Lincoln's Birth | Orlando Birth Photographer

About a year ago I was at dinner with some friends who were in town. I looked down at my phone and realized I had missed a few text messages. They were from Julie. It said she was having contractions but she wasn't sure if she was in labor or not. She was going to pay attention, time them and let me know. I could hardly concentrate at dinner because I kept thinking about whether she was in labor or not, what I needed to pack and who I was going to leave Greyson with. Finally at the end of dinner I jumped in the car and called her. She asked, "How will I know if it's really labor?" and then all of a sudden a contraction came. I could hear the tears in her voice as she breathed through the contraction. 

"That the real thing, Julie! I'm packing my bag and will be on my way." It was 8:30pm by the time I started the 4.5 hour drive. I've never felt like I needed to get somewhere so fast! I would have been devastated to miss it. By the time I got to Naples she was resting pretty comfortably with an epidural in place. She was insistent that I get some sleep since it seemed like it would be a while. There was no way I could get any rest! We spent lots of time "trying" to rest with the lights off but we couldn't. Every few minutes we'd start talking to each other, anticipating what was to come. 

Once morning time came around she got herself ready…. a little makeup goes a long way when you're stuck in a hospital bed. Around one o'clock it was finally time to push. I remember them saying she'd be practicing for a while so I started to get my camera ready and figure out exactly where I wanted to stand. After one practice push the nurse told her to stop. Her push was effective and it was actually time to have him. She didn't need to practice. If you know Julie, thats just how she is. She is efficient… no practice necessary. Why would labor be any different for her?

A few minutes later she was pushing again and seconds later he was born. What a moment. It was so surreal to be in the room and watch that sweet baby take his very first breath and meet his mommy and daddy for the first time. My best friend became a mom in that very moment and life as she knew it changed. Life really is such a miracle and this moment was such a great reminder of that. 

Julie and Paul, thank you for letting me be a part of this special day. It truly was an honor to capture these moments for you!  

I blogged sweet Lincoln's newborn session here. 

Meet Max | Heathrow Newborn Photographer

Meet Max. 

I always enjoy newborn sessions because I love sweet little babies and I love chatting with parents about the transition a new baby brings. But this sessions was even more enjoyable because it was of my childhood best friend's little boy. His mom and I were born 5 days apart and lived a block from each other from day one. We grew up playing together and being more like sisters than friends. I have a ton of funny and embarrassing stories I could tell about those first 18 years. I moved away for college and she moved across the country with her new hubby... time passed and life changed for both of us. 

But now... we live thirty minutes away from each other. I am so incredibly excited to watch her be a mom and to hopefully raise our boys to be great friends who make a lot of embarrassing stories of their own :) 

Lincoln is here! | Lake County Newborn Photographer | Central Florida Newborn Photographer |

Meet Lincoln, my best friend's little man. I can't even tell you how much I already love this little boy. I hate that this family lives four hours away from me, but was so happy when his mommy and daddy decided to bring him to me for his newborn session. I loved taking his pictures but I also loved that they stayed with us for the weekend and I had plenty of time to snuggle him. I also got to watch my best friend be a mom. Motherhood sure does look good on her. I kept wondering "how does she have it all together?!" I remember crying a lot when Greyson was first home from the hopsital. I cried when I was happy. tired. sad. tired. unsure. tired.... I guess I remember being really tired in that season? Anyways, she has made motherhood look easy and way less exhausting. I'll be working on his birth blogpost shortly. Those images might be my favorite... ever! But for now, enjoy this cutie at 11 days old.

Sweet Amelia is here! | Central Florida Newborn Photographer

I was so excited to travel down to Fort Myers to document such a special time in this sweet family's life. They welcomed baby number two into their family. I loved getting to meet this darling little girl! I remember a year and a half ago when her brother had just came home from the hospital and I took his newborn pictures.  Now he is the big brother! I had a blast taking some sibling shots of them. Since he is only 18 months old he wasn't too sure about laying down with her and I wasn't too sure about him holding her. So we improvised.... we got her situated and placed cheerios on her to get his attention. And let me tell you - it worked!!!

Love this family. Thank you guys for inviting me to capture such a big moment in your lives! 

{Where have I been?}

My life has been cluttered with to-do lists for months. Blogging is one of the things on my list(s) that just hasn’t been crossed off in a while. Instead I keep transferring it from one list to the next. Am I the only one that does that?

Regardless, blogging has been on the top of my list for a while. I realize I never showed off sweet little Kherington who I was able to capture in her mommy’s tummy a few months before she arrived. It was decided that I would try to be there for her birth if all things worked out (time, babysitter, etc.). Well, while climbing into bed one night I got a the text that said things might be happening. So, I was on alert. Not long after, around one in the morning Megan said ‘we’re heading to the hospital.’ I told her to let me know once she was there, checked and had made some serious progress. There was a quick text back that said to come now. I was a little hesitant but knew Megan knew her body. I was on my way, and made it with little time to spare. You should have seen me running through the hospital parking lot in the middle of the night, quietly hoping no one was going to snatch me up.... I watch Criminal Minds a lot!

Megan made labor look so easy. She was able to use her breathing techniques and stay so in control of her body. I teared up a few times watching her husband love on and support her through the pain. He was right next to her wiping away tears, holding her hand and constantly giving gentle encouragement. I could tell it was hard for her mom to watch her daughter in pain. Luckily, it all went by so fast. They had a few pediatricians in the room, knowing that Kherington would be quickly swept away and examined. So I stayed back in the corner, out of the way.

 Here are a few pictures of the day she was born. And here are a glimpse of what we captured a week later. The one of her and her brother might be one of my favorite pictures ever!

{Selah} Newborn Session

I cant think of anything sweeter than a teeny tiny new baby. I was so happy to take a few pictures of this cute little girl. Well, to me, most babies seem little since my "little" guy was 9lb 10oz. {I was shocked too!} Sweet Selah was so easy to take pictures of, she must take after her parents, who are complete naturals in front of a camera. You would think they had both spent a few years modeling at some point in their lives. Honestly, I didn't have to say, "now look at each other" or "look at her," they knew exactly what they were doing. Even though they make great models they make even better parents. They are crazy about their new arrival and they are complete naturals with her. Watching both of them soothe her in their own special ways and capturing it in pictures was priceless. It was so hard to only post a few pictures. I could have done a whole post on just the nursery... every piece is absolutely amazing! Here is a little sneak peak of sweet Selah.