Brooklyn // Highlights (1 year to 18 months)

Today, I am 37 weeks pregnant and let me just start with this: I'm feeling all the feelings. Whenever I prep posts about our little girl, I get so overwhelmed because I have so much to say and can never find the right words. She brings us so much joy, and I'm in constant awe of the person she is becoming. I cherish the time spent one-on-one with her, and I'm feeling more and more nostalgic that we won't be a little family of three ever again (six if you count our pups!). Don't misunderstand: I am beyond thrilled to meet our little boy soon. However, I know it'll be an adjustment period for all of us, and I just hope that it goes as smoothly as possible, especially for our little lady who is used to having our undivided attention. : )

Among the many park trips and wagon rides around the neighborhood, there are highlights galore from her life spanning one year to ~18 months. Here are a few of my favorites:

-We saw an Orioles game (my first time at Camden Yards - gorgeous ballpark!).
-I took her to Butlers Orchard to play in the flower field.
-Over the summer, we frequented the local water park because this child LOVES ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WATER.
-We visited the local county fair to see animals and show her the rides (still a bit too young to participate!).
-We flew across country to visit Ryan's brother and brother's fiancée, who lived in Carlsbad, CA at the time. Such a fun family trip!
-Even though we're still Atlanta Braves fans, we took her to another Nationals game. ; )
-Brooklyn got to see her cousins (my brother's kids) during a quick visit on their way back home from vacation.
-We visited our alma mater (UNC) and got to see close friends who live in the area.
-Brooklyn's Mimi and Pappy visited from North Carolina for little man's shower.
-We visited the pumpkin patch a couple of times!
-Brooklyn dressed up as the cutest little cow for Halloween.

I have to start with my absolute favorite photo from our family trip to California. We were in the middle of walking around the San Diego Botanic Garden on an extreeemely hot day and stopped to take a break on a bench in the shade. Being the very active and inquisitive toddler she is, Brooklyn rarely looks straight into my lens anymore. I'm usually chasing her to get "the shot." So, this moment is a unique gem.

I have to pour my heart out to my husband here for a minute. Ryan is the most exceptional Dad to Brooklyn, and I treasure the bond they share. During the week, he gets her out of bed every morning, spends quality time with her before he has to go to work and races home (quite literally, I'm afraid) to do her bath routine every evening. I know he's exhausted 99% of the time but he doesn't show it. He cares for her in a way that makes me love him on a whole different level than before. AND he finds the time to rub my swollen, pregnant ankles and give me "time off" when I need it. Needless to say, I love these two with all of my heart and I'm so grateful for the day-to-day happiness they bring me. I thank the universe every day for my good fortune; I struck the family lottery! My heart can only grow with love from this moment forward. Heart eyes emoji. 

ALL THE SINGLE LADIES! (well, not anymore...)

When I was a junior in college at UNC, I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia. During that time, I really grew into myself and discovered who I wanted to be. I even took my first darkroom class at the college of fine arts on UNSW's campus. I made some amazing lifelong friends (Americans and Australians!), and I can't speak enough good words about the whole experience. This blog post is meant to commemorate a very special thing. While in Australia, I formed a pretty tight-knit group of American friends, who I still keep in touch with today. We don't talk everyday, by any means, but once you share an experience like we did, it's kind of hard to break that special bond. ; ) In fact, I've had the extreme honor of shooting every single (yay puns!) one of these lovely ladies' weddings (from L-R): Bernadette, Nicole, Rachel, Susie and Claire. What a beautiful bunch -- look at us in 2005, we're babies!

I got married first! I was so happy that Nicole, Bernadette (Bean, as we affectionately called her in Oz) and Susie were able to attend my wedding on 06.4.11.

Nicole got married on 10.1.11 in Corolla, North Carolina. Here are Nicole, Claire and me with two close Australian friends on her wedding day:

Next up was Claire! She got married on 05.12.12 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Pictured are Nicole, Claire, Lizzie (who also studied in Oz!) and me:

Rachel was next on the list. She got married on 08.11.12 in Manhattan Beach, California. My husband and I traveled there a day early for the "beach day" to celebrate the bride and groom.

