New Website + Blog!

Long time no see, I know! Over the winter I have been hard at work on my new website and blog. It has been many nights of blood, sweat and tears but it is finally ready! My blog is now part of my website, but all my old posts have been moved over there so nothing is missing!

I would love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

www.modernnestphotography.com

xo
Amy

Bath Time

Recently I was asked to be a part of a very special group of woman, specifically mothers, who started an amazing blog that aims at capturing what it is like to be knee and heart deep in motherhood. There are the diaper changes, sleepless nights, crying, but there are also the moments that stop you in your tracks and are such a beautiful reminder that these tiny little beings are the greatest gift, and watching them grow and being a part of shaping their lives is a pretty incredible thing. Before this invitation I was really struggling to take pictures just for me. The big camera only seemed to come out on holidays and birthdays and photoshoots, and I was relying solely on my iPhone to capture the every day moments. But bringing my camera out just to capture our mundane going-ons has re-ignited something in me. It has reminded me what I love most about photography. It's not the smiley, happy portraits where everyone is looking and smiling. It's the water droplets on his smooth back and the way his hair touches his neck and the way the little one copies everything the big one is doing. A bath is no extraordinary event. But this day? This day it was.

 

Here is a link to the blog (are those some talented mamas or what?!): http://icarryyourheartblog.com/

 

 

 

The Glasbys: Wildflowers Workshop

Way back in October I had the pleasure of attending a photography workshop in Bellingham with Joy from Wildflowers Photography. It was such an amazing two days of growth and friendship (that I will blog more about soon!). While there we had the Glasbys come and graciously be models for us so we could watch Joy shoot and take some photos as well. Here are a few. Also, are they not the cutest family?!

Us: The Palm Springs Edition

I already shared our vacation pictures from our trip to Palm Springs in the fall, but these ones are a bit more special. Being a photographer means that when we get home from vacations, we have hundreds of images from our trip (which is great!), and I love getting to photograph my family and capture some of those memories from our trips together. But there is always a little bit of sadness as I scroll through our pictures from holidays, because I am always missing. And Warren absolutely tries his best and will take a million pictures of me and the boys if I ask, but it's the asking part I hate. I think there is such a bittersweet part of being a photographer, because I want those candid, un-posey shots of myself playing with the boys, of Warren and I, of our whole family. But that's just not going to happen.

So this time? This time with Christmas right around the corner I asked for this to be my gift. The gift of me being in the pictures with my family on our holidays. And we really could not be happier with them. Ashley from The Stork and the Beanstalk Photography took these for us, and I am forever grateful. The boys were a wee bit crazy, and she had a brush thrown at her head, but once we got past the show-off portion of the evening it was exactly how I imagined. A little bit chaotic, some tears, some sand in the eyes, cuddles, Cheerios and us exactly as we are in this season of life.

Also, if anyone wants to hire me to come take photographs of them on vacation, just let me know because I sure am missing that sunshine!

Here is a collection of our favourite images:

Sullivan turns 4!

It was the sledding birthday that Sully had looked forward to for weeks, but then Mother Nature decided to change plans a bit and melt all our snow (which never happens in December!), so it turned into more of a winter party with no sledding. But! It was still great and I don't think he missed the sledding portion one bit, because he had all his little friends and cake and what else can you ask for, really, when you are 4?

 

I have kept digital baby books for the boys for each year of their lives, and then print them off each birthday with a whole year of our pictures, memories, and letters to them on each of their month "birthdays". I thought I would include Sullivan's letter from his birthday here. I can't believe the little boy who made me a mama is four years old.

 

December 30, 2014

Dear Sullivan,

Today you turn 4 years old. Writing that down doesn't even seem real. It feels like there's someone hiding behind a corner that's going to jump out at me and yell "just kidding!". But, here we are. Four whole years old. And man I can already tell four is going to be amazing. It is honestly like a switch was turned on your birthday and you became this new boy.

 

One who listens and who is patient. One who can be reasoned with and who talks like a 90 year old man. You just seemed to become so much more mature over the holidays. We have real conversations now. Like real, in-depth discussions about things like planets, and death, and love, and loss, and how everything in the solar system works. About marriage and friendship and birth. About life. And when, as a new mom, you have a tiny newborn in your arms, and you are rocking them to sleep in the deep, dark hours of the night in a quiet household, you dream, in your delirious state, of moments like these. How it seems impossible yet so exciting that one day this tiny, pink-faced newborn will look you in the eyes and ask you these deep life questions that take your breath away with pride and fear. Because you stop me in my tracks sometimes, Sullivan. With your questions and observations of the world that make me rethink everything I've ever thought. Like how to explain death. And how you were born. And why your birthparents made an adoption plan for you. Gosh, buddy, please bear with me as we stumble and fumble through life's explanations.

 

I promise you that we're doing our best to share with you a fair, equal, liberal view of the world. But we are also leaving just enough holes and mysteries for you to forge your own path with your own answers and thoughts. Because if there's one thing I've learned as a parent, it's that you will not be me. You will not make decisions that I would make in every situation. You will not be a carbon copy of me, though you may pick up some of my quirks and bad habits and potty mouth. No. You are, and will always be, YOU. And seeing you grow into this magnifcent person who is genuinely kind to strangers and has never met an enemey; well, quite honestly, I wish I was more like you.

 

You love telling us all the things that a four year old can do. Just in case you forget by the time you read this, it's pretty much everything. So we're trying to reel you in just a bit so that you're not sneaking off with the car in the middle of the night. But yes, four comes with a lot more responsibility and higher expectations, of which so far you are exceeding beyond all we imagined. The first year you barely get through, sleep-deprieved and love-drunk, then there's the "terrible twos" (which weren't even that terrible), then there's the "terrible threes" which were maybe a little bit terrible for a few months, and now we've hit four. Which has no forbodoing name because I think it's just going to be awesome. With maybe a little bit of drama in there.

But what is life without drama? I can't wait to see what four unfolds for you, Sul. Happy birthday, our sweet boy.

Love, Mama

 

 

 

 

The Andreasen Family

This is Barb and Lars and their children and their grandchildren, and I think having all 18 family members together for a session makes for a pretty special day, even when it's -25!