When Seamus was born, my parents graciously offered to take him for a little while as we didn’t want him around a newborn. But surprisingly, he has done very well and is still living with is. This is probably because Seamus ignores him and hasn’t learned to taunt him yet or throw peas at him for that matter.

In hopes that these two might actually be buds one day, I occasionally let Diego sniff him. Diego has also gotten a hold of a diaper or two and hopefully he has leaned his lesson about eating those moisture absorbing gel pellets. Yuck.

Anyway, it was an unplanned and fortuitous moment to catch these two together in a photo. Seamus was all propped up for a few photos when up walked “El Diablo” to give him a sniff. Awww. This may never happen again.

I had to laugh because I think that all I’ve been doing since he arrived is to take his picture! I actually feel a bit of pressure, mostly self-imposed, to take new and creative photos of him as often as possible. He’s presents a great creative challenge. I oscillate between thinking about various set ups to put him in and trying to capture the day to day life, regardless of how “nice the light is” or optimal the situation.

Even though I’ve had nieces and nephews and friends’ babies to practice on, there’s nothing like practicing on your own son. I’ve learned a lot about babies in these first four weeks. For instance, he really does sleep well when it’s warm and toasty. And an afternoon on the porch in the hammock knocks him right out. I’ve also learned that babies are really hard to photograph! But the pictures we have of him are priceless.

I can endlessly look back of the photos of him from the past four weeks over and over and never tire of looking at them. There are some from the hospital that Bryan took in his first few hours that make me get all teary eyed every time I see them. Even the ones that I’ve taken that aren’t perfect- where they’re underexposed or not perfectly composed or maybe not even in focus- some of those are my favorite ones because it was about the moment and not about getting a perfect shot.

I feel like my perspective has changed on how I see the photos I take. I imagine it’s going to effect how I edit photo shoots in the future and alter what images I choose to keep or delete.I guess we’re all growing every day.

Seamus begs for more.

It’s hard to resist the toes. And the lips.

I love this photo for many reasons, but most importantly it’s because these sock monkeys were made by my Grandmother Webber. I’ve had the one on the left for a long time. Then the day Seamus was born, my dad arrived to the hospital with a paper bag that had my name on it and was dated 2003. Within it was the second sock monkey, the one on the right. He had had my grandmother make an extra sock monkey for me before she passed away so that my first born child would have one of his own.

I love how these three guys are all the same size, triplets!

Actually, being rather rotund altered my photographing abilities. I found myself unable to run in and out of the house all day, changing lenses and chasing the nieces and nephews around on the beach for photos as I normally do. Instead, I took lots of photos from the rocking chairs on the porch or from my beach chair. It was actually kind of fun being forced to do things differently.

I wish that I could go back to the beach now for another week with the family and baby Seamus. I’d like to sit on the rocking chair on the porch with him and take him down to the water at sunset for a dip. I suppose there’s always next year…

Thinking back to those first few days, I’m overwhelmed with emotion. At the time, I think I was in survival mode. But looking at the photos from those first moments, I am reminded how powerful those first few days were and how precious even these days are as we usher him into day to day life. He’s an excellent reminder to “slow down” and absorb every moment. He changes every day and already he’s outgrowing a few outfits and I feel like he’s leaving me for college.

Having a newborn also makes me realize what a privilege it is for me to be invited into someone’s house to take photos of their new baby. Time and wherewithal are at such a premium that having any one to the house is a big deal, much less a photographer! I will definitely not take that role for granted in the future.

We’ve taken a million photos and tons of video of him already in his first few weeks of life. The photos from the first two and a half weeks of life already make me melt. I imagine that he will continue to be our muse for a long time to come.

I love this photo that Bryan took of Seamus getting cleaned up and checked out in the nursery. I hadn’t gotten a good look at him yet so he brought me these photos to see while I was in the recovery room.

Do babies dream?

Sweet Lips

He’s a regular Casanova

Bella, Bryan and Baby

These are my two 7 pounders. It’s hard to believe that when he was born, Seamus was smaller than Diego, the chihuahua!

Party On

For my 35th birthday, we went out to Sullivans Island for a little morning jaunt down to the beach. We dipped Seamus’ toes in and took lots of photos. I love this one.

