#cravencousins number 1

Introducing Isaiah Matthew Hudson

They look pretty good for having a one-week old

Absolutely Beautiful!

Cindy

When you are as beautiful as this, your album title is just your name.

I

can't 

even

(insert crying emoji)

Not just babies

When I was younger, I thought that with my degree and experience, I would be working at some non-profit by now. No where in my mind did I think that I would be attempting to run a business from home, but this is my season and it has brought an unexpected surprise. I am guessing that many women feel that when they pop out a few kids, it tends to change their perspective (ME, ME, that is how I feel!). My births led me to the doula life, the doula life led me to the birth photography life, and now the birth photography life has turned into photography. YES, I am trying to do it all. Right now I am thriving on the learning and discovery.

So here is a post that doesn't have ANY BABIES in it.  I know that there is a pregnant lady on my logo. I realize that might be confusing, but it is all evolving. And let me tell you, THIS PHOTO SHOOT was amazing. The joy of meeting new people and being in their life to capture all the beauty... I loved it. 

Look at these beautiful daughters. 

Their mom contacted me about my Spring Session Special ($50 sessions. You can go ahead and book me now). When her girls showed up in these fairy dresses, I was MELTING!

Simply beautiful!

I think most moms understand the importance of capturing memories. It is innate within us. From writing down the cute things out kids to, to taking pictures of everything and nothing. We want to remember it all. 

I wish I could take credit for these dandelion pictures, but it was the cutie on the left. We were telling her to walk faster, turned around, and she had picked that flower up and was about to blow. Children create beauty, I am telling you.

The beauty of this family! I am so thankful that we crossed paths. 

Ezra's Birthday Party

Since Ezra's arrival into the world was so "unexpected" (see previous blog post), Ezra's brother Eli wanted to throw him a "birthday party". 

He picked out all the decorations and made this a special event! 

and it gave us a chance to capture some great pictures!

A family who just wanted to be home!

That is one excited big brother

The best part of this visit was capturing Ezra's rainbow footprints. Ezra is Kasey & Josh's rainbow baby (a baby born after a miscarriage or loss). 

A celebration of life

and remembrance of loss.

Happy Birthday Ezra! 

---

If you are interested in doing a lifestyle session in your home, let's set a date! 

1.5 hour session + CD of edited prints + print release for $100

*Offer good for Spring 2017*

Where are they???

It is unusual to begin a labor blog with a photo of a midwife outside of a hospital. But this was the beginning of Kasey's labor as I knew it.

Y'all say hey to Mandesa! 

Let me set the scene. 

Birth photographers sometimes meet mom at home, and sometimes meet mom at the birthplace. I knew that Kasey was in early labor and had planned to meet her at the birthing center. If I could go back in time, I would give a million bucks to have been able to capture the whole story.

I was receiving traditional labor updates, then all of a sudden a message from dad (Josh) that they were going to the hospital for an emergency c-section. SO I threw the kids in the car, dropped them with their dad and rushed to the hospital. And who do I find waiting? Mandesa! And what did Mandesa say to me? 

WHERE ARE THEY?

ut oh. 

*Thoughts going through my head*

"Umm, I am just supposed to be taking pictures. Where the heck ARE they? Did I miss the birth? Is the baby ok? What kind of birth photographer am I? Someone should burn my business cards out of anger. But where are they? Mandesa is freaking out. I am freaking out. I hope they are ok!"

After calling Josh about 15 times, i received the following texts which will give you a small picture into all the confusion.

Kasey went in for a quick scan while in, what she thought was, early labor. A lot of confusion and she delivered the baby in a doctor's office. Not exactly the birthing center tranquility she was aiming for. 

We did run into some of Josh's family and got to facetime them on their ambulance ride.

Again, these (ie, an ambulance) are not the norm in birth photography, but hey, I just go with the flow.

Hello Ezra. It was nice of you to enter the world in such a grand way.

Mandesa's face pretty much explains her feelings about the previous hour of uncertainty.

When the only thing you can do is laugh.

And finally, mom and dad get to take a breath and enjoy their baby.

Let me just take a moment to say something about this amazing mama here. This birth was the exact opposite of her plan. Nothing was comfortable and she did not know the people providing her labor care (a group of paramedics and people who give ultrasounds for a living). She didn't have it documented and she ended up staying days in a hospital.  

THIS MAMA IS STRONG.

FIERCE.

AND SHE DESERVES AN AWARD. 

