Meet Reshma and Irfan. As soon as Reshma and I started emailing one another, I knew we would be fast friends! Mainly because she suggested we play Friends trivia together (ummm, YES!) and was a fan of Kawartha Dairy ice cream, but also because her kind and laid back personality was apparent even through email. I met Reshma and Irfan on the day of their baby shower at a family member's home, which as you can see was a gorgeous space and had an incredible backyard backing onto a small lake! Such a fun place to shoot! I can't wait to meet the sweet baby boy inside that belly and capture their brand new family love in a few short days!
Brace yourselves, folks. There is a whole lot of perfect, chubby 8 month squish below this text. His name is Abdullah, and along with the cutest role-poly little baby bod, he is also sporting a pair of gigantic, expressive brown eyes. I'm actively holding back from writing all of those adjectives in CAPS LOCK by the way ;) Abdullah and his parents, Daniel and Sadaf, were in Ontario visiting family (they hail from Australia), and wanted to take the time to freeze this adorable and fun stage in their family's life. Like my Levi, Abdullah is (or hopefully was by now!) a terrible sleeper, so Daniel, Sadaf and I bonded over mutual understanding of the tortures of long term sleep deprivation and I tried to pass on some hope that maybe he will start sleeping at 10 months like Levi did! I had such a fun morning with this laid back and loving family, and I'm now seriously contemplating making 8 month sessions a thing :)
Meet this sweet little gentleman, Welles! And of course, his parents Christine and Graham. I had such an amazing Saturday morning with this family. Welles surprised his parents by arriving quite early, and spent some time in the NICU, so he was several weeks old when we met, but slept like a dream and also had the smoothest baby skin! He was so wonderful to capture, and Christine and Graham just added to that. Their home was FULL of books, and we got to connect by trading recommendations and sharing our favourite novels. Welles even had Harry the Dirty Dog on his bookshelf, one of my childhood faves! Along with great taste in books they have excellent style and it was so much fun to shoot in their gorgeous home. We even got take some outdoor shots on their front porch since the weather was beautiful, which I have been waiting all winter to do! It was so much fun to capture Christine and Graham's love for their little boy and I wish them many blessings in the days to come!
You have to check out this little redheaded beauty! Her name is Emily is she was simply a dream to photograph. She slept so well, and then pulled out the cutest, over-the-shoulder pose you can ever imagine, all on her own! You may remember her parents, Wes and Margaret from their maternity session back in the early spring. I so looked forward to getting to hang out with them again and meet their sweet little girl. Margaret only almost cried once, when Emily stretched her little hand out and rested it on her daddy's face, and baby Emily barely cried at all the entire time ;) I just love getting to capture a family's first days after that sudden change that throws you headfirst into parenthood. It's lovely, it's messy, exhausting and thrilling all at the same time. Wishing this special family many blessings.
Oh heavens. I apologize in advance because this is a LONG blog post!!! This family allowed me to capture so many beautiful moments that I just couldn't choose. Between a gorgeous old home, a spunky and fun 2 year old and an incredibly sweet newborn baby boy, this session was what dreams are made of! Little miss Millie (the cutie in the pigtails) was so much fun to hang out with. She didn't hesitate to warm right up and enjoy her time in the spotlight, which I think is very evident in the photos of her below! She was a darling big sister to baby Woodrow, giving him lots of kisses and trying to calm him when he cried. Woodrow was the most adorable little squish, with plenty baby chub since he arrived 2 weeks past his due date! He slept so well and was such an easy model. Niki and Chris (parents to the two cuties) were so incredibly kind and seemed to navigate life with two littles with and admirable amount of grace and humour. If you haven't gotten the gist, I really enjoyed my morning with this family, and I hope you can feel the love they have for one another in these photographs!
I just loooooved photographing this new family. Jérémy & Cécile were incredibly natural and relaxed and gave me a beautiful peek into their little world and their first days with their newborn daughter Sophie. This girl got a record number of kisses and snuggles in our two hours together, and it is just so obvious how much she is loved. Her nursery is fully of beautiful, carefully handcrafted items made just for her, including the sleep sack and 'Sophie' sign on her nursery door that you'll see below, and the cozy grey blanket knitted for her by her grandma. She also had the sweetest little wisp of dark hair over her forehead that I just loved! Wishing Jérémy & Cécile many blessings as they raise their darling Sophie!
