This is a bit of a throwback Thursday on a Friday.
Yes. That totally makes sense!
We love getting outdoors with Jesse. And he absolutely LOVES it! Crawling in the grass… the fresh air… the wonderful new smells and sights… It must be like a sensory overload for him.
And now that it’s getting a little bit cooler, I imagine us getting outdoors a lot more often!
Autumn in Queensland = Love!
Last Friday, we packed our bags… Left the dog in the capable hands of Renee’s parents… Picked up Renee’s sister Lia and left for a plane headed to Melbourne.
It would be Jesse’s second trip to Melbourne in as many weeks! So needless to say, he was pretty excited.
We didn’t get much video footage while we were down there, but we got plenty of photos. And wow, what perfect weather to take photos. Melbourne really turned it on for us with glorious days the whole time we were down there.
Jesse had a blast. We had a blast. Lia and her boyfriend Matt had a blast…
We can’t wait to go back!
See you again soon Melbourne. See you again soon…
So this past week in the Barton household has been a tough one.
We’ve had teething issues… We’ve had high temperatures… We’ve had heat rash… We’ve had loss of appetite… We’ve had uncontrollable crying… We’ve had tantrums… We’ve had pushing bottles away… We’ve had up the backers…
We’ve had a cranky, tired, unsettled bubba who was quite obviously not dealing with the nasty effects of teething.
All that said though, when he falls asleep… He still looks like the cutest, most peaceful, wonderful little man I ever lay eyes on!
We can’t wait for the poor little guy to get through this rough patch, getting back to his usual, happy go lucky self.
Recently, I published a blog post about how I’ve developed a new passion for photography.
Discovering a passion for photography just seemed like a natural step to me. It just kind of fit. When I already had a keen interest in videography (insert shameless YouTube plug here) and digital media, photography just clicked into place like the missing piece of the puzzle. And it definitely lends itself to the work that I do for this crazy ‘Not So Secret Life Of Us (NSSLOU)’ project that Renee and I started.
So it’s not hard to imagine that the talk around our household over the past few weeks, has focused heavily on photography and pursuing our collective passions further.
Coincidentally (or bizarrely enough if you will), while Renee was catching up with my brother’s wife (Anita) over lunch the other week, they started talking about pursuing your passion/s. But the twist to the conversation was, pursuing your passion/s whilst working a relatively normal day job.
While they talked, Anita made mention of an article that she had recently stumbled across that gives the reader a slap in the face about finding and pursuing your passion in life. In the article titled ‘Screw Finding Your Passion’, the following questions really caught not only Anita’s attention, but also mine.
“Since when does everyone feel entitled to love every f***ing second of their job? Really, what is so wrong with working an OK normal job with some cool people you like, and then pursuing your passion in your free time on the side? Has the world tuned upside-down or is this not suddenly a novel idea to people?”
Wow… Just… Wow…
This could quite possibly be the most philosophical and relevant thing I’ve read for years. It was like he was writing this specifically for me. A feeling that I know Anita shared.
All this time, without even knowing it, I was doing exactly what he was talking about in his article. I have been pursuing my passions in photography and digital media in my free time alongside my job.
What I had failed to recognise, is that I am incredibly lucky to have been able to do this. I am fortunate to have a good, steady job, regardless of the fact that it isn’t directly related to my passions in life. I am fortunate enough to have found what my passions are. And I am even more fortunate to be able to pursue these passions in my spare time.
What I was guilty of however, is falling into the trap that most people fall into. The trap of thinking that I needed to be making money doing what I love, to be seen as truly following my passions.
Quite simply, this is not the case.
Like many of you out there who are working on your own projects in your area of interest, when Renee and I started our NSSLOU project, we had a clear vision as to what we would like it to become in the future.
But, because the future was increasingly becoming all I thought about… Because I was constantly thinking about how we could turn this into something that we were getting paid for… I lost sight of why we started NSSLOU in the first place.
The NSSLOU was always, and still is, an avenue for me to “work” in the areas I’m passionate about and share it with the world.
It was a way to document our lives for our future generations to look back on (slide night anyone) to see what life was like when we started and raised a family.
It was a way to share our stories and experiences with everyday people in the hope that maybe someday, someone out there read one of our posts and realised that hey, they weren’t the only ones who went through this or that. And they certainly aren’t alone in this crazy journey we call parenthood and life.
So after coming to these realisations, I have come to understand that I need to stop thinking about turning the NSSLOU into a paying job. And what I need to do, is get that enjoyment and fulfilment back that I had when we first started this crazy ride that is the NSSLOU. I need to get back to really enjoying my passions without the stress of worrying about the fact that it’s not paying us money.
So what does getting back to enjoying my passions mean to me?
Well, it means that I want to get out and take all those amazing photographs on our new camera that I’ve often thought about… I want to film and edit those amazing video ideas I’ve had but have never started work on… I want to get back to being proud of my writing and blogging right here on NSSLOU.
I have even gone as far as thinking about going back to do some study in the fields I am passionate about. So much so that I have found some courses that I am interested in that are available through SAE Creative Media Institute and The Academy of Design.
But I wouldn’t be going back to study for my career (although if an opportunity presented itself I am sure I would consider it). I would be going back to study purely for fun. Purely because I love photography and videography and digital media, so why not go back to study it to better my skills.
