Life As Lemonade Photography

A New Day & A New Arrival

Just when I think I am going to do a better job of blogging regularly- I fall behind again!  Once more it has been a while since I've last posted... but at least this time I have a legitimate (and wonderful) excuse.  At 11:57 pm on Sunday, May 15, 2011, Brian and I welcomed our baby boy, Sage, into the world.  He came into the world, wide-eyed, alert, and so peaceful.  He barely even cried that night...  Brian kept saying, "He has the longest fingers... " (something my mom used to say to me about my fingers as a baby.)  Here are some pictures from his first days...

One of my favorite ones- taken by his daddy and processed by me.

 

We could not get over all his hair!  I had a TON of heartburn during the pregnancy, so I would say that the old wives' tale about heartburn and lots of hair is true, true, true!!!  :)

 

He came into the world looking so much like Brian as a baby.  Brian had a ton of hair and a dark complexion when he was born too.

 

This was on the drive home from the hospital.  Love his cute little face in this one...snoozing away.

 

Once we arrived home, I was able to quickly catch the moment where Sage met his fur-sister, Haya.

 

I have tried to document his life in pictures every day of his life in a little 365 project.  I hope to be able to share some of those pictures in the coming weeks. 

Fast forward to today...our little guy is now 10 weeks old now.  I can't believe it!  Truthfully, our first few weeks were pretty rough.  We discovered he had reflux after his 2 first weeks were spent screaming inconsolably for literally hours on end.  (The low point was when he stayed up crying until 7 in the morning.  Thank heavens Brian and I were both on leave from work, or we would not have been able to function.)  He is now on some medication, and we've made some adjustments to his day-to-day life to alleviate the situation.  He is now doing a lot better but still is not a great sleeper.  I look forward to the day (or should I say night) when he gives us a whole night's sleep.  What a wondrous day that will be!  But in the meantime, we are so blessed to have this awesome little boy to share our lives with.  Every smile he gives us- is the best thing ever and makes every challenging moment worth it.

On a final note, thank you to those of you who have actually continued to check-in here despite my negligence over the last several months.  I hope I will finally be back on schedule and sharing more often.  I am now accepting photo sessions again, so feel free to contact me if you'd like to schedule a session.  I look forward to seeing my clients again!

Big changes ahead.

I don't know if anyone has actually checked this blog recently since it has been so long since I have posted an update.  :)  Good grief where has the time gone?  There are so many pictures I need to post that I haven't even shared yet.  I hope to be doing that in the coming days/weeks. 

On a positive note... I do have a good excuse for not writing in so long.  In September, my husband and I found our we are expecting a baby!  (This will be my first.)  Fast forward to December 22nd (what would've been my mother's 69th birthday) when we found out we are expecting a baby boy.  We are soo excited and feel very blessed that all of the tests and check-ups we have had thus far suggest that he is a thriving and healthy little guy.  Now here I am today...just 5 weeks from our due date.  It is amazing to think how drastically our lives will be changing in the coming month... but I am so looking forward to meeting this little guy and sharing this wonderful experience with the love of my life.  I am sure in the coming weeks I will be sharing loads of pictures of our little guy too.  I will have my own personal model now (lol)- I just hope he doesn't grow tired of my camera as so many photographers' kids do.  :)

Now that I have caught you guys up on what has been going on- I wanted to share a few pictures from an awesome maternity shoot that I did a week ago.  This beautiful couple, Lydia and Ryan, are also expecting their first baby just 3 weeks after we are.  I could not be happier for them.  They are both such sweet people and I know they must be over-the-moon excited to meet their little girl.  We met on a Sunday evening and I was reminded about how much I love, love, love evening light.  It is the absolute best.  Here are some sneak previews from their maternity session- I can't wait for them to see their gallery.

Lydia has the most beautiful eyes!

 

What a lovely, oh-so-photogenic twosome.  I know their little girl is going to be just beautiful.

 
She is a natural in front of the camera!

 

Two hearts.

 
And lastly...one of my favorites from the day.

 

Lydia and Ryan- I hope you guys enjoy your preview!  Can't wait for you to see the rest.  I hope the rest of your pregnancy is healthy, happy and smooth sailing.  I hope I'll have the opportunity to meet your beautiful angel once she arrives.  Wishing you guys the utmost in blessings!

What a heartbreaker...

This little guy totally stole my heart.  When his mom and I decided on a place to meet for his photo session, I had the brilliant (lol) idea of thinking we should meet at a local state park... at the lake where all the ducks are.  I even brought some bread for us to feed the ducks... it never dawned on me that being surrounded by a bunch of hungry ducks and geese may not be such a great idea.  It may not be fun for a kid- it might be downright scary being surrounded by all that water fowl!  This guy loves animals but wasn't too keen on being surrounded by all those feathered fellows... so I thought I had really messed up and created a stressful setting for pictures.  However, putting a little distance between us and our duck friends and being by the absolutely beautiful fall leaves- this little guy just came alive.  He had me cracking up while he hammed it up.  And he was so photogenic- I kept telling his mom that he is a future heartbreaker with those big brown eyes and those dimples- Mom is in big trouble!  This guy literally stole my heart- I just loved his personality so much.  There are just some kids that have the kindest and most loving spirits and that definitely sums him up.  Such a sweetheart!

