a photographer. And as more and more clients began asking me about me during our sessions, even asking "So, how's Neve?", commenting on her Halloween costume and on her big blue eyes, I realized that many of them appreciate the opportunity to connect with me on a bit more of a personal level, just as I enjoy connecting with them. I'm all about building relationships, both on a professional and personal level, so I think incorporating a more personal touch to this blog is really a true representation of who I am and what's important to me. So here we go. The start of The Mama Journal. I hope you'll join me on this journey! xo

Last Christmas, my girl was 5 months old. Wide eyed and cute as a button in her Christmas jammies, but a little bit oblivious to everything going on. This year, at 17 months, she is truly living out her first real Christmas, and I'm ~~just a little~~ ridiculously excited about introducing her to the many joys of the season. Our days have been filled with holiday renditions from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Amy Grant and more modern favourites like Michael Buble and She and Him. Neve loves "Caroling Caroling" by Nat King Cole the best, because she can sing "ding dong ding dong" while swaying her head back and forth from left to right (cute, right?). We've been obsessively baking cookies - trying new recipes at home and whipping up old favourites with Grandmaman and Grandpapa - and I've discovered that Neve has acquired a taste for drops of spilled molasses and fallen brown sugar crumbs.

We recently put up our real Christmas tree and it was so special to watch her reaction. Lots of pointing and exclamations of "wooooowwwww!", followed by her usual monkey-business - getting tangled up in ribbon, systematically removing every ornament I would hang and trying to feed the pinecones to the dog. Decorating the Christmas tree has never taken me so long, but it's never been quite so magical, either. It's hard to put into words the joy it brought me to see the excitement in her face as the lights went on and watching her hold up shiny ornaments in wonder. My husband and I are getting to experience all the wonders of Christmas through they eyes of our beautiful little girl, and it truly is a gift. Here are some shots I snapped of my girl as she decorated the tree for the very first time.