PHOTO DUMP, GRATITUDE LISTS, & AN UPDATE ON KENIDI
I've been obsessed with the instagram app on my iphone4 recently. I love being able to snap a shot, throw a filter & quick border around it and then instantly share it with hundreds or even thousands of others all at one time. Technology today never ceases to amaze me. With that said, I have a blogger on my daily blog reads that I love and I noticed she is doing a "phone dump" of her photos once a week. I thought this was a great idea. For those of you who haven't ever friended me on facebook, you miss out on A LOT of photos I share on there that never actually hit my personal blog. So...I thought the weekly phone dump from time to time would be great to do as well. I figured I'd share some of the photos I've taken via my cell throughout the past 7 days. The top one above was of my Dad holding Kross in his irrigation sprinklers the night before we left Indy. I love that shot. It reminds me of an old vintage image from years gone by or something. The joy that both of their smiles bring to me in that one photo is indescribable. Thank you camera phones!
The next shot is one that I snapped out of the car window as we left the Indiana state line in our rear-view mirror last Friday evening and crossed over into Kentucky via the Louisville bridge. Brent always laughs at me when we pull out of Indiana after our visits there. He tells me that I cry from the time I leave my Dad's driveway until at least Louisville each trip. Truth be told, he's probably right. It never helps when my Dad sends me texts such as exhibit A...(sorry Dad...I know you dislike when I share your texts but word pictures always help tell a story waaayyyyyy better. As a blogger, my job is to tell a story the best way I know how. That involves sharing your awesome words too. Nothing is sacred in our family, I know. LOL!)
Do you see now why a daughter might cry her heart out all the way from Indy to Kentucky after receiving a text from her dad telling her that he misses her already and that she needs to move back home? I must mention that he sends these each time I leave - before I'm ever even out of his neighborhood. See why I love him so much??? It's very clear what an exceptional father he is, isn't it? I know I brag on him a lot but really...this type stuff just confirms it all. I cherish my Dad's text messages. I should've listened to him when he tried to give me the box of Kleenex's from inside his house as I left though. I assured him that I had plenty of baby wipes in the car to use should I need them. Always heed a Father's advice. Always. Even when it comes to a simple box of Kleenex's. Dad's are always right.
At some point in the 18 hour drive back to Naples each time, I finally regain my composure, put away the Kleenex's and regroup. I sit and watch the sky, the clouds, the sunshine or rain as we drive that horrific drive back to Florida. I have high hopes that reciting what I'm grateful for (crayola blue skies, puffy white cotton ball type clouds, the golden sunshine, etc.) in my head throughout the drive will help pass the time quicker. It never does. Eighteen hours is still 18 frappin' hours. No matter how you look at it...the drive sucks. Bottom line. The only time it starts to get better is on the 2nd day - when you're about 45 minutes from home per the Navigation screen that you've been watching the whole 18 hour trip like it's the movie Twilight or something and Edward is secretly placed within the screen somewhere. See...you also begin to get delusional along that drive too. It's a serious side effect. Anyway, back to my point. You roll down the windows and begin to smell the sea salt air. It's a fo' sho' sign that you're in the home stretch now. In no time, you look to your right - and then to your left - only to see scenes like this again...
Moments later...you are driving over the ocean and the sun is setting...reminding you of that gratitude list that is forever embedded in your brain at this point...
Eventually, you pull up in the driveway and are never so glad to get out and touch your feet to the ground in all your life. You hit your bed that night still reciting the gratitude list..."sunsets, Starbucks, my parents, my friends, my kids, my own bed, air conditioning, palm trees, the salt life, my camera, my eyes to visualize shoots, pringals new honey butter stix, the fact that I didn't have to kill my husband this trip because he finally decided to stop at a hotel rather than drive straight through, and so on. Home is good. Real good. However, I have two homes. One where I lay my head every night and one where I lay my heart. You can guess which is which.
The next morning, I always jump up to watch the sun rise over the pond behind our house. It has a magnificent way of shining the most beautiful honey golden light down on the water as well as the tips of the palm tree leaves. The colors as the sun rises are amazing around here. When you live just 5 minutes down the street from the ocean, everyday is amazing around here. Even on the days when the enemy sets out to ruin your gratitude list or your "peppified spirit," you can still manage to always find something to be thankful for. A-L-W-A-Y-S!!! Like being able to stand under palm trees each and every day.
