In honor of the move to Athens, Georgia and the launch of the new brand I will be hosting a few giveaways. Be on the lookout for fun things like free books on pregnancy and parenting during the early years, discounts on photo sessions, and even (gasp!) free photo sessions! Stay tuned for details!

I am also thrilled to announce that I am partnering with What to Expect and will be hosting a few giveaways for FREE books from the What to Expect line! How fun is that!?! I am currently in the teething section of the first year book and it has been super helpful! This first giveaway will be for a What to Expect book – your choice of :

What to Expect When Expecting

What to Expect the First Year

What to Expect the Second Year.

You can keep it for yourself or give it as a gift – it’s yours to do with as you please! Anyways, how to play? Easy – Step 1: simply like our facebook page and repost the giveaway details on your wall! Step 2: Leave a comment on the blog telling me which book you would like and why! There will be a random drawing Saturday at noon!! Happy Friday!

Mamiya 645 – Kodak Natural Color 120 Film

My mother gave me a book for Christmas by Ann Voskamp called one thousand gifts with the challenge to reflect on the truths the book represents about life and living. The author literally challenges herself to write down one thousand gifts in her life…wow. It’s amazing to me to think about how many times I hold my breath and dive head first into a week looking forward to the exciting weekend, event, or trip. As I reflect on this, I think how sad I would be to look back at a life filled with moments looking forward rather than being fully present. To be filled with joy and to be living fully. Being a mother is literally one of the hardest things I have ever done…My identity has changed…I am not perfect but I am growing into my role each day and I love my girl with my whole heart. That counts for something right?!

One thing I keep coming back to over and over is that ‘[it is] ridiculous how much joy a moment can hold.‘ When I really sit down to think about this statement, my heart wants to explode. My life is filled with so many gifts. My husband, so loving and supportive. My girl, all gums and giggles. My dogs, the wild and the squishy. My family.

Ryleigh: 4.5 months

my gummy bear

I am the youngest of four – I guess you could say the break down is a family of two girls on the outside of a double stuffed Oreo of boys. When I was younger, I fell victim to my older brothers’ shenanigans (though I have to admit on occasion I participated willingly). I remember vividly being in the basement when my brothers told me to stand in the middle of the room. I of course, being the cooperative younger sister, stood patiently waiting. Let’s just say  I ended up as the very smashed Oreo stuffing in that scenario. Imagine two sofa cushions on either side of the room propelled by boys running and colliding – with me in the middle…There may or may not have been some fighting tears on my part. These are the things that make a family. I love family. : )

And then…all boy…

So Russ (a.k.a. the most wonderful man in my life ) was in a band Morning State for a few years – they were by the way, awesome! I have to say that my husband is a super talented guy…Anyways, in late December, Morning State’s manager (Ian) was in Atlanta with one of the bands on his record label for their first show so he asked if I was interested in doing some photos for them. I of course, with some prompting from Russ, said yes! Why is it significant that I took photos of a ‘super group’ band? Let’s be honest, I am not a hipster. I may have tried in the past, which of course failed. It seems as though I am destined to be ‘the girl next door’ no matter what. This summer, when I was feeling all pregnant and puffy, I decided to get a streak of magenta in my hair – even that didn’t work. I think the color tech at Tony and Guy looked at me and thought ‘gosh, this totally is not the look for this girl so I am going to do this but I am going to hide it so you can’t even see it…’ Oh, well…Anyways, the night before the shoot Ryleigh decided she was going to be up all night. When I say all night, I literally mean, ALL NIGHT. I remember at one point putting her back in her bed (she was still sleeping in our room at that time) and not wanting to wake her by getting into bed so I laid on the floor trying to get a few minutes of sleep. No cover, no pillow, just me and the carpet snuggling together. Sleep, yeah, that didn’t happen. So here is me, ‘the girl next door,’ who slept all of 5 minutes on my way to photograph 9 guys. Keep in mind that for the past few months my constant companions have been: Ryleigh, the color pink, lullabies, and crazy faces / noises to get Ryleigh to laugh and not cry. Not a great start to being creative. I was SO nervous. The shoot went well – I have things I would have done differently but it was a good way to get my feet wet again after so many months of being surrounded by my self-imposed bubble. The guys were great and I am forever grateful that I when I was growing up, I was ‘the girl next door (a.k.a. queen of foursquare)’ playing rollerblade street hockey with all the boys. xoxo

120mm Kodak 100 Tmax shot with Mamiya 645 – rough scans – dust/scratches left

It’s challenging to be a photographer and a mom. I had and of course still have grand ideas about what my child’s photos are going to look like – I mean, come on, I have a 24/7 photo prop. Um…if I had all the money in the world, I would probably pay someone to take these photos for me sometimes! Trying to figure out how to calm the  baby, style the baby, keep the baby warm, and get her to sleep while taking photos is basically impossible. I remember one of the early days when Russ was at school for what seemed like forever and I had cabin fever so…I tried to be all those people in one with a 3 week old. Let’s just say that things my living room became a gigantic mess and I had tears running down my face. I have since learned that Nana (my mom) is the best assistant ever – hands down. She get’s me and my crazy need / desire to have my ideas come to fruition and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Granted, I have had to scale back my dreams about what photos I will have of Ryleigh and be ok with the day to day snapshots, but I am still gunning for at least 4 ‘real’ sessions this year (0/4/8/12). My two favorite photos of Ryleigh’s “session” one week after she was born.

Christine and I met through a church in Athens, Georgia when I was still at UGA. We went on a mission trip with our parents to Guatemala where we helped build a new floor onto the school . After that trip we were fast friends – that seemed to always be accompanied by something chocolate! We were in each other’s weddings – two weeks apart – and now that Russ and I live back in Athens we are raising our babies together! This is her sweet girl Emma!

I absolutely LOVE this expression!

Before I begin the story of Ryleigh’s grand entrance, I will share a photo of myself and miss Ryleigh a full 2.5 weeks before she was born. As you can see – I was massive and puffy and uncomfortable and really ready to meet my sweet girl!

On Tuesday, the 13th of September, at 40.5 weeks, I went to see my midwife. They ordered an ultrasound and discovered the amniotic fluid was low – my ticket to being induced. They told me to go home, take a nap, eat, and check-in to the hospital at 5pm. What I want to know is who can sleep with news like that?! Little did I know at that point that my sweet girl loved her home so much that she decided to stay until 8:35 pm the next day. Yes, labor ended up being oh, around 22 hours. And yes, around 11 the next day I begged for drugs and I’m proud of it! When all was said and done, I hadn’t eaten anything in 30 hours – let’s just say I ate my fair share of cookies that night! Ryleigh Joy Ledford was born at 8:35 pm on September 14th weighing 8lb 14 ounces and was 20 inches long! The first thing the nurses said when they saw her was ‘chunky monkey!’ This past week has been a blur of Russ and I entering the fantastic world of parenthood while transitioning to our new home in Athens and life in medical school. Introducing my sweet daughter in the first hours of life:

I have to thank this family for being so incredibly patient with me. Between working, being pregnant, moving, and chaos in the new place, it has sadly taken me much longer than usual to get them their photos. I think the wait was worth it though…such a beautiful family. Enjoy!

Yes blog world, I have been missing. Much has changed in life and there are fun changes coming soon – I will keep you updated! Anna is a dear friend and was my college roommate. A strong, faithful, and colorful woman who has found a true match in Brant. I am excited to be in their wedding this coming October! The camera, alas, will have to stay at home as I will be in the wedding with a baby (5 weeks old?) in tow! xoxo