MONTHLY PORTRAIT: september

I love these pictures so much, there was no way I was only choosing one for this month's portrait! Part dreamy childhood magic part Royal Tenenbaums...

WHAT PHINEY & CORALIE SAID

A few favourites that we've been gathering over the last few months...

Josephine: 'Coralie's a naughty poo head!'
Daddy: 'That's not very nice, Phiney.'
Josephine: 'Fine! She's a very...naughty...bunch of flowers."

Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie: 'Yellow!' (it's blue)
Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie: 'Yellow!' (it's red)
Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie after lots of thought: 'Green?' (it's yellow)

Josephine: 'I'm so combumulated!'
Mama: 'Do you mean frustrated?'
Josephine: 'No! I mean combumulated!'

Coralie: 'Mama, where my (Playmobil) girl?'
Mama: 'Which one, Coralie? What does she look like?'
Coralie: 'A boy.'

Josephine: 'What does it say on the weather cast?'

Coralie: 'There a Mini, Mama!' (whenever she sees one, and there's a lot in Bath.)

Josephine: 'It's my gradulation today!' (pre-school graduation!)

Coralie walks in wearing a witches hat: 'Look Mama, I'm a pirate.'

Josephine: 'Mama, how do seagulls make friends?'

Josephine does a loud trump: 'It wasn't me, it was Coralie...she's in my bottom and trumped!'

Coralie: 'What that smell?' (all the time!)

Josephine: 'Babies seem so lazy to me. They never walk or do anything.'

Daddy: 'So what's the biggest difference now you're four, Phiney?'
Josephine after a lot of thought: 'That I'm not three anymore.'

Josephine: 'Mama, I want 16 Playmobil things from Father Christmas!'
Mama: 'Wow, that's a lot! Coralie, what would you like from Father Christmas?'
Coralie after a long pause: 'A chocolate bar!'

Josephine: 'Mama, I love you on Thursdays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.'
Mama: 'What about on the other days?'
Josephine: 'Yeah, I love you then too.'

Josephine: 'Coralie, do you have a spoon? Oh blastin' 'ells you haven't. I'll go get one.'
Coralie: 'Kay.'

Josephine: 'I'll get the secret Mama.' (the receipt!)

Coralie: 'Nee-nee went to cinnamon.' (the cinema)

Josephine: 'Mama, it was the most massivist poo of my whole wide life!'

Coralie, in the middle of the quiet playground as all the parents waiting for the children to come out of school: 'Mama, that bird talking to me.'
Mama: 'Is it? What's it saying?'
Coralie: 'Me a poo poo head!'
Every parent bursts out laughing!

Josephine: 'Oh, it was years ago. When I was three.'

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Josephine: In her new desert boots and favourite Coco & Wolf dress.

Coralie: Little fingers and pretty florals.

Images captured on our Coco & Wolf AW16 shoot.

AUTUMN DREAMING

Dreaming of window seats and views over the Highlands today...

DANCING CORALIE

Last week Coralie started her dance classes and I can't tell you how excited she was about it. She's been watching Josephine dance since she was a baby and she couldn't wait to get up there and do it herself. We found her the sweetest tutu in H&M and some little white ballet shoes, and she wore Phiney's old ballet cardigan - I love seeing the pieces that have such wonderful memories tied up in them getting passed down from Phiney to Coralie.

Coralie has been telling everyone about starting dance class, and she knew it would be around the same time Phiney started school, so we had a few tears on Josephine's first day as Coralie thought she'd be off to ballet too :( So sweet when Thursday came and I could tell her it was tomorrow...she must have told us all a million times on Thursday how 'me going dance class 'morrow!'

My Mum even made her a little bag for her ballet shoes with her name embroidered on. She took it to bed on Thursday night and spent most of her dance class with it clutched in her hands.

As Coralie is starting a bit younger than Phiney, we have joined the Mini Dancers sessions which means Mama gets involved too. It was so fun skipping round the room and getting to be part of the lesson with her. It does make it trickier to record however, but next week I'm going to anyway - because it's just too cute to not have video evidence of.

I don't think I'll ever forget her happy little face and she twirled and twirled at her first dance class...

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Josephine: Her first day of school!

Coralie: Her first dance class!

GOLDEN CHILD VINTAGE: nell mallia photography