Even when it's raining on the palms and your power is out in your house due to the storm, life is still amazing and the palm trees are still beautiful.
Yes, life is good.
On a final note, before signing off tonight, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who posted here on the blog last week, privately emailed me, called, texted, facebooked, etc. in regards to Kenidi's situation. I had no idea that my post last week would provoke such an outpouring of support. It breaks my heart that so many of you are experiencing similar trials in your own lives. On a positive note though, your words of encouragement, advice, and your own experiences helped our family beyond imagine. You guys armed us with so much knowledge that we didn't have previous to my post. Your own journey has helped prepare us for ours. There are no words to thank you guys for your love and true concern for our Kenidi. We are 4 days into her new medicine (Tenex) and unfortunately haven't noticed any positive changes. She is extremely tired because of it and can barely keep her eyes open most of the day. The doctor warned us that this would happen in the beginning and so did some of you who have your own children on this particular medicine. We are hopeful that her body will adjust to the dosage soon. We were told to give the prescription three weeks before we made a decision to switch to resperdal. So...we will give it 2.5 more weeks. It's still very early and we are still very faithful. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We'll go to plan B at that point. For now though, I know without a shadow of a doubt that all will work out as it should and that like always...God is leading the way. Again though, thank you to each of you for continually being so supportive of our family in the past 5 years since I began this blog. I always know I can come back here, to my online cyber-space friends, and find encouragement and advice thru this blog when needed. All of you are on my gratitude list.
Much love, Angie
PS...If you'd like to friend me on my personal Facebook page, you can do so by clicking on the following link: ANGIE ON FACEBOOK If you would like to become a fan of my Angie Seaman Photography fan page, feel free to do so by clicking this link: BECOME A FAN I'm always posting new session images there that you never see here on my blog. I also post "casting calls" for models that we need for certain creative shoots there too. It's a great place to keep an eye out on all of the Angie Seaman Photography happenings. No matter what...I just appreciate your support. :)
If Kenidi could verbalize her feelings right now, I'm guessing that these days she'd be packing Kross a suitcase and waving by to him as she booted him out the front door. She loves and adores her baby brother with all her heart but I honestly believe she is just now beginning to realize that he is here to stay and isn't going anywhere. In the beginning, he was like a new toy to her. We had small issues but she was pretty gentle with him from the get go. Because we have slowly but surely been noticing more aggressive behavior from Kenidi over the past year to year and a half, we knew that Kross's arrival would be touch and go with her as well. Over the past 8 months since his birth, I've watched her go from gentle to down right violent with him. We can't sit him down or look away from him/her for even a split second. Her aggressive behavior has not only expelled over and onto him but onto us and other people as well. We battle her hitting, kicking, spitting, biting, pinching, etc. What was once just a melt down when we went to leave the beach or a park is now an everyday occurrence and has caused our normal "out and about" life to come to a screeching halt.
As I sit down to type this, my heart hurts when I reflect back on how much Kenidi's demeanor has changed over the past year and a half. She really is a totally different child. We can no longer fly on airplanes or travel period because of the outbursts, aggression, and publicly displayed melt-downs that involve just about anyone within a 20 mile radius of us. We can't take her out to eat at restaurants or stroll along and hold her hand thru the mall anymore. If she is out and about, she has to be strapped into her special needs stroller. There is no rhyme or reason to her madness. We used to think it was an attention issue but now we realize these are uncontrollable outbursts where she will lash out at anyone within her reach. I was in denial for a long time...just believing and hoping it was only a phase. Ya know...the kind of stuff they pick up at school and bring home??? However, the behaviors have only increased. Each day she is growing bigger and stronger and it's becoming harder and harder for me as well as everyone else to manage her when she lets loose. I tell you all of this because just as I have in the past 5 years since beginning this blog, I'm writing to find therapy in the moment. By the time the evenings roll around each day, I'm physically and mentally wiped out. I've had numerous days of emotional spells where I just finally burst into tears from the exhaustion, frustration, and utter heartbreak as I watch our daughter act out in ways she is unable to control. Ways we aren't able to control anymore either. Kenidi is still the loving, affectionate child she's always been. However, there is a side to her personality now that is tough, harsh, and dangerous.
