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.
Yes, this deserved a second blog. It’s not because I’m a new mom or because Mother’s Day is around the corner (it’s not, so stop sweating because you haven’t bought flowers or a new car for her………. it’s May 13th, by the way). It is just a topic that deserves more love and a second posting. As I looked through all the photos of moms, I was so moved by how different they are while still having this common thread of mother love and strength, care and joy, giving and enjoyment of their kids and their families.
So to that end – I raise a glass again to mothers of all kinds, shapes, ages and types.
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.
Lately, we’re thick with superhero movies and remakes and I see no end in sight. Comic books characters, the heroes and villains who distract us from their real life counterparts, are an amazing escape. They inspire us to be bigger, to be the people we want to be and they give us a sort of boost.
With the recent release of Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot (and Oh Holy Crap, if you haven’t seen it, rent it asap!!), I’ve seen and felt a surge in girl power and we can never have enough of it, in my humble opinion. As I await the arrival of my son, motherhood and moms have been on my mind. They give so much, carry so much, love so much, share, guide, hurdle, forgive, strive, turn the other cheek, increase the joy around them and I’m so grateful for my own mom and the examples of other mothers I know.
Here’s to the power – the near superhuman power – of mothers. I thank God that He protects and helps us as we create little humans while holding on to our own identities.
I could write and share mom photos for weeks – and just might – but for now, I’ll just ask that you do one thing for me please: if you can, call your mom today. Call your gramma today. Call your mother-in-law. Call a mother you know and tell her that she’s a card-carrying rock star… that she’s seen and appreciated beyond words. If you can’t for whatever reason, take a minute to think of a mother you know and say a little prayer or meditation of gratitude. It won’t go unheard.
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 have a pal who finds hilarious pictures of her family from old portrait sessions and gives them as gifts each year, along with NEW portraits. It’s sort of a repurpose, re-gift, re-laugh about it. The time progression is its own reward along with her Mother’s laughter and recollections.
The York sons did something similar for Christmas last year, minus the goofy shots from the 1990s. These three men bought a family portrait session – a gift card from Pixels actually – and presented it to their parents, Mark & Denise York. The gift card was good for a family portrait of the entire York family, something they knew that their Mom had been wanting for a very long time.
Listen up, sons and daughters, especially if you’re looking for a Christmas or anniversary present for your parents: your mom and dad did all of that laundry, schlepped all of that sporting equipment, sewed quilted ballet bags to carry your point shoes, baked untold dozens of Toll House cookies, worked with paper mache, checked homework after 11 pm, wiped your rear end, taught you to drive and throw a football in a tight spiral and stood in line to buy toys you’ve long forgotten about …………… you with me? THEY EARNED IT.
Mrs. York cashed in her certificate at the end of August after undertaking the kind of coordination that would make the Pentagon cringe. She had 15 family members (4 generations) to pin down and she stuck the landing. On a gorgeous day at a picturesque family farm in North Wilkesboro, we met up with this crew and thank goodness for perfect weather. Finding another date would have been many more months in the making.
When we photograph families, extended families and multiple generations, we always capture a variety of combinations for the individual family units and the matriarchs and patriarchs who want everyone and all the time. Gift cards for photography are available for any occasion at all times but are especially popular at Christmas. If you’re interested, please contact us and we’ll start planning.
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.