You often hear people say, ‘there’s no time like the present’ or, ‘there’s no better day to start than today’. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
So, today marks the day that I get back to really enjoying our NSSLOU project. Today marks the day that I get back to really enjoying my passions.
Don’t get me wrong though… The vision we have for the future of this crazy NSSLOU journey we are on is still there. And there is nothing to say that this vision won’t come true.
But for the moment, I have come to realise that first and foremost, I can enjoy working on our NSSLOU project and my passions purely for fun.
Whatever comes in the future, comes. I will be ready for it.
I thought that for today’s post that I would do something a little different. Today, I am going to talk about a new passion that we have developed recently.
First, let me set the scene with this… I used to be a massive sneaker head! I was literally obsessed. I would spend hours every day searching through eBay and online sneaker sale sites looking to see if I could snap up a bargain pair. I would be constantly scrolling through forums and websites dedicated to sneakers, checking up on the latest and upcoming releases. I would even buy monthly magazines dedicated exclusively to sneakers.
I had over 40 pairs that I would wear on rotation but I was never satisfied with the collection I had, constantly wanting to buy more and more and more… It is pretty obvious that I had a passion for sneakers.
Now while I still love sneakers and the joy that comes with purchasing a new pair, the simple fact is that this has taken a back seat to my newest passion.
My new passion for photography and camera gear!
As you would already know from previous blog posts, we recently bought a new camera. A new camera to take the photos we were wanting to take of Jesse and also for use with our Not So Secret Life Of Us project.
Due to the fact that we only had some simple point and click cameras, we were in desperate need of one that took high quality shots of Jesse that were worthy of framing and hanging on our walls. And we finally got it.
But like all new passions, it hasn’t stopped there… We now find ourselves constantly wanting to add to our ‘camera bag’. Whether it’s accessories for our new camera, or other equipment that we can utilise for our future photos and videos.
It’s so bad now, that I can’t walk past a camera shop without going in and checking out all their merchandise… cameras and all! But all that said, we absolutely love it. Our new passion is one that we both get to enjoy and be a part of.
So in honour of our new passion, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to share what is in our camera bag. While it isn’t much at the moment, this is only the beginning to a new passion that I’m sure will see our camera bag expand to something much… much more.
Our current camera bag consists of:
So who else has a passion for photography and camera gear out there? For those who do… what’s in your camera bag?
I can’t wait to get back out and about to take more photographs. I absolutely love it!
Every year in the last week of August you will find us getting our country on at the Gympie Music Muster. We have been going for over 10 years and it is definitely one of the highlights of our calendar.
This year however was a little different to most. This year we had our 3 month old baby with us.
Yes, call us crazy, but we took Bub on his first camping trip, 5 nights in the Amamoor State Forest with 50,000 of our closest friends.
And he handled it like a champ!
What I thought was going to be an agonising car trip turned out to be a breeze. He slept the whole way there and back. And the little guy took to camping like a pro. Thunderstorm and all.
We must say a big thank you to our awesome friends for being so understanding of our situation and for helping to make our time so enjoyable. It was incredibly reassuring to hear how happy they were that we didn’t back out because we had a baby and that it in no way negatively affected their time (no one really gets much sleep at Muster anyway).
Obviously he is our number one priority and we made all the necessary adjustments to ensure he was safe and comfortable. But it was also great to prove that we can still do the things we love even though we are parents now.
One of the most thrilling parts of having a new baby is watching them grow, learn and discover.
Mr Jesse has recently discovered his fist….well the left one at least. Several times a day when his hand passes his face he gets fixated on it for minutes. Staring and studying it with immense fascination.
It is such a joy to watch him discovering his body and the world around him. We look forward to seeing him learn to roll, sit up and all the other precious milestones that are no doubt just around the corner.
What are your favourite milestones to watch your baby achieving?
So for Photo Friday today, we thought that we might share some photos we have recently taken, showing the comparison between Jesse from just after birth, until just recently.
Our little Jesse is growing so quickly. Well, that’s how it seems to us. Being only around 2.6kg when he was first born, to now being 5.5kg, means that we can definitely see the difference.
He is growing and filling out more and more every day and lately, we haven’t been able to control ourselves when it comes to playing with his chubby little arms, legs and cheeks.
So how much has he grown, well have a look below and see for yourself. We think he is just getting cuter and cuter every… single… day!
Jesse at 14 days old:
Jesse at 9 weeks old:
Jesse at 10 days old:
Jesse at 10 weeks old:
The first time we worked with our photographer (and great friend) Renee Trubai was last year when she asked us to be a part of her project ‘A Love Manifesto’. The project is all about documenting love in all its forms through photographs and conversations. We immediately fell in love with the idea and couldn’t wait to be apart of it.
We chose a location that was very special to us, the beach where our wedding photos were taken. As we shared stories with Renee about our relationship and vision of the future, and the kind of parents we dreamed of being someday. I distinctly remember telling her that if we were not able to have children we would be OK because we had each other. What we didn’t say is that we had been trying for a baby for quite some time.
Deep beneath those words we spoke to Renee was actually a lot of heartache, frustration and disappointment. And by that stage I had actually begun coming to terms with the notion that it may not happen for us.
Little did we know that there were actually three of us in those photographs. We were in the very early days of pregnancy.
So needless to say, these pictures are incredibly special to us.
not so secret life of us 