Those final days of pregnancy can look so different, in so many ways… life generally becomes a little slower, a little heavier, and things are kept a little closer to home.
Visiting this divine woman, at home with her two girls in the final days of pregnancy while her partner was off at work, was a beautiful glimpse into those slow, heavy but gentle days. Things outside the home didn’t matter, the girls seemed to understand the pace of things and we easily passed a couple of hours on a drizzly day reading, baking and exploring.
To me it felt like a magnificent moment to capture before everything changes- before the magic of a newborn is introduced in to this home, before this family of four becomes five, before all the routines and patterns of their life shift, maybe a little, maybe a lot, to accommodate a new soul.
A snapshot of a moment in time…
Oh how i love stepping into peoples lives in these early days…
The newborn wonder. The bleary eyes. The heart melty love.
And that combination of just getting though the days however you can, coupled with trying to get everything…. just right.
I adored Maureen and Doug as soon as i turned up at their front door to capture the magic of their newborn baby girl, Olivia. It helped that Tex, their enchanting golden retriever was the first to greet me at the door- everyone’s favourite doorman. In fact Tex was convinced the shoot was for him.
It could have been.
He’s so damn beautiful.
But he couldn’t outshine the little lady they had welcomed into their lives just weeks before…
For a 4 year old- the wait for a baby sibling must feel like FOREVER! Little Mia was very aware of every passing day while she waited for her mother to give birth. Her baby dolls were mothered into oblivion as she waited for the real thing to arrive. Sometimes patiently, sometimes less so. Mind you, her beautiful mum also had her moments on the patience front. You may remember them rock hopping and exploring in the final days of pregnancy here.
Well birth, as it always does, finally happened, and little Mia got her wish of a new baby sister named Ivy. As she very eloquently and gleefully exclaimed to her dad when she found out it was a girl, “Now there are THREE girls and ONE boy in this house.”
Yes, darling. Yes there are.
Here is a little glimpse into their early days of being a family of four. The constant feedings, the need for double the attention, double the pairs of hands, double the patience…. and the pay off… double the delight.
My love to families in this phase right now! I know a few of my mamas are in the midst of it as i write…
Right here, is everything i love about family adventure sessions.
I tagged along with this scrumptious family on one of their weekend picnics and found myself in a whole world of fun… hide and seek amongst the paperbarks, a barefoot family cricket match, an Oscar-worthy reenactment of The Three Billy Goats Gruff and a stroll to the beach as the sun was setting.
Most of the time, it was as if i wasn’t even there… which is exactly how i like it. That’s when we can capture the beauty of how a family is in their magical day to day…
Who’s up for an autumn adventure with me tagging along in my invisible cloak?
Drop me a line and let’s book it in…
Meet Dan, Mia, Nina, Hugo and Jasper the pooch.
These guys decided to show me around their favourite local park near their home for this Family Adventure session…it quickly became clear they know it inside out. Every tree, every garden bed, every hiding spot- this is their own special stomping ground.
We fought off the chilly, windy morning with hot coffee and games of hide and seek, and Nina the Chief Flower Picker systematically worked her way through every blossoming plant in sight. No blooms were safe- no matter how far out of her reach they were… i suspect they see her coming.
