nursery's are over-rated. or that's what i try to tell myself anyways...

please don't think of me as a terrible mother, but the twins nursery is, well, basically non-existent. the last two weeks, we finally have the cribs set-up.  and a refurbished dresser is tucked into the corner of the room.  but with me leaving the coast so suddenly to be near a hospital, nursery design basically got by-passed completely.  and these last few months - how in the world has it been a few months already?! - since they've been born, i've just been too buried in diapers and bottles and editing and enjoying life to get their room organized pass the functional stage.  and even that is a bit of an exaggeration.

if i'm going to be completely honest, i'm in the nursery as we speak.  because its still also my office. 

ok, i am a terrible mother! 

but i have spent time brain-storming ideas this last week...

shades of grey.  

don't get me started on the book (that's a whole other post!)... but PAINT shades of grey are out.of.hand.  there are approximately 1001 different ones.  cool shades.  warm shades.  shades that look slightly blue and purple and green.  its ridiculous.  and confusing.  but the nursery will definitely be one of these shades of grey! :)

and there will definitely be one of these prints!  

i'm obsessed!  

i'm trying to decide between this pink one or *shocker* a grey one.

an element of wallpaper.  but have you seen the choices now days?! 

i'm thinking tone-on-tone or something soft & subtle.

girly lighting.  

just because now i can. :)

 i'm not the most confident designer.  sorting through pinterest and the web for ideas pretty much makes me break out in a cold sweat.  i am giving myself the deadline of september first to have the majority of it done & promise to post the final results!

do you have any great ideas for me?!  honestly, i'll take all the help i can get when it comes to organizing and decorating.

oh, how i love this boy.

the other day, jody was trying to get him to eat lunch.

it wasn't working.

until mommy threatened to eat it.

we started cheek-pushing each other out of the way to get the yogurt.

the yogurt quickly disappeared.

we finally got him to eat.

i thought i won.

then i went grocery shopping.

when i got home, jody asked what was on my face.

he thought i went out for ice cream alone.

but it wasn't ice cream.

it was leftover dried yogurt from the morning.

gross.  n'uff said.

this weekend...

i love long weekends.  this is what things looked like around our house.  the rain was pouring.  a nasty headcold is playing hot potato with the twins and me.  somehow the boys in our house are immune.  

we watched movies, drank raspberry beer (ok, that was just me) and hid from the fall-like weather pouring down outside. jody let me sleep-in twice and have a nap.  it was glorious.

minnow did her usual thing...

  the tongue actually touching the floor is a new one.  oh man, i love our dog.  i don't even know what i'd do if i had a real dog.  you know, one that required walking.  minnow's more my style. :)

i said we moved a while ago.  well, we moved back.  i just can't stay away.  i started a new blog, mainly to help streamline my photography work with my blog.  but i just can't resist my little family blog.  every since we moved, i've hardly blogged because, in all honesty, i feel like i'm cheating the original.  my blogger blog was easy to format and did everything i wanted and was focused on the real reason i began blogging in the first place - to document our family for ourselves and our kids.  why oh why did i ever leave you, blogger blog?!  what was i thinking?! forgive me.

i'm going to keep this blog primarily page family focused and my other blog - www.melissapageblog.com - primarily photography focused.  i'm still not sure how i'm going to work this (ha!) but stay with me... i promise it'll be worth it.

xo

m

Darryl & Carrie

pure love {engagement photography, sechelt bc}

darryl and carrie are a true love story.  as good friends, they had shared so much - life stories, laughter, fun.  after months of long distance friendship between the sunshine coast and vancouver island, darryl invited carrie away for a snowboarding new year's eve.  carrie asked if she could invite a few girlfriends, a request that darryl politely dodged.  when carrie arrived, the snowboard trip included darryl and a bunch of family members.  darryl had been falling in love with this beautiful girl as their friendship grew.  they left the snowboarding weekend a couple and have been by each other's side ever since.  they have endured a lot together in their relationship, but have graced each hardship with courage and a deeper love for each other. 

carrie is truly a dream bride - not only is she beyond beautiful, but she is relaxed and so easy going.  and when you see darryl look at her, its pure love and open adoration.  i could not be more excited to be documenting their day tomorrow.  honestly, i am so blessed.

baby wesley

{ 6 month photography, sunshine coast bc }

right after wesley was born, i met marie.  instantly, this incredible girl blew me away with her sincerity and kindness.  honestly, she makes honey seem bland because she is just.so.so.sweet.  case in point, the morning of the shoot, i desperately needed a starbucks treat.  so i quickly texted her i was running out and bringing her back a frappachino (it was a gorgeous, hot spring day in davis bay!).  well, she never got the text and instead brought ME a smoothie.  our shoot was loaded with treats, laughter and baby snuggles.

wesley has an older sister, ava, but we decided for this shoot to be all about wesley.  i think that is a really great idea, especially because often second and third and fourth (ok, i'll stop there) children can get put into the family category and miss out on some solo experiences.  at the beginning of the shoot, wesley wasn't too sure about being on his tummy or smiling for my camera.  but whenever his momma was around, he just shined and smiled and cooed.  clearly, we can tell who his favorite person is! 

marie, thank you so much for the smoothie and letting me shoot your wee boy. i can't wait to spend more sunny days with your this summer and getting to watch him grow!

 {visit the offical photography website here }

 {' like ' my facebook page here }

This is Joyce.

She's our neighbour.  She lives across the cul-de-sac and slightly above us on the hill.  

She openly admits to stalking us and says its her neighbour-ly duty, like block watch but better.

Judah knows her as "Granny Joyce".

Up until a year ago, she called me 'Vanessa' and Jody was known as 'Cody'.  And, yes, we corrected her.  Multiple times.  Now its a running joke and on particularly sassy days, she still hollers 'Hey, Vanessa' over her glass balcony.

On Mondays, we usually watch Dancing with the Stars as we drink wine, I paint her nails and she tells me old stories that occasionally begin with sentences like "One time, when I was skinny dipping..."

Recently, we celebrated her 83rd birthday with her.  

Her husband has just moved into a local care facility and none of her children live on the Sunshine Coast, so we invited her over for a mini, impromptu party.  Jody made us a delicious dinner of bbq steak and sauteed prawns, garlic mashed potatoes and steamed spring veggies.  Fresh lemon tarts topped with a single candle topped of our night.

Joyce says she doesn't usually like babies.  

But, luckily for us, Judah won her over with his baby charms and we have begun sharing our lives with this funny, vivacious old lady who lives across the street who reminds us not to take life too seriously, keep a sense of humor about things, and rock the red lipstick until I'm old and grey.