Eli just wanted to show you all how much his Teddy and this chair shrunk over his first 14 months of life!

So just as a reference... first photo is 0 months and the last photo is 14 months! 12 months is bottom middle!

We have this printed and framed in our hallway and I loooove it! He's always been a busy boy and was quick to get on the move... I love seeing his movement and cheeky personality develop each month! I am hoping to do this every month until he is 2, and then perhaps every birthday until he is 21 (if he will still let me! Perhaps I'll still be bribing him with food...)  ;)
xx

Just as a little bit of fun we let Eli loose on a wee 1st birthday cake especially for him (you know... the dairy-free, egg-free, and therefore probably taste-free kind that you are too scared to serve up to guests as the ACTUAL birthday cake). This was a surprisingly flippin' DELICIOUS cake though (thank you Chelsea Winter)... Liam and I maaay have totally polished off what was left.

'Twas a bit of a giggle... he spent the first 5 minutes just walking around the cake playing with the balloons. It definitely wasn't the 'smoosh your face in it and eat your heart out just 'cos you can' kinda party... I don't think he knew that the sticky blue thing was actually food and proceeded pretty cautiously with each tiny bite! But we had fun watching him play with the textures and get his first wee taste of the joy of sugar ;)

Being a Mama.
It's the greatest thing I've ever become. A privilege. A blessing. A hard, amazing, extremely un-glamorous, crazy awesome, sleepless, life-long journey.

We are SO excited to let you know that Eli William Hutton was born on the 28th July 2015... a full 8lb 8oz of awesome!
We are making sure we spend heaps of precious time with our new little bundle... he is just so amazing and we absolutely adore the gorgeous newborn cuddles he is giving us!

(Just a reminder... I am on maternity leave until January 2016, when I will begin taking on a limited number of shoots. I will attempt to follow up emails over the next few weeks, but responses will be slow sorry! For now, this amazing little man needs my undivided attention... but I pretty much can't take my eyes off him anyway, so that's ok!)

Thanks for all your well-wishes and love! 

Life is simple, and beautiful. Family is central to everything. Work is physically demanding, and hours are long. Lives are lived out communally on the streets. The landscapes are stunning, the textures and colours are rich. Making ends meet isn't always easy, but the people of Vietnam are happy, vibrant, and so incredibly friendly. It's a land rich with culture and history. We felt increeeedibly privileged to explore this beautiful country!

It's exciting, nerve-wracking, overwhelming, amazing, and miraculous all in one. I am beyond grateful for the life inside of me. I feel like I still must have weeks and weeks to go, yet suddenly I'm counting down the days in single digits! Where has the time gone?! I have LOVED being pregnant. I have loved being connected so fully to this wriggly little baby... I just can't fathom the fact that soon it's going to be on the outside! Sure, there have been times when I've sat eating dry crackers at 3am 'cos I can't sleep, times when my big bump has got me wedged between the supermarket checkout and the trolley, times when I've laughed so hard that it's turned into inconsolable tears, many times when I've thought the baby's boney little bum and foot pushing out so hard on my stomach are actually going to poke a hole in my side. And many times in the first 18 weeks that I fertilized a patch in the garden with, ah, surprise spew. 

But those moments for me have been happiness. My pregnancy has been super smooth and I still feel really good, which I am so thankful for. I loved shooting weddings throughout and was super blessed with awesome clients over this last season! I am so aware of how lucky I am... so aware that some people desperately want to be pregnant and can't, lots have hard and complicated pregnancies, and far too many go through the worst times imaginable losing their precious babies. I have been through all of these things with friends in the past 9 months, which has been incredibly difficult. Because of this, I've been so grateful for every crazy shape that I've watched my stomach morph and wriggle into, and for every single day that I've carried this baby. 

People keep asking if we are 'ready'. Ha! I'm pretty sure nothing is going to prepare us for what is to come. But we are ready to try. Ready to try to attempt this parenting thing... with all the joys, struggles, mistakes, tiredness, and happiness along the way.

Oh. my. goodness. We're actually about to have a baby. It's obviously happened trillions of times before, but woooah... a new little human is going to enter our world sometime in the next few days/weeks. One that we are solely responsible for. One that we will fall in love with more than we can ever imagine now. One that will provide more challenges for us to overcome than we have ever known. One that is going to change our lives completely and utterly!

