Maternity Series #2: 26 Weeks

This week's photo was taken by Kristy Dooley Photography.

I had the most wonderful time in Raleigh this weekend with my girlfriends. We met in an online photography class last Fall, and it was so nice to finally meet in person... it felt more like a reunion than the first time we were meeting! They were sweet enough to take some maternity photos for me and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The photos are so special to me, not just because they so beautifully document part of my pregnancy journey with you, but also because they're taken by people who are so dear to my heart.

It is my sincere hope for you that you find something you're truly passionate about, and that you're lucky enough to find a group of friends that share that passion.

Maternity Series #2: 25 Weeks

Your big sister is getting SO excited to meet you! She loves giving my belly kisses and hugs and saying, "I love you, baby!" And you always seem to start kicking whenever you hear her voice. I'm sure you guys will drive each other crazy from time to time, but I have a feeling you're also going to have a lot of fun together.

Letters to My Daughter: June

My sweet girl, you are TWO! I would say "where did the time go?" but it's been a long year filled with lots of changes, so this milestone feels fitting. Most days you actually seem well beyond your two years...

It seems like every time we're out at the park or the pool, someone comments on how fearless you are... and to see you climb the playground equipment or how comfortable you are in the water, even I have to remind myself that you're only 2. Confident, curious, and brave, yet somehow (miraculously) not reckless, I find myself filled with such admiration for you. The enthusiasm you have for new adventures - be it a book, a park, or even just an art project or helping me in the kitchen - is so infectious, and the courage you display when you fall or things don't work out as you would have liked makes me so proud. If there's one thing my dad did for me that I hope to do for you, it's to make sure you know not just how much I love you, but how much I genuinely like you as a person. You really are the sweetest, funniest, smartest kid that I'm certain has ever existed, and I feel so crazy lucky that I get to be your mama.

Watching you grow and change into this amazing little girl has been such a privilege, and I'm so excited to see what this next year brings for you - especially as you figure out your new role as a big sister. I love you so very very much.

I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Christine’s blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Emma!

Our sweet Emma is TWO! I can hardly believe it. I'm way more emotional than I thought I'd be about all this, and I have a ton of sappy mama stuff I want to say to her, but I'll save all that for this month's letter post in a couple of days. For now I'll just leave you with this look back...

Lucky me. :)

Maternity Series #2: 24 Weeks

I got to see you again this week! You're growing right on track and cute as a button. It's fun to compare how different your ultrasound photos are from Emma's. She looks a lot like me, but I think you're going to look just like your dad.

Maternity Series #2: 23 Weeks

Oof... your mama has been BUSY this week! Lots of late nights and little time with your dad make me pretty grumpy, so I'm hoping things slow down soon. If nothing else, I keep reminding myself that in four short months I'll get to spend my days with you and your insane cuteness and my work stresses will be far behind me.

GONE FISHIN'

It's official, our girl LOVES the outdoors. We were up at our friends' cabin in PA for the weekend, and it was all we could do to get Emma to come inside to eat.

She especially loved her new fishing pole. I figured she'd play with it for 5 minutes and give up when it inevitably wound up in a tangled mess, but I seriously underestimated her. She got it right away - dropping her line in the water then reeling it back in... over and over and over and over again. She must have done that for 45 minutes straight, which is like 5 hours in toddler time.

She also loved playing with her friend, Shane, and their cuteness was off the charts...

It's pretty much guaranteed that if you give Emma a big open space to play, she will run around like a mad woman until she tires out. She loves to say "Goodbye! Adios!!" then run away until we shout "come back!" and she runs at lighting speed back toward us saying "Hello! Hola!" Even better if there's a hill involved.

I knew we had an outdoorsy girl on our hands when not even the cold mucky pond water phased her...

She finally started to tucker out our last morning there...

...of course, that was until we stumbled upon this awesome roadside playground on the way home. :)

I'll be honest... being pregnant at the cabin in 90 degree heat is no picnic, but seeing how much fun our little girl was having made it all worth it, and I can't wait to get back there next month.

Maternity Series #2: 22 Weeks

We just got back from a long weekend at the cabin, and while I'm completely exhausted, I can't stop thinking about how great it's going to be to take you there as you're growing up. It's basically little kid paradise and between fishing and swimming and getting to sleep outside, I really hope you'll love it there as much as the rest of us do.

Emma's First Phillies Game

Sunday was a huge day for our little family... we finally took Emma to her first Phillies game! We were busting at the seams to tell her, but knew we had to wait until right before we left the house otherwise we'd enter the never-ending cycle of "yes we're still going, just not right now." We gave her the Phanatic stuffed animal we'd been hiding from her for the past 2 years like the mean toy-limiting parents we are, and she started catching on that this was really happening. She was so excited to go to the "ballpark!" and even more so when she found out that my mom, stepdad, sister and her family were going, too. We took the Metro downtown, which was another new adventure for Emma. She loved the "ding" sound the train made before the doors closed, and standing on the platform saying "hi train!" and "bye train!" I loved making a trip like that with extra people to carry the stroller and my ever-growing toddler. (Okay, okay, family is great for other things, too, but after doing it on our own for the first year, I'm still super grateful when we go somewhere and don't have to feel like pack mules.) :)

Once we were at the ballpark, she had more fun than you can really expect a 2 year old to have at a baseball game. She loved cheering "Go Phillies!" and tasting all the yummy (i.e. terrible for you) ballpark eats. She clutched her Phanatic stuffed animal the entire day, and even more so when the reality that she hadn't napped all day started to set in. We feared impending doom, but Emma was a trooper.

