Ismael & Lauren’s maternity photos

“A grand adventure is about to begin.” —Winnie the Pooh

In the first year I began seriously pursuing newborn photography I recall chatting with my colleague, Ismael Velazquez, not long after he got married. Though I know he was likely in no rush to have children, I recall mentioning that when that “someday” came that I’d love to photograph his little one like I was just beginning to do for so many others. A few months ago Ismael let me know his wife was expecting their first child and that they were interested in having me do their maternity and newborn photos. Though it’s always a treat to photograph these first moments for families, it’s definitely a little more special when they’re a part of my Valencia family. Ismael & Lauren met with me earlier today and were brave enough to be tortured by me for two separate maternity sessions. Here they are totally full of anticipation to meet their little one in about a month.

Lauren’s just over 35 weeks pregnant and I imagine is anxious for the next month to pass.

It was fun spending time with Ismael & Lauren. It’s always tough to really get couples to loosen up at first during maternity sessions but these two took to my paparazzi habits well. Yes, I’d love to say these are totally posed moments, but really they were talking and chatting the entire time to help keep themselves distracted…it made a world of difference too.

Here’s the baby belly with mommy & daddy’s hands anxious to meet their little one…

I think everyone will agree that Lauren sports pregnancy well and looked stunning this morning for her maternity photos.

If you’re ever on a photo session with me in the future and I say “chicken wings” or “meatballs” you can blame Ismael. Throughout their session I had him talk to Lauren and asked him to say things at times that might provoke a laugh. Yes, chicken wings and meatballs were quite funny sometimes and helped us capture many smiles today. Of course one of the great smiles in the photo below on the left was when the baby was busy kicking Lauren. I think the baby’s ready for it’s newborn photos!:)

I adore this photo of them…then again, I felt like I said that for just about all the photos we took today.

After the indoor session we headed over the Rollins College to do part 2 of their maternity session.

Yes, meatballs…funny stuff.:)

Some of my favorite shots of the day were taken in a grass field. I had this vision of taking some from above. This is definitely not the easiest thing to do photographing adults, especially while I’m 25+ weeks pregnant myself. I’m sure Ismael & Lauren will get a laugh out of some of the outtake unedited photos that include my own belly in them. It was definitely a challenge to compose them into the shot without my feet or my own baby belly getting in the photo. But look at these sweet shots…I love them.:)

I recall about two years ago a good friend of mine had visions of doing photos on a huge grass field…as she said “like in the tide commercials”. Back then I just couldn’t picture it…perhaps because I didn’t know of a big enough grass field close by…until today. Yes, I suppose it takes me taking photos to picture other photos people have wanted me to take over the years. It may not be “the grass field” a friend had in mind a couple years back but it sure gave me deja vue today wishing I had known about this field a couple years ago. I adore these photos of Ismael & Lauren on a field at Rollins.

One of the best things about doing photography is getting out exploring and trying new things. I have been to Rollins many times for photography now and love the campus. Every time I go out there are new spots I find. I had been to the lake before but on our way down there I took a different route unintentionally and nearly gave up on the idea of taking this photo near the trees and lake because the route we had taken just wasn’t what I had remembered or envisioned. Thankfully Ismael & Lauren were up for a short hike along the lake and just as I was about to give up on this idea I spotted these trees with lots of moss near the lake. They were perfect for some of the last photos of the day.

I think this may be my favorite photo of the day. A breathtaking moment with the expecting parents.

I’d love to take all the credit for taking these awesome photos but a ton of credit goes to this awesome couple – they certainly made my job easier today.

Okay, maybe this is my favorite shot of the day too. We definitely ended the day on a memorable note.:)

Ismael & Lauren thanks for an awesome & memorable session with you two. I hope you both enjoy the last few weeks “waiting” for your little one to arrive…can’t wait to meet the baby around the New Year!

Giving Thanks.