She delivered her baby in a glorified storage closet with 15 strangers yapping at each other. And she did it without medication. Kasey, your strength and ability to take birth's punches amazes me. 

and after all of that, look at how incredibly

beautiful she looks. 

Of course, only in "Ezra fashion", he had to have some extra monitoring. But a great opportunity for Josh to bond with his son.

After some time, the nurses decided that Ezra needed a little extra monitoring, which meant a short goodbye from mom.

I can't imagine the fear going through them, but they were as solid as rocks the whole time. It was beautiful to witness their love for each other throughout this.

The most beautiful of reunions that mom needed...

This is big brother Eli

After a full day of labor craziness, the holy grail of birth...

THE FIRST MEAL

(all you moms know what I am talking about)

A room full of family waiting to hear the whole story.

Ezra is home now.  He is small, but fierce

 just like his mama.

*Coming soon: Ezra's birthday party! Eli planned the whole thing!*

heather & jamie

Can you stand this cuteness?

How about this? 

Seriously, I can't get over these two. Jamie & Heather gave me the privilege of capturing a few pics of them before their wedding.    

These two met just around the corner at Meredith College, and have been together since. 

These smiles...these giggles...

The atmosphere in downtown Cary was great too.  If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do. It is just as cool as Raleigh or Durham with a lot less people and easier parking!

Ok, enough fun for one evening,

it's time for y'all to plan a wedding ;)

"Come on Cooper"

These words echo in my head. "Come on Cooper!" From a quiet lament to a loud howl, Hillary was talking to her baby through the whole birth. "Come on down, buddy"... "Coop, I am getting tired"... "Come out Cooper"... and he did. It just took a little bit longer than we all expected. 

Hillary & Brent are "not from round these parts". Hillary's hometown pride is clear, as she rocks her Colorado shirt for the first of many dips in the tub. 

Many laboring moms find a lot of comfort in the water

Laboring through the night is such a challenge because it usually means that no one gets quality rest. As day broke, and progress was made, the mood shifted a little.

But let's face it, labor is labor.

and after about 15 hours, the endurance starts to fade...

and labor requires all hands on deck...

and things get too intense to bear

and usually you would be about done. 

But for whatever reason, Cooper was not. So mom & dad decided they needed some rest & epidural. 

and rest they got.

So about halfway through Hillary's labor, we got news of the water crisis in Chapel Hill. Complicated? YES! But after a few hours, we finally got some water!

Seriously, this is Hillary's "pushing" face.

I'm serious! She is pushing here!!

The most peaceful pushing face I have ever seen.

and those tattoos... a photographer's dream!

The moment when Hillary touched her baby for the first time.

Priceless!

and He is HERE!

Take a look at that cord!

Cherishing the first moments

The first of a million zillion kisses! 

This is Kacy. She is their doula. The couple wanted to have a lot of support since they did not have family in the area. This is one of many reasons a pregnant woman might benefit from having a doula. So my job on this birth was just the pictures (well, until the millionth hour of labor when Kacy & I were on tag-team mode).

Also, a note about Kacy...she is my BFF <3.

LaCroix Arrival

This is a beautiful story of strength and support.

The story of the birth of Noah Montgomery LaCroix has many smiles, deep conversations, surges of fear, leaps of joy and lots of love...

lots and lots of love.

I named Kelly's IV "Bertha". Since Kelly is not a fan of needles, it caused her quite a bit of anxiety in the beginning. Probably more than contractions. It is funny how the little things get to us. Before too long, Bertha was obsolete.

But this woman, ya'll, she is so strong.

Sometimes in labor, the room can change. One minute, you are watching netflix and laughing in between contractions, the next minute, you need an oxygen break.

Labor is not easy. No matter the story. Kelly handled contractions with strength and determination...

and Jello.

and Ben.

A woman needs her partner in birth. To witness this bond is a gift. This man provided support in ways he didn't realize he knew. Kudos to Ben for jumping in. 

Now, back to Kelly. She did do most of the work, you know.

And this was the moment when everything stopped.

There is a time in labor where mom hears her progress and is either energized or defeated. This mom was about 12 hours into contractions (on pitocin, which, let me inform you, makes a difference) and her news of only 6 cm dilation was it. Bring on the epidural.

Except this funny thing happened. The epidural decided to only numb one side (I call it a "halfidural"). So after about 3 more hours of that, they got the problem fixed. Kelly was at 9cm. 

