january 1st, of this year, i decided to take on the challenge of taking at least 1 photo per day for this entire year. i’ve been posting the photos to facebook for some accountability and encouragement (i need both!). in july i took all the photos to date and made a little 1.5 minute video compiling them. beware, it goes fast!
steve & april (with baby guinevere)
these were taken in april & steve’s beautiful home! i was so impressed by how much these 2 enjoy being together! and never before have i witnessed such connection between parents and their unborn child! the way they talk to her and spend time with her is so so beautiful!!! i am so proud of these images because i feel the love and the warmth that these 3 have for each other! i hope you can too!
oh, and in a couple months, i get to photograph this little one coming into the world in this same beautiful home!!! i LOVE my job!
Posted in before baby, Real Life
Tagged beloved, couples, family
andrea
my sister-in-law came from nebraska to visit us, so her & i took a couple hours to have fun with the hurley wall our inspiration. it was fun to just play around with a totally different style of photograph than i typically do & pretend like we were shooting a magazine ad for hurley : ) isn’t she beautiful?! i just LOVE how many looks she has! it’s like i had 4 different models to work with!
Posted in just for fun
welcome baby cooper!
no matter how they get here, every baby’s birth is a miracle! cooper john was born february 7th via c-section. and i was given the honor of photographing him meeting his two big brother. it is incredible to be invited in to be a part of such a special moment in this family’s life! to see the older brothers show interest and give love in their own special ways to their little baby brother was precious! this was just the first few moments of being a family of 5, and how beautiful they were! hope you can see some of the magic in these photos!
welcome baby rhys!
you pronounce his name “reese.” isn’t that so cute?! baby rhys melted my heart when he made his arrival the night of february 9th. i just couldn’t get enough of his peel-y feet & hands and fuzzy skin rolls!!! his mama, kelly, had a natural water birth in her beautiful home.
each birth i attend amazes me in different ways. with this one, i was struck by how the laboring mother is so focused and almost in another world, and yet one second after the baby is born, she returns back to her normal self, talking, joking, and laughing. it was crazy to think that when i arrived there were only 7 people in the house, yet when i left there were 8!!! there is another person in this world! and i got to see his grand appearance! and this is my job!!! i am grateful and blessed to have been there that night and to have had the honor of capturing a bit of the miracle that i witnessed. see for yourself…
if you want to see more, you can watch the whole slideshow below…
Posted in birth
Tagged childbirth, home birth, midwife, unmedicated, water birth
welcome baby kailaya!
it’s been several months now, but i had the incredible honor of photographing another birth! kathy and my relationship was at first just professional, as she was looking for someone to help capture her 3rd and final birthing that would take place at their home; but quickly we grew to be friends. for those of you who don’t know kathy, this woman LOVES being pregnant!!! she loves the way she looks, feels, all of it! and her birthing was simply miraculous! her baby was 9 lbs 8 1/2 oz and presented forehead first (which, btw is not the smallest part of the head) and this woman’s only anesthetic was the presence of all her family and friends (it was the most well attended birth i have ever been a part of), the sweet touches of her mother and daughter and husband, and water! kathy, you rock! and kailaya couldn’t be more beautiful! to see the whole story of this home birth, see below.
Posted in birth
Tagged childbirth, home birth, midwife, unmedicated
welcome baby lila!
i got a chance to do my first newborn photo shoot last week! maybe it’s because i have a baby of my own, but i just never grow tired of taking pictures of wee little ones. so far, my favorite type of photography is birth, with newborns coming in a close second.
you must admit, this family makes the most beautiful, bright eyes children! lila’s brother luke, wasn’t afraid of the camera and thus managed to steal (more than) a few pics of his own! their was such a sense of peacefulness in this home! i was so happy to be welcomed in and given the opportunity to capture some beautiful moments for this lovely, growing family!
dan + jennie + ben + ?
meet the steele family! dan and jennie, along with their little cutie, ben, are anticipating the arrival of their baby girl sometime the beginning of october. last sunday we met at the back bay and took advantage of the california beauty there by capturing just a glimpse of the miracle of pregnancy. it truly is one of those everyday miracles! there is a little person inside that cute round belly – a person with emotions and a soul and tiny fingernails! it’s just wild, if you really think about it!
welcome baby silas!
several weeks ago, i had the privilege of photographing another birth! i was introduced to deanna through our midwife, bj. who knew we had so much in common: both biola grads, pregnant, and using the same midwife. deanna and her husband brock have been married for 3 years. get this, at the same time she found out she was pregnant, he was finding out that he would be deployed to afghanistan for 15 months. when they both saw each other that evening, they had a lot to talk about. wow, i cannot imagine that! obviously, brock was unable to make it to the birth in person, but he was able to be there remotely via skype! that’s why the black macbook is in a lot of the photos! it was amazing, actually! deanna says that most of the time when they talk via skype, the call gets dropped every 5 minutes or so, but during the birth and afterwards (about 4 hours) the call only was lost a handful of times! what a blessing it was that he could be a part of that special day that ethan silas made his way into the world. deanna did an AMAZING job!!! it was so inspiring to me to watch her confidence in her self and her support people (side note: emily, deanna’s neighbor, drove deanna to the birth center along with her first child who was 5 weeks old! the little one slept through the whole birth! and emily was such a strong calming presence – both to deanna and the rest of us in the room! i was so glad that emily could be there to encourage and support deanna!) below is a tasteful slideshow i put together for deanna and brock that they are allowing me to share with you 
Posted in birth
Tagged childbirth, home birth, midwife, unmedicated, water birth