The devastation in Haiti is unbelievable. The indelible images on the news, the heart-breaking stories and unimaginable future for a country that has already faced such hardship and challenges is impossible to comprehend. Help is needed and every dollar counts. Hatley is donating 20% of all online sales from now until February 17th to the Canadian Red Cross to help with Haiti relief efforts. I know it is just a drop in the bucket, but it is something, and every little bit helps.

On a much lighter note, I have had more adventures in the exciting life as a new mother. After our whirlwind trip to Vancouver and Whistler, Jasper and I made our way slowly back to Montreal last week, with a 2 day stop-over in Toronto. Not exactly home, but at least we were back in the right time zone. The purpose of our layover was for Jasper to pose in the Hatley photo shoot for the Fall 2010 catalogue, quite a distinguished honour (with certainly a bit of nepotism involved!) And so begins my life as a stage mum…

This modeling session was actually Jasper’s second time in front of the camera, the first being when he posed for the Spring 2010 line (look for him in the adorable Alligator and Young Buck outfits) last summer.  Some may call him a seasoned pro at this point, the super model of babies traveling the country with his own entourage (me!) and a long list of demands. Others, however, like the poor photographer, may have a different opinion.

The shoot last summer went really smoothly. Jas was about 8 months old, and the call time was perfect, falling right after lunch and in between naps - couldn’t have been better. I find now as a mother, I cherish appointments and commitments that  fall so perfectly in between naps. The shoot was fast, the photographer managed to get the right shot instantly with each change of outfit, and Jas remained highly jolly throughout, in spite of having a shirt pulled over his head countless times (his least favourite part of getting dressed!)

Now Jasper is 15 months, and I hoped that this shoot would go just as well – and when I saw the call time was for 1 P.M., I thought that everything should be fine. Again, post lunch/pre-afternoon nap. Unfortunately, I hadn’t factored jet-lag, a terrible morning nap, or a hunger-strike lunch into the equation, so when I showed up at the Gladstone Hotel for the shoot and saw that things were running a bit behind schedule, I started to get nervous. Already highly excited, there’s nothing like a room full of other kids, lots of people and expensive camera equipment and bright lights to throw my kid into the biggest ball of hyper energy. We settled in to watch the other kids and with every minute that passed, Jas got more and more excited. Luckily there were long hallways at the hotel for him to run up and down, and bless Max the 4 year old who happily agreed to play with him, even though he was less than half his age. Jas was ecstatic with giggling and exploring, which was certainly better than hysterical crying, but at this point of exhaustion there was a very fine line between the two. As time ticked on, it was close to 2:30 before we were told to get Jas into his first outfit.

First up was Dinosaurs, a very cute play set. Jas was to pose in a chair with Max, but poor Max realized pretty fast my son wanted this chair all to himself. My role suddenly went from doting proud mummy to catcher, as the Wiggling Wonder was determined to fling himself from the chair any chance he got. It was quite a trick plunking Jas back into position, jumping out of the way of the shot, and then grabbing him before he sustained a spinal injury by falling over the back of the chair. Finally, mercifully, the photographer said he got one.

Next was the Elephant coverall. This shot was to be taken on a queen size bed, one of Jasper favourite crawling grounds at home. As with the chair session, he was determined to hurl himself off of the edge of the bed, so I went from catcher to dragger mode. “Mum, just grab his legs and pull him back into position”, the photographer would yell at me, trying not to get frustrated. Luckily, Jas found this to be hysterical, and after about 10 minutes of this dragging/crawling routine, finally a decent shot was taken. Thank God for quick shutters.

Lastly was the floor shot, a one piece Dinosaur outfit with a hoodie. Again, Jas thought it was hysterical, to be in the middle of the room surrounded by bright lights and people standing around. Every 2 seconds he was taking off in a different direction, and once again the photographer would ask me with exasperation to pull him back in to position. People, I wanted to say, we have about 3 minutes until this laughing turns into hysterical crying. Sensing my silent pleas, the photographer shouted, “I got it!” We were done. Amazing. And just in time. As I was changing Jas back into his own clothes, out came the water works. Enough is enough, Mummy! I could hear him saying to me. I am so done!

So ends our crazy two weeks of travel and exclusive photo shoots. It was fun, but are we ever happy to be home. Just after getting back, we all got hit with a nice dose of stomach flu, which is always a good time. All I could think is that we were very lucky THAT didn’t hit in the middle of the photo shoot (or our plane ride for that matter!) But we are all now back on our feet, and settling back into the regular routine. Who would have thought we’d have missed it so much!!!

Let the countdown to the Olympics begin! Almost 2 weeks away…!