“God doesn’t give you the people you want; He gives you the people you need…to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you, and to make you into the person you were meant to be.” —Unknown

It seems only appropriate to share some new photos today to share my gratitude on a day I certainly have much to be thankful for. I have to admit the past year has been incredibly difficult for me and my family. This is not a surprise but I suppose what is never said publicly in writing are often the things that hurt the most. Those that know me best know that despite the miscarriage and the news of the baby having spina bifida has brought us great heartache we’ve also been a little heart broken as we’ve been a little more distanced from some of our closest friends this year for a variety of reasons. But I suppose it’s a part of life that some of the people you care about most walk in and out of your lives. I suppose growing up moving so much has certainly caused me to learn to stay distant from caring for people too closely but every once in a while there are people who go out of their way  and make a huge impact in my life and it’s tough not to take time to recognize their value in our lives. I’m not so sure I’d be where I am today without all the help of all the amazing people who have helped us over the years.

Hope’s quickly learning how easily friend’s can move on with life. She’s also experienced friends moving away and seeing some of her best friends far less often this year. So when I’m able to make some time for her to have fun with her friends it certainly lifts all of our spirits. We’ve known Hope’s friend’s, Jake & Ethan, for a few years now since Jake and Hope were in kindergarten together. They were great friends in kindergarten and we made time a few times a year for them to play. Earlier this summer we got together so they could play with an alternative motive to take a few pictures of the boys before father’s day and before they took off for their summer vacation.

Ethan has definitely become one of my favorite kids to ever photograph. I think by the time I share all the photos you’ll agree.

Yes, Ethan…years from now you can hate me for taking this photo of you but I have to admit he looks pretty darn cute.

And even better with this huge smile!

And I suppose it would only make sense to share the thoughts of the rest of this thankful post before I share more photos from this past week with the boys. Most who know us know we trust very few with the kids. Jason and I have somehow managed to make it through the last 9 years without stressing about daycare as we’ve primarily worked polar opposite shifts and relied on close family and friends to help us with the kids. We’ve been very fortunate the last several years not to have too demanding of childcare needs but at times work conflicts come up. In September when all the news of the concerns with the baby’s diagnosis of spina bifida arose we certainly had a long list of appointments that really weren’t things we wanted to bring the kids with. Jason and I were quite emotionally overwhelmed and worried and though some appointments we could have brought the kids it was a tremendous help to have family and friends there to help us the last two months. When family wasn’t able to help Jake’s mother, Angela, was always there to help with the kids, even when appointments came up at the very last minute. I’m not so sure how we would have made it through all the work conflicts and doctor’s appointments the last two months without the help of our family and Angela.

As Hope’s birthday approached and we made the decision not to have any big parties for the kids it was tough for us to realize how much different her birthday would be this year. At the time Jason had been scheduled to work and I was left wondering how I’d put a smile on my baby girl’s face on her special day. As I have been creatively preparing for some photo shoots coming up I decided I’d take Hope and Jaylen out for part of the day to explore some areas that I might visit again for future photo sessions. I figured afterwards we could find something fun to do and perhaps have a birthday dinner. Knowing how much Hope and Jaylen have enjoyed playing with the boys I decided to invite Angela and her boys and we were excited to know they were free and could spend the day with Hope on her special day. I think the kids were all more interested in playing, but looking back they all seemed to have fun during their 2 hour long photo session where we visited a few different locations.

Jake brought his guitar and enjoyed pretending to play for a few photos.

We really wanted to get a photo of them looking like total rock stars near this old worn down building downtown. Of course getting too kids to cooperate in such a small confined area was a challenge. I only managed to take 3 photos of them together looking like rock stars and this one really makes them look like hardcore rock stars, eh.

Some of my favorites of the day are of my buddy Ethan.

Yes, I’d say he’s a heartbreaker!

Seriously…could this kid get any cuter?

I begged the boys to let me take just a few more photos of them together and then they could play. At this age that’s about all they want to do when we try to photograph them together. Thankfully they cooperated for a brief time.

By the time we moved on to the last location the kids were all ready to end the photo session but we managed to quickly take a few photos of Angela and the boys.

