Unfortunately, it’s only on portraits and not on sleep:).  I have shared this before, but I have to share it again because it just so perfectly describes those first few months of new parenthood… once the euphoria and adrenaline wear off.

The good news is that everyone is doing well and we are settling in to our new family.

And what you really came for:).

Eva, 12 days:

Eva, 13 days:

And a girl after my own heart.  I am not a huge Hershey’s fan, but but it’ll do in a pinch.  Now, if I could have found a Lindt crate…

And a current shot of my baby girl who has gained 3.5 pounds in 6 weeks–maybe that’s why it feels like I’m never getting any sleep;).

My baby was four weeks yesterday.  I cannot believe how much she’s grown and how much older, more alert, and more aware she is already.  It’s a bittersweet thing watching your babies grow up–torn between wanting to stop time and savor every brand new moment and impatiently waiting to see who they will become.

Eva, 9 days:

Clients and friends often comment on how wonderful it must be to have so many great photographs of my own children.  And while I do try to photograph my kids relatively regularly and I LOVE the images I have of them, the truth is that they are often some of my toughest subjects.  Especially as newborns.  They are ticklish and startle easily, they love to clench their fists, they spit up all the time and when they aren’t doing that, they are pooping or peeing on everything.  I love them, I mean I ADORE them, but they are not easy babies to photograph.

Yesterday Eva turned 3 weeks and I wanted to take one last day of images of her before backing off my crazy shooting-every-day schedule–I wanted to capture how round and chubby she’s become in just 3 short weeks:).  It didn’t happen.  We tried, but I think she’s outgrown the newborn phase of photography.  Sure, if I kept her naked and the house warm and didn’t mind trying a couple of different times throughout the day, I could probably still get some nice, posed, sleepy shots, but it’s been 3 weeks and I have 4 other kids, school has started, and I am just tired.  It’s sad, though, to let go of her newness.  I know it sounds silly because she’s only been here for 22 days, but I am already saying goodbye to her newborn-ness and for a newborn photographer, it’s a sad thing to do.  On the other hand, I can’t wait to see who she grows up to be.

So, despite the exhaustion, the occasional frustration, the not-quite-as-clean-and-polished-as-my client-work images, and the mountains of laundry, I am already so glad I have these images to remind me of every fresh new day with my Eva.  I shot her every day through day 19 + day 21, with the exception of days 15 and 16 when the amazingly talented Brittany Woodall of Baby as Art came all the way from California to photograph her.  I can’t wait to work my way through all the images, to see what Britt captured, and to put together a book so I can always remember how tiny and fresh and new she was–and how much I love her:).

Eva, day 7:

Such a mess of a photo composition and posing-wise, but I love her funny face and it just reminds me of how hard I had to work with her.  This was attempt #2 for this set-up after she utterly destroyed it the previous day.

The third time was the charm:).

This series just makes my heart smile:).

And I had to play around a bit with her nickname, as well:).

Eva, day 8:

Love you more and more every day, baby girl!

My baby girl is two weeks old today–I am not sure I can handle it, the time is just flying by so quickly.  And we are falling more and more in love with her every day.  These images were taken just over a week ago, and already Eva is changing, filling out, and growing.  It can be hard to be motivated to shoot every day when the photographer is also the mama who just gave birth, but (like with Jack) I am so, so glad to have pushed through the exhaustion.  And I am so, so grateful for a family that indulges me in my crazy ideas:).

Evangeline, 5 days:

I always love these “raise your hand if you’re cute” shots:).

Eva, 6 days:

As you know, we’ve been calling baby girl “Lemonhead” for months.  I just couldn’t resist commissioning this darling hat from the talented Kristi Kaspar of Chickyloo Custom Knits to commemorate that very first nickname.  More of our little Lemonhead to come later:).