Meet beaming new mother and father, Jen and Jason, and their bundle of enchantment, Eliza:
I'm just gonna come right out and spill the beans - this family's photo session was unprecedented for me. After seeing a few photos from a friend's session earlier in the month, Jen reached out to do a newborn session for their budding, young family. Not too uncommon, there. The unprecedented factor was two-fold; the first being that Eliza was nearly 3-weeks-old at the time of our session (I typically try to do newborn sessions within the first 10 days after birth), and the second being, because Eliza was born a few weeks early - or Jason put it, "this baby girl was not about to wait!" - we actually had the session on her DUE DATE. Pretty freakin' awesome.
Although presumptively more challenging than other newborn sessions, being the ridiculously nostalgia-driven sentimentalist that I am, how in the WORLD could I turn down the opportunity to memorialize this date? A date that, for the greater part of a year, with each passing day and every turn of the calendar, Jen and Jason waited for in anticipatory delight. I simply had to do it. And I'm so glad I did.
Before our session, Jen mentioned that within those 2.5 weeks of Eliza being home, she and Jason felt like they really got to know her and understand her idiosyncrasies; that, in her opinion, the fact that they had waited those couple weeks to do a session, meant that that understanding, their new family dynamic, Eliza's (super exuberant) personality, all of those things would shine through.
Jen was absolutely right. Even just from reading through their questionnaire, I sensed an already strongly-established unity in this family. For example - with Eliza not even 3-weeks-old - one of their "favorite family traditions" was "writing in [their] memory book" and, something they never wanted to forget was "how awesome it has been to hang out at home, just the three of us." I mean, that is the good stuff. That is what family is all about.
From my vantage point, the most distinct feature of this session, in comparison to sessions with few-days-old newborns and their few-days-new parents, was the robust element of humor.
From Jason trying to coax (unsuccessfully - sorry Jason!) Eliza to cuddle with his childhood plush animal, "Merry Mouse," to a casual family story time, to Jen instinctively comforting Eliza by propping her on her shoulder so she could play with her mommy's hair; it was as if the exciting yet icy trepidation that comes with being brand-spanking-new parents had a couple weeks to melt away, and what remained was just, well, them.
All that to say, it was not only a pleasure to meet and work with this sweet family, but also a perfect way to set the stage for more sessions of its kind. Thank you for graciously welcoming me into your world Jen, Jason and Ms. "Silly Gorilly" Eliza.