Angela thank you again for all your family has done to help us lately. You’ve been amazing and we’ll remain forever thankful. I hope you all enjoy the photos!:)

One week old Sophia

This past weekend I had some fun doing another newborn session. For those that recall the efforts I did with Relay for Life and to help Wrenn, a little one who recently underwent a double lung transplant, I gave away a few photo sessions to those who were generous enough to help me raise funds towards these efforts. One of my former students, Sakina Zorayq, not only did an amazing job helping me raise over $650 to help Relay for Life this spring but she also donated to help Wrenn. The winners were drawn by my kids in the spring and I have to say I can’t think of a more deserving person to win a photo session. Sakina extended her generosity further by offering the session to one of her friends who she knew was expecting a little one this year. We waited all year long for this little baby girl to arrive so I’m quite excited to finally share some of the first photos of Sakina’s friend, Ashley’s daughter, Sophia.

We made arrangements to meet when Sophia was just one week old. I should forewarn parents the things not to say so they don’t “jinx” a photo session. I got excited when they arrived and Ashley mentioned Sophia was an amazing sleeper. She informed me she sleeps all the time. She was sleeping when she first arrived but it didn’t take long for her to wake up for her photos.

Yes, we managed to get plenty of wide awake photos of little Miss Sophia.

Despite being so awake and alert she was quite content.

While we waited and prayed that she’d fall into a nice deep slumber, I took some time to focus on photographing her itty bitty parts.

She was content staring into my camera so I photographed a macro photo of her eye. Yes, it looks like her eyes are blue right now.

We took a break to feed Sophia and she seemed to be getting ready to sleep, but through the first hour or more she startled easily so I feared she’d wake up if we didn’t let her sleep for a bit. So I went forward with planning to do some photos of Ashley & Sophia. Like many new mothers, she wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of being photographed. I think you all will agree that Ashley looks pretty stunning in her first week of motherhood.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve taken the risk to take these breathtaking photos with a newborn and parents. I think the obvious risk is getting peed or pooped on. Thankfully Ashley was willing to take the risk and it was well worth it. Right in the midst of getting them both in position and comfortable Sophia did pee and I suppose we were all humored. I always give the parents the option to keep going or stop. Ashley was an awesome sport and thankfully she wanted to keep going. Sophia was contently curled up with her and we managed to get a handful of great shots of them both. This one is one of my favorites of them both.

Finally she was sound asleep. That’s when we got some dreamy photos of Sophia. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves as I find they captured the beauty of this sweet little baby girl.

Ashley I hope you enjoy the photos of your beautiful little girl. You’ve definitely been blessed. Best wishes!

Nine.

“Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  ~Garth Brooks

I can’t believe my baby girl turned nine yesterday. Yes, nine. As she reminded me this past week — she’s just one year shy of being in “double digits”. We went out yesterday on her birthday and took some photos…here’s my birthday girl.

Looking back at the past year I’ve realize how much more she’s grown. I suppose her birthday is always that reminder how how much I miss her being itty bitty, yet how much I enjoy seeing how much she’s growing each year. I thought I’d pause for a moment to remind myself of all the things about my baby girl that I remember most from this past year.

