Bri and Casey

Every pregnancy is exciting, but there is something magical about the first one.  I was talking with Bri last night after the session and we were going through pictures and I was telling her that there just is something extra special about maternity pictures with your first baby.  Because we are truly capturing life as it is. This time around there aren't kids at home with a sitter while we are pulled into a whimsical world of beautiful light, and perfect belly-accentuating outfits.  This is life!   Life is just you and your husband, and the excitement and wonder of what your belly holds.  First time moms don't look at their bellies with the "knowing" that a seasoned mother does.  That round tummy is an exciting, curious (mildly frightening) adventure that they're itching to start... you wonder what he'll look like, what he'll be like, what you will be like as a mom, if your husband will change diapers, if labor is as scary as you've read about in all your pregnancy books, if you will go to bed one night wake up in a puddle of water and skip off to the hospital, if he'll be bald, or if he'll be a crier.  You do your hospital tour, and all the recommended childbirth and infant care classes. You worry about having a monstrous sized baby.  You are elated, and freaked out all at the same time, that they will actually be sending this little baby home with you from the hospital.  It's magic. It's a magical time.  It's amazing, and it's beautiful.

I have been waiting for this day!  I knew Bri was pregnant before she could even believe it. When she tested, we analyzed and stressed over whether or not that little pink line was dark enough to in fact indicate that she was pregnant. I did the happy dance when she found out it was "most likely" a girl... and did it again when she found out it was actually a boy!  We oohed and aahed with her over his perfect nursery furniture and bedding.  We've played the name game.  We've had the shower.  Now it was time for the kickoff to my part in all this... picture time :)  It made me so excited for newborn pictures, the first year of family pictures... all of it.  But today we focused on that belly.  On the magic and wonder of what it held.  And she truly could not have been more beautiful. 

I love Bri and Casey.  Love them!  Casey is hysterically funny.  He is loud, and talkative, and has never met a stranger.  He has the most infectious laugh, and you always want to join in when you hear it. He is one of my husbands best friends.  And Bri is one of mine!  She is smart, and quiet, and tremendously kind.  She is soft, and gentle, and compassionate.  They are perfect opposites, and perfectly matched.  They are a pair of the most loving people I know.  They are so thrilled for this little boy.  They can't wait for him to get here (and frankly, neither can I).  This will be a wonderful pair of parents to have... But until then, we get to watch the magic of the anticipation of that first baby.  And it is so beautiful...

JD and Katie

This shoot was so emotional for me... from conception to the finished product.  Katie is as close to a sister as you can get for me, and we've known each other for our entire lives.  The journey to her getting pregnant has been a long, tumultuous, and often tear-filled one.  We have all been silently rooting and waiting (along with many others) for this time to come for both JD and Katie.  When she finally told me her news I could hardly believe that this was it... the time was now!  And then when she told me that she was having twins, well, I cried like a baby.

Their road was littered with painful tears for so long, but now the joyful, thankful tears are taking their place. It feels like the whole world is excited for JD and Katie and the lucky girls who will get to call them "Mom" and "Dad" in just a few months.  And those two truly couldn't be any luckier... Not only will they have the most wonderful, fun loving, patient, and humorous dad... They'll have a beautiful, tender, nurturing mother to love and guide them through this crazy life.  The best part of all is that those girls are coming to a family to be loved by two parents who love each other so much.  JD has always adored Katie, always bringing a smile to her face, and a laugh to her belly.  She still glows when he's around... I can't imagine any better setting for two little lives to begin...

JD and Katie-

I know there were questions about whether or not this was in the cards for you... lots of prayers were prayed on your behalf, and tears shed for the pain you felt while you waited.  Even as we all imagined what this time would be like if it came, I don't think any one of us thought it could be this good.  The love, the thankfulness, you feel for your sweet girls is palpable.  The happiness is tangible.  Happy is an understated word.  Because "happiness" when it feels like this... to be so happy... that is rare, and it is wonderful.  This is a blessing of everlasting proportions, and one that I, for one, cannot wait to enjoy along with you.  I can't wait to watch you embrace your roles as parents, and to laugh your way through the bumps together.  The time is here... enjoy every little piece of it.  You were made for happiness like this!

Kelsey

Jared and Rachelle

My wonderful brother in law, and sister in law are pregnant with their fifth, and final baby.  Rachelle has never taken maternity pictures with any of her previous babies, so she wanted to go out with a bang!  Now she is kicking herself for never doing something like this before, but I am just glad she did it for at least one of her babes.  She is such a beautiful woman inside and out, and truly one of my dearest and best friends. She and Jared are a hand in glove pair, and after 12 years and five children still love and adore each other.  That was extra fun during the shoot, because so many of the shots were just them composing themselves by doing what was already so natural to them. And I have to give props to Jared who was such a wonderful sport as we made him trek all over, dressed to match his wife, and take pictures for a couple of hours... What a guy!  But seriously, who could complain about having to snuggle up to this HOT MAMA?!

Rachelle and I had so much fun collaborating together about what she would wear, how we would style, and where we would take these pictures.  We shopped, and seached, and conspired for weeks so that everything would be just right.  You have no idea how hard it was to narrow down all the amazing things we captured to just this few!

I love these "three" so much!  I cannot WAIT for sweet baby Kade to get here in a month!  In the meantime I could not be happier about these "treasures" for his Mom and Dad.  Pregnancy is such a special thing each and every time you do it, but I think especially so when you are trying to breathe in each moment of it, knowing it will be the final time you get to experience it.  

Soak it in, my friend!  Savor the kicks, and the wiggles, and even the heartburn, and the aches and pains.  You are about to close one chapter, and forge your way into a new one.  I can't wait to watch you conquer being a mother of five children... each and every one of them lucky to have been born to a woman who lives to be a mother.  I have no doubt that you will take it all in stride, and continue to amaze all of us who get to watch you nurture and raise your family.  I love you!