I am so excited to share these pictures of our sweet, precious baby Lucy!
After having my son Caleb, I sort of surrendered myself to that #boymom life. I think us boy-moms have a bit of comradery. We are used to mud, bugs, farts, trains, trucks, and these wild, beautiful adventurous spirits teaching and pushing us in new directions that we never imagined. Sure, I always admired the girl clothes at Target from afar, but if I only ever had boys, that would have been ok with me. I mean my cousins all have boys too, so I didn't really think I'd be the one to break the trend.
Well, God must have wanted this girly-girl to have a girl of own, and I am so glad he did. Prepare yourself for some pink filled photos and...
Meet Lucy Emma.
I had debated for months before she was born whether or not to hire another photographer. I wondered if I would really feel up to it right after giving birth. Also, it is hard directing someone else to take the photos and still feel in the moment. The control freak in me won out, and I took on the task of taking our own photos.
All in all, I am really pleased with how they turned out and I am glad to have been able to do this as a keepsake for my own family. Shout out to my husband and dad for taking some of the shots with me in them.
I'm going to do a separate blog post on her bedroom, because I am just that basic. I seriously enjoyed decorating it with touches of pink, white, and gold. I think it turned out as a really happy, chill room.
As a side note, this "Lucy" sign is how my in-laws found out her name! We had spray painted it and had it drying in the garage, intending to do a little name reveal at Caleb's 2nd birthday party with just our family and my friend Ellen and her family.... but whoops!
I'll start out with the obligatory family group photo.
I just think our family photos are so laughable. Caleb was in a MOOD and would not look at the camera, let alone smile. So he was watching Thomas the Train on Eric's phone during these pictures. What can you do?! I guess we could have come back to it later and done more, but I was not about to do my hair again.
Oh wait! He looked! He looks like the Home Alone movie cover!
Anyway, I think I'm one of those weird sicko photographers who love the pictures where the older sibling does not look happy to meet their new baby. I mean that is just life sometimes, and I think we will look back on them one day and laugh! Obviously for my actual clients I would do much better than this, but I was feeling pretty laid back about it.
Of course Eric gets this adorable picture with the kids.
Here is one of mine.
Now that I got the blooper reel out of the way, there are so many pictures that I ended up loving and I know I will always cherish. Having two kids this close in age is no joke and some (all?) days are a challenge, but I am so thankful that they will get to grow up side-by-side and they make my heart so full. There is no feeling like holding them both on your lap at the same time. I'm a lucky mama.
We just took SO SO many pictures, and I hope you enjoy browsing through the rest of my favorites! This blog post is only a 4 minute read, and I promise that I showed restraint!
For starters, here are the pictures that we took in our master bedroom. I love taking lifestyle newborn pictures in people's bedrooms. They just look so clean and cuddly. If you are having lifestyle newborn pictures taken, I highly recommend throwing a neutral colored comforter on the bed. It keep the focus on your faces and interactions. Also, when you frame the pictures and hang them in your home they will look amazing with any decor.
Next, I usually take a bunch of pictures in the nursery. Too many favorites to choose from. I think this is my new favorite room in the house. Since we had just moved, hers was the only room that we had decorated at this point.
Eric... you are a good man for not complaining that your wife bought a pink chair.
Seriously makes my heart burst! Hot dad alert! I had to throw something embarrassing like that in here. I'm sure when he reads this he will yell... "COLLEEEEEN!!!!!!!!" Love you!
The cutest little yawn!!
We all know that babies sleep in your arms, your chest, or their crib, and as such I do not incorporate many props into my newborn photography. Props are just not really my personal jam, but I have a lot of respect for the photographers that do that. Posing newborns in that way is really an art. That being said, I do have one basket prop that I bring with me to my newborn shoots, and it was fun to put my own little babe in it.
And then she gives me this amazing smile. She's really the sweetest baby ever.
I still need to finish her newborn video which is a similar look to these pictures, the main difference being it is a compilation of actual videos set to music. To me, video can be even more powerful than pictures because of its ability to capture a baby's movements and sweet facial expressions. The newborn phase goes so fast and it's so easy to forget all of the nuances. Can't wait to share that later.
Thanks for reading!
Colleen