Our poor Phillies ended up losing to the Nats, but we still had a great time. It was a long trek home, but Emma finally passed out about 5 minutes from the house, woke up for dinner, then promptly passed out again. She still hasn't let the Phanatic out of her sight.

PS... I also got to have some fun with Jared's telephoto lens:

Maternity Series #2: 21 Weeks

Now that we know you're a boy, I've been in full-on nursery planning mode. While I didn't have everything planned out before we left the doctor's office last week, I did have it planned out a few hours later. I'm so excited to get started on everything, especially your special name quilt. Now if only we could decide on a name... :)

Letters to My Daughter: May

This is my last letter to you as a 1 year old... a month from now you'll be 2, which is crazy to me because I feel like you've been 2 for a while now. I'm pretty sure you went from infant to toddler overnight, becoming the quintessential little miss independent. "Emma do it!" is something we hear multiple times a day, every day. And no more is this independence on display than when we're at the park...

Despite going to the park every weekend, it never fails to amaze me how fearless and adventurous you are. Our Emma... ready to take on the world.

I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Jessica’s blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!

Maternity Series #2: 20 Weeks

My son... My son... I just keep saying it over and over again. I've felt this whole time like you were a boy, but now that we know for sure it feels so real and wonderful. It will be a whole new experience for us to have a boy, and your dad is very excited that he'll no longer be outnumbered by the girls. More than anything we're just so happy that you're healthy and growing right on track. 20 weeks down, 20 more to go!

Maternity Series #2: 19 Weeks

ONE WEEK! Only one more week until we find out if you are a girl or a boy and I can't wait. Your dad is convinced you're a girl, but I think you're a boy. I honestly don't care either way, I just want to know already so I can start planning everything. Knowing me, I'll have your whole nursery planned out before we even leave the doctor's office. :)

PS... missed any of the previous weeks in the series? Click here.

Maternity Series #2: 18 Weeks

I've been spending a lot of time in this crazy position lately. Why, you ask? Here's the thing... your sister took two and a half days to make her grand entrance into this world, and I'm doing everything I can to make sure you come out a whole lot faster. I'm going to yoga and my chiropractor every week and doing my prescribed stretches every day in an effort to have the most open hips of all time by D-day. Will it work? No idea. But it can't hurt. Well, okay, clearly it hurts a little. But hopefully it'll all be worth it!

Maternity Series #2: 17 Weeks

I'm sorry if you've been feeling how stressed I've been this week. You'll find out some day when you're a parent that you'll spend a lot of time worrying about your kids. I worry about your big sister, who's been struggling to adjust to some unexpected staffing changes at school. I worry about you and you're probably the safest and most protected you'll ever be in your life right now. Worrying just comes with the territory when you're a parent. But, if there's one thing I've learned in my short time as a mother it's that there's a whole heap of stuff I have absolutely zero control over. So I try to focus on what I can control... I can't promise that I'll always be able to protect you from life's hardships, but I can promise I will do my best to make sure the smiles and the giggles far outweigh the tears - and that when the tears do fall, I'll always be there to hold your hand and dry your eyes.

LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTER: APRIL

My sweet girl... this photo is very emotional for me because it depicts a time of great transition in our journey as mother and child. After nearly 22 months of nursing, you are officially (finally) weaned. I honestly never intended to or thought I would nurse you this long. You just never lost interest, and once I didn't have to pump anymore it wasn't really much effort on my part to let you keep going. You would wake up and do your little sign and look up at me with those beautiful blue eyes saying "melk!"... a mother is pretty defenseless to that kind of cuteness. But a month or so ago you started showing small signs of indifference, so when I went away on a business trip we decided that would be it.

Even though I was as ready as I could be, it was still bittersweet once I knew I was nursing you for the last time. You were my baby. You were my first. We've been on this crazy journey together, learning together... and there were many moments during those early days when I wasn't sure I'd ever get the hang of nursing, much less be able to nurse you until you were almost 2. But we figured it out, and it ended up being one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences of my life.

Our last nursing session came and went, and we moved on to a new phase in our relationship. One where I feel much more like the mother of a young girl than the mother of a baby. You still ask for milk almost every day, but you're perfectly fine with my saying "no." We replaced our pre-bed nursing time with rocking and singing in the chair in your room. (This photo was taken during one of those times.) We sing the same three songs every time: "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley, "Golden Slumbers" by The Beatles, and "Murder in the City" by The Avett Brothers. Some nights you even sing along, which is pretty much the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life. Mostly I'm just glad that we still get our special time together. You're growing up so fast, and before I know it you'll outgrow wanting to be rocked before bed. So I'm treasuring what I can get.

