I have to confess a couple of things to you, my friends and clients.  The first is that I fall a little bit in love with each baby I have the privilege to meet.  I adore their little fingers and toes, wrinkly skin, downy soft hair, and all of the tiny features that make them unique.

I have always adored babies.  One of my favorite memories is rocking my godmother’s infant daughter for hours at the Virginia coast.  She was six weeks old and being a fuss-bucket – the only people who could calm her were her mother and I, so we took turns.  I was maybe twelve or thirteen.  How many teenagers bond that quickly to a crying infant?   I was told I was a natural and I still hear that today.

I’ve always known I wanted to be a mother, as well.  I used to dream about it, even as a child playing ‘house’ with my friends.   I couldn’t wait to decorate a nursery in happy anticipation, sing lullabies to my sweet babies while I rocked them, and watch them grow every day, learning about the world around them the way only a child can.

Unfortunately, becoming a mother hasn’t come as easily as it did in my dreams.  My husband and I made the decision early on to wait until we felt we had a stable foundation within our home and marriage to provide for a child.  When we felt we’d reached that point and decided to start trying to make our dreams of a family come true, there were many failed cycles, a couple of military deployments and a little thyroid cancer for me thrown into the mix.  A few years later, we are still trying to add a child to our family.

I tell you all of this, not because I want your sympathy, but so that you understand just how important each of your babies are to me and to give you a little insight about just how much I love what I do.  I look at your little ones and I see a little bit of my future child in them.  I wonder what he or she will look like, sound like, even smell like, as I’m snuggling your own little miracle.  Newborn sessions bring me a sense of serenity like nothing else can.  Every baby I meet is a reminder of what we will someday have, and I understand more than most how precious the sweet little ones in my arms really are.

Little Laurali’s daddy deployed not even two short weeks after her birth and returned 10+ months later to a much bigger little girl!  I’m told she adores her daddy and is thoroughly enjoying having him home!

Meet Alissa.  She absolutely glowed during her pregnancy and I’ve never seen someone so laid back, easy going, and excited to meet her new daughter.

Knockout, right?!

Then she let me play, doing something way out of my norm!  It was so much fun!

I was so glad I was able to squeeze the session in and got to meet this wonderful mama-to-be. She’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside!

This was the main feature, but you may have also seen the photo below in future promotions and issues.

Any military spouse will recognize the care package, customs forms, and the ever-present cell phone that goes along with deployments!
I also loved all of the photos on the refrigerator in the background, they really tell the story of their lives and loved ones.

Of course, I am a child and family photographer at heart, and I just could NOT resist her charismatic three year old daughter.

You can check in with Brittany as she navigates being a military spouse and mother to two young children during a deployment here!