He is a week old today, and this is his second photo shoot. I will be doing another one later on in the week of him and his daddy, so keep watching for more photos! I can’t believe that a week has already gone by, it makes me want to just stop the clock and savor every moment I have with my children. Time passes too quickly.
Normally I dread photographing my own children, since anyone who knows them, know they only stay still for 5 seconds before they are gone again. Well, Kaleb has just been wonderful in the studio, one of my best newborns! Sleeps the whole time, no fuss. I’m sure that will change very soon though.
Elijah has been wonderful, like I knew he would. The girls have graduated to his ‘big babes’ and Kaleb is now his ‘little babe’. He tells me continually throughout the day, ‘mom, I love my big babes and I love my little babe’. He loves to hold him and kiss him, and he makes sure the girls are gentle with him. They like to pat his head, Gracie likes to pull his hair sometimes though. But they have all done very well with him. I can’t stop smiling looking at all four of my children. I am so blessed to have them. They make my heart swell will love every day. I know that it is going to be very busy now, although it was before hand! But at least it will all be worth it.
My husband turns to me last night and says, “you know, if you take the first letter of the children’s name, it spells ‘geek’, that’s kind of funny”. Of course, that’s what he comes up with!
this is the first photo I took. Elijah saw me setting up so laid down for me….love it!
As some of you already know, I went into labor on Monday so ended up having my c-section a week early. Kaleb Henry Ross Bickle was born weighing 8.4 ounces and 20 and 3/4 long at 12:06 in the afternoon. Kaleb was born with some respiratory complications and ended up being shipped up to Peterborough. Once again, I got to stay behind to recover from surgery and wait to hear how everything was going. Not the best experience, but luckily, Kaleb did well and was discharged today to come home to anxiously waiting siblings. I’m throwing up a couple photos for now, but will be posting another blog post in a day or two, with some more info, and some business related information as well.
I had planned on Monday to get all of the orders out remaining in the studio, but plans changed. I will be getting them all finished up this coming week and getting them out. So if you have any pending orders, I will get them to you asap. Also, I will be slowly going through emails this week, so please have patience! But like I said, I will have another post in a day or two with work information, so stay tuned!
Hopefully I will be getting Kaleb in the studio this weekend and be able to post more photos soon!
i have found since elijah turned three, there have been noticeable differences, especially in his talking. some of the conversations we have, or the phrases he comes out with, really make me laugh or make me speechless. i love listening to his little voice and seeing the world through his perspective. even when he plays with his animals or cars, he holds little conversations between them, and can be quite comical at times. nathan and i have started a little tradition after church we go and get timbits for the kids (now if i drive by tim hortons with the kids in the car and don’t pull in, there are a lot of whines and complaints). this week, as we were waiting for our turn to order, our backseat driver (now that we have the new vehicle, his seat allows him to see out in front well so he can see the cars in front) kept yelling at us to “go go go”. we explained to him that there was a car infront of us, and had to wait for it to move before we could. after a brief moment of silence, we hear “i want to run it over and crash it”. typical boy for you. then yesterday, as he was sitting eating his breakfast, he says me “i love jordy and zo-bo” (his cousins – he has nicknamed them). I say, that’s nice, who else do you love? well, i got the full list of everyone in the family, then at the end, he says “ummmm, and i love….i love….i love peoples mom, i love peoples”. where is the video camera when you need it? Oh, and today i was told “i want a pop tart, but don’t cut it mom. and juice with ice…two icecubes please”.
the girls are becoming more and more interesting. they are not the typical, girl. they enjoy the mess, they love cars, they love climbing chairs, tables, couches, they wrestle each other and their brother, they get into everything possible….they wear me out at the end of the day! i thought i would include some video of their newest ‘game’. they are very proud of themselves and will play this for quite awhile. and if eve takes too long to pull herself up, gracie will hit her on the bum and try to push her up and over. they keep me amused throughout the day, that’s for sure.
they figured out how to push the turtle over to climb on it first…oh, and don’t look at the mess! we were having a fun day
the days are flying by, and there’s still so much to do! Last week we got two new vehicles, got the garage cleaned out (ever watch the show hoarders? it was beginning to feel like we could have been a part of that!) i got two bathrooms and the kitchen painted, the new bathroom is just about in, the basement is half cleaned, i sorted and washed a whole lot of baby clothes, cleaned out the gardens….feeling a bit better about getting stuff done. once the bathroom is done i will be putting finishing touches, the new bedroom will be put together, and it would be really nice to do a spring clean before this baby comes. Oh, and a pedicure would also be nice…i wouldn’t mind having nice toes on the operating table!
