I have a confession to make.  I have hair envy.  Bad.

But wait, Jessica, you have more hair than any sane person would even know what to do with.

This is true.  But my babies don’t.  Despite Mommy’s over-abundance of thick, curly locks, my own dear children enter this world very nearly bald.  And stay that way for a loooong time.  And have first haircuts a week before Kindergarten starts.

So when my Wednesday client leaned over to me as I was gushing over her truly beautiful son, said, “Wait ’til you see his hair,” and pulled off his hat, I squealed like a little girl.  Seriously, I did.  It’s a little embarrassing, actually.

7-day old Grayson was just absolutely darling with his long limbs and all that gorgeous, cannot-be-tamed hair.  He kept me on my toes with the sweet little baby smiles he’d flash nearly every time I brought the camera away from my face–by the time I raised it up again the smile would be gone.  After a while, though, I caught on and managed to grab a couple lightning-quick little grins.

Grayson on day 7:

Here’s a little smile:

And just the tail end of another one–look at that hair!

One more, up close:

It was almost a shame to cover up that darling head of his, but we did it anyway:).

And, oh, he made Mommy, Daddy, and I work for this shot, but we got it!

Grayson, thanks for making me smile.  I’m glad I got to see you do the same:).

I have been anticipating this session for months.  Almost nine months to be exact.  Since before I knew there would even be a session.  When I found out that one of my dearest friends here in New York was pregnant, I was so excited for her.  Truly, our move here would have been a completely different experience without the friendship of this family–they just took us under their wing and helped us to find a little sense of belonging after a cross-country move.  I have felt blessed every day to know them.

Most of the newborns I have the privilege to photograph are first or second babies.  Darling Mary Katherine is baby #5 for this family.  She is absolutely adored by her big brother and big sisters.  Getting a photograph of 4 children with their new baby sister is always a challenge, but these guys did just great.  And their parents knew just what to do, as we planned the sibling shots for the beginning of the session and then Dad took them home to play.  Three hours can be a long time when you are 2, or 4, or 7, or pretty much any age.  And I’d just like to point out, I am capable of shooting clothed subjects, even at a newborn session;).

Aren’t mom and dad so blessed?

This one, I just fell in love with before I even pushed the shutter.  Love it with all my heart!

One with her gorgeous mom, and my dear friend:

And since the session started out backwards (with family images first), we decided to keep the trend going and use my new antique buggy (yep, that’s an oxymoron right there) rather than go to the bean bag poses.  Why not?  I had the perfect model.

Finally, on to the bean bag.  As we were shooting mom was telling me how excited she was for her portraits so she could really see what Mary Kate looks like.  At first I was surprised, and then I realized she made perfect sense.  You spend so much of your time as a new mother with a kind of up-close tunnel-vision.  You see the side of her face as she nurses or his cute little belly while you’re changing him, but you’re always right there.  It’s nice to take a step back and really see a baby.  Moms are so smart.

Oh, and did I mention mom made this beautiful blessing gown?  Yeah, she is pretty much amazing.

Here she is, Mom.  A knock-out, I’d say.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for a beautiful day.  Baby girl, I can’t wait to come snuggle you again sometime very soon.

The name “Evangeline” means good news, and I’m sure her arrival was nothing but good news when she finally decided to make her appearance almost two full weeks late.  I think mom and dad will agree that she was worth the wait–such a darling, darling little thing.  And those plump squishy lips–perfection!  Evie started out a little feisty, but after a little food, mommy time, heat and white noise, she fell into a blissful slumber and we had so much fun together!

Evie - 7 days:

With her gorgeous mama:

Handsome daddy:

A new favorite image of a brand new family:

Oh my goodness, those squishy lips!

Even closer:

Little smile:

And my new basket I’ve been dying to try!

Evie, you were the best news I had all day:).  Thanks for coming to play!

This baby girl is just that: absolutely and 100% adored by her mama.  I don’t know that I have ever met a mother so completely in awe of and in love with her baby girl.  We talked about that moment after you have your baby when you think, “Oh my goodness, she’s mine.  I can’t believe she’s mine and I get to keep her forever.” It just gave me such a thrill to watch this new mother wonder at the life she has created–and she truly is a stunning work of art.  Baby Isla is just a little bit of perfection.  I have a feeling that “no” is going to be a difficult word to come by in this household.

Isla was awake when she showed up for her session.  Rarely have I seen a baby this little so alert, yet calm.  She definitely knew how to work the camera:).  And isn’t that sweet little mouth just begging for some kisses?

Caught a little smile!

With her beautiful, infatuated mama:).

