Since becoming a mom I’ve grown to appreciate photography so much more than I ever knew I could. I understand more fully that this craft is not just about creating treasured art, but documenting treasured moments. I’ve learned to find beauty not in a perfectly composed and meticulously planned frame, but in the movement, the emotion, the authenticity of the moment that the image represents. Kids will do that to you, ya know? Teach you to find joy in the simplest of things, to let go of the things you can’t control, and to allow yourself to stand in awe of everyday moments.

Everyday moments, like Alexander driving his excavator on the edge of brothers crib, and inviting his daddy to snuggle him there. Does he remember that this was his bed not too long ago? For his parents, it probably feels like it was yesterday that they laid him in this very place for the first time.

Everyday moments, like the dog squeezing in to claim space next to mom. She still thinks she is the only baby, or at least the only one that matters.

Everyday moments, like big brother climbing to the edge of the crib to stare dreamily at his baby brother’s nose.

This precious lifestyle newborn session was a good reminder to savor the sweet and acknowledge the beauty that accompanies that chaos of motherhood. Watching Missy gracefully do the balancing act of nurturing a newborn while still making her toddler feel like the most important person on the planet felt like an echo of my own world just over a year ago. I didn’t do it as gracefully, but my heart knows this place she is in; constantly torn, always in high demand, and filled to the brim with an overwhelming, indescribable kind of love. Hold tight to these everyday moments, sweet mama.

Welcome baby Braxton! You are already so very loved!