baby love / a maternity series / welcome home / january 2014

It seems like it wasn't so long ago that we stood in the lush, soggy grass on a typically grey, Melbourne winter day to take our first frames of this collection.

BABY LOVE.

This series became so much more than I thought it would be. Hoped it would be. Mostly because of you guys. You have showed such intrigue and interest as each month rolled on, sending best wishes to my sister and her husband, wondering where we would shoot the following month. So many of you commented on how much you would have loved to have your pregnancy documented in a similar way.

Thankyou for following along. Sharing in our journey. I am so grateful for all your kind, heartfelt words, and genuine encouragement and appreciation for what we were trying to achieve.

It really became a bit of a competition with myself, to better myself and my work each time I picked up my camera for my sister. I feel proud to see how much my photography (and editing skills!) has improved since that first collection of images, back in July. I am not sure what it was, but something definitely shifted at the seven month mark, almost as if both myself and my camera, opened even more. To let more light in, more depth, more love. Simply more.

Most of all, I think I am just plain proud to give this to my sister. Her words and emotion as she saw a new collection each month was just what I had hoped for. Raw and honest. Tears and laughter flowed.

While I expect to do a final final roundup video and post, a collection of mother and baby's growth--together--this, right here, is the final piece of the puzzle.

Of course, as always, you can see the full stills collection OVER HERE. Lots of black and white to finalise the series.

Courtney--my baby sister with a baby!!--thankyou. Thankyou for letting me do this. To stick my camera in your face every few weeks of your pregnancy. Even on the days you didn't want to see me. Thankyou for seeing where I wanted to go with this. For understanding the process, for doing everything I asked--yes, for getting in trolleys with a six month bump, getting up when the clock said 3-something to catch a Queensland sunrise (our best, in my opinion), for walking The Boulevard for hours when all you wanted to do was put your feet up--just to name a few. You never complained. EVER. You never questioned my ability or my vision for what that month in pictures would become. You allowed me at the birth of your son, a truly sacred moment between you and your husband. You trusted me wholly, and I thank you. I love you. XX

Music / Bob Dylan / Forever Young

FULL SERIES COLLECTION
Three months / rain
Four months / sunshine 
Five months / sunset
Six months / carpark
Seven months / sunrise
Eight months / sparkle
Nine months / waiting
Birth / Welcoming Baker

All slideshows can be seen HERE

baby love series / WELCOMING BAKER

I don't need to share any words this time.. just welcome. Welcome, Baker Julius!

{FULL STILLS COLLECTION + WORDS OVER HERE}

Music / Joshua Radin / My My Love + Beautiful Day

baby love / a maternity series / nine months / january 2014

We weren't sure whether baby would oblige and give us a (close enough to) full term finale shoot. He did. We were grateful.

You know what this means, yes? Baby boy's arrival is up next! So excited to share it with you, and so very grateful to my sister and brother-in-law for allowing me to share it with you. Promise not to take too long..

Full story and nine month stills collection over here.


Music / Eva Cassidy / Songbird

baby love / a maternity series / eight months / december 2013

You'll have to humour me with this instalment of BABY LOVE. Try and remember the festive cheer you felt back in mid December. That's when these photos were taken. And you're about to hear a Christmas carol.

Such an enjoyable evening spent with my sister and brother-in-law. There really is some kind of magic with fairy lights.

Of course, I'd love you to visit the full stills collection too.



Music / She & Him / Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

baby love / a maternity series / seven months / november 2013

I was completely steamrolled by this baby toward the end of last year. Or rather, this project and keeping up with delivering it on time.

But now it's time to hit you in quick succession with the final three instalments before I can introduce you to my new nephew - good and proper.

This was the first month where my BIL joined us. It was really something special.

You can see the full collection of stills over here.



Music / Sleeping At Last / 500 Miles

baby love / a maternity series / six months / october 2013

I'm getting lapped again. We shot sister's SEVEN MONTH session little more than a week ago and here I am, just now, posting SIX MONTHS. What can I say? Life is busy. That old broken record again. Again.

Full stills collection will be over here tonight, but this is too fun not to share first thing on a Monday morning of a manic week ahead!

Good morning, friends!



Music in Vimeo clip / Mat Kearney / Hey Mama

gold

My sister and nephew have been in town for a few days. The quick trip was in honour of the Mrs Carter World Tour and from all reports, it was well worth the trip.