I had a neurologist in Miami last year witness a melt-down of hers and his exact words to me were..."You know there is medicine for this?" I walked out of his office, pushed open the handicap doors to the parking lot, looked at my Mom and swore to her with fury in my eyes that I'd never go back to that doctor again. I can remember how angry I was with his words. I couldn't believe he would suggest that I needed to medicate my child. Almost a year later, I now wish I would have headed to his advice then. I was in denial.
So...a big reason for our trip back to Indy this time was to have Kenidi seen by her Riley doctors here in Indianapolis. Brent and I took her and both kids this past Tuesday morning to her appointment with her neurologist. He was also the geneticist that ran the tests on Brent and I right after we were told of Kenidi's diagnosis back in 2005. After two hours in his office, Kenidi had reached her limit and was exhibiting full on meltdown behavior by the time he saw us. She proved to him, the child psychologist on hand, as well as a student resident doctor that she had the strength and ability to take everyone of us in that room on and then beat the hell out of anyone she had the chance to. It's sound rough and it was. Thankfully though, because what she did in front of the docs, we didn't have to do too much explaining. It was clear that medicine was necessary. I left the hospital that day with mixed emotions. I was feeling defeated, deflated, and like a failure as a Mom. I had prayed for so long that I could "fix" her without medication. Her appointment Tuesday was confirmation that there was no longer anytime left for my attempts to "fix" her. This was our reality and something had to give. Our family life is suffering because we can't venture out like we used to. Brennen pays the price for that. Kross someday might too. The thought of how much things have changed as Kenidi's demeanor has changed is gut-wrenching. There have been talks of taking vacations without her, dinners out while she stays home with a sitter, etc. It all rips my heart out to the core. She's our daughter - part of our family. She should be experiencing these journeys, these memories with us.
In order to begin the new medication, she had to go for an EKG first. The doc wants to start her out on Tenex. (sp?) If there are any of you out there who have any experience with this drug and children, please email me. I'd love to hear your feedback. The EKG was done today and now we wait the results of it to make sure it was normal before she can begin the tenex. If the Tenex doesn't show positive signs of working in the next two weeks, they are going to move on to the big guns as they called it. Risperdal. Risperdal is used to treat strong and irrational behaviors. It's scary. Both medicines are. I have no idea what the future holds but I'm praying with every fiber of my being that these medicines do more help than harm. Only time will tell. My how things have changed.
So...in my usual attempt to always find laughter and positivity in my life...I saw a photo on pinterest today and decided to do our own version of it with Kenidi and Kross. I grabbed my camera and used it as a therapeutic tool. The end result is what you see below...
I'm giving all of the glory to God - as always - for this journey. I've prayed to him with my expectations of healing for Kenidi. I've pleaded with him to grant us peace within our family and mainly within her little body. I'm no longer in denial and realize that this is the only option left. We are left with no other choice but to help Kenidi thru medication. I'm hopeful that these meds will work. Please pray with me over the coming weeks as we embark on yet another foggy journey in the Seaman family. God is leading our hands and giving me - and us - the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the next. For those of you with special needs children, I know you understand this TOTALLY. I owe my family a HUGE thanks for helping me to combat the meltdowns Kenidi has displayed since arriving in Indiana. I couldn't have made it thru the past 2 weeks without them. Transition is horrific on Kenidi's little system. If you take her out of her routine, you can expect all hell to break loose literally. God love her...
Thanks for listening to me today. I know it's been a long time since I've "dumped" on all of my readers like this. Sometimes you just need to purge everything that is floating around in your head though and today was my day. As you all know, I purge via writing. I journal to heal. Always have - always will. Yes, my writings have put my family on major display at times in the past but I don't care. It's my life. It's my truth. It's me being real. Take it or leave it.
Thank you God for being my Rock. My savior. Literally. You've heard my prayers and you know my expectations. Please heal my baby girl.
