This time last year feels like an entire lifetime ago. I said in our blog about our new son Finley that I’ve been amazed at how much someone can do on so little sleep. Well, I’m also blown away by how much we packed into this last year. We’ve been blessed with an embarrassment of riches in the supportive friends department. Thank you all for showing us so much love and grace around having our first child. Before, during and these first few weeks after Finley was born have been easier thanks to you. The outstanding friends awards go especially to the Minicks, the Pierce and Meade families. You guys have not only been our clients but have gone above and beyond being our “village” with Finley. From gifts of maternity clothes and hand-me-downs for him, to meals, practical and light-hearted advice for Ryan and me, to wanting to hold Finley, giving lessons in baby-wearing, helping with pediatrician appointments … it is a MASSIVE list and you all have been wonderful.
You guys know how much we love to travel, but outside of Merlefest and shoots in our gorgeous mountains (which feels like an escape, but is really our regional backyard), we stayed close to home. While we didn’t take any trips this year, we did make it to our local getaway spot – our campsite and cabin by the river in Sparta, NC. It’s the most peaceful place for us and we even managed to get there the weekend before Finley was born. I was trying to keep from going into labor. Ryan’s 40th Birthday was celebrated there with a camping weekend including six other families. It’s a pretty special memory.
We’re also grateful for new insights into what we do for a living. I attended a retreat this year that focused on photography and lighting techniques, and loved it. It too became a place where I found support, new friendships and a cohort of like-minded women.
And I’m thankful for my husband. Ryan took on a role of doing most everything single-handedly toward the end of my pregnancy and after Finley’s birth. As we kept serving photography clients, he was there in situations that normally are my domain alone. I’ve got a terrific partner in marriage, in business, in parenting and in life.
Finally, this Thanksgiving takes the headcount up by one…. one perfect little head. He won’t be making multiple trips to the buffet for stuffing or raiding the fridge for the midnight turkey sandwich, but we’ve grown as a family and we’re so grateful that this child is ours.
With my girl and one of my boys…
I would love to know what that new brain is cooking up and will keep wanting to know for the rest of my life, but this picture below makes me think of how we feel when we consider the gifts of this year: our family, our tireless friends, our clients, new experiences, new pals and a new little boy. You all make us smile.
Happy Thanksgiving and we’re sending you nothing but joy, health, contentment and your own sense of gratitude for the good stuff.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
I’m obsessed with his cheeks. I know, but I ask for no leniency, Judge! From the moment I could see them in the ultrasound pics, so plump and round, I was enamored. They’re even more adorable in person. Close runners up are his lips, fingers, toes… well everything. So there’s the love affair portion of this which is the vast majority of it when I intellectualize it.
But there’s the exhaustion too and it’s what we all think about with newborns: the absolute lack of sleep. We’ve learned how much a person can do with so little sleep. It’s astonishing, really, but I don’t want to make a habit out of it. I’m amazed at how quickly days turn to nights and the nights are so very very hard. But when he’s awake and serene – God help me, he’s perfect.
What is not serene and perfect is postpartum depression. I thought about not mentioning it, but what is the point of sharing if I’m not going to be honest and forthright. It is a very real thing and the internal struggle of hormones, body, intellect while tired and wanting to remember who you were and who you now are is dicey. I’m still very emotional and my body hasn’t healed. I’m not yet able to do everything I was doing before and pick up life where it left off. I know I’m only 41, but I’m 41, you know? There are times when I feel that God is taking this opportunity to show me how little in control I actually am. And for a person that’s always strived for independence and perfection this is a situation where I can do neither. It’s a hard lesson. I know I’m growing, but the patience part is not easy. If you’ve been through it, I send you a hug in my mind. I get it. Thank God for perspective and knowing how to take the long view.Professionally, this session was a study in insight. We’ve been photographing babies for a long time and wanted to capture our own portraits of Finley. For once I felt what every Mom who comes into our studio with a newborn must feel. Anxiety when he cries and doesn’t cooperate, frustration when you are so close to having him settled for that perfect shot only to have him abruptly need to be fed; discouragement because you would think it would be easy to swaddle my own child… it’s harder. If anything, being a new Mom has helped me be a better newborn photographer rather than the other way around. Ryan and I never thought we would see each other in these roles. It’s showing us sides of each other and our marriage that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. The few hours (never sequential – ha!) that Finley is awake and alert are my favorite times of day these days. His eyes wander all around taking in every sight and sound. We are at the beginning and it’s crazy, but the Finley shaped hole in our lives was filled just in time and perfectly by this little dude.