At the beginning of May I had the pleasure of meeting the two cutest little brothers, Darius and Alexander. Two week old Alexander just had the most serious look in his eye the whole time, and was happy as a clam looking out the window as I took his portraits. I had to work hard to coax him into closing his eyes for a few shots, but this little man didn't want to miss a thing! Big brother Darius was soooo much fun and gave us some wonderful candid and joy filled moments in the the way only toddlers can. He was so careful and gentle holding his baby brother, and giving his mama some sweet kisses. Judy and Cyrus, you certainly have your hands full with these beautiful boys, but in the best way possible! It was an honour to capture these memories for you.
Little miss Georgia had her newborn session one day before her due date! She surprised her parents by showing up a month early, and one big advantage that gave us is that this little peach slept so well for us! The bright sunny day paired perfectly with her cheery white, pink and gold nursery that Georgia's mom, Kate, did a beautiful job designing. I think my favourite thing in the nursery was the amazing window ledge filled with books (which will be no surprise to anyone who knows me), although the cozy blue chair takes a close second. I had such a great time getting to know Kate and Andrew and enjoyed listening to them chat away to their baby girl! Wishing this sweet family many blessings in the days to come.
You know you have a photogenic child on your hands when a 15 minutes session produces basically an entire gallery! This is what happened when I got the beautiful miss Lainey in front of my lens! Lainey's mama is my cousin Katelyn (the other beautiful lady in the photos), and we got to see each other for a family baby shower, so we just quickly took a few minutes to do a mini 7 month milestone session for Lainey before the festivities got started. Honestly, I could have captured this girl all. day. long. I mean, look at those baby blues! And that smile! Stop. I can't even handle it. And this was right before nap time, which as we all know is not when most babies are at their best. I'll be quiet now and let her sweet face speak for itself. Scroll all the way down, you won't be disappointed! Have a happy Friday friends!
I met miss Caleigh when she was 3 months old, and I definitely forgot what a sweet stage this is! She's as beautiful as baby girls come, with a beautiful head of hair (complete with an endearing little bald spot in the back!), some gorgeous long eyelashes and cheeks for days. I have to say I have been getting so lucky with all of the older babies I have photographed lately...they've all given me the sweetest sleeping shots, which are much harder to come by once the newborn days pass! Caleigh was in her Fisher Price lamb swing when I got there, the same one we have, and it brought me back to the days when Levi was tiny enough to fit in his (insert crying emoji). I never felt like each stage was passing as quickly as it did, and I still find myself thinking that the current stage will be much longer, but it never is! Natalie and Justin, I hope you treasure these photos of you baby girl and that they will bring you right back to the days of bald spots and chubby cheeks.
If ever there was a blog post to convince you to have photos taken of your 2 month old baby, this is it! Little Celeste was so sweet and smiley, gave me some beautiful eye contact and was just a dream all around to photograph. Seriously such a wonderful age to capture! Her parents Danielle and Matteo were so fun to work with, and naturals in front of the camera (we know where Celeste got it from!). Celeste's name was chosen partially because her parent's loved the sound of it in English and Italian, since her daddy is from Italy and it's where her parents met. I had such an enjoyable afternoon hanging out with this new family and learning their story. I know Celeste will only add to her parent's already beautiful adventure!
From our very first emails I knew Margaret and I were going to be fast friends! She said that she could feel the love between the families in my photos, and wanted me to capture the love in her family as well. What beautiful words for me to hear! Margaret and Wes made this so easy for me, you'll see in the photos below that they just exude love for one another and for their baby girl who is set to make her appearance this month. We did a mix of indoor and outdoor shots, and Margaret was such a trooper hiking around outside, which isn't easy when you're in your third trimester (at least from what I hear, I did no hiking in my third trimester, or in any trimester for that matter)! I left our session relaxed, refreshed and feeling like I had just spent an evening with good friends. What more can you ask for from a session?! Margaret and Wes, I can't wait to capture your sweet baby girl when she finally arrives!
Hello friends! Meet adorable little William! You may remember my cousin Megan and her husband Danny from their cozy maternity session back in February. This sweet baby boy has been long desired and prayed for by his mom and dad. It was such a joy to get to see them in their first days as parents and to freeze these little moments in time for them to look back on. William was not my biggest fan (he much preferred to snuggle in his mama's arms!), but luckily we're family so there will be lots of opportunity for me to try and convince him that I'm cool ;) I am so excited to be able to watch this little boy grow in the days and years ahead and to witness the joy he will continue to bring to his family. Much love to this special family!