I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Davina's blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!

MATERNITY SERIES #2: 16 Weeks

You've been growing up a storm these past few weeks... so much so that I can't button my pants anymore! And I promise that's not just due to my increased ice cream intake. I'm starting to feel you move around a bit and I so love those unexpected little thumps in my tummy. It's only a matter of time before those kicks become an hourly occurrence, and I can't wait. We love you so much already.

Letters to My Daughter: March

My sweet girl, you are going to be a big sister! You have been very excited about the baby, and I know you’re going to be an amazing sister. You’ll be almost 2 and a half by the time your brother or sister arrives, so it’s doubtful you’ll ever remember what life was like without him or her. And while I know that life will only get better for us with the addition of this new little person, I want you to know how much I’ve cherished our time together as just us. I know the majority of my excitement about this baby is because you’ve shown me how wonderful being a mama truly is…

From the first moments I held you in my arms, I was filled with a love I never new possible. Your dad may have taught be how to be loved, but you my girl taught me how to give love… how to love someone so much you think your heart might explode every time you lay your eyes on her… the heartbreak you feel when she’s hurting and you can’t make it better… the joy you feel when she rolls over, takes her first steps, when her signs turn into words.

As you’ve grown, the bond we share has only grown stronger. I feel like we’ve been on this great journey together… from pregnancy, to navigating those first chaotic newborn months, to all the milestones of your first year, and now seeing you develop into (it’s hard for me to even say it) a little girl. It’s been tough at times, figuring out this whole parenting thing, but mostly it’s been a pure joy… and truly the greatest honor of my life.

And now I’m on a new journey… a journey that takes me from being the mom of one to being the mom of two. But I promise my journey with you doesn’t stop because of that. I will love you both the same, but uniquely. You will still be my little boo boo. You will still be the one who taught me what it really means to be a mother, and what an absolute gift it is.

I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Carrie’s blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!

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MATERNITY SERIES #2: Weeks 4 through 12

That’s right! Our little family is expanding. :) I’m thrilled to announce that Baby Shellaway #2 is due in early October. We’ve officially made it through the First Trimester and I, for one, am quite relieved. And it’s so nice to have our little secret out of the bag. (Although it was MUCH easier to hide this one since I work from home now!)

As you can see, I decided to start my maternity series a little earlier this time with a few photos during my First Trimester. (I’ll start the weekly photos with the letters once I hit 16 weeks, just like with Emma.) I also thought I’d switch things up for this series by doing the photos as lifestyle self portraits.

The photo above was taken right after we found out I was pregnant… the excitement on my face says it all. And then the morning sickness set in…

I wasn’t Kate Middleton sick or anything, and I wasn’t even as sick as I was with Emma… as long as I ate small amounts fairly often I felt somewhat okay. But the problem was nothing in my fridge looked appealing. And I was bone tired all day every day. So naturally, I decided that was a perfect time to potty train Emma. Seriously, do NOT potty train your toddler during your First Trimester. Epically terrible decision. Potty training requires immense amounts of patience and energy, neither of which I had in spades the past few months.

But, we made it… we made it through potty training, and we made it to 12 weeks. Emma is so excited to be a big sister. She points to my belly and says “baby!” and has become so interested in the baby doll in her classroom. She reads to it, gives it a bottle, and puts it to bed. And if she sees a baby sleeping anywhere – a book, real life, the box of wipes – she says, “shhhhh! Baby sleeping!” It’s quite endearing.

Thanks as always for your support! I’m so looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you. If you want to follow along with my maternity series, be sure to subscribe via RSS, email, or like my page on Facebook.

Emma and Elmo have a tea party

I'm currently taking yet another amazing Clickin Mom's class called "Lifestyle Photography with Kids" and thought I'd share one of my first assignments. I've been wanting to take this class ever since I first joined CM, and I'm pinching myself that not only did I get into this sold out session, but I'm taking it with a bunch of my photographer friends from my very first intro class. The idea behind lifestyle photography is to tell the story of people as they are, as opposed to posing them in a contrived setting. It's similar to documentary photography, but you have the freedom to control your environment a bit by moving things into good light and removing distractions. This style of photography works particularly well for small children as it's nearly impossible to get them to do anything except whatever it is they want to be doing at that moment, anyway. :) For my first story telling assignment, I decided to throw a little tea party for Emma and her BFF, Elmo. Notice how my idea of this tea party was a kettle, two cups, and a sugar bowl. Emma quickly had other ideas...

Within about 2 minutes all the cups, a pan, utensils, a yogurt container, and a balance ball pump had joined in on the fun. We only bring out the balance ball pump for our fanciest tea parties. ;)

"Drink your damn tea, Elmo!" :)

Uh oh, I think she poisoned Elmo.

I have sooo much shooting to do this weekend for the next assignment, but I'm really looking forward to it... so many fun new techniques to try out! Also, if you haven't gotten on the CM bandwagon, I can't recommend their classes more highly. This is my 3rd workshop in 7 months, and I have another one starting at the end of April. I might be addicted. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!!