And this just might be my very favorite from the session–just love the simplicity of it:

Erin, thank you so much for sharing your precious little one with me today.  I just loved every minute I was able to spend with her–you are a lucky, lucky woman!

Remember this gorgeous mom-to-be from right after Thanksgiving?  Well, one week after her session, baby Noah decided to show up 2 1/2 weeks early.  It got me thinking and I realized that this was the third mom who had her baby within a week of having a maternity session with me–and I have only had one client go past her due date.  Not that you should book with me to induce labor… I’m just sayin’…

This family is just so lovely that Noah couldn’t help but be a total cutie.  I loved his cute back wrinkles, round tummy, and ginormous hands.  Seriously, the boy is going to have to either play football or be a concert pianist with those looong fingers!  Because Noah lives so far away (and showed up so early) we didn’t get to hold the session until he was 18 days old–on his due date!  He definitely gave us a run for our money, but we managed to get some really beautiful images.

Ah, what a gorgeous family!

Beautiful mama:

And I loved both these shots with Daddy so much, I had to show two:).

You can tell he’s smart already–see him contemplating the mysteries of the universe?

And a few more favorites:).

Thanks for making the trip, Noah! It was nothing but a pleasure!

That’s what sweet baby Rhiannon was, at least for me.  She showed up the day before Thanksgiving–what a lot her parents have to be thankful for this year!  I thought I was nearly done with sessions until after the holidays, but when mom contacted me last week with a request for a newborn session, I just had to find a way to fit her in.  I am so glad I did, because it was like an early Christmas present to spend the day drinking in all her sweet feminine perfection.

Beware, an overload of cuteness below;).

Waving “hi.”  We’re buddies now:).

Just a little touch of Christmas:

Love, love to see the connection between a new daddy and his baby girl.

I cannot get over how absolutely beautiful mom is.  Loved her hair and those striking blue eyes.  I am thinking dad’s going to have a rough time saying no to either of these gorgeous girls:).

I just love her delicate little fingers in dad’s hand here–such a little lady!

Look at those lips:).

Truly a pleasure to meet you guys!  Give that sweet girl a kiss and a snuggle for me!

Ah, sweet, sweet Sydney!  What can I say about this darling girl?  Born at just over 6 pounds, she reminded me so much of my own tiny little girls when they were born (and of just how much little Jack has grown!).  She was the perfect picture of tiny, delicate, girly goodness–the hair, the lashes, those lips!  I was a little bit worried we might have a difficult time since baby Sydney was almost three weeks at her session, but she showed up ready to sleep and be sweet.  It seems like every newborn session I shoot becomes my new favorite, and this one was no exception.  Love!

I haven’t had a little girl in a while–it was fun to pull out the pink:).  Look at that little smile!

I loved all her little details–such delicate features:

Thanks so much for sharing this darling girl with me for a few hours.  She’s simply exquisite!

I can’t believe it’s been a month already since Baby Jack joined our family.  And yet, at the same time, I wonder how our family could have existed without him in it.  It always amazes me how your heart just explodes with a capacity to love each new member of a family.  Every baby is such a blessing!

Monday was Jack’s one month birthday, and since the house was already toasty for Zachary’s session and I had everything set up, I decided to snag a few of my own sweet boy.  Baby boy is DEFINITELY past the newborn photo phase, though.  What a little flincher he is!  I only managed one set-up, but you can see how much he’s grown and how he’s filling out.  Just a taste of what’s to come when even the rolls have rolls:).

Baby Jack–One month:

Love you bunches, Peanut!

Well baby Jack is officially past the sleep-all-day newborn phase.  In fact, a large part of the reason why I haven’t posted anything in a while is that he’s turned into a bit of a terrible sleeper at night.  Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you think about it), this is par for the course for Washburn babies and I have full confidence that he (and I) should start sleeping again in about three months;).

In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy the sweet, sweet sleepiness of my tiniest clients:).  Like baby Zachary who came to play the other day, and who, at 14 days, was still deliciously sleepy, curly, and squishy.  I love bigger babies–I just want to squeal and sqeeze all their sweet little rolls–and baby Zachary fit the bill perfectly.  And oh, that hair!  I was simply in heaven.

And you know I can’t resist a detail shot:).

Thank you so much for the oppotunity to meet Zachary.  He truly is such a doll!

I just couldn’t resist posting a few more shots from that last session before I had Jack.  This baby had the most scrumptious plump little lips ever!

Thanks for being so patient with me guys.  I hope to have your gallery finished shortly–hopefully, this will tide you over for just a bit longer:).