When she called me for my birthday last month she said she wasn't sending my present in the mail because she didn't trust it would get here in one piece. I forgot all about it and was pleasantly surprised when she presented me with said gift once home from collecting them from the airport on Monday.

This is what was inside.

There were tears.

Remember this post? Yep. She saw it and contacted Shannon, gave her a little description on what makes us who we are and et voila!

I just couldn't believe how spot on Shannon got everything. EVERYTHING. While our little characters all have the same faces, they do NOT all have the same faces. The slightest difference and positioning of our mouths changes everything. The kids' characters look like the kids! Middle too cool for school, the Small with a warm, cheeky grin, and Missy with her gentle yet enthusiastic smile. The husband in his beloved Tigers' guernsey and me with my camera and coffee.

Looking at that picture of us together, that was the first time that five people looked like a lot. Like, wow, we made three children. Three children who love dinosaurs, Peppa Pig and watermelon, and art. He escapes the madness to the footy every now and then while I use the coffee to fuel the photographs. Perfect.

I love it so VERY much. Thankyou sis, bro-in-law and nephew! xx

baby love / a maternity series / five months / september 2013

Another month along in this beautiful journey I get to share in with my little sister. If you've missed part of the series you can read about our little project here.

This was definitely our favourite shoot so far.

Blogger seems to be throwing a tanty at the moment and turning all my photos to utter shite as they upload (I know I am not alone), so unfortunately I couldn't get a full stills post up last night before we hit the road this morning for a little road trip. When it's finished having its little outburst, there will definitely be a full stills collection.

But you CAN see this month's video over here (something else that turns to shite when I embed it here?!).

Music / Colbie Caillat / Capri

baby love / a maternity series

My baby sister and brother-in-law made a baby. Hurrah!

I'm forcing her to let me document her journey into motherhood. The first instalment of BABY LOVE, a monthly maternity series documenting mother and baby's journey toward birth, can be seen here. You can see the full collection of stills and words over on my other blog.

Music in Vimeo clip / Sarah Humphreys / Looking for a Face

the baby shower

So, remember when I went away? Sans kids? Okay, so I still had one kid, but it felt close to none. Almost a whole month ago. How time flies.

It was a super quick trip, flying up Friday morning and back Sunday morning, with very little other than party prep and actual party attendance taking place. We squeezed in a pool dip and a solo coffee date with my baby sister, chatting about the big stuff, the dream stuff, the life changing stuff. Isn't it so much easier to do that when you're in holiday mode?

If you know my sister, you know she likes everything just so. And her baby shower was no different. Everything had been carefully considered and planned, resulting in a glorious afternoon in the sunshine and warm, spring breeze, shared with her closest family and friends, which led into the evening. Her closest friends travelled from Melbourne and Sydney to spend the afternoon with her. She was given the most beautiful, thoughtful gifts, spoilt indeed. As every mama in waiting should be. I made her - or rather, little one - a cot quilt. Or at least my version of a quilt. The lazy quilter's quilt if you like (separate post to come later).

Bree had wanted to do a shoot with her husband to remember this time by. I was so sad that time just got away from us and we couldn't manage it.

And the first nights spent away from my eldest two? The first day and night were WONDERFUL. I don't remember how quiet it is having JUST ONE CHILD. Especially when the smallest kid doesn't say much. The silence was deafening. I had expected him to spend all his time with my dad, he is infatuated with him. But carrying around the virus he had, made him unusually clingy and didn't want me too far from his sight. By the end of the second day I was missing them terribly and I'd be lying if I said a few tears didn't hit the pillow as I laid my head down on Saturday night.

And that beautiful big bump? On Wednesday morning of this week, the fourteenth of November 2012, the bump decided he'd had enough on the inside. Teeny tiny Rome Parker arrived into the world, ten days early. The new parents are smitten, and their little man is doing wonderfully.

*That last photo? The girls have always been sizeable. Now? They're just outta control. And we like to make fun of them. Bree is usually less than impressed.
** Bree's dear friend, Heather, made the little fondant baby cupcakes - and travelled on the plane with them on her lap, all the way from Sydney! She needs to quit her day job and bake for a living. They were white mud cupcakes. Never have I tasted anything so divine!