 

Hamming it up...

 

Mr GQ- so cute!

 

 

Those dimples!

 

 

 

One of my favorite families.

I always enjoy photographing my friend, Jaime, and her beautiful family.  Her kids are the sweetest!

 

 

She has the most photogenic eyes!

 

Jaime and her sweet family.

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A special birthday.

I have been photographing this little girl since she was in her mommy's tummy, so it is just amazing to think that she is now a smiling, sparkly little girl of one!  I had a fun time photographing her first birthday and celebrating such a sweet, precious little girl.  It was a fun day.

Waiting to have her picture taken.  Sometimes the outtakes are my favorites! 

 

Is there anything cuter on a little girl than a tutu?

 

 
She looked so cute in her birthday hat waiting for the cake!

 

The funnest part of the first birthday party is baby's first taste of cake and waiting to see what the reaction will be.  So... she sampled it...

 
And tried getting it via her fork...

 

but its safe to say she wasn't a big fan!  Lol!  I don't think she knew what to think of all that sugary, messy stuff, but it certainly made for some adorable pictures.

 
After a quick clean-up, we took some family pictures.  I love this picture of three generations.  It was one of my favorites from the day.

 

Lastly, I thought it would be fun to get all of her little guests together for a group picture.  They were on the move, but it still made for such a cute picture.

 
Happy 1st birthday, little one!

Brother & sister

My co-worker, John, and his wife, Cara, recently had a handsome baby boy.  He was 4 weeks old when we got together to take pictures.  John wasn't able to stay for our whole session due to some prior commitments, so most of these shots should be a surprise to him.  There were so many pictures that I loved!  This is going to be a long post...  :)  I wanted to share so many.  And as if the baby wasn't cute enough...John and Cara's little girl was a ham and such a natural in front of the camera.

What a smile!

 

She was just full of energy.

 

And here's her little brother.  I caught a couple of half-smiles on his face.  He was so laid back!

 

Another little half-smile.

 

I think its safe to say that she is just in love with her little brother...

 
 
 ...definitely.

 

Love her expression in this one.  She is trying her best to hold him.  :)  I don't think he knows what to think about it!

 

Little guy with his mommy.

 

I don't know what was cuter... her little curls or those beautiful eyes.

 

I think he is going to have some beautiful eyes too.

 

And one of my favorites of the day.  I loved that she was so happy to give her little brother a kiss.

 

Hope you enjoyed the preview!
 
 

Baby girl is 9 months old!

I always enjoy getting together with this little one.  She is growing like a weed and has the most beautiful big blue eyes.  She also has the sweetest personality and is soo easy to photograph.  Despite the 90+ degree heat outside, we were able to get some really cute shots outside. 

I liked this one because you can see her little teeth!

 

Look at those big blue eyes!

 

One of my favorite pictures from the day... love that adorable expression and her little outfit looks so cute against the flowers.

 

Hanging out with mom and dad.

 

Everyone in this family has beautiful eyes.

 

This little rocking chair is a family heirloom and made for such adorable pictures.  (And check out the little ray of light in the background of this picture.)

 

Love that little leg sticking out!

 

And such a cute expression in this one.

 
  
 I am looking forward to celebrating her first birthday in October.  My how time flies!
 
 
 
 

The phone is back!

Yay- I have located my missplaced business cell phone.  Feel free to call me if you have any questions or would like to set up a photo session.  I have a limited number of slots this summer.  Thanks for your patience during the move! 

Phone, phone, gone, gone

Bri and I have been moving and doing some work at the new house over the last couple of weeks, and as it seems to happen every time I move... my cell phone has gone missing.  If you have tried to call me but haven't heard back, please shoot me an email at melakin@bellsouth.net   I am hoping to go by Verizon Wireless tomorrow to get a replacement phone.  So sorry for the inconvenience!  Hope you all are having a wonderful summer despite the heat.  :)

On the move...

I am so sorry that I have been away, everyone!  Brian and I recently bought a house... and since closing on the house in late May, we have been scrambling to prepare for the move over the last month.  It has been sooo hectic and sooo exhausting.  I swore that if I ever move again, I am hiring movers!  :)  I am hoping things will calm down over the coming weeks so life can get back to normal... and I can catch up on all things photography!  Thanks for checking in.  I hope I can at least post some fun pictures soon.  Please drop by again soon.  :)