Amber and Justin proudly welcomed Baby Eli on March 22nd.   Two weeks later I packed up the car for a solo road trip to Baltimore to pay them a visit and boy-oh-boy was it worth braving the morning commute!

As I began shooting, I assured Amber and Justin that this time would be much easier than the belly portraits because all they had to do was love on that little baby.   They took to their task and I to mine.  Every new parent spends hours staring at their baby, studying every feature and just watching them breathe.  You can’t even believe how the time passes while all you are doing is counting fingers and toes.  What’s sweet is that Eli is every bit as interested in studying his parents, he can’t get enough of looking into their faces.  In fact, he was awake almost the entire time I was shooting, a rare occurrence in a newborn shoot, and all he wanted to do was stare into their eyes.  He is in love with them too.  It was wonderful to watch.

Eli has the best baby legs… ever!

And then finally, Eli couldn’t help….getting….sleepy…. and the Sandman won towards the very end of our shoot.

I’m not sure exactly why this shot sums up those first couple weeks at home with a baby for me.  Maybe its Justin’s socks, or the comfy bed, or the car seat sitting in the corner of the room and begging go somewhere when all that really matters is happening right here.  As sleepless as those first couple weeks are, its also a beautiful and quiet time when the outside world ceases to exist and life is allowed to be delightfully simple for a short while.

I could keep typing but I’ll let the pictures do the talking.  Congratulations, Amber and Justin, on such a beautiful baby boy.  And welcome, Eli, its going to be an amazing year!  Here’s the slideshow and click here to see the online gallery.

Posted by Mel @ 7:12 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Roscoe’s family has been pretty special to me ever since I photographed his birth back in 2009.  The plan was to photograph his little brother Merritt’s birth as well but Merritt had his own plans… he arrived 7 weeks early!  Safe and healthy, thank goodness, but definitely not a candidate for home birth or an ideal photography scenerio.  For over a month after Merritt’s birth, Jacqueline spent her days in the NICU doing everything possible to be there for her baby while Andy and Roscoe held down the fort at home.   It was an extremely frustrating and split existence for Roscoe’s family, both necessary for Merritt’s safety but against the grain of all parental instincts.  Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to jump in the car and make the drive to see this family reunited: healthy, happy, and adjusting well to a new life together.

Hey, Roscoe.  I love that his famous bunny is in the background of my greeting shot.

Roscoe isn’t even two yet but he’s so enthusiastic about his little brother.  ”Mairt!!!”, he cried and held out his arms to hold his little brother…  Merritt, however, may not be so sure about this.

But it was all kisses.

I remember the phone call well, I had called a friend to see how her family was adjusting to baby #2 and asked about her eldest.  ”Oh, he’s fine most of the time”, she said, “but he has started nursing a stuffed shark.”  I remember laughing out loud but is it really any surprise when kids imitate their parents?  Its especially nice when children grow up knowing that breast feeding is just a normal part of family life, something that this country has yet to really accept in the public sphere.  So you go, Roscoe, you feed that hungry baby… anywhere you want, buddy…

The past couple months have been a real bonding experience for Roscoe and Andy, who spent a lot of time together while Jacqueline tended to Merritt in the hospital.  I really enjoyed photographing the boys together.

I love this beautiful portrait of Jacqueline because its also a beautiful portrait of motherhood.

Ah, new baby smell.  It kicks new car smell to the curb every time.

Its amazing how much Merritt looks like his older brother when he’s sleeping.  That’s newborn Roscoe, on top, and Merritt below.  Crazy, huh?

But, when awake, Merritt has expressions all his own.  That, and a pretty cool baby mohawk.  He’s going to have a style all his own…

While the nursery, understandably, isn’t quite finished yet, its got such a cool star and space theme going on that I can’t wait to see it when its complete!  Andy and Jacqueline painted his zodiac constellation on the wall as well as the GPS coordinates of the house.  Which I hope they keep, because even though Merritt wasn’t born an Aries or at home, who would be the wiser?  Its so creative and full of love…  Oh, and a cool twist of fate: in the NICU, Merritt was given a blanket at random made by a volunteer which just so happened to have a space theme.  So the plan really was written in the stars!  I couldn’t help but include that blanket in few shots against the star wall, it complimented the sleepy little star gazer.

Here’s a slideshow from the day and click here to view the online gallery.  Jacqueline and Andy, congratulations on yet another beautiful boy and thanks once again for bringing me out to document this little slice of life.  Its definitely the good life…

Posted by Mel @ 8:05 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

I love the story the way my mother tells it:  I’m 4, a few months older than Camille is in this shoot and my baby sister is 4 or 5 months old, a few months older than Baby Carmen.  My mother is fixing dinner in the kitchen and listening to me as I push Katy in a swing and tell her all my secrets.  Like any good mother, she listens in and overhears, “You know, I didn’t like you very much at first.  But now I think you’re kind of OK.”

