maternity shoot

 Over Memorial Day weekend I was in cahoots to pull off one of the greatest surprises ever for my tall guy.  Since our move, he has been begging his sister to come and visit before her migration to the south Pacific this summer.  Very quickly, time and weekends were dwindling away and he was convinced that she would not be able to come.

Little did he know that we had a plan...

The Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I lied to my husband that my brother, a pilot, had a layover long enough for dinner here in Atlanta.  This was how I got Mr. F to the airport with me.   A lie.  I think he's forgiven me.  When we got to the airport, he dropped me off at the terminal so I could use the bathroom (because, well, I'm eight months pregnant...), and go find the Stud.  He looped the airport and when he came back to baggage claim, there I was, not with my brother, but his sister!  There were some screams, hysterical laughter, and huge smiles.

I have no photos of them that weekend because they went and played on their own the whole time.  They went to a music festival near Augusta to watch pig races and hear one of Mr. F's favorite bands.  They ate ice cream, toured town, walked, talked, shared YouTube videos, and just had the time of their lives.  I loved when they came home at night brimming with smiles.  With major changes on the imminent horizon for both of these siblings, the odds of them being able to have time like this again is very slim.  I am so glad and grateful that they had that weekend together!

My one request for the weekend was that Sister bring her camera so she could take some maternity photos for us.  One morning, the three of us rolled out of bed with the sun, got dressed, and sauntered into the nursery.  Sister sat us down and took some of the most wonderful candid shots of us that I am always going to treasure.

When I thought about maternity photos, I wanted something that felt more natural to me.  While I love the shots of women in flowing gowns, grasping their bellies in the middle of long-grassed fields, that just wasn't me.  I wanted photos that captured my memories of this miracle pregnancy.  That meant my hair in  a top knot, because I'm too tired to do my hair beyond that, my favorite white blouse, the nursery that I have been pumping all of our hopes and dreams into as we get ready for baby girl, and my best friend.  I absolutely wanted Mr. F with me in the photos.  

Watching my gentle giant prepare for the birth of his first child has been incredible.  He has been so gentle and patient with me.  In the mornings as he wakes up, the first thing he always does is reach across the bed for my belly.  He talks to his daughter constantly, shares his daydreams for her future with both of us.  His capacity for love has expounded ten-fold and it just amazing to behold.

So there are no fields.  No flowing gowns.  Just us.  In our favorite room talking about our favorite girl.  Just us and her books, the chair we'll rock her in, the gown we'll dress her in.  Just us and our girl.  And all the cheese (: