Sprouts by Heather

I didn’t really plan this, but I love that the two days leading up to Thanksgiving I am sharing newborn babies of really great friends. These sweet families have the greatest blessing of all to be thankful for, and I am so very thankful to have these friends in my life. When we moved to Birmingham just over a year ago, I connected with several local photographers who have become some of my closest friends. We have play dates, we go to lunch or the spa, we help each other out when needed; we share about our businesses, our families, and our faith. These friendships are so special and  I am so very thankful for them.

Grethel is one of those sweet photographer friends, she and her husband just added baby #4 to their ever-loving and joyful family. They are so much fun to be around. I loved spending part of the afternoon meeting little Miss Vivian, and capturing some images with Grethel in them. As photographers and moms, we don’t end up in very many pictures but it is something that is very important to all of us, so it was a lot of fun to capture these moments of Grethel with her children. Vivian wasn’t super duper into the idea of a photo shoot this particular day but we still got some really sweet shots.

I always love seeing how a mother and a newborn baby fit together like puzzle pieces.

My mommy heart swells up when seeing the precious intimate moments with a newborn. The early weeks are hard work but I remember it being such a magical time.

The big kids got home from school and absolutely couldn’t wait to love on Vivian. We could only keep them at bay for a few short moments before they had to jump in and give out the  kisses  they had saved up all day while they were away from her.

I think they were just as excited to be close to mommy too. They are such a close-knit, loving family. It is amazing to be around this kind of love.

Baby D is still a little reserved when it comes to holding baby Vivian, but it was so sweet to see him loving on mommy.

We went to play in Vivian’s room and you will be glad to know that she has some little monster’s living under her bed that watch over her at night….

I’ll end with a sweet shot of the girls. I could tell from the very first images of Allison meeting Vivian in the hospital that she was super excited to be adding another girl to the family. She is smitten with her little sister.

p.s. You should definitely go check out Vivian’s Birth Story by another sweet photographer friend Amanda Pair. It is amazing!

Last week, Mason and I went to visit one of my very sweet friends who just added TWO precious babies to the family. Mason and Caroline are such great playmates, so we went for a visit to let the big sister have some fun playtime…..and try to wear her out for a long nap for mommy.  Hopefully it worked! And of course, I couldn’t lay eyes on sweet newborns without taking a few pictures as well. This all went pretty quick considering there were double the babies to photograph. Such a sweet family, I am so thankful for my precious friend Lauren….and the fact that the boys are here and healthy. Meet the twins…..

….Joshua….

….Connor….

The boys are 6 weeks old now. They are identical twins but Joshua was a little bit smaller than Connor at birth so that helped me tell them apart just a little bit….but barely.

The boys enjoy sleeping on mommy and daddy.

As an aside, people often ask me if Mason goes with me to photo shoots which always makes me laugh. It would be so impossible to get anything done with a little toddler running around, so the answer is of course “no”. This was a different sort of an occasion since he was going over to play with Caroline. Thankfully Mason was pretty good, he really loved the babies and we had to find him his own to take care of so he would stop trying to give the boys their pacifiers and bottles when they were sleeping.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I think its safe to say there is a baby boom going on in Birmingham! There are so many newborns, which is a fantastic thing because I love getting to hold and photograph these sweet little ones. Owen was ready to join the party with big brother Eli, so he came a few weeks early. At 2 weeks old, he still had that eagerness and wasn’t super keen on going to sleep and missing out on anything. But I can’t complain because he loves to be held, and I enjoyed giving this sweet mommy a break. After some cuddling, Owen went to sleep and we got some great shots of this little cutie. I so enjoyed spending my afternoon with this sweet little boy!!

Last week I had the pleasure of driving out to a farm in West Alabama to welcome a sweet family’s newest arrival… Miss Violet Elizabeth. Violet’s mom, Lana, and I went through 5 years of Architecture school together at Auburn and recently reconnected after we moved back to Alabama. Lana and I could have talked for hours when I was there to photograph Violet at 8 days old. I have a feeling Mason and I are going to be visiting the farm again soon to run around with Violet’s big brother Levi. Levi will have lots to show Mason about life on a farm, and it will be the perfect excuse for me to see this little beauty again!