Thank you for loving us. We know that that love extends to our son and it means more to us than we could ever express.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just bzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Driving around yesterday, I rolled down the windows for a few minutes and experienced that first smell of fall. Leaves are falling and changing and the smell was that welcome first sense of the next season. Where did summer go? ALL of our seasons in NC feel like transitions to the next and I love it. We never have 10 months of summer or 9 months of winter like other parts of the country – thank the Lord. Autumn is coming. Start layering your clothes and adding a sweater to the back seat when you head out.
This means that it’s also time for fall portraits and we’ve planned a limited number of outdoor sessions for family, child and engagement portraits. We want to capture these while it’s gorgeous, but in specific areas, because this pregnant first time mom-to-be has her eyes on the prize when it’s not pressed against a lens. Book now! Details below.
We’ll be photographing fall portrait sessions from September 30th until the second week of October (or until Little Man Case arrives) in Boone, Blowing Rock, Jefferson or Wilkesboro. Based on the lack of rain, history and the handy-dandy Farmer’s Almanac, we anticipate the color change in the NC mountains to be earlier this year. We encourage anyone who wants photos to reserve their session as soon as possible. Session fees start at $150 and are due at the time of reservation. Call 336-990-0080 or email mail@pixelsonpaper.net for more info or to reserve your session.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Jaxon is all boy and loves farm life much like his big brother Luke. If he isn’t admiring the cows and playing in a wagon, he is toddling around his dad’s diesel mechanic garage or playing with tractors. I picture him behind the wheel of some amazing car years from now having both the smile to get the girls and the ability to fix the car if something happens to the engine: i.e. A Keeper!
Kristen & Matthew took advantage of our one year baby plan package when Jaxon was born. Newborn, six month, and one year photos. They chose not to include a cake smash because as it turns out, Jaxon isn’t a fan of cake yet. What they will be getting is a custom designed photo book that shows off Jaxon’s first year on Planet Earth. For our baby plan clients, we also like to bring the whole family together at the one year mark for a family portrait. Often we’ve photographed the siblings and all the growth and changes in the family are fun to see and should be chronicled, right? We love the continuance and adore the families.
Pixels On Paper offers full year baby photography packages. Want to learn more about our maternity and newborn photography packages or portrait photography in Wilkesboro NC , Boone, Blowing Rock and the NC mountains? Call 336-990-0080, visit our website www.pixelsonpaper.net or send us and email at mail@pixelsonpaper.biz for more information.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Pixels On Paper Photography Wilkesboro, NC Baby Photographer, Boone NC Family Photographer, Newborn Photography, Newborn Photography Winston Salem, NC, Newborn Photographer, Baby Photography, Baby Photographers, Charlotte NC Newborn Photographer, NC Newborn Photographer, NC Baby Photographer, Charlotte NC Baby Photographer, Winston Salem NC Baby Photographer, Boone Family and Portrait Photographers, Boone Photography, Boone Photographers, High Country Photographers, NC Photographers. Husband and wife team providing creative photography for weddings and portraits in NC, specializing in the NC High Country, Charlotte, Winston Salem and in the NC Mountains.
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I defy you to look through these photos of the Allen family without smiling. It’s not possible.
Lauren and Patrick (PA) Allen’s family has increased since we photographed their wedding, June 28th, 2014 at Lauren’s Dad’s Big Red Barn in West Jefferson NC. They’re now a family of 5, which includes PA’s older daughter who couldn’t be a part of this shoot and their daughter Kayleigh – the crazy cute brunette-slash-big-sister.
It was as if there was never a day apart for all of us. Ryan and I like to meet up with Lauren’s Dad, CJ, whenever he visits the mountains at Boondocks, our favorite drinking hole in West Jefferson. We solve the world’s problems over craft beer. On this day, we spent the entire time laughing and joking with each other. These guys were sweet enough to brings us gifts for our little man on the way and provided great advice on babies and especially baby boys. We love this growing family and are so excited to have them closer again. There will be loads to share as Cooper grows and our boy is born. We’ve already began planning Christmas portraits! I love it when God sends people back into our lives.
To begin planning your family portrait photography, no matter where your located or the size, contact us.
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