I thought I would share this self-portrait I took the night before I went into the hospital to have Reid. Throughout my pregnancy I knew I wanted to capture images of my body and my growing belly. This is something I love to do for so many women, so naturally I wanted this for myself too. My clients always ask me when the best time is to have their professional maternity photos done and I always recommend sometime between 30 and 36 weeks, or when their belly feels ready to be shown off :). As the months passed I thought of my own advice and when the ideal time would be for me. With each week I would think, “Is now the time?” But it never felt quite right and so I continued to take my snapshots. I wanted my belly to be bigger for my pro photos! And so I waited….until I arrived at the surprising news of a necessary delivery with only a day’s warning…. and still no professional photos. So what do I do? I stay up late, set up my lights, my back drop… and strip. My belly isn’t huge in this photo, but this isn’t shocking as Reid was only three and a half pounds. This is as big as my belly got. I’m glad I have this time and how my body looked documented. And I like this photo. It reminds me of how I felt that night: scared, nervous and hopeful for the health of our baby, excited to meet the new little person.

Happy Family Day! I hope you are having a great day with your families, whatever shape or form they may take. I thought it would be fitting today to share with you these images of a beautiful family I was fortunate enough to meet and photograph. These five (seven with pups Rosie and George) exude love, curiosity, caring, and fun; all that it means to be a family.

Was it really November since I last blogged?? Jeesh. All I can say is oops. I guess with all the busyness of the holidays, family and New Years, my blog got put on the back burner. Well it’s nice to start the new year with a post about a new little person. Baby Elleanor entered the world on Christmas Eve and was no doubt the best Christmas present her parents could receive. It was so nice to meet you Elleanor and your parents Rachael and JJ! Good luck with your new adventure in Ontario! All the best, Vivian

Candice and Mark. What can I say? These two are absolutely adorable. They’re engaged and giddy. I LOVE that. They’re also stylish. I LOVE that too :). We had such a fun time shooting their engagement photos. I couldn’t get enough of these two. Candice came über-prepared with her beautiful quilt that her godmother made for her, as well as cute little cupcakes that represented the two of them (Candice loves Chanel and Mark is a fishing enthusiast). They laughed, cuddled, ate some cupcakes, and got cozy on the beach. Then the light faded away and the mosquitos began to emerge and we knew the session was done! I’m so excited to capture Candice and Mark’s wedding next summer at the Mill Bay Marina, I really can’t wait! I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but won’t they make gorgeous babies?!!

Feel free to let these sweet turtledoves know how amazing they are with some comments below. Thanks!

When I think back to Kirsten and Basit’s beautiful wedding at Olympic View Golf Club I remember the oozing of joy and laughter from these two and all their family and guests. So many smiles. SO much laughter. SUCH a good time. What a wonderful event! These two deserved to relax and celebrate! As many couples often have some stress leading up to their big day, Kirsten and Basit were no exception. With family coming from Ghana for the event and delays with visas, their arrival was uncertain! How stressful. It all worked out in the end (phew!) and you can see these two truly enjoyed themselves. This was such a beautiful melding of traditions and religions, truly an eclectic wedding. Kudos too to Kirsten (and Basit’s support :)) for all the details, everything down to providing the chef with her own spices for the dinner! Also, do you not love the punchy colours in the bouquets?

Please scroll down to see more images of these two lovebirds, as well as what I might have to consider one of the best bouquet toss scrambles I’ve witnessed!

Venue: Olympic View Golf Glub
Dress: Blush Bridal Boutique
Suit: Moores
Kirsten’s makeup: Erin Bradley
Cake: Schur to Please Wedding and Specialty Cakes
Florist: Kristen Owen (fleurish.owen@gmail.com)

Dawn and Luciano were one of the couples in our prenatal classes. When they didn’t show up one week, and then not the next week either we all began to wonder….the following week Dawn and I bumped into each other trudging the hallway at Vic General, both in our headbands and sweatpants. Dawn and Luciano also had their baby early! So their baby girl Eva was Reid’s NICU neighbour- their incubators were side-by-side at one point.

I’m a believer that coincidences often happen for a reason. I feel lucky to have a great lady like Dawn in my life and the rest of our prenatal mama group- we’ve been meeting for walks and other activities and the support is so great!

So happy that I could capture these photographs of beautiful baby Eva and her special parents. They are already a wonderful family.