Bunnies pictures are almost all out the door….then a few more sessions, then some time off to spend with the kids before i can’t chase them around and pick them up for awhile. i’m still being asked by a lot of people what my plans are….I will be taking May off, then back to work in June with weddings all summer and photoshoots during the week, just not so many. So if you are wanting to do photos, think about booking now, since i will have limited sessions. when i come back in june, i will be doing my grand opening, dog day, and mini beach sessions…so stay tuned!
One more update. I was at the doctors yesterday and was informed i have to go have another ultrasound done of my heart next week. so i might have to be off sooner then expected, depending on results. i will keep you updated, especially if you still have sessions booked with me.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!
Eve playing outside…she looked so cute
as we were running out the door (late) i tried to get a photo of them in their dresses….this is all i got
it won’t be long now before we add another to the household. this month has already gone by so quickly, i’m hoping the next follows suit. you always hear people say going from one to two children isn’t that big of a deal, two to three is a bit harder…well i felt going from one to three was a bit of an adjustment, and wonder what it will be like going to four. especially four children, three years and under.
with the fourth child, a lot of changes are about to occur in our household. for one, we had to upgrade the vehicle. i already miss our four runner! but i have to say, the new escalade is pretty nice as well. i joke that i can now ‘pimp it out’ while i take the kids to play dates and little feet! but we can’t just go with one new vehicle, we have to get two, because i do not want to drive that vehicle to work all the time! so a fourth child has meant 2 new vehicles. it has also meant that our house is starting to feel a bit small. it was bound to happen, we built it as a starter house and planned in a few years to build again, our ‘dream’ home. so we have begun some renovations in order to begin getting ready for the next house. so a fourth child has meant building a new house…as soon as we find the property we want. i think this is going to be our biggest change with adding to the family. a fourth child also means more sleepness nights, a lot more laundry (i easily can do a load a day, if not more) more diaper changes (although i won’t be surprised if the girls are potty trained by the end of the summer), more midnight feedings, bigger diaper bag, longer to get out of the house, harder to do errands….but it also means more hugs and kisses, more boo-boos to kiss, more snuggles on the couch or in bed, mroe fights over my lap, more smiles and giggles to listen to, more joy, and another little being to watch grow. how blessed am i?
when you are self employeed, work is a bit different for you. there are times it feels like your mind is always on your work. that at the end of the work day, you don’t get to turn off and go home and not think about work until the next day. you don’t get benifits, paid holiday, sick leave, maternity leave….ahhh, maternity leave, that would be nice! now, i’m don’t mean to sound like i’m complaining, because i can honestly say that i love my job and am very lucky to be able to feel so passionate about it. i love meeting new clients and it is an honor to be able to create for them memories to cherish for a lifetime. i don’t take that lightly. the ideas i have for when i am back from maternity leave excite me. and for those that are asking, i will be taking the month of may off, and then will be back in june. however, i will be starting back slowly, especially since it is wedding season and am booked full this summer. but i will do my best to fit everyone in during the times i do have available. with that said, if you have a newborn and want photos in may, as soon as i have recovered, i will be more then happy to fit you in…newborn photos are so important and they don’t stay newborn for long!
now, on a less serious note. i made nathan take a couple quick snapshots of me yesterday after what happened. we were in home depot shopping for all the new renovations and i couldn’t believe how many comments i got! i walked past a cashier and she said to the other cashier: “that lady is going to burst!” then i turned the corner and another employee looked at me in shock and said “you must be a week over due!” when i told him how much longer i had left he replied “you must be having a line backer then”. another employee said “we better not have your very pregnant wife lifting any of that”. one came right out and asked “how can that be comfortable at all?”. and then my favourite: “you’re having twins, aren’t you?”. this was all within 8 minutes of walking around the store. i have to admit, i was a little bit baffled. i mean, the usual view i have is just looking down, and i don’t think my belly looks that big. but then again, i don’t really turn sideways and look in the mirror very often. but still, i really don’t think i’m that big! but i am constantly getting stares and comments like the ones above. and whenever i have clients in the studio they say “i don’t know how you’re still crawling around on the floor and getting up and down like that!” well, it’s my job! so i thought i’d let you decide for yourself with the pictures nathan took. do you really think i look unusally big? oh, and on a bit of a side note…some advice you could call it….don’t go up and rub a strangers pregnant belly, it is not apprecaited!
and for all those people that ask it….no, i am not crazy, i am lucky!