  • Yes, she’s ready to grow up now. She’s proud to be nine. But she’s ready to be in double digits. She’s said she can’t wait until she’s grown up. I keep reminding her not to rush the growing up business. Luckily she knows she’ll always be my baby girl.
  • She loves to write, I suppose she’s a tad bit like me. I often find her writing her friends letters or doing thoughtful things for them.
  • She adores her brother. She’s an awesome big sister. There was once a time when I wasn’t sure how life would be with any other child except Hope now I see them together and couldn’t imagine it any other way.
  • She wants a baby sister. She always has, unfortunately it’s tough for a nine year old to understand that we don’t have any control over what the baby will be. Either way we know she’ll be an awesome big sister to this baby too and will love it regardless of if it’s a girl or boy.
  • Part of me still misses the days when she was little and all the years before Jaylen when it was just her and I. I can tell she does too. When we go out to dinner at a restaurant I usually sit beside Jaylen to keep control of him. She’s been known to cry wishing I would sit next to her. I have to remind her I prefer to look at her during dinner…she of course would still rather be right beside me.
  • She still loves to cuddle. She’s given up lots of her cuddle time knowing Jaylen has needed me the last year and that this pregnancy has certainly taken away from that time we both remember well.
  • She learned to ride her bike this year. It took nearly nine years to get her to ride a bike without training wheels. Now we can’t keep her off her bike. She loves to ride her bike any chance she gets.
  • She’s gotten to be quite the softball player this year. This fall she started playing in the “minors” in the little league’s fast pitch league. She’s the smallest on the team but has proven that size doesn’t matter. She’s got a killer awesome batting stance and is getting more confident with catching and throwing.
  • She’s been in piano lessons all year long. She’s doing quite well playing the piano with both hands and learning many new songs. I admit hearing her play sometimes brings me to tears to realize it’s my baby girl playing some of the songs that I’d never think a nine year old would be playing.
  • She’s among the many Justin Bieber fans. She’s been known to play his music along with the music of the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift constantly. Her and Jaylen are often found “rocking out” together either to their iPod or rock band. Though to be honest they seem to have just as much fun rocking out to Bon Jovi or Metallica.
  • She’s in the third grade and doing well in school. She loves to read but it sure has been more challenging to keep her excited about reading books that are several hundred pages. She’s learned all her multiplication and is now learning division.
  • She got braces this past September due to how much her teeth had shifted and were growing improperly. We knew she might need them eventually but didn’t expect it to be necessary so soon. She’s among the very few to get braces this young due to the need and she’s quite proud to be the first 3rd grader in her school to get braces. At first it was hard for me to accept how quickly my baby girl’s smile was changing, but looking back it was definitely necessary for her to get braces. I look at some of the pictures of her from the last few weeks and can tell not only how proud she is of her braces but you can tell she’s smiling more naturally and not hiding her teeth like she has the last couple of years.

We had fun taking photos on her birthday. We went a spot in downtown Orlando and I recall she and Jaylen were just ready to leave and go play and have fun on her birthday rather than taking photos. Thankfully they cooperated for a few photos. Despite the complaining, today she said she wanted to go back and take photos again soon because she had lots of fun. Here she is with Jaylen.

We also went to the Sligh train station. By this point she was really ready for the photos be over but we reminded her that we were going to make the most of the light yesterday to take some awesome photos of her on her birthday and that we’d have plenty of time to play later. She was all smiles…

This is the first year I have never had a birthday party for Hope. It was a tough decision to make but with all the news of the baby and all we’ve had going on I honestly didn’t want to stress about parties this year. It’s been one of those years that has been so incredibly tough for us that I felt it was far more important that we just celebrate their birthdays in our own special way without huge parties. They’re a huge additional expense and the last thing we needed was a huge pile of toys to add to the many they already have. This year has been tough for Hope & I as friends have moved away and become more distanced. She was excited to hear that her buddy Jake and his brother could join us on her birthday. Thanks to Jake’s mother helping with the kids around the umpteen medical and work related things that have come up often at the last minute, they’ve got to spend a lot more time together the last two months. They definitely helped make Hope’s special day a bit more memorable.

By the time we were finishing up taking photos at the train station it was obvious Hope was growing more weary of all the photos and was ready to go have some birthday fun. She sat on the bench being a little defiant. Of course I took photos, even when she refused to look at me.

One of the most uplifting parts of yesterday was that miraculously Jason was able to take off of work. His work had him working mandatory 12 hour shifts due to the Florida classic and we had made plans for her birthday without him knowing he had to work. Thankfully his supervisor recognized what he was missing out of and was able to offer him the day off of work so he could spend it with us. It meant the world to me because it helps so much to have him around when I’m taking photo of the kids. It also meant we might get a few photos while we were out of all of us together which doesn’t happen quite as often as it should. Knowing we have our holiday cards coming up I assured Jason that we *might* be able to get some of our photos out of the way for the crazy holiday card ideas I have this year. He was just happy to be off and to be with her baby girl on her day off. It definitely was awesome to have him with us…thanks to him being there I have memories like this to take away from yesterday.