Here I am again...Mrs. blog slacker. I have things I could be blogging here and sessions that have yet to be blogged over on my photography blog too. I'm way behind. I guess that is what happens when you're having too much fun. Time gets away from you. :)
The above shot was a photo I took the other day of all three kiddo's. Needless to say...the shoot was a bust. Total bust. Kenidi wouldn't quit kissing Kross - which in turn ticked him off. Brennen was whining something about how on earth "was I going to photograph special needs child and a new baby all at the same time." I was sweating like a pig when all was said and done. I finally gave up and settled with this shot. Because this is our reality. This shot reveals our life. It's keepin' it real at its finest. LOL!
As you can see, Kenidi had a major meltdown at the end of the process so I of course just had to document it. I love this girl!
Speaking of her and meltdowns, I just had to document this one too. We went out boating on Father's day and we had Miss Drama Queen on board all day. One minute she was fine and the next minute she was a basket case. Did I mention that I love this girl???
Brennen spent some of his time fishing off the boat that afternoon. Here is a shot of him in action as well as one looking all grown up...
Kross loved every minute of the wind rushing thru his half bald head as we skimmed the surface of the ocean. Both him and Kenidi love to keep moving - to go fast. Neither of them are "stop and fish kinda' kids." LOL! That doesn't help Brennen much. :( At one point Kenidi through Kross's sun hat overboard. We tried to go back and get it but it sunk way too fast. Therefore, I had to drown his little white head in sunscreen. This is what the back of his hair looked like from my angle...
Loved it!
Kenidi celebrated her 8th birthday this weekend. She had a ball. Here she is sporting some of her new gifts...a doctors coat (she loves going to the doctor - doctwo as she calls it). Then she had on her new sunglasses and her rock star studded leather bracelet all while singing into her new microphone. She was such a hoot that I had to capture the moment. Four days later and she's still wearing the doctors coat around and hurting my ears all day long with the microphone. LOL!
That little pairing of photos really sums up Kenidi to a "T." I still can't believe she is eight already. Like Brent said today, she'll always be our little baby girl. :)
I got out with Brennen recently and took some shots of him in an urban grunge type setting. I look at him and can't get over how "teenager-ish" he is looking. Certain glances, certain facial expressions, etc. really give way to how much he is becoming a young man. Then again, like Kenidi, he'll always be my little boy. This photo proves it...
Here are some other shots from our morning together...
Annnndddddd...it wouldn't be a shoot with Brennen without one of these shots that follow my words "Just one more Brennen - I promise just one more..."
Yeap, that is a photographers kid for ya...fo' sho'!
Speaking of Brennen...congrats to him for making the honor roll again for the 4th straight time this year. He worked so hard and nailed his grades every nine weeks. We couldn't be more proud of him. He pulled off another honor roll at the end of this semester like a pro. Guess all of our threatening him paid off. (no xbox, no computer, no phone, etc.) We are such mean parents. :) Way to go B-Ster. We love you rock star!!!
Last but not least, I had to share this shot of Kross experiencing birthday cake & ice cream for the first time ever on Kenidi's birthday. He fell in love. I laughed until I cried. I couldn't feed him fast enough. He was squealing at me like a stuck pig - wanting more, more, more. It was hysterical!
For now, I'm signing off. We are re-decorating Kenidi's room this week in a mustard & gray color scheme so I'm headed in to finish that project up. We booted Audrey Hepburn & the whole Tiffany & Co. theme out. It was time for a change. I love the new look thus far. Here is a sneak peek...
Hi friends. Happy Friday. So glad to have made it thru this past week. My laptop came back from the shop only to have to go right back the very next day. Lovely! The rumor from Best Buy is that as of next week, I'll be going in to pick out a brand new one due to all of the trouble we've had. YAY! I just want a working laptop - that's all. My iphone went down this week too. I lost all of my contacts and phone #'s as well as over 400 photos from the past year alone. It's my fault. I knew better. As a photographer, I'm ashamed of myself for not having backed up those images like I would have on my computers. Bad Angie! Either way, Apple gave me a brand new phone so I'm starting over now. Please email me your phone # and email address if you are a close friend or family member. I lost everything and need to re-update them all.