When I rolled up to Hilary and James' home for their baby boy's newborn session it was a gorgeous April afternoon, nice and bright, plenty of beautiful light for an indoor session! We started in the brightest room in the house, baby Damien's nursery, and while we were in there it started getting darker, darker, darker, until it was so dark my camera was having trouble focusing! Some serious storm clouds had rolled in, and since it was so dark we ended up doing 90% of our session in the nursery. One room and one window made for a fun creative challenge and we got such a great variety of shots in that little space. Handsome little Damien was such a good sleeper through the majority of our session, and then peeked his soulful little eyes open towards the end to round out his collection of portraits! Hilary and James, thank you for giving me the privilege of witnessing and documenting your first days as a family of 3.
The day of sweet Cara's newborn session there was a massive downpour and heavy cloud cover, but walking into this new family's bright and beautiful home, I knew the dark weather wasn't going to be an issue! Allana and Andrew designed Cara the most gorgeous neutral nursery which we spent a lot of time in capturing snuggles with both her parents plus a few shots of big fur-brother Winston along the way. One of the highlights of the session, for me at least, was that Andrew ate like half the box of cookies that I brought during our session, so I'm feeling super confident in my baking skills as a result haha! Or maybe they were just short on groceries, but I'm choosing to take it as a compliment either way ;) Miss Cara was a sweet pea and was happiest snuggled up on her mama's chest in a swaddle. She snoozed away until we tried to take her swaddle of, which she was not a fan of at all! So, of course, baby runs the show and we swaddled that girl right back up and she was a doll for the rest of the session. Wishing this lovely family all the blessings as they enjoy life with their little lady!
Photographing newborn sessions for first time parents is such a special privilege. To be able to come into their home, witness and capture their first days as parents is an honour. There is still a lingering sense of disbelief and awe that this is real life! Jenna and Daniel were so enchanted by their beautiful baby boy, Hunter, and I think he was pretty amazed by them as well! He spent some time just studying his mama's face at the beginning of our session, and it was the sweetest thing (exploding ovaries over here!). If you're searching for some nursery inspiration, you need to check out Hunter's...bright and beautiful space with a monochromatic palette and adorable woodland accents. I had so much fun shooting this delightful family in their home and to witness their love for their newest family member.
You all know how much I love photographing newborns...but I think I equally love the older babies! I met up with Bennett and Jenn and their 5 month old baby girl Bailey on a chilly morning in March to capture some beautiful memories in their home. Bailey was full of sweet smiles (as well as some drool haha!) and has the most beautiful blue eyes! Seeing her chewing away on her chubby hands and Sophie the giraffe took brought back so many memories of Levi at this stage. Her parents just love their little lady to bits and it was an honour to capture this fun stage in Bailey's life for them!
Say hello to baby Matthew, his big sister Alexandra and their wonderful parents, Adina and Mike. This family was such a pleasure to photograph...Matthew was so perfect and content and gave me some super sweet poses as he moved his hands wherever he pleased! Big sister Alexandra was quite possibly the friendliest two-year-old I've worked with, and although she was not one to sit still for the camera we got some really fun, candid moments of her being herself! My favourite is the one of her cute little face peeking through the curtains. I just love love love capturing toddlers in all their energetic glory! They are so uninhibited and joyful and these qualities can make for some truly memorable photos :) Adina and Mike were super laid back and game for whatever I had in mind, and I had a wonderful time playing with all the beautiful windows and light in their gorgeous home. I wish them many blessings as they enjoy these first days with their new baby boy!
Say hello to miss Bea! Her family's beautiful and charming old home was the perfect setting for Bea's newborn session. She was five weeks old, but as you can see that didn't stop her from sleeping through most of our time together! As you will note below, big brother Wally was a bundle of fun and energy, and although he kept insisting on "no pictures", he still somehow managed to give me a few of my favourite toddler shots to date! I think it's safe to say we were friends by the end :) Their parents certainly have their hands full, but in the most wonderful of ways! Congratulations on your sweet girl Caitlin and Blaine!
Oh hey! That's right, another adorable newborn to melt your heart today. Laura and Brian welcomed their sweet baby girl Lily into the world in January and I had the pleasure of meeting her when she was 6 weeks old for her newborn session. From the moment I came into their home it was just so obvious how head-over-heels Laura and Brian are for their little lady. There was a constant outpouring of love for her and it made my job of capturing the love between their family so effortless. I also love Laura and Brian for the fact that they let me sit and hang out and eat a banana because a was foolish enough to not have breakfast before their session! Shaky hands and cameras don't mix! Their kindness and hospitality towards me was so appreciated...Lily, you have some amazing parents to look up to :)