Happy Birthday Emmersyn

My baby is ONE!!  This little girl has brought so much happiness to our corner of the world and we had so much fun celebrating this past weekend. Happy birthday Emmersyn!

But guys, how is this possible? I blinked and this first year is gone. I am a mess of emotions about it. I am happy that she is healthy, strong and full of personality. I am sad that she is growing so fast that I barely remember what it felt like to hold her on my chest while she slept. I am eager to watch her explore her surroundings and cheer on each milestone… like first words, and first steps. But scared that I’ll forget how she looked while crawling wildly across the floor to get to me. I love putting new outfits on her and seeing how cute she looks- but that just means I have heaps of clothes that she can’t wear anymore (and that I now have to spend hours washing, sorting and boxing up.) I am ecstatic that she (mostly) sleeps through the night but honestly, I enjoyed the night time snuggles. I miss breastfeeding but think it’s adorable that she can feed herself tiny fistfuls of food. She is starting to smell more and more like a kid and only has that sweet baby scent after a bath.

If you’ve been with me a while now, you know I LOVE babies! I am one of those sick people that could do the pregnancy and newborn stage over and over. I just really love that part of motherhood. But, Emmersyn is my last baby. We have two beautiful and healthy baby girls. We are good. Our family is complete.

And as wonderful as it was to welcome another daughter to our family, I feel obligated to be totally transparent… This was not an easy year for me personally. I dealt with so many changes all at once and it wreaked havoc on my emotions. Unfortunately, I think this is why I feel like it went faster than it should have. I repeatedly begged time to slow down. I tried my best to stay present. Made promises to myself that I would stop turning my attention to unnecessary tasks.

There were moments though that I thought I’d never get through and would selfishly wish away time. Like Emmy’s awful phase of not sleeping. Or the 26 day road trip we decided to go on when she was 3 months old that required us to stop every few hours for feedings in random rest stops (I should probably write about that experience someday). And me struggling with mom guilt and having to walk away from a job I was deeply attached to for the last 6 years. Oh and also me struggling with my new identity as a stay at home mom so badly that I decided to launch my photography business right in the middle of the craziest season of my life. Yeah. Lots of change.

As I write this on day 366 of Emmy’s little life, I know this next year will bring even more change… And I’m totally okay with that. Because all of those days ahead will also bring the moments that will be worth remembering and looking back on. The stories I’ll get to collect and tell her when she’s older. The pictures and videos documenting all of the amazing things she did.

Time may take us (somewhat unwillingly) further from those early days of becoming a family of 4 but it is also a gift. It means I get to be with my daughter. I get to laugh more. And yeah, I miss all the baby stuff and I probably always will, but I really like Emmy’s personality. She’s a neat kid and I am excited to see who she becomes.

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My favorite things about Emmy Jo:

• She is the sweetest baby and never runs out of snuggles or open mouthed kisses!
• She is a bit shy around people and will put her head on my shoulder covering her eyes until she’s ready to have a look at you.
• Her eyes are sparkly and big and always seem to be smiling.
• She is very curious and loves to be a part of the action.
• Her disposition is mostly calm… until Lydia gets too wild and then she lets her know how she feels by squealing at her!
• I love her sounds! She is very vocal and talks all the time.
• She has the funniest little rat tail that always gets tangled when she sleeps and I love to run my fingers through it to smooth it out while she drinks her bottle (I used to do it when she was nursing and I found it soothing)
• I love the way she puts herself to sleep while rubbing her face in her ‘night-night’ stuffy and sucks on the corners of it… and because of that, I love the smell of said ‘night-night’ because it is 100% her.
• She loves to be held and will just sit in my lap for long periods of time… this is probably the number 1 thing I love about her… I mean what mom doesn’t want to snuggle with her babies?

This picture pretty much sums up our life... Adam and I are usually laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.  In this particular moment, Emmy was flinging cake around and some landed on Lydia... which obviously she hated. Ha!

Listening to your baby's heartbeat-Cody and Kim's Pregnancy Announcement--Mead, Colorado

Going to your first ultrasound appointment and listening to your baby's heartbeat is one of the most exciting things you might ever hear. It is overwhelming, terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. It is that little affirmation that yes, you did in fact make a human and it’s growing inside of you!! Your mind floods with all of the hopes, dreams and fears of your impending parenthood. The feelings of love, anticipation and joy get mixed up with anxiety, worry and inadequacy. If you’ve ever seen ‘Inside Out’, it’s kind of like when ‘Sadness’ starts hijacking all of the feel good emotions and suddenly you are on an emotional rollercoaster and you can’t get off. In the best possible way though. The joy of that tiny, fast, strong little heartbeat is special.