of course i wanted to try to take some photos of my children….why i torture myself, i don’t know why! although i have to admit, it went smoother then most times, they all pretty much stayed put, the challenge was getting them all to look at the camera at the same time! And of course, i decide to do my children first thing in the morning….it can be hard at times getting out the door, and this morning was one of those days. i know i asked nathan to switch over the car seats to the new vehicle last night, but he didn’t. and i know i told him to put on the new licence plates last night, but he didn’t. and i know i told him we have to get up early, but he didn’t….so as i fed and got all the kids ready, nathan finally rose from his slumber, and then spent 45 minutes outside!! so yes, i was freaking out! i figured i was not going to get any of my kids with the bunnies. but somehow, we managed! not sure if these ones are the best ones, just grabbed some quick to put up before the next session…
In a few weeks, i will no longer have to listen to pregnancy comments…joy! I don’t think I look any different then other pregnant people, but I seem to stop people in their tracks sometimes. Maybe it’s because a lot of the time I’m pushing three small children in a cart, pulling a cart full of groceries and have a very large belly (I will take a photo of this to show you), but whatever it is, it will be nice when it stops! I had somebody say to me today, “Now that has got to be a watermellon under there”. Yes, I like to carry around watermellons under my shirt for the heck of it! Come on now! I can’t help it that I end out all in front! And I love how everyone likes to guess what I’m having. Some women swear I’m having a girl…. I have to admit, I will miss the movement, that is the one thing (probably the only thing) I enjoy when I’m pregnant. And this one is very active…you can see many different body parts moving across my stomach throughout the day.
Elijah loves to sit with his head on my stomach. He prefers for me to uncover the baby at all times, but that just isn’t happening! at night he will snuggle up to me, uncover the baby and put his stomach on mine with a big smile on his face. He is going to be a very good big brother. The girls just try to scratch at my stomach or poke it…they are getting more and more frustrated that there is not a lot of room for them to sit on my lap any more. Many times a day they fight over it, pushing each other off. It will be nice when I don’t have to balance the two of them on and around my bump….because if you pick up one, you have to pick up the other. I really look forward to being able to stand and talk for longer then 5 minutes before I feel like I’m going to pass out (one more great thing about being pregnant…and having an uncooperative heart at times!)
I can’t believe how quickly time goes by, and how much my children change all of the time. Since Elijah turned three, it’s like he’s a little man now. He learns different phrases every day, sometimes they make you stop and laugh; he sings along to his dads country songs; he sings the alphabet (although only for me); he likes to dress and undress himself; I am no longer momma, it’s just plain mom…. Gracie and Eve now run around, and get into EVERYTHING! They get into more things then Elijah ever did as a baby. They might as well be boys for how busy they are. I don’t know how many times a day I turn around and they are standing on the kitchen table (I now pull the chairs away from the table which helps a bit) or they manage to crawl under the baby gate somehow and try to beline to the stairs; they wrestle with their brother like they are his size; and have already become interested in the potty! Time goes so fast! They brighten my day though, all of their little quirks and actions. They are so much fun to be around. Here’s me a couple weeks ago, with them:
i tend to sometimes get behind on my bickle bits, and when i do, i get some emails asking where the bickle bits are….so thought i would take a break from workflow, and post something. the last couple of weeks have felt like a whirl wind. there just never seems to be any down time, or rest time. when i’m not working, i’m trying to keep the kids as busy as possible (getting out of the house means my house stays a bit cleaner for a bit longer….like 4 hours, in stead of half an hour) which means i become more tired! i would have to say that this pregnancy has been my most tiring one…probably doesn’t help to have three toddlers running at full force all of the time. it’s kind of funny because each prenatal appointment i have, it ends up that i’ve lost weight…although i think i must lose it from my toes, because my belly sure isn’t on the small side. everyone comments about the shape of it…it seems to be more of a watermellon this time. my heart has been a big issue this time around, but at least i will be having my operation in the fall, so that should make it much easier to run after 4 children, 3 years and under! my cardiologist has asked me to please not get pregnant before the fall (I was supposed to have it done earlier, but oops, baby number four was on the way!). i think that elijah is going to miss the baby belly. every night he crawls up beside me on the couch and ‘uncovers caleb’ so that he can rub him and talk to him. he likes to sing the abc’s to him, and gets excited when caleb kicks him. the girls just like to pinch it, which is not the nicest feeling in the world!
the other day when his dad was giving him his vitamins, he came running into me singing…”I am so happy!” we both got a good laugh out of it…to be three and have vitamins cause you to sing about being happy….the good old days! eve has taken a liking to her twin baby dolls. she likes to push them around in their stroller and pat them on the back. if she’s crying, you can distract her by asking where her babies are, and she’ll go find them and push them around again. she also tries to treat gracie like a baby doll…patting her on the head and trying to force her to drink from her cup. gracie doesn’t seem to like the dolls as much, she’s more content to walk around roaring at you, or stealing elijah’s cars.
i came across a video i took a couple months ago of elijah and eve. they seem to be so much a like. i love when i ask for a kiss now, i get three of them lined up (the girls making kissing noises) ready to give them!
and here are a couple photos i took the other week. we have yet to get a family photo with all of us happily sitting in the frame, but once the family is complete, we will try this daunting task!