It all started at my 35-week midwife appointment. Well it started well before that of course ;), but the CHAOS started at my 35-week midwife appointment. Up until then I’d been having what I thought to be the perfect pregnancy: no morning sickness, no heartburn, no aches or pains. Apart from a few weirdo skin tags and a mild hernia I felt great! Baby was kicking and twirling and my belly was growing. But at 35 weeks one of my midwives noticed I was measuring on the small side and I had higher than normal blood pressure. (I had two oh-so-awesome and amazing women taking care of me through my pregnancy by the way.)  She called for an ultrasound which revealed that my baby was too small, way too small. The obstetrician diagnosed it as IUGR, Intrauterine Growth Restriction (or Retardation, but I prefer the former!). More tests were done that Thursday and by the afternoon I was told that this baby had to come out as soon as possible. Since Dusty was away at the time for work and only able to make it back by Friday night, they negotiated Saturday morning so that Dusty and I could be together. This news from the doctor was so devastating to hear. I cried and cried. I also questioned the doctor and was skeptical of the recommendation: induction. Would my baby not grow more if we waited longer?…I’m not a big person, maybe I just have a small baby because I am small?? My baby was moving, had lots of amniotic fluid, and my blood pressure had returned to normal….are we SURE this is the right thing to do??? I felt stupid pushing back but I only wanted what was best for our baby and the doctor’s decision was so sudden and shocking. That evening I went to my prenatal class whose topic ironically was ‘intervention and informed consent’! Thankfully the couples in our class were so great and supportive and it was nice to be around people while I waited for Dusty’s return. By Saturday, the doctors had reassessed and were recommending that we go straight to cesarean delivery. Do you think I pushed back on that one? You bet. Throughout my pregnancy whenever I heard ‘C-section’ I basically tuned out. That wouldn’t be me. I don’t need to listen to this part. I’m having a natural delivery. I’m fit, I do yoga, I know pain- I used to row and I tree-planted through university. I KNOW pain. Preggo ladies, listen up: whether you like it or not a c-section could be in the cards! For me they knew that induction would be stressful on baby and because he was so small he might not have tolerated the intense contractions. Even without contractions, Reid’s delivery and the days and weeks that followed were intense. Reid was born April 28 at 1:18pm and weighed only 3lbs 8.8 ounces. A tiny chickadee. When he came out he immediately wailed which sent an overwhelming wave of relief rushing through my body. Dusty announced that he was a he (a feeling I had all along :)!) and then they took him to the warming table to check him over. I didn’t see this part of course but Dusty said he peed a big sprinkler pee and managed to hit all the observing resident pediatricians- I believe there were four. We had a feeling our son was a trooper!

Reid spent 19 days in the hospital in the NICU amidst many amazing nurses and doctors. He was tiny, but other than that healthy and just needed to grow. After 5 days I was discharged, but Dusty and I stayed the following 13 days at Jeneece Place which is reserved for families travelling to Victoria for medical care, but allows locals to stay if there is availability. We were so thankful to be able to stay there as it made feeding Reid every two to three hours manageable since it’s on the hospital grounds. Reid was a little superstar in the NICU. He learned to breastfeed quickly and wanted to eat all the time- it’s like he knew that hitting four-pounds was the goal and then he could go home. We joked that one day we would come into the NICU and he would be jumping up and down in his incubator, pounding the plexiglass with his little fists like a caged animal demanding release.

Reid has come a long way since his entry into this world. He’s changed so much! My little birdie is now giving us smiles non-stop, is holding his head up like a champ, and he rolled over for the first time the other day! No longer does he look like a scrawny baby Mr. Burns! Hee hee.

What follows are photos from the last four months, from the operating room to today! Some are iPhone and pocket camera pics as you’ll see, in all their distorted, grainy glory Some of the operating room photos were taken by one of our two wonderful midwives, Julia Stolkes. Thank you Julia! Did I mention how amazing they are?! Jill Pearman is her partner in crime and with the two of them I always felt in good hands, so supported and cared for. This journey would not have been the same without these two fabulously smart, wise, and funny women. They deserve medals.

Oh yes, the photos. Dusty took some of the ones of me. And my friend Kyla slings a Samsung Galaxy like nobody’s business and she took the one of the three of us at the beach- thanks Kyla! And of course included are Reid’s nude baby shots I took on his Oma’s hand-knit blanket. I love these shots!

It may look like all I’ve been doing is taking photos of my son these past four months. Not true! I’ve taken other photos too We’ve had quite the busy time on the home front actually. Apart from a conveyor belt of visitors, we also nursed a very sick kitty back to health (yay Rudi!), sold our home, and quickly bought another! Last month we moved house to our new home. As for parenthood, it has been a wild and wonderful ride so far and I’m loving every minute of it. It’s true what everyone says, ‘it changes your life’. It really does. You can’t love anything more than your child. Not possible. For me I find parenthood has helped me know what is important and what is maybe not so crucial in my life. It’s helped me focus my energy on the big picture and to ‘not sweat the small stuff’. I love how this little person can have such an effect!

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading. I hope to fill you in on more of Reid’s shenanigans in the near future!

When I heard that old friends Kris and Chelsea were pregnant, I was sooo excited!! When I found out they were spending time on the island during Chelsea’s pregnancy I was even more thrilled. Kris and I went to photography school way back in the 20th century, ha! How time zips by. It had been a while but so great to reconnect with these two lovelies. We met up in Nanaimo on what turned out to be a crazy weather day. Rain, sun, wind, and even hail, oh my! We were all grumbling over the elements except for their pooch Tacoma who was just glad to be sniffing fresh air. The park at Beban provided a neat setting and a reminder of Kris and Chelsea’s farmhouse in Yorkton. Sad to see these two slip away again but so happy to know they are enjoying their little monkey Lukas in Saskatchewan! By the way, check out Kris’s work http://www.grunertimaging.com/– I always get lost in his amazing architectural and industrial images. So gorgeous and unique!

A fun summery session with friends Amanda and Jeff. The occasion? They are (well were) pregnant!  Yes, I am behind in my blogging but I feel I have a fairly good excuse, ha ha. I’m so glad to have these two in my life! They are such great people and will make super parents. Can’t wait to share with you photos of their little guy soon….don’t you love Amanda’s feather top??

No details were spared when it came to the look and feel of their day. I love the fuchsia and green theme they chose and the nature-inspired decor. One really neat addition to their reception was a sweet bar- a dream for all candy lovers. Yum!

Thank you Mica and Peter for trusting me to document your wedding day. I wish you all the best!