joseph, tyler, cynthia & zac : phoenix family photographer

i don't know if you'll remember, but awhile ago i donated a session to the williams syndrome walk.  well, this lovely family won it! we were able to get together this weekend & i love the photos we got! 

here are a few of my favorites!

it was a beautiful evening.

favorite.

sweet, sweet eyes. all of them. except maybe tyler, he looks like he's up to something!

:)

it was lovely meeting you all. thank you so much for donating to such an important cause.

happy holidays!

and that's it folks. my last session of 2013. what an awesome year! i hope to be on top of things, enough to make a top 30 (or 40 or 50 depending on how incapable i am of editing) from my portraits & weddings. so excited to revisit all of my beautiful families.

max : phoenix family photographer

oh man, this little guy is adorable. 

he made polly, his mom, & i work for these smiles, but it was worth it!

mom! modeling is SO hard!!

i love this look!

merry christmas sweet boy. next year is a big one for you & your soon to be baby!!

adley & ellery : phoenix family photographer

i adore this family. i photographed their wedding & knew they'd be in my life from then on out. we've done a few other sessions: engagement, meeting adley, ellery's 1st birthday. 

they wanted to do a mini session in their holiday dresses! oh goodness. this session was a bit of a riot. these girls were not in the mood! we did our best to make them happy or at least realize taking pictures wasn't so painful & we did (sortof!) for a few pictures. 

this adley jean is too much! 

ellery, please don't hate me for this, but it made me giggle!

merry christmas you guys!!!! hope you have an awesome holiday!

a's birth : phoenix birth photographer

i decided to check my phone before going to bed & boy am i glad i did. daddy had sent a text saying "we'd like you to come on over" and that was 45 minutes prior. i tore through the house getting my gear ready & took off.

 mama was really hopeful that this time she'd get to experience a homebirth.  that was the intention with big sis, but she was delivered via c-section,
after hours of labor they decided she was just too big to come out!
she looked like the cutest lil sumo wrestler you'd ever seen.

i was eager to be there with her.  when i arrived mama was laughing. she continued to be in great spirits until she began pushing (because, well that's a whole different beast) where she totally went into her own world. quiet determination. they have cats &
i'm very allergic so i sneezed more than a couple times, she would say bless you each time!
she conquered birthin' a baby like a rock star.  i was so impressed.

mama does quite a bit of yoga and it totally paid off. she was so good at taking deep breaths & making the good labor sounds. you could see it calming her.

her dear friend was their doula & she was fantastic. daddy even got a few massages :)

mama was delivering via vbac. mary, from beyond conception midwifery, was her midwife for big sis's birth. she can't legally perform those so they hired connie with canyon midwifery.  

both midwives did an amazing job.  

it's such a beautiful profession: passion, patience, compassion, love & skill. 

(small plug -mary delivered both of my babies, too!)

the baby's heartbeat was strong the whole time. so was mama's.

mama labored through the night & at 2:59am A was born!! it was beautiful.

daddy woke big sis up around 4am because they knew she would be ecstatic to meet her new brother!! and she was, it was precious.

A got big sis some new trains & cars! what a nice baby brother.

what a cool experience. i mean, i've been through it twice, but to watch another woman. to hear the sounds & recognize what she's feeling. it was incredible & mama was amazing. daddy was there & ready to do whatever he could to make it better for her.
welcome to this world sweet A!

you are so loved.