Three's Company

Saturday marked a first for me: multiples. But did I start with twins? Nope. I jumped right to triplets, and man, did I have my work cut out for me! Jacob and Erin invited me over to photograph their three nearly 6 week-old babies. I expected chaos when I walked in the door, but instead Erin was calmly sitting on the couch with baby boy Chase. Reece was sleeping in the Pack and Play, and tiny Kate slept in daddy's arms. All seemed in perfect order, though Erin assured me that the last 6 weeks have been HARD.

Once I got set up and ready to shoot, I quickly realized that this wouldn't be like any other session. Getting the babies together and sleeping at the same time would prove to be nearly impossible as the day progressed. I did capture a few images of the babies individually, and I'm hoping that Jacob and Erin will like what they see here.

Little Kate (5 and a half pounds) decided that she loved the sheepskin. She slept, and slept, and slept while her brothers ate each others' heads and grabbed each others' cheeks. I love this detail shot. How many kisses have these tiny ears already gotten?
Kate sprawled in contentment. Jacob and Erin said that Kate is the feisty one, but you'd never know it here.

After Kate's long nap, her brothers finally conked out. Of course, by then, Kate was wide awake. Here's Chase (8 pounds) in dreamland.

And then Reece (also 8 pounds) decided to join him.

We added Kate when it seemed that the brothers were in a deep enough sleep. I love how she's waving at us in this shot.
Reece loved sleeping on his tummy. The little creases on his arm are adorable!

Can you see how much smaller Kate is than her brothers? One amazing thing about these guys is how different they all are. Different hair, skin tones, bone structure, temperments...definitely three individuals. How about this bum shot?

Again, Kate is wide awake while her brothers snooze. I think we should have broken out the swaddles earlier. They really seemed to do well in them.

Jacob and Erin, you have a beautiful family. I know there have got to be moments when you just don't know how to go on (hey, I had more than my share with just ONE baby!), but you are doing a wonderful job. Just keep taking one day at a time. I hope that these images bring you joy. Thanks so much for letting me play!

And baby makes four

Every year during the holiday season friends from my class at good old Redmond High get together for dinner and drinks and lots of catch-up. Our gatherings have changed over the years from rather raucous rendezvous to last year's dinner with two moms breastfeeding (practically) at the table (yes, I was one of them) to this last year when no one brought kids, but two of us were pregnant with our seconds. It's crazy how time passes and lives change, but I love it.

At this last dinner, Jenelle was pregnant and due THAT DAY. Over the course of dinner, Jenelle and her husband, Greg (both Redmond alumni), decided to hire me for newborn pictures. So, one week after Jenelle gave birth, I showed up at their GORGEOUS Redmond home for some baby pics. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Olivia is Jenelle and Greg's first child. Twenty months is a challenging age to photograph, but she didn't seem to mind the camera at all. Check out her amazing blue eyes. Lucky girl got those from her mother.
Over Christmas, Olivia got a beautiful play kitchen. She had fun showing it off.

Once Olivia went down for her nap, we focused on baby Noelle. Such a sweet, mellow little one.

I love how she's snuggled up to Greg here. See the smile?

I can't get away without a hand shot.

Love, love, LOVE this shot. Cute little froggy legs.

This one makes me melt.

This was the first time I've spent time with Jenelle and Greg since high school, and they weren't a couple back then. In the few hours of our session I was pleased to see how wonderfully in love they are. Congratulations, guys!

Noelle's face in this one cracks me up. And I love the wonder in mom and dad's faces.

Jenelle and Greg, thanks for allowing me this glimpse into your lives. I'm thrilled to see how happy you are and what a beautiful family all four of you make. I hope you see some images that you'll want to fill those frames. Enjoy!

Angel Mama

Saturday morning it was time for me to get back behind the camera. And what better subject to photograph than a beautifully pregnant Angel? This was my first maternity session since I've been pregnant, and it came at a perfect time. Seeing Angel and Eric's overflowing love for each other and for the little girl she is carrying, reminded me of all those wonderful feelings I experienced with Abigail. After a rather miserable (morning-sickness-wise) holiday season, I needed the reminder that there are wonderful things ahead. Now on to the pictures!

The weather in the Seattle area has been crazy cold lately (and it's snowing now!), so we kept most of this session indoors. I love these close-up belly shots.
Angel has had more than her share of pregnancy aches and pains, but you'd never know it from the smile on her face.

One thing (of many) that I love about this couple is the way they've included family in the whole experience. Here you have Angel's hand on top and then clockwise from there is Eric, Angel's mom, and her 12 year-old sister. This baby is literally surrounded by love.

Teeny tiny baby booties. And they'll probably be big on baby for a while.

Eric is an extremely supportive and loving husband. Watching them together just makes me smile.

A bit of the wilder side.

The tank (Eric's) that I hear she's been living in around the house. Love this smile!

I wanted to get a couple of shots outside. So this one is half-way out...

And then we went all the way.

My favorite shot of the day -- hands down.

Angel and Eric, thank you so much for inviting me to your home and allowing me to capture this amazing time in your lives. It was such a pleasure to be in the presence of your joy and love for each other. I can't wait for the birth! I hope you find some images to love. Enjoy!

Big News

Happy New Year everyone! Yes, I've been a bad blogger over the holidays, but 2009 is here and I'm ready to get back to work. And to start it all off, I've got two BIG announcements. (Well, many of you know about one or both of them, but I'm officially sharing them with the world now.)

First of all, the new One Tree Photography website is up! Yes it has been a long time coming, but we have finally launched a website that I am EXTREMELY proud of. Trevor has spent MANY evenings working on it and (I'm sure) got more than a little frustrated with my constantly changing design ideas, but all that is behind us now. Thanks to my incredibly supportive (and talented!) husband, http://www.onetreephotography.com/ has come to life!

Take some time to look around the new website and send me a quick email if you see any glitches we haven't caught yet. Chances are that you'll see someone you know!

The second big announcement is also the reason I've been somewhat absent recently. As of today, I'm twelve weeks pregnant with our second child! I'm convinced that this one is a boy, since I've been MUCH more sick this time around. I'm still waiting for that placenta to take over so I'll feel better, but I'm sure it won't be long now. So for all of you thinking you'll be wanting pictures in the second half of July, I'd suggest scheduling a session a bit earlier. The baby is due July 16th, two days after Abigail's second birthday.

So those are my two pieces of big news! I also wanted to just take a moment to thank all of my clients in 2008. Thanks to you, this dream of mine has become a reality. I can't wait to see what we make happen in 2009!

Finally, a blog wouldn't be complete without a picture, so here is one of Abby during her first snow outing. Enjoy!