2019 has been the “Year of Babies!” I’m pretty sure by the end of the year I will have photographed more babies in 2019 than in my whole career combined!

When I photograph newborns I bring the session to the family’s home where everyone is comfortable in their own surroundings and the newborn doesn’t have to be taken out. When I arrive I look around to find the best window light and setting that will make for nice pictures. I bring along a few swaddles and props, but it’s always special when there’s a blanket that a grandma made to wrap the baby or something unique to the parents to incorporate into the session. I’ve learned over the years that you need a lot of patience with newborns! The sessions can take anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours (one time I was with a baby for almost 4 hours!! Eeek!) Their tummies need to be full and it’s best if they sleep!

It’s my pleasure to introduce to you all the cute little babies I’ve met this year! (I’ll try to keep it to four pictures of each…that’s hard to do!)

  Garrett Torin Hunter Caroline Graham Hadley Lydian Elliott Weston

Sun-Kissed Creek and Meadow Session

In this part of the country (Ohio specifically) winter can sometimes seem to lag on, and somehow this year spring and warmer temps felt like a long time in coming. It’s easy to get a bit down-in-the-dumps when it comes to the “dead” scenery around, HOWEVER, let me be the first to say that this session was not the case! The sun was shining and all of the muted colors left from winter blended beautifully with Jenna’s outfits! Not to sound cliché, but this momma-to-be was literally glowing…STUNNING! Let’s talk fashion… Jenna’s choice of maternity outfits for this session were on point! Everything was from Amazon, and Jenna shared they were all reasonably priced!    Jared and Jenna, thank you so much for allowing me to capture this stage for you! Many blessings as you anticipate the arrival of little Torin! I’ll be excited to hear of his arrival!

I love photographing births! When Katelyn contacted me months ago about their home birth, you can guess how excited I was! While I’ve photographed numerous hospital births, this was my first one in a home!

The story…

Joe and Katelyn’s first two children came so quickly they didn’t even have time to make it to the hospital! Joe and Katelyn delivered their first two by themselves, but decided to pursue a planned home birth this time. Considering how quickly Katelyn’s labor and deliveries had gone in the past, I was praying I’d make it in time! The midwives and I arrived in time to find Katelyn on her bed, happy and chill! But like both of her other birth experiences it didn’t last long! One thing that stood out to me about the home birth experience was the atmosphere and spirit of family. The older kids were amazing at playing and entertaining themselves. Then after the baby was born they were right there with mom, dad and the baby together as a family.  When it was time for the baby to be born it all happened VERY quickly and Katelyn ended up having the baby on her knees in the middle of the bathroom! I love the picture below!! Just take in all that’s happening…mom’s holding their new baby boy while breathing a sigh of relief, dad’s over with big sister, and the midwife in the background is checking the time of the birth. Katelyn thought it might feel good to sit in the tub a bit after Dominic was born…I was super glad for the beautiful photo op! 🙂 Welcome to the family little one! Big brother wanted to capture some pictures with his camera, too! Big sister loved sitting with mom and the baby on the bed. She said, “I pet him!” 🙂 The Choice Midwives were great! I appreciated watching their expertise and attention to both the health and care of mom and baby.

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!”

Psalm 139: 14, 17

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.”

Psalm 139: 13, 16

The evening I joined the Yoder family to take little James’ newborn pictures I recognized the fact that his session was more than just some pictures, it was a true celebration of life! This little guy had everyone there…mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa, aunt, and uncles all doting on him! What a great example of how helpful it is in life to have a community surrounding us.  We need others to cheer us on, to encourage and support us in the ups and downs, to point our eyes to Christ, and to love us. This little guy is blessed!

And just to give you a glimpse into the love and support James has, I asked his mom, Christine, if I could share a recent post she beautifully wrote about motherhood and the love God has for us.

In Christine’s words…

“Yesterday I was talking with my friend and she asked how motherhood is going. I told her it’s been amazing and how I’m obsessed with my son (and rightly so, I mean come on 🙂 ), but I also told her that lately Scriptures have been coming alive for me like never before…

I find myself telling James things like, ‘Oh you know your mommy’s voice’ and then think of John 10 and how we know the Father’s voice because we’re from Him, we are His. Another time I was squeezing James saying, ‘Do you know how much mommy loves you? Do you know?’ I wanted him to understand this unconditional, overwhelming feeling of love I have for him that he can never lose, and then I was reminded of Ephesians 1 and Paul’s prayer for them to understand this immeasurable love God has for us. I get filled with joy every time I hear my husband Vincent say to James, “I love you, son, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” and then I’m reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 8 that state “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (including ourselves.) Other times I will simply stare and marvel at this human Vincent and I created with God and be in awe that he formed from us, out of our love. And so it is between God and us–we come from Him and in Him is our origin. We look just like Him, just like James looks like his mommy and daddy. And so at the end of the day I told my friend that while I’m absolutely loving being a mom, I’m also now more than ever loving being a daughter.”

“Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!”  Psalm 71:6, NLT

This little guy was born at 12:06 a.m. Guess was his grandma’s badge number is?! 1206…pretty cool if you ask me!

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”  Psalm 139:16-17, NLT

Over the last three years, this family has been on a journey that included cancer, healing, trust, unknowns, ups and downs and now…joy! This little miracle is such a precious gift to their family.  Thank You, Lord, for the blessing of Jensen!

Okay, now for some super cute “outtakes!” When you have a three-year-old along, you can’t help but get a little mischief caught on camera! Warning: these next few pics will bring a sweet chuckle!

YES! He’s pinching Jensen’s nose!

Peekaboo! How about we lick mommy’s face?!

My dear friends Jonathan and Caranda have been on a very long journey as they faced the pain of empty arms. Sometimes we don’t understand God’s timing. Sometimes the journey is just plain painful. Sometimes the journey doesn’t go like we would have planned or ever imagined.

In a HUGE praise to the LORD, Jonathan and Caranda’s arms are no longer empty!! Their story is quite honestly a bit mind boggling and all-together AMAZING!

Below are Jonathan’s words sharing about their miracle…

“How do you define a miracle? Ours came after five, sometimes discouraging, years of waiting.

Our miracle came to us through a cousin, just minutes from the end of her shift as a midwife, delivering one more baby. Ours came from a birth-mother who walked into a hospital without an adoption plan, delivered 45 minutes later, and decided that we were the ones. Our miracle came to us in a phone call that woke us up on a Saturday morning, telling us that ours had been born just minutes before. Our miracle is Avery Lynette Miller and we’re excited for you to meet her.