Three years ago today, you changed my life forever. I became a mother. An experience that has helped shape me into the person I am today. I can remember that first night we had together, it was one in the morning and you looked up at me and that was it. You had me. I knew the way I lived my life would never be the same. I knew I now lived for you.
You are such a beautiful little person, and you are only three. It excites me to think of the person you will become. I could not have wished for a bigger blessing. You have a contagious laugh that fills the room, and big brown eyes that will one day capture the heart of a very lucky girl.
We’ve come a long way in three years. Sitting up, crawling, talking, walking, potty trained, becoming a big brother, singing the ABC’s…and in just a few months you will have a brother to follow in your footsteps. You amaze me each and every day.
Your sweetness is what makes my heart swell. You make sure “your girls” get the same as you (although sharing is still a work in process); and make sure they get their share of hugs and kisses, whether they want them or not. And when you put your little hands on my cheek and say “momma, I love you” my heart swells and breaks all over again.
You fill me with a contentment I don’t think I would have if I was not your mom. How lucky I am to have you.
So today is your day Elijah. Today you are my big boy of three (although you insist you are 20 today).
hope everyone enjoyed their family day…we took the opportunity to take some photos of the kids in the new studio. it was very tiring. three children running in different directions, very hard to get them to sit still for a moment, let alone all of them look at the camera. for those of you that know a bit about my kids (my bickle bits followers), you know how hard it is to get photos of my son. i do think i traumatized him by doing photos every month in the studio for a year and a half. it got to the point he would actually scream and run if he saw a camera in my hand. well, he’s starting to come around, however, i have a confession to make.
i always say to parents, don’t teach your children to smile by saying “say cheese!” to them. it is always an awkward tense smile that you get. however, there are many children that come into the studio, and while the smile for me, they are actually saying “cheese!” in their small cute voices. i have to laugh, because the results are very funny to look at. well, the other day, i caught myself saying that to elijah! after i did it, my eyes went big, i clasped my hand over my mouth, and hoped he wasn’t paying attention. well, he was. now when he sees the camera, he doesn’t run away, he will look at it, smile and say “cheese!!” and yes….you will see that cheese smile in many of the photos now. i laugh each time, cause i did it to myself. i try to tell myself, i’d rather have the cheese smile and get photos of him, then have nothing, just the back of his head as he runs away! at least gracie loves the camera. she can be screaming and crying, and all you do is pull out the camera and she stops instantly and smiles at you. although now she thinks she should be allowed to play with it, and does not like it when you don’t let her.
i will be having my grand opening soon, so keep watching when that will be, since there will be some specials that i will be offering on that day.
here are a few photos of my children…
here is one of elijah’s cheese faces!
elijah and eve looking very impressed….gracie loving it
the girls enjoying having the couch to themselves
elijah and his crazy hair. it was styled, but it didn’t last long. just can’t seem to do a haircut yet…holding on to his long thick hair for as long as i can!
the ‘stunned’ photo…gracie is not very happy, she doesn’t want to share the limelight. the second image is just a few moments later, once it is all about her!
it’s been very busy around the bickle household these past couple of weeks. we don’t seem to have a down moment! i am constantly asked how i am able to juggle running my own business, three children (2 years and under for a few more weeks) and another one on the way….i just tell them, not a lot of sleep! i thought i would post a photo of what i look like by the end of the night! not a pretty picture! my children are very much attached to me, so they fight over who gets to sit in my lap, and well, that space is getting very limited, so there are a lot of fights!
i try to get in as many play dates as i can, since elijah loves to play with other kids. last week, i had my friend tina over, and as usual, elijah and lukas were running around the kitchen chasing each other, when elijah runs over to me, slouches his shoulders, and says: “mommy, i’m out of shape!”. i instantly broke out laughing. if you knew my child, you would know that he does not walk, his speed is fast or faster, and that he doesn’t have an ounce of fat on his body…so obviously he’s heard me say that a few times. whenever i’m carrying the girls up the stairs for bath time, i’ll get to the top and say, ‘wow, i’m out of shape!’. it’s amazing what they pick up. i just love that each day there is something new that they do or say that just makes your heart expand with even more love for them. like this morning when i gave elijah his goodbye kiss, as i’m walking out the door, he yells….”i will miss you!”. i couldn’t have picked a better child, had i been given a catalogue and been told: ‘pick your child’. how blessed i am to have these three beautiful children.
these two are going to get in a lot of trouble together!