Kross and I did a little "on the fly" photo shoot together the other morning. He is really turning into such a Ham. Now if I could just get Kenidi to cooperate in front of the camera anymore. I'm planning a shoot with her in the coming weeks but I'm still looking for the perfect ensemble and accessories for it. Stay tuned. I'm gonna remind that little princess of ours how she used to ROCK IT in front of the camera back in the day. Hopefully she will obey and cooperate with me for the session. Wish me luck. LOL!
I had a great time with my girlfriends who came in town from Indy this past weekend. They were here for four days and it couldn't have been more relaxing. I truly loved having them here with us. Such fun. I can't wait to get home to Indiana for those three weeks in July and August so that I can chill with all of my peeps again. I've missed them so very, very much!
On a side note, come take a peek at the photo shoot I did recently for the gorgeous Miss Lindsay. It was one of my favorite shoots to date. Here is a sneak peek...
To see the rest of my favorite images from her session, click HERE
Lastly, for my anonymous friend from Scarbourough/Ontario Canada who loves to drop by my blog and and spend all of her miserable life critiquing my spelling and grammar mistakes, see if you can unscramble this one... ISKS YM SAS!
Gotta' go repent now. Hope everyone has a STELLAR weekend! Love you all to bits!
It's 2:40am and I'm up - wide awake - with a 5 month old sound asleep on my lap, an almost 8 year old princess in the bed asleep with Daddy (keeping my spot warm for me) and a 12 year old in his bed, sick yet again. It's been a helldacious week here in our household and it doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Kross's face in the above photo gives way to the feelings were are spewing in our house these days.
Brennen was home sick on Monday. High fever and vomiting. He went back to school Tuesday feeling somewhat better. Tuesday afternoon while holding Kross on my tummy during my eye-brow arch at the salon (he likes sitting up on my belly when there), he rared backwards, arching his back and hyper-extending his arms as I clutched his little hands. He rared back with such a quick forceful movement that it immediately resulted in this God awful sound. I heard a POP! Not a good POP either. I knew right away what had happened. Two hours and several hundred dollars later, the doctor at the Emergency room had popped his elbow back into place like a pro. It took all of 2.2 seconds which is good considering how Kross was NOT happy about it. Can you blame him? They call it "nurses maid elbow" and I know it fondly because the same thing happened to Kenidi when she was a toddler. She was holding my hand as we stepped off a curb together. She pulled one of those "I'm gonna drop to the ground and make Mommy carry me" stunts as she was stepping off the said curb. By doing so, she went down and I was still holding her hand - which resulted in that same familiar POP. While at the ER with her that time, they told Brent and I it was very common in babies thru toddlers. I guess it happens a lot as their bones are growing and locking into place. The doc here in Naples told me the same thing when we were there with Kross on Tuesday. It was awful. This child never screams but that day - he whaled. I felt like the "suckiest" mom on the face of this earth. There goes my Mom of the year award. :(
Once his elbow was back in place, he was a happy camper again - instantly.
I wish I could say that our night got much better from there but it didn't. While in the ER with Kross, Brent calls to tell me that Kenidi's school had been trying to reach me at home. She was apparently in class vomiting. Needless to say, she came home sick. High fever just like with Brennen the day before. I was supposed to go out with my photography friends that evening but began questioning whether I should just stay home at that point. I got home and no sooner did I utter the words..."Boy I hope Kross doesn't get what you guys have" did little Mr. Kross himself puke all over me. I knew then that it was God's way of telling me..."STAY HOME ANGIE!" And so I did. I couldn't bare to leave Brent home fighting that fire with all three of them sick. I cuddled with my sweet babies and prayed that God would heal them both. Today was a better day for Kenidi. She seems to be on the up and up. Kross has some congestion and a runny nose but no more vomiting. However, que the 1:30am wake up from Brennen as he is making a mad dash to the bathroom because he is vomiting again. WHEW! I'm clueless as to what bug has taken over my kiddo's but I'm praying it exits our household FAST!
