Welcome to the World, Little One!

This morning at 6:30 I was awakened with the phone call I've been anticipating for the past two weeks... it was Aaron calling to let me know his wife Megan was dilated to 6 centimeters and it was time to go welcome my newest client to the world! Documenting childbirth is the most special event I get to witness with my camera, so I have been pretty excited about this since last spring when Megan shared the news she was pregnant again. This was the fourth childbirth I have documented (I was present at the birth of Megan & Aaron's second child, Brynn, about two and a half years ago- that's her at six minutes old in the far left photo on my web banner above!) but this was my first experience with home birth. After about six hours of labor by his amazing mama, Baby John (who is named after Aaron's father and will be called by his "to be determined" middle name) was born naturally into a pool of warm water at 8:13 am, weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 21.25 inches. Here are some photos of the beautiful little guy's first hours...

After awhile, big brother Gavin and big sister Brynn joined us downstairs to greet their new baby brother. Singing along with their sweet version of "Happy Birthday To You!" brought tears to my eyes!

Congratulations Megan, Aaron, Gavin & Brynn, and thank you so much for inviting me to be part of such a special event! It's been so fun documenting your growing family for you : )

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Asher & Mom
Christmas Day 2008

Each year I spend so much time making sure my clients have their family photos to send in their holiday cards that I don't usually have time to send out my own! This year I am remedying that situation by using my blog to wish you all a very happy Christmas and share a photo of Asher & myself while I'm at it! I hope you all enjoy your day with your loved ones and I look forward to seeing you all again in '009!

She's a Mama Now!

Well it's been a crazy few months but I *think* I can finally start trying to get back into the swing of things with blogging. I thought the best way to do so would be to pick up where I left off : ) My dear friend Naomi became a mama on October 19th with the successful delivery of this sweet little guy named Durkin. I got to celebrate Durkin's one week birthday with him and insisted upon documenting the early days of his relationship with his beautiful mama (and his Aunt Katie too!) Now to celebrate his two month birthday, I thought I would finally share the photos from that day.

Durkin Monroe in all his (6 pound) glory.

We thought he might be practicing gang signs.

Probably my favorite photo of baby toes yet!

Getting to know his cool Aunt Katie.

We made sure we documented his little newborn Spock ears : )

She looks so beautiful!

More gang signs?

Telling Mama stories.

Ready for clothes now, please!

Finally having a minute to process these pictures made me pretty excited about the fact that I currently have five expecting clients due between December and June : ) So many new little people to meet... in fact I'll be attending the birth of one of them any day now! Documenting childbirth is my favorite photography experience of all... be sure to check back for the photos!

That was then, this is now

Happy 13th Birthday, Asher!

A page from Asher's baby book. He was less than 12 hours old in the photo.


Today, on his 13th birthday
Scratched chin a gift from his rabbit, Claire

Missing In Action!

Just a brief note to let you all know I'm still out here, just insanely busy with moving to a new place across town and preparing for my mini-vacation to Raleigh next week with my best friend. I'm so far behind on blogging it feels like I'll never catch up, but I'm hoping to get some time to work on a few while we are stuck in one place on our travel days. I can't believe it's nearly November and I've still not posted wedding photos from August!


In the meantime, here's a little glimpse of where I've been spending the majority of my time... it's a teeny tiny little place which has needed a lot of Sandi-love to get it into a condition where Asher & I can be happy & comfortable calling it "home." Okay, maybe just where *I* can be happy & comfortable... the HUGE yard (and a lot of cool blue tape) seems to be sufficient for Ash : )

She's Having a Baby!

This afternoon I got to spend a few hours with one of my oldest & dearest friends, Naomi. She's due to have her first baby (a boy!) in about three weeks and since I had a shoot cancellation today, I had a little extra time to play while I was in Seattle. I invited her to join me so we could get some belly shots and have a little Sandi & Naomi time for the last time before she becomes a full fledged mama! We met in Ballard for lunch then went to the Locks to do a mini shoot. I wanted to share a few shots here so she has a place to come during these last few weeks of being very, very pregnant, to remind herself how beautiful she is : )

I've known this girl since I was five years old and have had plenty of time to figure out exactly why I love her. One of the best reasons is she's not at all afraid to have a little fun with the camera : )

To Naomi... the world can only be better with you in the role of "mother"... I can't wait to see "Mr. Bun" in your arms in just a few weeks : )