Welcome, Hayes! An In-home Fresh 48 after a homebirth...

After doing one of my favorite documentary maternity sessions ever at Missouri Botanical Gardens with this super fun and cute family, I was SO excited to meet their newest little guy during his Fresh 48 session. Rachel texted to let me know that labor had started, so I looked ahead at my calendar for the next couple days and started thinking about what might work best for their Fresh 48 session. They had decided to have a homebirth, so there was a little extra flexibility in terms of timing, since we didn’t have to work around when they’d be discharged from a hospital or birth center.

Once I got the text that their sweet boy had arrived, we scheduled their session. Unfortunately, the night before I was supposed to arrive, I had to let Rachel know that I was dealing with the tail-end of a little cold. I had hoped it would be completely gone by their session, but it lingered just a bit. I felt almost 100% and, for a normal, outdoor family session, I wouldn’t have hesitated one bit. But for a session with a new baby - especially in their own home - it just wasn’t worth the risk of passing any germs on. So we rescheduled for a couple days later.

By the time I rang their doorbell, I couldn’t contain my excitement about seeing this wonderful family again - this time, with the addition of a snugly new baby. This family is so joyful and there were so many super sweet moments of connection for me to document. Big sister was full of laughter and love for her mom, dad, and brand-new baby brother. And I just loved spending some time with them as they transitioned from a family of three to a family of four. Take a look!

Magic in the Mundane | A Family Film About a Trip to Costco in St. Louis, MO

If you ask my oldest daughter what one of her favorite things to do is, she'll unabashadly tell you, "Go to Costco!" It's mostly about the samples for her (I mean, isn't it for everyone?), but we also do the bulk of our grocery shopping there. (No pun intended.) Which means we end up at Costco almost once a week. And we usually go as a family. It's kind of a thing.

On this particular day, neither of my kids had allowed us to brush their hair (common!), and my big girl had chosen to wear pajamas all day. The only thing that was special about this day was that I chose to document it. And I'm so glad I did. This is a moment in our lives that I want to remember. It might seem mundane, but it's surprisingly special. And before too long, Amelie will just be too big to wrangle her long legs into the cart to sit next to her sister, and our life will look a little different. So I'm grateful that I didn't put it off until another day.

This isn't about perfectly matched clothes or cute little pigtails. It's about our real life. And taking the time to notice the magical moments that are hiding among the mundane.

Short films like this are really amazing for telling the story of a typical, routine part of life and making you feel just how important that ordinary stuff of life is. The squeaky little voices that fade into big kid speech, the sweet giggles and inside jokes... It all passes by so quickly. These videos are immediately fun and special - my kids want to watch them over and over again - but, oh my, as the weeks turn into months and years, how those sweet moments captured become the most precious of memories.

When you turn on that video that you haven't seen in a while and you get a glimpse into the version of your family's life from before a certain phase passed by, the intense feelings of nostalgia will remind you not only of how amazing your life was at the time the film was made, but how valuable your current simple moments are, too. Send me a message if you're interested in having me document a little slice of your real life before legs get too long or voices grow deeper. Your everyday moments are worth documenting.