I have two of my girlfriends coming in from Indiana this morning. I pick them up at the airport at 9:30am. It's 3am now and I'm still wide eyed and awake. Go figure. It's the Mom in me that can't sleep. I keep going in to check on Brennen and make sure he's ok. Amongst the chaos this week, he's learning how to swallow pills for the first time ever. When he has a headache or has been ill in the past, we always gave him tylenol melt-a-ways. Well they've apparently taken those off the market now. It's no fun trying to co-erse a sick 12 year old to swallow tylenol pills while they are in the middle of being so ill. I tried all kinds of tricks. In the end, he broke them in half and chewed half of them on the way down. Gross!
I'm hopeful that the lysoling I've done and disinfecting I've embarked on will be good enough to rid our walls of the germs before my girlfriends arrive. I definitely don't want them (or me) getting sick too. No. no. no. Speaking of the sickies, my laptop is in the shop because it has the sickies too. It's been gone for a week now and I seriously feel like my right arm has been removed. It won't be back for another week to two weeks so I am basically going into convulsions as I wait on its return. Talk about torture. This is one of those times in life when you really find out what you're made of and how strong you really are. LOL! Just kidding! Ok maybe I'm not. :-) Either way, I need the next two weeks to cruise by so that my laptop can come back home to Mama realllllllll quick! I have photos similar to this one to edit...
Mama likes editing best on her laptop instead of my desk-top even though I realize it's a no-no. Since when have I ever been one to obey the rules anyhow?
For now, I'm off to snuggle with my boys while my princess is resting peacefully. I'm trying to be quiet so that I don't wake everyone but of course we always become a total klutz when we try to traipse thru our houses like mice. Don't we? You know, tripping over the sick 12 year olds shoes and backpack. Dropping silverware in the sink even though you tried to place it in there gently and ever so softly. Let's face it - being up and wondering around any house at 3am is never good for the additional occupants in your home. I'm thankful I have a fan club here and that they forgive me - a lot!
You'll have to excuse me...I've been a bit tied up. A little preoccupied with taking photos of my babies. A bit busy just soaking up the title Mom and photographer all in one. I've grabbed some candids lately. Random shots that I've had a quick second to capture. These are a few of the random ones.
Kross has been sucking his thumb lately. I've expressed to him that only paci's are allowed in this house but he's already rebelling and defying me. He's totally out of control. LOL!
I took him for a walk thru the park the other day. Each time I seem to capture a shot of him, someone points out how he always appears to be flipping me the bird. It's happened so often that it's really becoming quite comical now. He's DEFINITELY the child of a photographer. Ha ha!
In other moments though, he totally hamms it up when I get the camera out. Cracks me up.
The shot above is a photo of his baby album that I designed the other day. It came in the mail yesterday. Can I just say L-O-V-E? It is now one of my most treasured posessions. I can't put it down. I just continue to keep thumbing thru it over and over again - remembering that early December morning just three short months ago. Thank God for photographs. What an amazing gift we have with the art of photography, eh? Moments frozen in time forever. Priceless moments.
Speaking of being a photographer, how do ya' like my new cell phone case??? Too cute, eh?
And these three vintage cameras...well Brent surprised me with them and brought them home to me the other day. I took this photo of them and then had it made into a 20x30 canvas for our great room. Again, can I say L-O-V-E?
In my free time lately, I've been a leach at this place...sprawling out over my laptop, my camera, and an iced cold carmel machiatto on their coolest of cool white leather couches. It's a quaint lil' place that a client of mine introduced me to. A swanky new coffee shop here in Naples called "The Brick." It's located on 5th Avenue in downtown Naples. Very European and very posh. Love, love, love. I especially love their beautiful chandaliers throughout the place. GAW-JUS! Pure yumminess!