She is such a little lady with her long eyelashes….

It was one of those perfect days where the temperature outside was pretty much the same as it was inside so we wandered freely.

I couldn’t leave without getting Levi in front of my camera for just a few minutes…. a few very active minutes. He is such a beautiful child! I think I can call him “beautiful” for another year or so right?

Beautiful beautiful children! Congratulations Lana & Luke on the addition of a little girl to your sweet family. Sugar and spice and everything nice….

Introducing the beautiful and PERFECT Miss Evelyn Ruth Ealy!! If you missed Tuesday’s post, this beautiful little girl is my best friend’s baby! I traveled back to North Carolina last week to photograph her newborn session at 12 days old.  As you can see, she is absolutely perfect! I love this baby girl so much!!! Quite obsessed actually….

But of course I’m not the only one! Nathan and Laura are truly naturals. It was so sweet to watch them with their baby girl. Like most new parents, they spend the majority of their time just like this…..cuddled up and just staring at the baby. I did a good bit of that myself when I was there last week.

I love the curled up phase in a newborn’s first weeks. It goes by so fast until one day they are just all stretched out and kicking their legs all the time. But those first 1-2 weeks when a baby is still folded up just like they were in utero, it’s just irresistibly sweet.

I loved seeing Laura in her new role as “baby inspector”. I remember these days with Mason where I just sat and stared and truly marveled over this little being. Studying every detail. Trying to memorize things that would so quickly grow and change. These are sweet sweet days you are living in friends. I am so thrilled for you.

I adore little baby fingers, tiny knuckle after knuckle. All the little wrinkles are so precious!

Evelyn will of course grow up to be an Auburn fan just like her mommy and daddy, AND Aunt Heather! She seems to be fond of the idea. We joke that Evelyn will arrive at Auburn as a freshman when our Mason is a sophomore, so it will be his job to show her around campus and watch over her like a big brother. Actually, did I say “we joke”….. scratch that….we are NOT kidding. They at least have to do their undergrad at Auburn, it’s the only way.

I have so many “favorites” from their session but this one almost makes me cry. I love love LOVE seeing Laura with her baby girl! They are both so beautiful!

We love you sweet friends and are just over the moon excited for you guys to experience love and life with your precious child. I am so proud of your beautiful family and the love you share. xoxo

My very best friend just had her first baby at the beginning of the month, and I was so excited that I was able to go up to North Carolina to visit the day she was born. It was so special to be there with them in the hospital and her first days at home. Laura is just like a sister to me, so this was like the first birth in the family since our son Mason was born last year. I was not prepared for the sweet emotions that would come rushing back to me when I saw my best friend with her new baby in those first few days. Even though the first few days with a new baby are so exhausting, what I remember most about that time is the overwhelming emotion and connection I felt with my newborn son. Every time I would look over at Laura and see her gazing at Evelyn, I could read that emotion in her eyes and those sweet memories would come rushing back to me, usually accompanied by a few tears. It was absolutely incredible to be there with Laura and Nathan for those moments with Evelyn. It was such a special thing to watch Laura and know the joy she was experiencing as a new mother.

There I am on the left admiring this beautiful baby girl. I was amazed at how alert she was, even in her first three days.

What a special treat it was to be there when they brought Evelyn home from the hospital. Evelyn was about 36 hours old in this picture and had just arrived home in one of Laura’s dresses that she wore as a newborn.

So this is going to seem totally backwards, but I just had to cut to the chase by showing a few pictures of the beautiful baby first! But I also wanted to share a few pictures of the baby shower we threw for Laura & Nathan here at our home back in July. They are avid baseball fans so that was the inspiration for the day, complete with ballpark franks, peanuts, cracker jacks, big league chew, and Evelyn’s very own baseball card. It was such a fun day celebrating with friends.

Earlier that day before the shower I pulled them out into the front yard for a few pictures of my adorable preggo friend. Literally just a few pictures, and very literally in my front yard. It was quick but these two are beautiful so it was an easy task.

I traveled back up to their home in North Carolina last week for Evelyn’s newborn photo shoot, so be sure to check back this Thursday to see more pictures of my new gal-pal Evelyn! And probably some more sappiness about seeing these two become parents …. I’m just SO excited for them!