Are we grown up enough for that?!

It's Baby Loss Awareness Week internationally, so I thought maybe I'd share just a little more about a wonderful organisation called Heartfelt.

If you've been hanging around this blog for a while, you'll know that in June last year my sister lost her beautiful, perfect baby at full-term. She had also lost another child through miscarriage prior to that. This was the first time I was really exposed to infant loss, but it opened up a whole new world to me -  a world that is hardly ever talked about. A world where people often grieve silently, a world where everything doesn't happen as perfectly as expected. A world that turns hopes and dreams and anticipation upside down. A world that, sadly, many of you will know all too well.

I knew I couldn't change the circumstances for families in similar situations, but little old me did have something tangible to offer. Heartfelt was already up and running in Australia, and now it's growing in so many areas here in NZ, thanks to an awesome bunch of volunteer photographers throughout the country. There are also other amazing organisations working in similar areas, offering services to these families... every one of them is inspiring. Through Heartfelt, we offer photos free of charge to families who have experienced stillbirths, premature births, or have children with serious and terminal illnesses. It's heartbreaking that this organisation even has to exist, but so incredibly awesome that it does. Not only does it provide treasured memories for these families, it also helps them to know they are not alone in their grief. It gives people an opening to share their experiences, and talk about their beautiful babies. These photos are so important to families who find out that their little child they have been nurturing for weeks or months is no longer going to be going home in their arms. 

He's gorgeous... and he is a huge blessing and miracle. He is Matthew James Truman, born at 10:51pm, 1st May 2014, weighing 8lb 3oz. And he is my precious little nephew - first little boy for my beautiful sister, Sarah, and her husband, Nick.

Our hearts burst for this little chap... he's the biggest delight! I had the amazing honour of photographing not only their journey through pregnancy, but also his entrance into this world. I was out for a run in Dunedin (pffft, what? Rare occurrence!), and got a call from Sarah saying, "I hope your bags are packed, jump in the car as soon as you can!!!"... I've never run so fast in my life... in fact that journey home was a bit of a blur (for me, not anyone who saw my rather tragic effort of sprinting). But 2.5 hours later, I was in Invercargill hospital, capturing the story of his birth in my sweaty fluro running gear. Witnessing my nephew's first breath was the biggest privilege ever.

As most of you know, Sarah and Nick sadly lost their darling little girl, Victoria, at full-term in June last year. Matthew is the beautiful baby to follow, and we are all so incredibly grateful for this gift. To quote Sarah's facebook announcement- "I don't have the words to describe the incredible joy and relief of holding a little boy in my arms, watching his chest rise and fall with breath, seeing him open and close his eyes, and hearing his snuffles! Welcome to our world Matthew James Truman, we love you soooo much!"

Here he is, brand new... meeting his big, and completely adoring sister, Penelope, for the first time at the hospital!

After racing back to Dunedin the morning after his birth to shoot a graduation, heading to Arrowtown the next day for a wedding, and driving the road south of Dunedin 5 times in 5 days... I was back down to hang out with Matthew for some newborn photos. I have seriously never had a cruisier newborn shoot - Matthew slept the entire time. And this was over about 2 days of shooting bits and pieces... what a dreeeeam! 

A picture of perfection...

Matthew means 'Gift of God', and James is the middle name of both of Matthew's grandfathers, and the first or middle name of two of his great-grandfathers, and a great-great-grandfather! James means 'Supplanter', so Matthew James is their gift from God in the place of another.

Penelope just LOVES Matthew! At the hospital she exclaimed that she couldn't wait to take him home to show him the iPad, take him to play on the playground, and buy him a scooter and a headband!! She was convinced his name was 'Declan' for the first couple days, and even asked if we could call him 'Dental Floss'... I love kids' brains. But above all, she completely adores him. Her nurturing nature is so obvious... she cuddles him, strokes him gently, and is extremely helpful for Mummy and Daddy. 

When your adoring Nana knits a gorgeous little pea-pod just for you, it'd be rude not to snuggle right in and make the most of its cuddliness! Suuuuper cute... clever Nana!

Sarah and Nick have an amazing support of friends and family around them. This wee outfit was given to him by one of Sarah's close friends... ridiculously funny and cute!