This next week is going to be nuts for me. I've got several shoots to do, a mentor session with a client tomorrow, dinner with friends Saturday evening, Brennen's 12th birthday party at the beach on Sunday and then next week I'm prepping for our trip back to Indiana come Friday. Yeap, we are headed home for Spring Break - to the cold and fridgid temps of Indy. Brrrr! I don't even own any cold weather clothes anymore. I have to shop for some while there. Crazy, eh? When it's 85 degrees here in Florida - like it was again today - you eventually throw out all of your winter type clothes because they just sit there in your closet - never getting used anymore. We'll be home for a week visiting friends and family and introducing baby Kross to all who have yet to meet him in person. We then return to Naples on the 27th. On the 28th, we have our dear friends Tamara and Joe arriving in town with their son Derek. (Brennen's best buddy from back home) We'll be spending the week with them while they are here and in Florida for their spring break. We can't wait to see them again and introduce them to Kross. :)
So...life is going to be crazy busy in the coming weeks. I love it that way though. I'll be in touch via a blog post or two before we head out of town. Before leaving for Indy, I'm dropping my laptop at the shop for yet another repair so that it can be getting fixed while I'm traveling. Therefore, I won't be updating the blog while we are in Indy. I'll catch up once we are back home though. Hope you guys have a ROCK STAR weekend. Huge hugs...XOXO, Angie
I love photography. Many of you know that already. It's my job, my life's passion, my cherry on the sundae of life - totally! There are so many memories about Kross's birth that I wouldn't have if it weren't for photography. All of these images I'm blogging with today were taken by my friend Megan. Megan is one of the two photographers who photographed our birth session for us the day Kross was born. These images were all taken by her and I couldn't be more pleased with each one. They are priceless to me. Priceless I say. The top image was of my first moment to lay eyes on Kross thru the nursery window as they wheeled me out of the recovery room following my c-section. I get so sentimental when I see this shot. It melts my heart over and over again as do all of the pictures Megan took. For example, the image below...if you look closely, it is of Brent leading Kenidi's hand over to Kross as she meets him and touches him in person for the very first time. I remember him telling her to be "gentle" as we always remind her to be. Kross is skin to skin on my chest and wrapped tightly inside my hospital gown. It's a family moment that I would have never seen like this had Megan not captured this moment via the camera. Oh yes...Photography ROCKS!
This next shot below is of Brennen with his iphone. He captured this picture of Kross thru the nursery room window and had it displayed proudly on his phone. Megan snapped that moment as he was showing it off. Good stuff!
And my Mom...well this is her as she laid eyes on her new grandson for the first time...
Megan captured raw and unscripted emotion. Again, it all just melts my heart. The next image is of my Dad and Step mom looking thru the nursery window with Kenidi and Brennen (at Kross of course). I love that Kenidi is on her tip toes here...
This one below is of my Step-Mom, Cathy, with Brennen. Loved this shot of the two of them. Soooo good! It was so very early that morning yet they both are smiling from ear to ear. Good times!
And again...below...nothing but excitement, laughs and smiles from both my Mom and my Step-Mom together on that early December morning. I'm so grateful for the amazing family that I have...
And here is Brennen looking in on his little bro in the nursery...
One of my other most favorite photos of this day is this simple one that Megan captured within a split second in time. If she would have blinked, she could have missed it yet her eyes were wide open and taking every movement and emotion in while behind her lens. This one below is of my Dad holding/touching my (very swollen and puffed up) arm following the birth itself. I plan to have this one framed and place it on my desk as a constant reminder that my Dad is ALWAYS there for me. ALWAYS. Not that I would ever really need a reminder but I just love the image THAT MUCH! The shot is one that only him or I would understand yet it speaks volumes for the definition of what kind of father I have. I love you Dad!
And the same goes again for this moment she captured of Kenidi holding my hand. Again, I'm so very swollen and puffed up beyond belief. However, no matter how horrible I remember myself looking by that point, this picture means the world to me. It literally makes my heart swoon.
As I peruse these images, I am so thankful for photography, for Megan's talents and her friendship, for my incredibly awesome family, and for the undeniable truth that there is a God. These last few images below are proof of his existence and his amazing creations that only HE can construct...
And at 5.5 weeks old now...he is truly our little Legend...
And lastly, while I'm raving about my parents and loving the photos of my husband as well as them up above, let me praise them all a bit more. Thanks to Brent and to both sets of my parents (my Dad and Cathy and my Mom), I have a new toy...
Their generosity and their Christmas gift cards to the camera store made me a very happy girl this weekend. I love you guys. Thank you for always spoiling me rotten!
