This is my little boy, Ronen Alexander! He was born on December 30th 2009 at 6:05am, weighing 6 lbs and 05 oz.  He’s now 16 weeks old and I can’t believe it took me this long to post a photo of him here at the Bitten Smitten blog!

At 16 weeks, he has started eating solid food and loves it. He has just started making laughing sounds and likes it when you “talk” to him. He has discovered his hands and keeps on staring at them. He’s also a dribble monster! I feel sometimes I need to wear some sort of bib myself as most of the icky stuff ends up being all over me!

I think he looks a lot like his dad. And his big sister adores him.

He’s such a cutie (if I say so myself) and although life with two can be twice as hard, it’s most definitely twice as fun and twice as rewarding!

Has it really been more than six months since I last posted here? Now, that is what we call terrible blogging! So much has happened since the last post. I’ve photographed so many wonderful families, children and babies in the last few months and I will try to post some of them here in the next few days.

But I suppose the biggest news from the last time I wrote is the birth of my second child–my boy–Ronen Alexander, who was born on December 30th 2009. I promise to post some photos of him very soon!

Aeyen is a few months short of being three years old! Such a big girl now….. and she has started going to pre-school this week. She loves being a big sister and is very proud of “her” baby.

On the photography front, things have been wonderfully busy! I am now finalising details to the bluebell mini-sessions which will take place in May. This is the third year that I’m doing it and I am looking forward to meeting families from last year who have already shown interest in doing it again. I also hope there will be new families to meet, of course! Watch this space for more information.

That’s it for now! But (sigh)… I have got to say, it’s so good to be back!

More posts to come, promise!

Last week, an old friend left a comment on my Facebook saying how cute my “little boy” is. I looked at my profile picture–which is one of me and Aeyen. She was wearing a spotty bright pink jumper and she has a clip on her hair. How he missed it, I will never know. I laughed and shook my head. I actually get it all the time. Perhaps because I don’t exactly put her in very girly clothes or because I take a lot of photos of her naked–making her look more androgynous.

I am not a very girly-girl myself. I enjoy dressing up more now, but when I was younger, I looked more like a tomboy. I’m not very big on flowers, on jewellery, or on make-up. I used to be crazy about bags and shoes but not so much now. My husband teases me and says I am very difficult to buy presents for. I’d be happier getting useful stuff than pretty ones.

I think I am rubbing off my ungirliness on my little girl. She very rarely wears pink. Her dresses are more funky than pretty. She prefers playing with her toy rabbit and toy mouse than dollies. She prefers picking stones instead of flowers. The only princess she knows of is Fiona from Shrek. I don’t even think I’ve used the word “princess” at home or on her. She loves Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, but hasn’t heard about the tales of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella or Snow White. We read a lot of Dr. Seuss and not a lot of Happily Ever Afters. I have nothing against fairy tales and princesses, I’m probably just a bit uninterested. Or too cynical, perhaps?

Nevertheless, she makes me very proud. I will sound very biased, obviously, but I think I am raising a very clever little girl. She’s starting to develop her independence and is becoming such an outspoken little madam. She’s now learned how to say, “Aeyen no like it.” and “Aeyen do it.” She is becoming more aware of people around her and enjoys seeing boys! We live near a school and in the morning, when children pass by our front window, she points to them and says, “Ooooh, look! Boys! More boys!” and it makes me laugh.

She is a girl, after all. In her very own adorable way.

{Taken at the bluebell woods last month. One of those rare times when she let me put a skirt on her!}

I mean 22 months.

In less than two weeks, she turns 22 months. Still hard to believe it has been that long ago when she came. I know I always say she is growing up too fast but it really is becoming more and more evident by the day. She copies me all the time. When I put make-up on, she stands in front of the mirror and pretends to apply make-up with her fingers. She sticks out her hand when she sees me putting lotion on. When I put on jewellery, she tells me, “Aeyen wear too!”.

I have started looking at pre-schools for her too. I still don’t know whether to feel proud or to feel sad that when we go and visit schools, she jumps off my arms the instant we get there and plays with the other children. And when it’s time to leave, I have to bribe her with snacks so she will go home with me!

I am not so sure where my baby has gone….. Somewhere between nappies and Cheerios, my baby has officially become a toddler. With non-stop babbling, extra-shrill giggling, full-blown tantrums and all! Aeyen is now 20 months old and I cannot even begin to describe how much she has changed. Sometimes, she looks at me and I can only catch my breath. Her facial expressions are so grown up and it just hits me, she’s finally stopped being a baby. This little person here is, in fact, a little girl.

And before I know it, I will have to start thinking about another birthday party!

Spring has definitely come and it is the perfect time to launch Bitten Smitten Photography’s new website and blog. I hope that you are finding your way around easily around the website and enjoying the new photos on the galleries. I’m also excited about this new blog! I have so many photos to show from previous sessions and I am hoping the new blog design will work well.

A special shout-out to the superstars who helped make it all work: my sister, Rhea and friends, KP and Marchesa. They’ve been brilliant!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit and do drop by again soon!

{This post will remain on top of the blog until April 7th, 2009. Think of it as a welcome sign for everyone who is visiting the new home for the first time! Please scroll down for recent entries!}