...and here's a photo of me in action on her wedding day!

Bean got hitched next in Baltimore, Maryland on 04.13.13. Here I am with the beautiful bride (thanks for the photo skillz, Steph!):

And last but certainly not least to get married was Susie. Her wedding was in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on 07.13.13. Here are a few iPhone snaps from her reception:

I'm extremely grateful to each of these ladies for their trust in me, generosity in having me, and of course, their huge hearts. Here's to the next big chapter(s) in our lives! Love y'all. : )

CALIFORNIA

Last August, I was asked to shoot the wedding of an awesome couple (check 'em out here!) out in California. The hubs and I decided to make a little mini-vacay out of it by going a day early. : ) We checked out TCL Chinese Theater (formerly Grauman's), In-N-Out Burger (for fries!), explored Mulholland Drive, went (window) shopping of course!, and ended the day with dinner at Ryan Gosling's restaurant, Tagine, in Beverly Hills. It was an AMAZING day (makes me grin really wide to think about it now), and the weather was beyond gorgeous. I haven't had the time to edit these photos until now (surprise, surprise! ; )), but I just purchased some new presets recently from VSCO Film and I'm LOVING them. It's always fun to tweak/update my editing process from time to time. I love the results here; VSCO presets really do emulate film beautifully. Perhaps I will be incorporating them more... what do y'all think? : )

Goober.

My hubby is one handsome fella.

Rachel!!! The bride for that weekend. She's so fun. : )

...and last but DEFINITELY not least... We met up with Australian friends (who live in Canada for the time being) for an Angels game. Love to y'all, Em + O'Hara!

RACHEL + ANDY - Verandas Wedding

In mid-August, I flew out to sunny LA (Manhattan Beach, to be exact!) to photograph the wedding of Rachel & Andy. Love this couple!

To give a little back story: I met Rachel through studying abroad in Australia when I was an undergrad in college. We were part of a group that clicked really well, and even though we don't stay in touch as nearly as we should, when it came time to shoot her wedding (I was stoked!), everything fell back into place. Let me tell y'all something about Rachel: she's real. She'll give great advice, and she's not afraid to be herself around any one. I LOVE this about her. And I'm sure Andy does too. : )

Photographing this wedding was a blast! Rachel & Andy clearly put a lot of time & effort into it (Rachel SEWED awesome pillows for the reception space!), but it wasn't overdone. It was still beautiful and chill (matching the couple's laid back personalities) and all about having fun! I especially loved hearing all of the thoughtful toasts and witnessing all of the Jewish wedding traditions AND photographing all of the adorable kiddos!

Bride's dress: David's Bridal Bride's shoes: Rainbow Sandals Bridesmaids' dresses: Dessy Flower girl dresses: David's Bridal Groom and groomsmen attire: Hollywood Suit Outlet Ring bearers: J.Crew Makeup: Mary Freitag Hair: Krystina Torres Florals: Lolo's Flower Mart Coordinator: Sara Lehnberg, Verandas Ceremony & Reception music: DJs at Your Service Caterer: New York Food Company Invites: Wedding Paper Divas Rings: Claydon Jewelers Venue: Verandas

The hubs and I seriously had a wonderful time out in California. The air just seems cleaner, and the weather was absolutely PERFECT the entire time we were there. Thank you, Andy & Rachel, for inviting me to document your day. It. was. AMAZING. And so are y'all!

First look!

Love.

The bridal party was so fun and had so much energy!

Rachel & Andy's dog, Ollie, came for a few snaps. LOVE HIM!

Father and son shoes. : )

Aunt feeding her nephew!

Signing of the ketubah.

I DIED over the florals. So pretty.

Favorite!

Andy was really excited about the breaking of the glass. He got some air!

Love how this photo shows off Rachel's GORGEOUS hair.

Another fave!

I loved how they personalized some of the cocktails.

Most amazing first dance shot ever? Yes, I think so...

Andy's face in the left-hand photo: hysterical.

Call Me Maybe?