a week after i met my son

Those of you who read this blog may remember my post about getting pregnant. Well, on February 23rd at 10:46 in the morning, Hugo Oliver Barboza made his way into this world.

I took these photos a week and half ago and have tried, repeatedly, in the limited free time I have to write a post that accurately sums up how I feel about my son and about this crazy, emotional, sleep-deprived time. But, unfortunately, words totally escape me right now. I am about as un-articulate as it comes, my friends.
So, instead, I've decided to give you some bullet points:

•This whole parenthood thing? This thing where you love your child in the most indescribable way? Yeah. I get that now. The love is huge and all-encompassing.

•All those things that Joe and I did for YEARS and didn't think twice about-- going on dates, leaving town spontaneously, staying in bed for as long as we wanted, getting at least 8 hours of sleep, having ample amounts of down time-- well, I can honestly say that we totally took those things for granted. And I NEVER. WILL. AGAIN.

•Breast feeding is one of the hardest, most frustrating things I have ever done. I keep getting told it gets easier, so I'm holding on to that and praying it's true.

•Pre-baby, I never understood how parents of newborns seemed to be so short on time. Now I get it.

•When your hormones crash a few days after giving birth, you can expect you will cry about EVERYTHING. I cried because I wasn't pregnant anymore (WTF?!) I cried because I loved my son so much. I cried because my doctor had been so nice to me during the birth. I cried because Hugo was only a few days old and yet time was already passing too quickly. I cried because I felt so completely and enormously vulnerable. I cried because the sky was blue, (not really, but you get the point.)

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later.
Enjoy the photos in the meantime...

xo

 

Shen

You may recall the family documentary I shot for Eric, Hsiao-Ching, and Meilee last year. Well, little Miss Meilee has a brand new, one-week-old baby brother now, named Shen. And I got to take pictures of him yesterday.

Toooooo cute.

Hi, I am back

I don't know what happens to me in January. Each year, winter hits me with stronger force and it takes far more effort to continue with my basic responsibilities....like posting on my blog, for example.
Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoy posting new work and babbling on and on about whatever strikes my fancy but, in January, sometimes it just feels like one. more. thing.
You know what I mean?

Anyway, I promise to do better. I am using this slower time of year to focus again on my own photography, so I'll probably be posting some of that here. And, as always, I would love to know your thoughts when I do.

In the meantime, here are a few shots from a recent newborn session. Isn't Braeden a cutie? I have been photographing his adorable big sister, Addie, since she was a year old.

portraits

I've been occupied with some fun portrait work lately. Just thought I would post a few images of my beautiful clients!

Samantha and Mackenzie

Remember Melyssa and Damian from the featured wedding section on my website? You know....that beautiful couple who had their fabulous wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? Well, they now have twin daughters who are just as cute as can be.

I first photographed the twins, Samantha and Mackenzie, when they were babies. Now they are one year old and getting even cuter by the second!!
Check out a few photos from their recent shoot...

Back from vacation

I have finally carved out some time to sit down and write about the last several weeks. It's snowing outside, I am listening to Band of Horses VERY loudly, and I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am no longer on vacation. Not that it's a bad thing. It's good to be home. But it truly is so lovely to have days and days where I have no schedule, where I can indulge in many hours of daydreaming or catch up with my cousins in Vermont or watch my niece swing very high on her tree swing in New York. It is so wonderful to have time with my mom where we can just laugh and drink wine, where I get to hear my cousin's amazing 17 year old son share with me his passion for languages, where I can talk about art with my brother. I savored every moment of this trip- driving through New England and seeing the multi-colored leaves on the trees, seeing the Manhattan skyline at sunset, soaking up the 70 degree weather in Myrtle Beach, hearing the birth stories from 2 generations of women in my family, playing board games, and laughing harder than I have in a long time.
It was hard to leave it all. It's hard to live so far away from such a large and loving community. But I am home now and so grateful for the amazing community I have here.
I have a lot to be thankful for.

Thank you- to ALL the family I saw on this trip- I love you all.
Here are just a few of the photos I took of you...