Ninja flips, body paint & commemorating the belly

Everyone says you have to mark your pregnancy somehow... who am I to disagree? Over the course of the last month or two, I've been presented with a few opportunities to do this. All unique in their own way and each with their pros and cons. 

The first was something we had been hoping to do since my belly bumped. Being an occasional model for Shelley of Belly Beautiful (You Name It Face & Body Art), it made sense to remember the pregnancy with one of her beautiful paintings. 



But what's the point of doing that if you don't have great shots to capture the art? 

Enter Cat. (Cat London Photography) Photographer extraordinaire, fellow yoga practitioner and lovely woman who just happens to also be approaching motherhood! Happy girly squeals as she tells me she is totally up for doing a maternity painting as well! 

Bet you'd never guess from the photos, that while I was being painted my little ninja decided she wanted to  practice her back flips. Turns out with every stroke of the brush she wanted to hit back. I'm lucky enough to be one of the few moms who can provide their daughter with a target, in the form of my diaphragm, for her to practice and perfect those high kicks. I can't wait for the cartwheels.... 

oh, no. wait. yes. yes I can.

So as I was dealing with the dizzy spells and nausea, Shelley just kept on painting - I'm so ridiculously impressed. She was down on the ground shading flowers while I had my forearms up against the kitchen wall like a fugitive being harassed by the police. You'd think my head had been pushed down towards the wall and someone was screaming "spread 'em" in my ear. But it passed, and we got to do a photo shoot in the back garden. 

So, not only do I now have some stunning art to show her, I also have a great story to share with my daughter later on about her early ninja training. 

Next on the list: Festing with photography and papier-mâché !