Pictures of my Heart

When Sally was two weeks old, we packed up the family and drove two hours to Pocatello to get some photos taken by the amazing Allie White of AK Photographie.  I had seen her work before and loved it, and since I didn't know any photographers in Twin Falls, I thought we might as well go and have her do a family/newborn session with us.  But on the morning of our shoot, I remember thinking, "This is crazy!  I am still hobbling around as a result of labor trauma, I am so fatigued from getting up in the night, and the baby and I are big-time struggling with breastfeeding.  What am I doing trying to get the family cute and photo-ready, just to drive several hours for a long and tiring photo session??!!" I silently vowed that I wouldn't do something so silly in the future, if we ever have another baby.

Well Allie made it all worth it.  She made the session so fun and low-stress.  She was a miracle worker with Noah, somehow getting him to calm down and cooperate for some amazingly sweet photos with his baby sister.  Honestly, I love all of the photos that she took and am having a very hard time narrowing them down for framing (and for sharing on this blog!).  I feel like she captured my heart through the lens of her camera--all of the love, joy, and adoration that we feel for our tiny Sally Grace.

 

 

Sally is every bit as sweet and angelic as these photos make her seem.  A friend of mine recently called her a "magical baby," and that description fits pretty perfectly.  She rarely cries, she sleeps long stretches at night, she takes great naps, she loves to snuggle and be held, and yet she also sits contentedly in her swing while I clean or work on projects.  I sort of hate to admit all of this publicly for two reasons: 1. I fear that I will somehow jinx myself and she will suddenly become a screamer, and 2. I fear that someone reading this blog who has a colicky baby will come away feeling very defeated.  Oh colic is sooooo hard.  And when I was going through it with Noah, I was so jealous of moms who had "easy" babies.  (If you have a colicky or fussy baby, email or call me, and I will let you vent/cry/curse all you want, and then I will send you a care package of brownie mixes because that's the only way I got through it!)

Having a hard baby first was a blessing, though.  It forced me to read and research and pray and soul-search, and what I learned about sleep schedules, swaddling, letting go of control, sacrifice, love, and ultimately myself has benefited me so much this second time around, even with a content baby.  I am a better mother and person because I had a colicky baby.  Silver lining, right?

I love my children so much--and I think it will be obvious why as you look through these photos.  I love my Noah's spunk and my Sally's sweetness.  It will be interesting to see how their temperaments change and/or stay the same as they grow older.  They are both magical--and such a gift.

And now for a few more of my favorites from the session.  It was so hard to narrow it down even this much (and this is an overload)!  Please give feedback if there are any that you particularly love.  Needless to say, if we ever have another baby, we will be making a hectic but worth-it trip to Pocatello for photos!