I remember while I was pregnant having so many plans for maternity photos. I just kept being too exhausted to do my hair or put on makeup or setting up a tripod. I kept saying "tomorrow, I will do it tomorrow." Then days passed by...then weeks...then months...then she was here! I wish I had just hired a photographer and set a date to commit to a session. 

I had so many plans for Kaya's newborn photos. Then I was in labor for 49 hours and in the hospital for 5 days. I really didn't anticipate the condition I was gonna be in after the labor. I didn't anticipate how tired we were gonna be nonstop for those first few weeks. If she was cranky, we would just decide to try again another day. I am grateful for the few photos we got one night in the 10 minutes I made myself go and take them. I didn't know how not easy it was gonna be getting up and down off of the floor. I wish I had just hired a photographer to take those newborn photos so I could give my body a rest. 

I did end up letting the hospital photographer in to take a few photos that first day she was born. I only bought one....the one I couldn't take myself. Dad, mom and baby...the first day of our little family. One non cell phone photo of the three of us from that first magical 24 hours. 

Not that I need to tell you...but wow. Motherhood is wild. I have become that person that is COMPLETELY obsessed with my kid. I geek out over every little thing that she does. I love being at home and helping her grow. I melt every time she looks into my eyes and smiles. I AM THAT PERSON NOW. Kaya is now almost 4 and a half months old and she is just a complete joy. She is such a happy baby and she is already hitting milestones way ahead of schedule. Everyone (including our doctor) just keeps getting blown away by her strength and focus. She is so alert and has to be up and checking out everything that is going on. She LOVES her bouncy chair and LOVES hearing me sing to her (she doesn't know any better!) I try to grab my "big girl camera" for the big moments. The monthly "birthdays", the "firsts" of things we plan out, the holidays, etc. But just day to day...I am so guilty of just grabbing the camera closest to me...the cell phone. I cherish those photos...the ones that I take all day everyday of every little moment. But the quality is awful and they never do justice to her beauty and awesomeness. They don't print up in quality meant for walls. So I TRY to take out the camera and make sure I take the photos of her in her magic ...of our family in it's magic...before those moments are distant memories.

As a photographer, I have come to terms with my limitations on capturing my own family. The maternity photos I kept putting off because working a day job and being pregnant was just exhausting. The newborn photos I didn't take because labor took way more out of me than I expected. Even now, trying to take family photos of the three of us and realizing that a tripod can't grab the attention of a baby! 

So..what's the point of all this? Hire a photographer! These moments...they go by so quick! Personally, I want to be able to look at them forever. I want to have memories of all the little moments. 

That being said, I would love to do some lifestyle sessions. Just step into your world for a few hours and capture your family just...being. Let me know if you would like to book a session like this! 

But for the photos I have taken.... here are a bunch of random photos of my little lady just being the perfect being that she is :) All her different faces and firsts and outfits and times gone by in these first many months! Some of them obviously planned for...some of them I just grabbed a camera because I thought she looked cute and didn't even bother removing her bib. But hey, she was going through a drooling phase and that moment needs to be captured too!