pre- & post-pregnancy, a self-portrait

'Making the decision to have a child is momentous.It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.'  -Elizabeth Stone

I decided to try something fun...well, in some sort of post-pregnancy state I thought it would be fun ;) Two days before EllaGrace was born, I took the photo on the left with my camera on the tripod & the self-timer. Two weeks after she was born, I did the photo on the right. Ry (my oldest) helped with this one. I again had my camera on my tripod, but he got to press the shutter. Running back & forth with a baby, racing against the self-timer, just didn't sound like the adventure I wanted to pursue. In the end, it turned out pretty close to what I envisioned. Considering it took me a week just to upload these photos to my computer, pretty close is going to have to work :) I think I'll stick to photos of my kiddos- I'm so in love with their recent photos, I have to admit I look at them often (in case you missed the post of the three of them, check it out here!).

cm monthly challenge: friendship

'Sitting there in your pajamas & all the time in the world & if I could keep any moment it would be this:watching you & holding my breath with the wonder of it all.' -Brian Andreas

This month our CM challenge is friendship- we have a beautiful new friendship developing in our household with our baby girl, EllaGrace (her newborn pictures are here). The boys are in love. They both are being incredible helpers & tend to her continuously. Ry soothes her with songs. Covey refers to her as 'his baby.' For the most part, the transition to three has been smooth....except Covey has decided that it's funny to ask if his baby sister is still in my belly & tells me at least once a day my belly is still big. Hmmmm. Not sure how I feel about that one. Luckily, he's known to be the family clown & likes a good laugh, so for now I'll just go with it ;)

I knew I wanted pictures of my three kiddos for this month's photo challenge, I just wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish it. At the moment, Ry is my muse, Covey not so much. A few days ago I decided to attempt a very impromptu photo session with them. There may have been a little bribing involved (Covey does love chocolate!), but the moments captured are so real. I think I'm discovering that impromptu works best for my kids. They see my camera come out way too often, but the more I attempt to capture our daily life & less I ask them to smile, the happier I am with the final product. Through these images, I see their friendship- I already treasure it & look forward to watching it grow with them.

Now head on over to view the talented Mindy Newton's post on friendship!

introducing

'May you touch dragonflies & stars, dance with the fairies & talk to the moon.May you grow up with love & gracious hearts & people who care. Welcome to the world little one, it's been waiting for you!' -Anonymous

Our sweet baby girl gets to be my sweet baby model. In all honesty, it was a bit of a challenge to do a newborn shoot of my own newborn for no other reason except motivation. When I sit on the couch holding her, I have all these ideas for her pictures floating through my head, but actually getting up & following through with the ideas? That motivation, yep, it wasn't quite there...until a few days ago. I took some pictures here & there in our first week together (they can be seen here) & then my energy suddenly reappeared & with it came the motivation I was lacking. I'm so glad it returned because I am absolutely in love with the photos I got. Perhaps it's partially because she's my own, but I know part of it is because I finally did something I've been thinking about for months- I had a lifestyle newborn shoot. I've felt like this was the path I needed to follow for my newborn photography & have been a little anxious to try it out with Ella. While I think some posing is sweet, the extensive props & posing is just not a good fit for me. I love capturing the reality of our newborn- her bright eyes checking out the world so intensely, the love her brothers have for her, the tiny little details that are already changing. Everything seems to pass so quickly, but thankfully these pictures will help us remember the early days of EllaGrace, who we named after our paternal Grandma's (in one of the photos below).

& now we are five

On saturday the 14th we welcomed our little girl into this big world. It's always hard to believe you are 9 days overdue, then suddenly holding your one-week old. But that's where I'm at. It's been a wonderful week. Everyone's happy, content, healthy. The boys finally have their sister, the one we've been talking about for months. The one I think they may not have believed us about. She eats, sleeps & poops a lot. At her check-up today, she already bypassed her birth weight (by .2 ounces, but it all counts, right?). She smiles in her sleep. Tonight she was talking & smiling at Ry. They already have a special bond. Both the boys are in love- we all are. But Covey's feeling the middle child placement. He's so sweet to her. Kisses her. Asks to hold her. But he's also our mischievous one. He flushed three large objects down the toilet this week. Mike had to remove the toilet, completely, & use his plumbing skills to retrieve the objects (twice). It really has been a good week, with some added & unexpected entertainment. & now we are five. Here is our first week together.

Welcome to the world, EllaGrace.

Ry is very protective.

Covey's in love with "his baby."

Ry learned how to draw a star today.

looking forward to another week of sunshine & rainbows.

41 weeks

I'm a week behind in posting this picture, but still wanted to share it. 41 weeks. 2 days before our sweet baby girl made her entrance into this big world. I've been snapping up photos of her with my iPhone, but have big intentions of a newborn shoot. So far, I've found it easiest to get a few here & there, as time & energy allow. But soon her beautiful face will be introduced to the blog. Her brothers are so proud & excited about her. It's been a precious six days in our house.