"There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name." -Kate Dicamillo
All Posts in Newborn
Mari is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. If you meet her, you will fall in love with her. She is charming, and smart, and always speaks her mind. She was already the mother of three boys, and working on getting her PHD at UC Davis. In fact, the night before she went into labor she finished one of multiple papers that she had due soon! She had told me that she had never had a natural birth, and she made up her mind that she was going to try her hardest to have one this time. With the help of her amazing doula and husband she made it though! She is one tough mama!
There is something magical about photographing new parents. It brings me back to when I became a mother, and those early days that were so exciting and terrifying and sleep deprived. Marissa and Arek are going to be champion parents though, and one day they're going to blink and Hunter will be a bonafide kid riding his bike and playing baseball and going to school. And when that happens, Marissa and Arek will have these photos to look back and remember their beautiful fresh newborn.
I'm so excited to share this post with all of you! I know I've been a bit absent around here lately and that is mainly because life has been pretty crazy! Lorelei is like a little tornado running through the house, and honestly, I've been putting the camera (and phone!) down more often to enjoy my girls in a more whole and present way. My personal projects may be a bit bare minimum right now, but I'm sure I will get the hang of it all soon enough!
I have a fantastic post for you guys right now, though! I got to visit Zoey again, at home! Yay! She is so beautiful, and I can't wait to watch her grow. Also, just so y'all know, I'm basically the baby whisperer. It's true! Zoey fell right asleep on me. We probably wore her out with all the picture taking and all the snuggling from Mommy and Daddy. The Gumpys' have to be one of the sweetest families, ever.
Let me start this post off by telling you just how grateful I am for the Gumpy family. They are the strongest people I know, not because they have been through the most, but because they have triumphed the most by the grace of God. About a year and a half ago, Bryan and Rachel went through the loss of their first son, Charlie, who was born at 26 weeks and only weighed 2.2 lbs. I saw Bryan and Rachel a few days after Charlie past and I wish I could show you how much at peace they were. Not only that, but smiling! In fact, Bryan had to console ME. They were so grateful for the four days they had with him.
Last week on February 13th, Rachel gave birth to beautiful baby Zoey Noel at 33 weeks exactly and weighed 4 lbs 15 ounces. Zoey is doing fantastic! She is in the NICU in Sacramento, which is almost 2 hours away. They are staying at Bryan's Grandmothers house in Woodland to ease the commute.
I wanted to document this stage for Bryan and Rachel. Soon Zoey will be moved to the Chico NICU. Eventually she will go home with them. She will continue to grow and to flourish and time will slip away from them like it does with everyone else. The peace of mind they have, the patience, the grace; it all contributes to a special truth that needs to be told. This is what the first few hours of Zoey's 3rd day look like for Bryan and Rachel.
This is Landon. He is just about the most handsome newborn I've seen, and he has the most beautiful mommy too. This is one lucky kid! I got to spend a quiet morning with just him and his Mommy. This is what love looks like.
