Tag: 52

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 20.

One Sunday morning in May, I dressed up the twins in tutus and rubber shoes. It was one of those not-so-rare moments when I feel so grownup and so much like a kid at the same time. Obviously, dressing them up is one of my most favorite Mommy “perks”, and with little girls like these, can you blame me?

As I was taking out the camera that morning, the most adorable thing happened. Dawn & Rain happily positioned themselves with their backs on the wall, on their own, grinning at me as if ready to have their photographs taken!

I’m not sure if I should smack myself in the head or give myself a high five. Apparently, this weekly photo session has become a habit to them as it has to me that they already know their spot on that wall. Good job, girls!

And then their Daddy came out and started singing songs.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!

If you’re happy and you know it, stomp your feet!

And then they sat on the stairs and posed some more.

And then Dawn looked at me like this, and how can you not take photographs of her when she’s looking at you that way right?

She knows when someone’s taking a picture of her, you guys, she does.

Just a few more shots, with Mommy this time, and then it was time to go to church.

Happy babies, happy mommy.

The truth is, toddlers are a handful. Make that twin toddlers and you probably lost your mind just now when you tried to imagine how it’s like.

They make you chase them around in circles, their high-pitched screams sometimes give you (and everyone in the room) headache, they can’t sit or stay in one place longer than one minute. They “talk” a lot, but none of it you can understand. You try to teach them words, but they can’t seem to pick up about 98% of them.

It’s a frustrating, tiring, and demanding stage.

But it’s a beautiful stage nonetheless. The precious smiles, the kisses, the laughter.. I’m cherishing every moment. Every single one.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 19.

These photographs were captured one lovely May afternoon at the UP Town Center. It was the golden hour, and I was happy to take outdoor photos of the twins for a change, a break from the usual photo sessions we do at home.

What a beautiful day to chase toddlers! :)

Hearts on our dresses. Just pointing it out, in case you missed it. :P

 Dawn: This girl knows how to smile when she sees a camera pointed at her!

Rain: Is quick clap her hands and “praise the Lord” every time we start singing songs. 

I think baby girls look good on him. :)
I will never get tired taking photographs of these three!

Thank you, summer of 2014, for bringing us happy, sunshiney days like this one. See you again next year!

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Update: This week is supposed to be Week 26. I’m too far behind! So I’m self-imposing a One Week Challenge, just to get all of my 52 Week Project backlogs out. Can you handle photographs of the twins everyday this week? (I’m not sure I can!) :D

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 18.

Somewhere between weeks 18 and 19, our Dawn & Rain turned 18 months old. It was a milestone for a couple of reasons: 1) We’re half-way through their 2nd year; 2) Their size 18-24m dresses will now start to fit (I know, big deal right?); 3) As per BabyCenter, at 18 months they’re officially toddlers; 4) They’re growing healthy and beautifully; 5) God has supplied all their needs from day one, and we couldn’t be any more blessed than that.

When they turned half-a-year old, we had a little cupcake party in church. I felt the need to do something extra-special for their 18th month too, except I didn’t see this day coming until less than 24 hours before April 24. Without enough time to prepare for a small get-together, we decided to have our little party to ourselves, which, it turned out, was even more perfect.

We bought a cake and some supplies, DIY-ed a cake-topper, stringed together some cut-out buntings and designed them with gold letters and patterns. Yes, excited mommy got carried away.

And the best part—time to eat the cake!

We watched them as they inspected the pink cake in front of them, maybe wondering what to do with it. Dawn was first to dig her hand in, playing with the bright pink icing with one hand. And then she started licking the pink gooey thing off her finger tips. Realizing that it tasted good, she took a handful of the cake and shoved it in her mouth. Haha. Rain followed her lead and my husband and I were laughing so hard watching the girls enjoy their cake and make a mess.

And then their Daddy joined the party,

..and this is the part where I totally lost it!

Watching them from behind the camera, I wasn’t sure if I would roll over laughing or cry buckets of joyful tears. It was such a happy day! And looking at these photographs now is making me happy, so I guess it makes today a happy day too.

There were other heart-melting moments I failed to capture, like when Rain tried to shove some cake inside her Daddy’s mouth, or when Dawn excitedly hugged his Daddy with icing all over her body. At that point I already put away the camera and was trying my best to keep the mess (read: bright pink icing and chocolate cake crumbs) in one place.

Sometimes I wonder if these childhood memories we’re trying to make for the girls are more for us than for them. I want to remember these moments forever. And I want them to know that these days happened. This is the reason why I keep taking photographs and documenting memories as much as I can. I know that someday, their only recollection of this day will be the photographs we took and the stories that accompanied each frame.

I hope that when that day comes, Dawn and Rain will know how happy our lives have been because of them.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 17.

Can you imagine how hot this summer has been? These photographs were taken on Week 17 but this pretty much sums up our summer. In lieu of summer outings and beach trips, we had to think of summer activities they can do at home.

This 400-peso inflatable pool is probably the best investment we had all summer. We let the twins swim in their pool twice a day, (yes, twice) and I’m willing to bet that this is their new most favorite time of the day.

It’s probably their least favorite time of the day too (at least for Dawn), when it’s time to get up from the pool. Dawn would throw a tantrum, she would scream and cry and would refuse to get out and we would give her a 5-10 minute extension until her fingers and toes are all wrinkly and it’s absolutely time to get out of the pool. Our hearts would break having to remove her from the water, but we’re also amused. How can someone this small want something that much? :)

We’re constantly amazed, seeing them start to have their own preferences. The other day I tried 3 different colored hats on Rain, and she didn’t want all the hats except the mint colored one. She wouldn’t take it off! She would say “NO” when she doesn’t want what we’re offering her, and she would smile broadly when she likes it. Dawn, on the other hand, would squeal and do a little tap dance when she really likes something.

I don’t like using the word “amazing” unless absolutely necessary, but everyday just never runs out of things that amaze us about these two. No, really. Every. Single. Day.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 16.

The thing is, it hasn’t sunk in until today that our girls are now toddlers. Of course, they will always be babies to me (you bet, even ’til they’re 30 years old), but I didn’t notice that somewhere along the way they’ve crossed over from infancy to toddlerhood. They’re 19 months old TODAY (yayy, happy birthday sweethearts!), and they’ve been walking around and running and racing and dancing and chasing and.. well, singing along Tangled songs. (If you’ve seen Tangled, you probably sang along that last line too.)

These photographs were taken at the Versoza’s sometime last week of April. We have not left Manila all summer—no beach trips, no out-of-town getaways, no road trips. The idea (of going away) has crossed our minds many times, but whenever my husband and I discuss the logistics of long trips to faraway places  with two hyper active toddlers, we always end up deciding to just stay close to home.

The Versoza house, or what we dubbed as “Villa Versoza”, has been a regular hangout place and instant getaway for us this summer. We love inviting ourselves in, and much to our delight, we’re always warmly received. :)

I’m catching up on my 52 Week Project this week. Do you mind having your feeds flooded with photographs of these two within the next couple of days? No? Ok. Thought so. :P

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.