Before and after :)

This family are seriously amazing. Nick and Sarah are the most brilliant parents... they give everything they can to their kids, and they are filled with the most incredible patience and love. They have been through so much losing a child, yet they know they are blessed beyond words with the beautiful children they have here on earth. I am so proud of these guys... 

So much love for this amazing family! I could talk so much more about them. Matthew, we can't wait to watch you grow up, to play games with you, to see you turn into a wonderful little boy. You have a wide family who loves you SO dearly. You are a perfect, handsome, courageous young man, and you have been born into the most amazing family ever. Love you ALL! xoxox

Any day now, our hearts are going to burst with love for a new tiny person! A little baby for Sarah and Nick... and a new niece or nephew for me and Liam! Yuss... we're always keen for new mini humans to try and squeeze favourite Aunty and Uncle status out of.

They are known as 'Rainbow Babies' - babies that are born following the loss of another baby through miscarriage or stillbirth. At first I thought that sounded a bit airy-fairy. But there is a beautiful and very true meaning behind it...

Beautiful, bright rainbows come after a storm. They are symbols of hope and promise.
Everyone experiences storms of differing degrees. But these storms shape us and grow us... and we appreciate the rainbows at the other end even more.

Last year we shared the story of my sister and family losing their precious girl, Victoria, at full-term. I wrote that blog wanting Victoria's little life to be celebrated, not swept away as if it didn't happen. We wanted to acknowledge the times in life that don't always go the way we plan them. At the time there was nothing could have prepared us for what happened, it was so unexpected - everything was looking normal and healthy until the moment her heart stopped beating. But looking back, we can see the many ways our family was being prepared. We can see the abundant blessings that Victoria brought us and many others. We can see how much she changed so many hearts, without her even seeing the world. Her short life was more than valuable. Amongst the huge sadness and grief, there is a strength and a unity that grows through the storm. And there is an incomprehensible happiness knowing that soon they will be blessed with another beautiful child. We are beyond excited about meeting this little bundle who is already such an incredibly loved and valued part of our family. 

Sarah and Nick are the perfect parents for this little one, and can't wait to hold him or her in their arms.... for the next step in their family journey.

I've been sending telepathic messages to the baby to stay in that tummy until I was able to post this blog though, and to arrive into this world on a day that fits around my schedule! So far, so good ;)

How ridiculously adorable is Penelope?! She's such a big girl now... 

Three years old, and about to be a big sister! And apparently, a mother soon too. She's been having extremely frequent scans with her toy stethoscope and over the past 8 months has had many different babies in her tummy... ranging from baby caterpillars to her latest - a girl called 'January'. January has been coming out in '5 weeks' for about the past 3 months! 

If I got $1 every time someone told me they thought Sarah was one of the most gorgeous pregnant women they have ever seen, I'd be rich. And it's true, she really does do pregnancy extremely gracefully! She's all baby... and that's one pretty big bub inside that tummy. She also doesn't complain. About anything. If all I knew about pregnancy was through her, I'd be thinking it was a dream!

The beach and Penelope have never reeeeally mixed. The feeling of sand between her toes is more of a terrifying, world-ending situation, rather than relaxing or fun. We amped her up about going to the beach for the photos though, and she kept asking if it was time to go yet! But when we arrived and there were horses galloping around, she opted to watch from the safety of the car, because the horses might eat her. Fair enough. If I was faced with an animal about 10x my size, I would probably stay in the car too.

Sarah, you are a true beauty.

When I do maternity shoots with Sarah, they seem to be multi-faceted, multi-day shoots. It's just what you do for sisters who you love photographing! So welcome to Day 2... something a little more fancy for the ladies of the house!

And I'll end with these images, because as one of my fabulous friends said to me... they are such celebration images, and Sarah is a preggy babe!!

The fact that these are blue actually holds no clues as to whether it will be a boy or a girl - Nick found out at the 20 week scan, but Sarah didn't! How they manage that, I do not know... but if anyone can keep a secret, it's Nick.

Sarah, Nick and little P - ah! SO excited. It's so surreal to think you will have another child sometime in the very near future... you are such an amazing family and we love you so, so much. Can't wait to come down to meet him or her! All the love and prayers and blessings in the world xoxoxo