The day began out at Isle of Palms with all of the girls (and flower girls!) getting ready. Special Events Hair and Makeup had everyone looking glamorous.  The ceremony and reception took place at Patriot’s Point, overlooking the Charleston harbor. It was a gorgeous (albeit a little on the warm side) day. The bright green grass paired with a palette of water blues throughout the wedding made everything feel alive.

Cindy Zingerella at Engaging Events was the wedding coordinator and designer. The entire day went off without a hitch and looked stunning. I personally love how organized and thorough Cindy is and I am sure her bride and grooms do too. You can totally trust her to keep everything on track!

One of the great things about getting married at Patriot’s Point is the view and great natural photo backgrounds that are out there. Golf courses are always meticulously manicured and are great for photos.  The super cool part is that they let you take golf carts out to hole 17 for photos of the bride and groom. It’s like being on your own little island on the water with no one in sight. I love that!

Dinner and dancing followed in the air conditioned tent and guests slung back their “Harborview Breezes”, a variation of the Sea Breeze. They looked delicious! Wedding cupcakes and white chocolate dipped strawberries by Elaines Events satisfied everyone’s sweet tooth and then guests got down to Phase Band. The night ended under an arch of sparklers and Scott and Megan jumping into a Charleston Black Cab for their big getaway. Congratulations you two!!!

I must put in a special thanks to all of the talented photographers that helped me photograph Scott & Megan’s big day! Being 8 months pregnant, I felt it was important to over prepare and have lots of people on hand, “just in case”! So special kudos go out to Jennifer Bearden Photography, Jebb Graff and Bryan Deel for all of your help!!!

Megan looking elegant!

It’s all in the details! The necklace and earrings (and engagement ring of course)! were gifts from Scott.

Megan with her bridesmaids

Scott arrives in a Black Cab with his proud parents!

Looking as dapper as ever!

Scott and the guys try out the gold course

Scott’s nieces were the most adorable flower girls.

I love this photo that Bryan Deel took of the sand ceremony, where they each combine their separate carafes of sand into one.

Cue the wedding recessional music!

When getting married by a golf course, you have to take the golf cart out for a spin!

This gorgeous photo was taken by Jennifer Bearden at Hole 17.

I can’t resist a perfect silhouette!

And last but not least, Jebb Graff caught this awesome shot of the two of them at the end of the night. Love the thumbs up!

Rania and Steve spend several months out of every year down here, soaking up the Lowcountry heat and enjoying the Southern charm. For their 40th wedding anniversary, they wanted nothing more than to have all their kids and grandkids with them. Then they had the wonderful idea of a vow renewal ceremony to top it all off.

It was a casual and fun affair with the ceremony taking place on the beach. Everyone then headed over to a house they had rented that was built for entertaining with it’s wide open rooms and plush white carpet.

Congratulations Steve and Rania and here’s to another 40 years!!

Here are a few of my recent favorites from the Postell family, whom we photographed one morning at the crack of dawn to avoid the bright sun and oppressive heat. They were troopers for getting up so early!

I have been photographing Nikki since her first birthday and her portrait sessions have become a yearly event I look forward to! The first time I met her, I deemed her the “Happy Baby” as all she did was smile, smile, smile and look adorable. You can see photos from her first birthday here.

Last year, we met up on a hot summer day at Waterfront Park for her photo session. She’d grown into an active little 2 year old and I chased her all around while her mom blew bubbles. It was a lot of fun! Those fun photos are here.

This year, the “Happy Baby” is not a baby anymore, but a happy 3 year old with a birthday party at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. Nikki and her friends gathered for a parade through the museum, cake and time to explore the awesome Children’s Museum. It has a pirate ship, a pretend grocery store, a castle, art area and more.

Happy 3rd Birthday Nikki!

I love seeing how he has plumped up and makes eye contact with camera. His personality is starting to come out and he is still very happy to go with the flow and is quite the model! We took some photos indoors and then braved the high heats for some shots outside as well. I’m looking forward to seeing him again at 6 months!

Considering that my brother and his wife started dating when I was 9 or 10 and I’m now 34, it’s fair to say I’ve known this family for a while!

My nephews

The older cousins (13 and up)

The younger cousins (11 and under)

Smiles!