When I started writing Hot Pink Wellingtons, I remember very clearly saying that I would never do video. As much as I love writing and taking photos, I’ve always been far too self conscious to contemplate doing anything in front of the camera.

But slowly and surely, I’ve been experimenting more and more with little bits of video, and I’ve come to realise that video can capture some things in ways that photos and words just can’t. Over the last year or so, I’ve been looking back at little videos we took of Max when he was younger. Of those first wobbly steps as he tried out walking, of his funny little belly laugh when we tickled him, of his talking a year ago - still with adorable mispronunciations that have faded over time. It’s those little details that time erases from your memory, but that I love looking back on.

So I’ve been trying to capture more of our life on film lately, rather than just sticking to photos. Ben is at such a sweet age, with so many milestones to capture, and I know these toddler years will just fly by and soon we’ll barely be able to recall all those little mannerisms that make us smile so much. And Max loves looking back at video and seeing himself on film - it’s a much more engaging medium for him to watch than photos.

And little by little, I’m gaining a bit of confidence in getting in front of the camera too, as well as being behind it. At first, I just pushed myself to do a few Instagram stories with me talking to the camera, and I’ll admit it: the first few I found so cringey watching and I really wasn’t sure if it was for me. But the more you do something, the more comfortable you get with it - and the magic thing about it is that your skills improve at the same time.

So 2019 is going to be the year I do video! I’ve made the first step and set up a Youtube channel and put my first video live - it’s a house tour of our current house, as we are starting a big house renovation project, and I thought it would be fun to document our progress. I’d love for you to head over and give it a watch, and subscribe to see more of my videos!

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash