“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.”

~Lin Yutang

I just adore this beautiful mama.    I first met her when she hired me to photograph her days-old first baby girl, and I have had the opportunity to photograph sweet little N and her family many times since.   Traci is just so incredibly fun and we have found ourselves chatting for hours on end on more than one occasion.  She was the talent behind the amazing hair of all the models at our recent Alice in Wonderland shoot.  Check her out and give her a call if you want a new ‘do–seriously, she rocks!  You will quickly find that she is one of the sweetest things around, too.  I am SO very excited that Miss N is going to be a big sis, and I cannot wait to meet their new precious joy.  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of your lives, I just love you all so much.  I look forward to watching your family grow! And to Dada S, I just haven’t gotten to the fam’ photos, but don’t worry–lots of fun ones with you, too! 

xoxo,

laura

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advise, solutions or cures, have rather chosen to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.”

~ Henri Nouwen

I am so very excited to announce that I have joined the team of Nurturing Hearts Birth Services as their recommended East Valley photographer!    Founder and midwife Stephanie Soderblom is one amazing woman, and I am so honored that she asked me to be a part of her incredible family.

I first met Stephanie when I attended a Birth Circle meeting (truly awesome!) at NHBS when I was eight months pregnant with my second child.  I was extremely emotional as I had a rather traumatic birth experience with my first child.  I came along with a dear friend who was also pregnant with her second child and was a “client” of Stephanie’s (I hesitate using the word client because those that have Stephanie as a midwife are so much more to her.  They immediately become family.)  I was welcomed into this group of women with open arms and hearts.  I sobbed out of fear, heartbreak, nervousness and sadness.  Some teared up with me, others nodded their heads in understanding and some offered me kind words of advice and wisdom.   It was one of the first times that I met other women that viewed birth the same way as I did.   Until then, I rarely found a woman that understood why I didn’t want an epidural, or why I wanted to avoid another cesarean.  Why I wanted to be emotionally and spiritually present at the birth of my daughter, why I was actually looking forward to the surges and waves of “pain”.  Why I wanted to experience all that because I had been robbed of it before, and because I am a woman and it is nature’s gift to us.  I felt so very relieved and relaxed when I left there that night.  Before leaving, each woman in the room presented me with a small, beautiful bead and a single, powerful word as a wish for me during my birth.  I had them made into a bracelet that I wore during my entire labor and in the weeks leading up to it.  It was a great source of strength and tranquility, and I treasure it always.  My twenty-nine hours of unmedicated labor were just what I was hoping for, and it truly healed me from the sadness associated with the birth of my son.

I would encourage anyone interested in exploring their birthing options to be in touch with Stephanie.  She is such a sweetie and would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.  I have seen her in action when I had the blessing of photographing the birth of a sweet baby boy last year.  Stephanie was the midwife and oh- so -wonderful.

I just adore photographing expectant women as they are just full of beauty and truly do have that inner glow.  It is such a beautiful and amazing time in one’s life, one that you can never get back.  I am so happy to be able to reach more pregnant women that wish to have their beautiful shapes captured forever.  I also look forward to helping them forever remember how small their little newborns were.  Such a miracle.  Such a blessing.

Thank you, Stephanie, and the NHBS family.  I look forward to photographing more beautiful women and babies on their journey.

Here is a sneakie peekie of a baby bump from a maternity session this weekend…more of this gorgeous mama on the blog later this week! 

You can view more of my recent newborn + maternity sessions here and here, or visit my website.

xoxo,

laura

Yay!  One of my photographs from the Alice in Wonderland photo shoot–styled by The TomKat Studio and featuring the talent of SO many fabulous artists–was a featured photo on the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers webpage!  SO fun and exciting that they loved it, too!  We had SUCH a blast at the shoot…don’t forget to check out my original blog post to see more of the shoot or visit The TomKat Studio blog!

xoxo,

laura

“The law of love can best be understood and learned through little children.”

