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

Visiting your friends to meet their brand new baby is such a surreal and amazing feeling! Liam, Eli and I first went to meet beeeautiful little baby Frank when he was about 3 weeks old, and I was lucky enough to be able to take photos of this gorgeous trio.

I'm pretty excited about this for lots of reasons... a new little bundle of joy has arrived into our big extended-family-of-friends (Eli has an automatic new friend too = win!), and Becca and Joe are nailing this parenting thing! Even in those first few crazy weeks, their house was so calm and relaxed. Frankie is seriously one of the most beautiful little newborns I've met, and they have done suuuuch a fantastic job of setting up the most gorgeous little nursery for him... it was super fun to photograph in. You might even recognise Becca and Joe from their wedding photos... it's so exciting and such a privilege to capture the journey as they transition to life as 3.

Handsome little Ambrose came to visit me in the studio when he was 8 days new! It's such a privilege that through one of the craziest times of their lives, new parents bring their tiny little poppets to me to photograph. I adore babies, and I also adore capturing this time for new families as they get to know one another. The depth of love that I see in every new parent continues to blow my mind, and the pride that explodes out of them for in their newest creation is so beautiful. 

Ainslie and Clayton, you have such an adorable little boy and he is so fortunate to have you both as parents! xoxo

I've been looking forward to sharing this blog for a long time now. Like, long before this beautiful baby was born, long before these maternity photos were taken, and actually... long before Heather was even pregnant with little 'Baby Boo'! I didn't know it would be this specific story, or this little boy... and I didn't know the journey Heather and Doug would be on to get to this point. But photographing our amazing friends on their road to parenthood has been a true privilege... a mini Richardson has always been highly anticipated and desired! It hasn't been an easy road to get there, but it's been a journey full of growth, faith, strength and peace.

I am soooo happy to share that this adorable little man... Isaac Sebastian Richardson... joined the big wide world at 9:55pm on Christmas Day!! The most precious all of gifts and an answer to prayer, this little blessing came in the most beautiful, calm fashion weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces. 
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And he is DIVINE. Really divine. And guess what?! He's also my Godson!! I am soooo honoured to have another little man as an important part of my life, and Liam and I are excited to be journeying through parenthood with Heather and Doug. We just adore this family so much.

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! 

6 day old Fletcher... perfect in every way! Hollie and Andrew brought their completely handsome little man into the studio to capture him at his tiniest.  Oh how I adore his squishable cheeks. Big brother, Rory, came in for some cuddles as well... Hollie and Andrew, you have such a beautiful family! You should be so proud xx

Little Archer came into the studio at 12 days new. He was a bundle of perfection... every little piece of him so teeny and so beautiful. He slept the entire time, without even a peep. His beautiful Mum, Annabelle, watched him dreaming so peacefully with the proudest smile on her face. 

This little man, and his older brother, are her life... her greatest accomplishments. 

In September Liam and I were very lucky to have 10 days off... so we spent it catching up with heaps of really good friends between Wellington and Whangarei! But one of the biggest reasons we wanted to head up north was because we were expecting a new little family member in Auckland! Our little nephew, Fletcher, was born on the 11th of September, weighing a healthy 7lb 11oz... so we thought it would be rude not to go and meet him as soon as we could ;)

Laura and Shannon are completely and utterly in love with their wee man. They adore him to bits. He is such a little dude... such soft skin, amazing eyes, and perfect little hands and feet. Suuuuch a cutie!

Meet Fletcher, at just over 2 weeks old...

It's a Nana's prerogative to knit ridiculously cute little outfits to dress their unknowing grandkids in!

Miss Adelia is Fletcher's beautiful, big, bossy sister ;). She has graced this blog before... for her newborn shoot! That doesn't feel like very long ago, but now she is a big two and a half year old. She LOVES pretty dresses, Elmo, and her new baby brother.

We had fun playing with this dynamite little girl... she is full on, into everything, intelligent, hilarious and completely adorable too! 

Look at those little chubby baby rolls! 

This is her 'face full of orange' face... cleverly disguised as her model-like 'duck face'...

Thanks so much for having us Laura and Shannon... you guys make the cutest little kiddies and are the coolest parents to them. We adore your whole family! Sending lots of love up your way xoxo

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