A Royal First

OK, I know this blog is supposed to be about Samantha and her infectious giggle, but with the birth of Will and Kate's new son, the future King of England, I just had to blog about this event.

First, I would like to send a huge congratulations both Kate and Will, for not only joining the ranks of sleep deprived parents around the world, but for keeping the birth of their son so hush hush and private in our media-frenzied world of Facebook and Twitter. That in itself was amazing!

Secondly, I would like to say how amazing Kate looked! She was simply stunning and just glowed. I also love the fact that she tried to honor Princess Diana by donning a stunning blue polka dotted dress as their tiny prince was presented to the world for the first time.

The smile on her face was even bigger than the one on her wedding day. She looks like such a proud mama and the love in her eyes for that tiny prince, while it is the same love every mother has for their tiny prince or princess.

And finally, for those of you who are already "attacking" the new parents for how their tiny baby was bundled into the car seat...LAY OFF!

Not only did they just have a baby, which needed to be fed every 2-3 hours (so I'm sure they were slightly sleep deprived) but they were greeted by a hoard of photographers and media personnel...who I'm sure were not very respectful to the baby prince, who may have been trying to sleep, as babies tend to do.

Also, car seat safety in England is not the same as in Canada, as it is not the same in the US. Different countries have different standards and different policies! And the fact that William, himself, drove his family home with Kate protectively watching her son in the back seat...really, need I say more. I mean come on people, this is the future King of England. I highly doubt that his safety was at risk at any point.

So, Kate, William, my biggest congratulations on your bundle of joy! May he have the beauty of his mother, the charm of his father and the kindness of his grandmother.

A Camping We Will Go!

Last weekend we decided to go on a last minute family camping trip! Samantha, when you are older, remember that Daddy is a list guy. If you want him to do something for you write it down. Mommy did not do this time...and...well...somehow we made a full size play pen, Samantha, myself and Josh (who is 6'4") fit into a tiny pop up tent, which was no bigger than the size of our coffee table! 

But, besides the tight sleeping quarters, it was a great time! 

We travelled just outside Kitchener to Country Gardens sister park, Landings Campground. It was so nice! Lots of shade, clean sites, clean bathrooms and super friendly people! 

Samantha had a blast swimming in the pond. Turns out those swimming lessons are coming in handy! She loved to lift her legs up in the water and float around! She even got dirty in the wet sand, playing with Daddy! Though, she was not a fan of the dry sand. It stuck to her hands too much to be "fun". 

I think her favorite part was being "free" after swimming! Running around bare behind, us chasing behind her with a diaper! She protested every second of that diaper change! 

Our neighbours were super friendly too! One guy gave Samantha a freezie, that was basically the size of her. Come to think of it, that may be one of the reasons she was a tad hyper after dinner and not sleepy until waaay past bedtime. And another neighbour, generously loaned us an old teddy bear that sang a sweet lullaby. Samantha was simply hypnotized by the melody and motion of the teddy, which quietly soothed her to sleep.

I can't wait to go camping again, but perhaps this time with a bigger tent and more s'mores!

Nikon1 J3 Review: The Hardcore Mommy Cam

After some determination, emails and not taking no for an answer, I was blessed to have been asked to test the Nikon COOLPIX S30 a few months ago. This was a great camera and I got some amazing shots.

Then, I was blessed again to be asked to test the Nikon 1 J3. This opportunity came at the best time too, as Samantha's first birthday was just around the corner, and as you all know, I am obsessed with taking pictures of her. So, to be able to get professional quality pictures of her at this special time in both our lives was amazing! And though it was Samantha's birthday...I know what I want for mine!

Now, I'm not going to go on about the itty bitties of this camera, but will use some technical terms. I'm going to review this camera from a mother's perspective. I am not a professional photographer, but do try and see the beauty in everyday life! But, to be frank...this camera was AMAZING! It is what I would call the "Hardcore Mommy Cam" and brought my vision to life with remarkable speed, image quality and the creative features!

First, let's talk about the quality; the quality of the pictures, the quality of the video and the quality of the all important zoom. The NIKKOR VR 10-100mm lens offered an amazing zoom with the most amazing quality of picture and color! Though I can't compare lenses, this manual lens was easy to use and easy to focus. The 10x zoom and built-in vibration reduction also made it super simple to take landscape shots with shakey mommy hands. I was even able to take some self portraits while holding Samantha in one arm!

I was also blown away by the clarity and color of the pictures! When I zoomed into Samantha's face, even the tiniest features were visible, like the twinkle in her eye and the wrinkles in her lips! I can't wait to print my favourites and show them off around my home!

I also took full advantage of this camera and had a DIY cake smash session with a friend! (blog on that coming soon!) The pictures were definitely of a professional quality and turned out absolutely stunning! This super fun morning was full of cake, laughter and icing! 

Even the action shots I got weren't blurry or fuzzy! Just clean and clear! I did learn to save time and get even more great shots was to take off the preview function after the picture was taken. After Samantha was in bed, and the house was quiet, I was able to go through them and edit, crop or delete the pictures.  

The only thing I wish I would have done more was take more videos! The HD video camera that the Nikon1 J3 had, took such clear videos, even at night! There is even a cute motion snapshot that would take the picture and turn it into a mini video with music with just one snap of the button! Man, technology is crazy! 

Though this lens was a little big and heavy (but there are many NIKKOR lenses to choose from) and the camera did get a tad warm while using it, it was super easy to throw into the diaper bag and carry along every day! The only thing I had to get used to was wearing the camera around my neck and not in my back pocket. At first it was a little bit awkward, and I'll admit Samantha got a few camera bumps to the head when I tried to pick her up. But with a little bit of practice and some adjustment to the strap, it was just like carrying my purse around with me!

The Nikon1 J3 was also very user friendly. For the first few days I played around with the auto settings, since I am not used to having more than one auto option! But, once I had those figured out I started to experiment and play and truly give this camera a good mommy work out! The only problem I found was that I couldn't zoom into a close object, such as a flower. But at the right distance from the flower the petals turned into a work out art. I'm sure there is a setting or feature to allow this, but I didn't really have enough time to learn about the manual shutter speeds and aperture. (please refer back to me being a mommy and not a professional photographer) I also found that some of the features did take some processing time, which sometimes felt like it was taking forever, especially when you have a 1 year old running around. But, in return, the picture almost always came out beautiful!

The large screen was also great and as I scrolled through the camera options, details on each feature popped up to help me along. Using features like the color select and panorama were easy to find and easy to use. Though this is definitely an advanced camera, it was incredibly user friendly, and I quickly forgot how advanced the camera really is. Plus, I looked really good using it. (Insert wink here)

I have SO many favorite features on this camera! Like taking pictures WHILE using the HD video camera! How many times have you taken a video only to see a certain image and think..."I would love to keep that moment". Or the "Best Moment Capture" where the camera takes 5 pictures at the same time and you can choose which picture you like best! Even a fraction of a second can make a huge difference while photographing children!

All in all, the Nikon1 J3 is an amazing camera, but is on the more expensive side. But, to me, pictures last a life time and a good camera that will catch those memories is a good investment! The Nikon1 J3 helped to ignite my creativity and allow me to catch the moments that matter!

Thank you again to Nikon Canada and Strategic Ampersand for giving this amazing opportunity and I can't wait to see what to test the Nikon COOLPIX AW110!

Here are some more of my favorite memories I was able to catch with the Nikon1 J3!