So naturally, this was my frame of reference when Camille didn’t really feel like taking pictures with her mom and baby sister, Carmen, who turned four weeks old the day of the shoot.  Hang on – unfair – let me give you the back story: Camille is truly one of the most kind, thoughtful, warm and well behaved toddlers I have had the pleasure of knowing in recent years and I say that with absolute honesty… she is a gleaming reflection of her parents.  And Camille has been so excited for the arrival of her sister and is being so helpful, this was just one of the, well, harder days.  And in my professional, Jr. Psychologist opinion, any newly crowned older sibling, no matter how sweet, who doesn’t have the occasional bad day once the two most important people in the world are dividing their attention with what must seem like a very loud and poopy sack of potatoes, is bound to become a sociopath.  So I’m not in any way picking Camille here, I think what I’m trying to say is that there’s a sweet reality in these photos that will become all the more endearing as these two girls grown into inseparable friends.  Trust me, I know… after spending this past weekend with my sister on her birthday, I would have loved to have gifted her with a pic like this in a frame with the caption, “but now I think you are even better than kind of OK”.

Poor Tricia…Carmen was having a fussy day and was not so into photos herself.  I reminded Tricia that screaming baby photos are really cute because photos don’t have sound and it made her laugh.  Definitely one of the selling points for still photography, IMO.

Luckily Carmen couldn’t fight the Sandman for long so we got beautiful, sleepy baby photos in Tricia’s arms. Carmen looks a lot like her sister did at her age except for this cute little sprig of hair that sticks up, that is uniquely hers!

Carmen’s nursery is so beautiful, this is where we started taking pictures when I arrived.  I love the aqua blue walls with bright pink and brown accents, the birdie painting over the crib gives a hint of a tropical sanctuary.  Tricia and Patrick incorporated some of their own baby items into the decor of the room:  the shelf with Carmen’s name has Patrick’s baby cups and Tricia’s booties and one of Tricia’s diaper pins is framed for display too.

Camille looked very regal with the couch throw wrapped around her as she ascended the stairs to check out what we were doing…

But she was still feeling shy.

Tricia’s mom was able to join us for photos so we decided to try taking a few cuddle pics with all the girls on the couch downstairs.  Again, not a super popular idea, but at least here on the couch there’s a television for comfort.

Then we asked Camille if she wanted to hold her sister and she  just lit up.  She was just waiting to be asked I guess because she quickly folded her legs criss-cross applesauce and came alive.   What happened next is so sweet…

Here’s the online gallery and a slideshow of the shoot, Tricia let me pick the song so I couldn’t help this one.  Congratulations, Tricia and Patrick on two crazy beautiful girls.  Carmen is the greatest gift Camille has ever received, trust me, I know…

And Camille, you are my little hero.  I know how close you are to your momma and how hard it is to share.  We could all learn a lesson or two from you…

Posted by Mel @ 7:33 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | 2 Comments | Permalink

Well we knew it was coming but now its official… Brayden is a big brother!   I caught up with the family to meet their newest addition when Reese was just two weeks old.

We started out with some family cuddle time on the couch.  So who is cheesing harder here… Brayden or Sammy (dog in lower left)?

You know you are an expert mommy when these photos don’t make you nervous in the least: seeing a two year old hold a newborn still makes my heart flutter but Brayden is so gentle and careful and sweet.  At one point Amy asked him to kiss the baby and he licked her head, maybe not what we had in mind, but very sweet all the same.  He was very surprised when she yawned!

Then Brayden took us on a tour of her finished, rosey nursery.  He still likes to hang in her crib so I asked if he could show the baby how to sleep in a crib and this is what he did.

Reese is so gorgeous with a full, silky head of dark hair… already so different from her brother when he was her same age.

When I first saw this photo I thought to myself, “so this is what it looks like to have it all….”  I’m sure that there are moments with a newborn and toddler in tow where life feels more overwhelming than perfect but I was definitely getting the satisfied, very happy, very at peace, super grateful vibe from this newly expanded family.  If its true that the birth of a second child is where parenthood really begins, this family is off to a great start.

Everything wonderful and magical about motherhood is in this photo for me…

Here’s a slideshow from the session and the online gallery.  Amy and Jeff, congratulations on your beautiful daughter.  I’m so excited to watch her grow!

Posted by Mel @ 8:19 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Uncategorized, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink