Sophie Evelyn

2018 began with new babies!  Back to Back babies for people I know from back in highschool who happen to be friends and live in neighbouring condos overlooking beautiful False Creek.  I love how life comes full circle.  I love how highschool is a petri dish of hormones, bad decisions, blind immaturity, and closed-mindedness, that nobody can see who and how the future might bring people back together.  I guess this isn't necessarily true of all experiences, but I love that it is mine.  I love being able to re-enter the lives of those with whom I share history (great or small), see who they have grown to be and witness the love for their young families spill out like liquid gold. It's a beautiful thing to be vulnerable. I love connecting with people and I love being a part of so many people's special moments. There is so much beauty in how we live day by day, in just who we are, in our humanity.

A few special moments with little sister Sophie and Mama Jess. 

IMG_0349.jpg
IMG_0498-Edit.jpg
IMG_0440.jpg
IMG_0446.jpg
IMG_0452.jpg
IMG_0472.jpg

Baby Wren

My last family session of 2017 was with a sweet trio I met through my cousin Nik.  They moved up the road and across the Tsawwassen/Point Roberts border into a sweet little rancher to start this new period of their lives.  Like us, they moved into a new place with a new baby and renovations to be had.  This pushed our newborn session to a 3 months old session which, honestly, was just as delicious.  At 3 months, new Mamas have developed a system and babies have plumped up into juicy morsels asking to be bitten all over...

I met them in their new home on a beautiful sunny afternoon the first week of December.  Everyone was in a cheery mood, including little Wren who was all big shiny eyes and bubbly gurgles of laughter.  It's hard to know these days are gone for me.  After waiting what seemed a lifetime for babies, I have somehow already birthed 3 and they are all no longer these tiny helpless creatures covered in down with sweet breath.  It is a wonderful thing to be able to revisit this preciousness through my work and I am so grateful to pour my hindsight into creating memories that will shine through the foggy memories as they grow older.

A select few from this warm cozy collection...

Hello Leilani!

Rounding off the last of June's baby week with an old high school buddy I hadn't seen for probably 12 years.  Recently moving into my hood with her young family, she found me on the Instagram and we got to reconnect all these years later.  Malcolm and I met her little ones, Sammy and newest addition chubby little Leilani a week before heading out for our cozy little session.

Leni Saga

Welcome LENI SAGA!

There were so many babies this year, turning many only siblings into Eldest siblings!  Bram became a big brother to Baby Leni at the start of summer and seems more than happy in his new role.  It's pretty crazy and surreal to see so many friends in the place that I was in 6-7 years ago, juggling two little lives so close together.  It seemed to drag on forever, but now that it's passed, it feels like it went too fast and I barely remember any of it at all.  Although I sometimes feel jealous or bitter that I was the first to have babies, it has been a gift in so many ways.  Through blogging and sharing my experiences, it was (slightly) less of a shock of things to come for my friends once they came tumbling down the rabbit hole.  It has also allowed me to better cherish these special times and as a result, be able to capture these special moments with greater heart.  Being ahead of the curve, I know the important things that will be missed or forgotten.  I know the thoughts, feelings, the tiredness and all the internal mish-mash of these early days.  These exhausting times are precious.  Slow down an enjoy it because when it's over, man is it over!  I MISS IT!!!! 

Family Session with Baby Avery

I might have to start an LFA Alumni tag for the blog soon!  I've got another family session this weekend with an old classmate.  I really fought my parents on going to LFA when the majority of my friends went East to St Pat's, but I must admit, being at an all-girls school was pretty terrific and having made friends with so many great women, it's a blessing to be able to meet and capture their mini-me(s)!  To have memories of so many heart-to-hearts, fun-but-bad decisions, falling outs, or even calling up the girl who sat behind/beside you for 5 years because she was Chiu and you were Chan and she was really good at math and you were not, and then to take photos of them 15 years later is pretty special.  Pamela Chiu is so up there on memories of highschool although we ran in different circles.  I'm probably giving myself a bad reputation as a Baby Floosy, but I really love Avery.  We were buddies right away because all Asians look the same, so it was super easy for me to pretend to be her mom! 

Jokes aside, photographing Alumni offspring is the best.  Seeing glimpses of your old-time buddies resurface in chubby yummy form and to see these old-time buddies smile with so much joy in their heart is like being magically transported to Candyland.  Jason, you're alright too :P
 

Love you Pam
Salvo, you're a lucky guy


xo