My cousin Cody and his girl Kim, got to experience that joy this past week. And what makes their experience extra special, is that this little bean is their Rainbow Baby. If you haven’t heard that term before, it’s the baby you have after experiencing a miscarriage or stillbirth. It’s an incredibly special name for something incredibly difficult to endure. These two had their worlds rocked several months back when the joy of being pregnant quickly turned to deep sadness at the unexpected loss. Out of that pain they realized that even though it would be scary to try again, it would be worth it… they wanted it so badly. They had so many wishes wrapped up in that first pregnancy and they knew they needed to move forward.

A couple months ago, we were hanging out talking about all of this. They shared their pain with us and opened up about the loss of their baby. They talked a lot about how it was so surprising and it completely took them off guard. That the pain was still palpable months later. I’ve heard that before from other friends that have experienced this. There is so much talk around how to prevent pregnancy as you are growing up. But then when you grow up and want to be pregnant, and it doesn’t work, it’s so confusing. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating. It’s like you always thought it would be so easy and so many people do it on accident… and here you are wondering what the heck is wrong with your body. And truthfully, this experience isn’t really that uncommon. A lot of people go through this and I am so glad that we are alive in a time when we are able to share these stories so that nobody has to face this alone. If this little story can fill just one extra person with the hope they need to get through a loss of their own, that is a blessing and I am grateful for it.

So it is with great joy that I get to announce to the world this new life growing in Kim’s belly. This beautiful little miracle. This second chance. This perfect heartbeat. This rainbow after the storm. This Future Jedi.

May the force be with you.

PS-Sorry for the cheesy cornball line at the end… I kinda can’t help myself. All jokes aside, I am stoked about this baby and you will definitely be seeing more from these three down the road. Kim told me she wants to take ALL the pictures! Ha! And can we talk about how cool they are for a second? Love it when couples can rock their own personal style! As always... hit me up if you are in need of some photographs... it's kinda my thing ;) Love to you all on this beautiful Tuesday morning! ~Jenn

As always... hit me up if you are in need of some photographs... it's kinda my thing ;) Love to you all on this beautiful Tuesday morning! ~Jenn

Adleigh Ann's First Birthday -- Mead, Colorado

A first birthday is absolutely a reason to get fancy. Little Miss Adleigh Ann's first birthday is a big deal! She has a lot to celebrate after all, she made it through 1 whole exciting year of being a baby. You know the more you think about it, it’s hard work being a baby… learning, growing, changing by the minute, relying on others for everything. But as she hits this milestone, things are going to get even more exciting!

So, yes! Put on that fancy tutu, fasten a giant bow to those lovely locks, rock the glitter and chase some balloons baby! It’s your FIRST birthday!

First birthdays are not only a huge deal for baby, they are extremely important to the parents as well. It’s a celebration for mom and dad for surviving a very trying year together. A new baby comes with many adjustments, lack of sleep, overwhelming emotions and lots of unexpected changes. New routines can feel chaotic. Simple tasks have now become stressful. ie. taking a shower! Anyone that has children totally knows what I’m talking about here. And the more babies you bring home, the more challenges you face. But you know what else comes with it? JOY! So much joy! Oh the joy people!! I mean look at her little face… she’s just so happy. I want to live in that happiness with her, don’t you?

Adleigh’s mom and dad are my heros. You see, she is baby number 3 for them and they model such grace and patience, it’s truly amazing to witness. I’ve had the privilege of knowing this family for several years now and they have been such a blessing to me. It was my honor to photograph this precious milestone for them. And their little girl was just so sweet… I had so much fun hanging on the floor with her, chasing balloons, singing songs, playing peek-a-boo (mostly with myself ha ha) and helping her mama with her fancy outfits. Babies are the best.

If you are thinking about documenting a special milestone in your family’s life, let’s talk! The days go fast, the years even faster. Relationships change, children grow, new life begins and loved ones pass on… photography is the most accessible way to preserve those family bonds. For more info, head to my contact page.

And to read a little more about why I love photographing families, check out this blog about newborns!

Thank you for stopping by! Don’t be a stranger ;)