Kelly is a person who will not feel the need to explain herself on her decisions in birth. No one should need to. But I am here to toot my own horn on how incredibly strong she was and how she handled labor so well. Getting an epidural is not defeat. Labor is not a contest; it is a journey that each woman must take. Kelly is strong. You are strong. Let's celebrate that.

"Hey Steph, will you take our picture before we have a baby"

Welcome to the world, Noah.

You were born into love, bud.

Schulte Twin Birth

There may be a few too many pictures in this blog because it is so hard to narrow down when there are so many perfect pictures of mom and babies and love. 

This is a beautiful story of a determined mom(Mick), a loving partner(Mark) and their journey of going from a family of 4 to a family of 6- TWIN BIRTH

Dad has been tying Mom's shoes for weeks now.  Sweet labors of love

These are labor inducing stairs. Mick walked them for about 30 minutes like a boss.

Time to suit up for the OR.

Are you melting yet?

Welcome to the world Beckett & Carter.

A girl and her dogs.

My dear friend Jordan, or as I like to call her "DJ LOVE", has these two GINORMOUS dogs. Jordan was the DJ at my wedding, and when I say DJ, I mean that she pressed play on the ipod, but she did it with greatness.  She and I both reside in Raleigh and she is known to come steal Turner for adventures from time to time.  And it was time for her annual Christmas card photo with her giant fur babies.  

Meet Ethel & Norman. 

Now as you can see, they are large. Norman a bit bigger than Ethel. But darn they are cute...a cute handfull.  

But Jordan loves them and is a great fur mommy (she doesn't have fur, just to be clear).

To wrap up this post, I want to share the perfect moment. Thank you Norman for this perfect picture of who you are.

Thanksgiving Family Fun

We were able to visit lots of family this year, which is a victory when you have 2 children. I am so glad I was able to capture the smiles and faces, but mostly thankful for the memories. I know, cliche, but it is great to watch my kids bond with our family. 

As you can see, it is not easy to get the "perfect shot" with kids.  This was about as close as we got for the day. It may not be perfect, but it is real life!

This is my sister and her son Charlie.  So sweet!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope you can enjoy the last few days of pumpkins because Christmas is right around the corner!

Sweet Shelby

My sweet daughter is ONE.  This dress was worn by yours truly back in 1989, so to mark history, I wanted to take some sweet pictures of my kid in the same dress.  

Here she is.  Baby Stephanie in her cutest.  Like mother, like daughter.

Angel & Sean

I've noticed something about this metropolitan area I live in; there isn't a lot of land.  It seems like you have to drive 30 minutes out to see an open field EXCEPT that NC State has quite a few farm fields for student training.  And it is in one of these fields that I was able to spend some time with Sean and Angel, soon-to-be married folk.    

These two have lots in common including a love for the land.  Which is why it was fitting for us to take pictures at the Agroecology Education Farm at NC State.  

They were such troopers since I dragged them out at dawn in the frigid cold of the morning.  The pictures don't show their shivers though.  I guess I should invest in a warming blanket for times like these.  

But the beauty of this place, besides its visible beauty, is the time that Angel and Sean have spent here throughout their relationship.  The moments shared as they have grown to know and love each other more. Those are the sweet things I like.

Our next stop: Waffle House.

What? Say what?

Yes.  Waffle House is where their sentiment is at.  They had their first date there. They got engaged there.  Heck, they might even get WH to cater their wedding.  But probably not.  Nevertheless, it is only fitting to capture them in special places.

And this ring. Custom designed by Sean and Angel's cousin.  So perfect.

Its not hard to see when people truly love each other. Thanks for letting me into your space and for taking a chance on me.  

Looking forward to seeing the farm these two start one day.   

Just Getting Started

You know the phrase "get the ball rolling"? Well, that is what I am doing here.  My daughter is One, I am occasionally getting a full night's rest, and I am yearning to do more, a creative outlet if you will.  So, here is a ball.  Let it roll.  

The Putnam Family.  

My dear friend Lauren and her family are moving closer to their hometown next week and I was able to capture a few family photos at their house.   

Now, if you have ever moved, you know that home=memories.  Lauren & Chase were newlyweds in this house, they brought home both their girls in this house, watched them grow and all the things.  

AND, who doesn't love a toddler with a finger in their nose?  KIDS!  Capturing all that they are is just perfection.  

Since I am a mom, I am drawn to seeing mom's love on their kids.  You can see how much Lauren loves her girls.  And I love that about her.  And will miss it for sure.  

Love this friend.  Love her family.  Wish she didn't have to go, but so happy for the new adventure for her family!