Yes, I’m quite lucky to be married to such an awesome man. Hope’s birthday and this past year have really reminded me of how blessed we are. I know at times it has really felt like we’ve been cursed as we’ve gone through so many losses, troubles, and trying times. I know with the baby being diagnosed with spina bifida it hasn’t been easy for either of us to accept or understand. But I suppose it’s the tough moments that really shape us into who we were meant to become and it’s certainly only strengthened our marriage. I suppose I should be reminded as the Garth Brooks song says, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Ironically I woke up the morning of Hope’s birthday with that song playing on the T.V. — it was a moving way to wake up hearing it as I found myself reflecting of how much we’ve been through over the years. So many years we wondered “why” all the things we’ve been through had been happening. We’d wondered why God wasn’t listening to our prayers. But I suppose now as I see my baby girl turn nine and I watch her happily spend time with her brother I’m reminded of those unanswered prayers. Not that I’d ever wish to go through the things I’ve been through again…but I suppose going through them has lead to this amazing family I have now. And yes, as I realize how much we have going on with the baby and have at times again felt so cursed with how so much can continually happen to our family I am reminded of some of the words of that Garth Brooks song. Yes, despite all the trials we’ve been through Jason and I are trying to remind ourselves that we really have been blessed. Of course I just feel blessed to have him beside me. Here we are on Hope’s birthday…just a few days shy of being 25 weeks pregnant.

I have a ton of photos to finish going through before designing our holiday cards for this year but this one photo was quite hilarious…funny enough for me to share a glimpse of the happiness we all shared on my baby girl’s birthday. Jaylen was being extremely silly and was full of laughter. Yes, it’s me and my silly awesome family on my baby girls’ 9th birthday. Nine years has gone by way too fast.

Hazel a year later…

It’s been just over a year since I first met Hazel as a newborn. I had the pleasure of meeting with her family again recently for some fun family and one year photos of Hazel. It always helps to work with awesome families, and Hazel’s family is certainly just that. I am confident their patience and calm spirits lead to another memorable session with their little girl. Here they are a year later…

In just a few short minutes it was obvious how much happiness Hazel has brought to their family. She was the cutest little girl who was all smiles and definitely not shy in front of the camera.

Hazel’s been walking since she was about nine months old and she didn’t hesitate to get down to walk. Of course the leaves at the park grabbed her attention quickly and they were one of the fun things for her throughout the session.

It’s amazing how much little ones grow in the first year…I swear it was just yesterday I was photographing her all curled up as a newborn.

She’s got the cutest personality and yes, she’s beginning to talk. She said “What’s that?” often. Of course I adored every ounce of her personality that shined through the photos we took this past weekend.

She sat on the steps for me…and didn’t rush to get up. Of course there was a leaf there to keep her occupied while she was all smiles.

Okay, it lasted a few minutes and she was ready to get up…:)

But she let me take a few more photos before getting up…like this one that captures her sweet one year old face.

After that we had fun trying to keep her seated. She was just too excited to explore the park and find all the leaves! Yes, a leaf kept her there for a few more photos with Craig & Cate.

We let her explore a bit. Sometimes the candid moments are the best. I don’t think Craig & Cate will forget her fascination with leaves that morning.

Yes, Hazel is growing quickly and is clearly becoming more and more independent. She was fun to follow around that morning.

Hazel’s definitely a Daddy’s girl. I was reminded of the amazing bond I saw between the two in the first week after she was born and there’s no doubt how much they adore one another a year later.

Hazel enjoyed her new sweater with a knit mouse in her pocket.

Yes, she was a bit fascinated by it too.

Hazel was so comfortable with me pointing my camera in her face most of the morning…perhaps she remembers it still from last year.:)

Towards the end it was tough to get Hazel to sit for long.

Yes, if Hazel could talk more I bet this photo should would have been telling Craig & Cate that she was ready to get up. But we kept trying to take more photos in hopes of a few more memorable photos.

And I’m glad we did…I adore this photo of Cate & Hazel.

It helps having super patient parents to work with. This photo makes me smile too.:)

We let Hazel explore just a bit more once she changed into her holiday dress.

Yes, she’s a funny girl.:)

Craig & Cate thanks again for another awesome experience. Hopefully you all found the session as memorable as I did. I hope your family & photos enjoy the photos. Best wishes!

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