~Mahatma Gahndi

This little sweetie and her sis were just naturals in front of my lens.  I had so much fun their beautiful mama’s maternity session, and I was so excited to meet this little Addison Grace (it is, after all, a pretty special name to me!!).  She was just so darling–calm, sweet, beautiful and with the sweetest little serious look.  What a fun session!  Thank you so much, L family!  It was a pleasure!

xoxo,

laura

Just one of this sweet baby girl for now…more to come!  Loved her session!!

Headband by the talented Dolce Vita Mia!

“A sweet new blossom of humanity.”
~ Author Unknown

I had so much fun with this stunning mama at her maternity session, and I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sweet pea!

She is such a doll and so beautiful, and this session was so much fun!

The location is a fave of mine, and she was so happy to be wrapped up and surrounded by the sound of birds, the soft breeze and the quiet sound of the water flowing down the brook.  Ahhh, newborns + nature=a happy photog!

This has been a theme the last few newborn sessions and I like it!    Thank you for such a great session-it was fabulous to see you again and to meet your family!

xoxo,

laura

*headband by the ever-so-talented Mia of Dolce Vita Mia!*

“A tiny daughter gives parents a life in a climate of perpetual wonder.”
– Pierre Doucet

This adorable sweetie was such a doll–and so were her mama and grandma!  I ended up coming down with an infection from my surgery right smack dab in the middle of this session!  Can you believe it?!  I felt SO horrible–both physically and because I felt so bad that I wasn’t entirely my normal upbeat, happy self.   Mama and g-ma couldn’t have been any sweeter, though!  Thank you, thank you ladies!  Despite the snafu, I LOVED this session and the backyard that we shot in.  Baby girl is just soooo adorable I could just snuggle her all day!  Newborn sessions outdoors are some of my faves to do–babies are usually lulled to sleep because of the warm breeze and sounds of birds and trees swaying, and I just love nature!  Definitely consider it for your newborn session!    Thanks again, ladies–all three of you!

xoxo,

laura

“A mother’s love for her child is like
nothing else in the world. It knows no
law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes
down remorselessly all that stands in its path. ”

~ Agatha Christie

I am crazy busy with proofing sessions right now, but I wanted to share just one from this recent newborn session.  Ahhh, such sweetness between a mother and daughter…more sneakies to come soon! 

xoxo,

laura

A special thanks to Kim of The TomKat Studio and Project Nursery (and a contributor many other places! ) for featuring the nursery of one of my clients! This mama has such an eye for design and I instantly loved this little tiger’s mod owl room.   How fun that Kim shared it with the Project Nursery readers!  I just adore that site–head on over and check it out!  There is a ton of inspiration for designing your child’s nursery, room, party planning + so much more.  Some of my fave features are the DIY Projects and the Fabulous Finds.  What’s yours?  Love their style, and I know you will too.    Thanks so much, Kim + Project Nursery, and thanks to mama A for sharing your design inspiration with us!  Love ya–give that little sweetie kisses!

“Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect.  For what has happened?  A miracle.  You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything.”

~William MacNeile

How does one begin to describe an experience this beautiful?  I never blogged about this perfect birth experience I had the opportunity to photograph because I felt that I didn’t have the perfect words to express the beauty of it.  Perhaps there are no perfect words, though.  Miracles and some of the most raw experiences in life are indescribable, are they not?  How could you ever truly describe the beauty of holding your child for the first time, the smell of their skin or the utter smallness of their toes?  Now, try to describe someone else’s experience.  Not possible, right?

I thought it fitting to post this slideshow during this Mother’s Day weekend.  This powerful mother amazed me with her quiet strength and brought tears to my eyes as her husband caught their baby in the water.  She labored at home in a birthing tub, surrounded by family and her supportive team (Stephanie Soderblom and Noelia Waldo of Nurturing Hearts Birth Services).  Her three daughters flowed softly in and out of the room, each experiencing the impending arrival of their brother in different ways.  There was laughter, tranquility, warmth and love. This sweet baby boy was welcomed into his family and immediately was home, in more ways than one.

Turn up the volume, sit back and experience what my eyes and heart saw and felt as I photographed the birth of sweet baby Dane.  You can view the slideshow below or full screen here. All my love, W family.  You are nothing short of amazing, Mama.

Happy Mother’s Day to you and to all the mamas out there.

Much love,

laura