I was so excited to jump back into the images of the the Stephaniuk household.
My morning with  little Rudy and his big sister Lucie was so incredibly sweet. 
Lucie has been waiting 11 years to become a big sister,
I couldn’t get over how attentive she was to him,
never leaving the room without kissing the top of his sweet head <3
I was reminded again of how lovely and warm their home was.
Something I love the most  was the walls, filled with photographs of some of their most precious moments together as a family of three
and now they have these, first moments of them as a family of four. 

Here are just a few of my favourite images of my time with them. 

It was about half way through this session that I smiled quietly to myself
 I watched Rob and Megan take in their newest baby upstairs and downstairs and we listened to the older siblings happily play with their littlest sister.
They had just finished a big Saturday morning pancake breakfast when I came in, the house was bustling with activity.
How wonderful. 
Little Oscar has been born into a big family, surrounded by all his brothers and sisters. 
They are Blended, Beautiful and full of life, Big & Small.
I was happy to be with them, happy to document them and each image has me smiling from ear to ear.
I know they will have you smiling too.

Welcome to this world Oscar! 

You are one lucky little man!

I arrived at the Hachey Family home to meet Nyah and her big sister Harper.
The session was wonderful.
It had all the elements that an amazing and cozy ‘at home’ newborn session should.
A sweet baby, lots of cuddles, newborn squeaks, breaks for snacks
(both for baby and big sister) and a whole lot of love.
Ashley had one special request for me.
You see the girls have a brother, Johnny, who left this world much, much to soon.
She explained to me that Harper, the first child, is the ‘Sunshine’ baby.
Johnny is their ‘Angel’ baby
and little Nyah…is the ‘Rainbow’ Baby.

The flowers surrounding the girls represent each sweet babe,
with their brother gently nestled in between them.
I am honoured to be able to share this moment of remembrance with them 

The Family believes that Nyah was ‘hand picked’ by Johnny for them.
I think so too.
What an incredible gift.

We ended our sweet session with a few cute portraits of Harper
and a snuggly moment with Ashley and her girls in a very special chair. 

This chair belong to her grandfather, a heirloom that he sat on in his office her whole life. 
How wonderful for all these angels in their lives to be able to look down on this amazing family
and see all the ways they continue to remember them in their daily life. 

Welcome to this world Nyah ❤

The Pywells are the kind of clients that every photographer dreams of. 
They loved me and supported me since the very beginning
and I grew as an artist alongside the growth of all three of their children. 
I was there in the delivery room when Carter was born, 
I was photographing them in the sunset days after Amber found out she had cancer, 
and on a beach in Yellowpoint a year later when I photographed her alone,
as her children headed back to the car,
to take a moment to celebrate herself after she endured a year of treatments and uncertainties. 

Here we are now, and she is Cancer Free. 

It was time for me to see and celebrate them again.

Here are some of my favourites of the Pywell Family <3 

This is Nathan. 
He lives with his big brother Bennett, his two Mamas and a puppy who all love him very much. 
I came to meet him just after Christmas. 
The last time I saw this family, Bennett was just wee in his mamas arms
and now, both of their arms are delightfully full with these two beautiful boys. 

I loved our slow morning of snuggles, superhero and cookie snacks. 

Here are just a few of my faves <3 

Mitch, Jess and the sweet girls met me at Sunrise on one of the coldest days of the year. 
Armed with blankets, sweaters, snacks and hot tea
I photographed them snuggled up and giggling as the sun rose
and the bright and vibrant colours danced along their faces. 

These guys are some of my most valued and wonderful clients
and it has been 5  years that they have they have asked me to document their memories. 
That is the biggest compliment I can ever receive 
and I am so grateful for them. 

We may have almost froze out there that morning!
But as you can see we still had a lot of fun,
we soaked in all the snuggles
and we celebrated them just as they are, right now, in that moment. 

Here are a few of my favourites! 

I love the way this family loves! 
Having worked with Selina professionally for 5 years,
It is only in the last year that I have been invited into their family. 
I am so lucky. 
Documenting her become a grandmother was a highlight in my career, 
and staying close and connected with everyone of them
has been so important and wonderful to me
….because you cant have too much of a good thing right?? lol 

Selina and Josh are parenting goals.
I can only hope that when my kids are older they love me much the same as this. 
I can only hope when John and I become grandparents that we look and feel just like this…
They are soaking up every minute of this new phase of life together 
…and im just the lucky one that gets to capture it. 

n

When we chatted about location for the Kaiser Family Session…
Jane though maaaayyybbbee it might be cool
at this little spot up the mountain behind their home.
Maybe. 
Coming through the clearing, it took my breath away
and I couldn’t wait to get the whole family out on the cliffs
and photograph them against such a stunning backdrop. 

Now…this family doesn’t ‘need’ a stunning backdrop, no family really does.
These guys hold their own for sure. 
Giggles, snuggles and connection in any family is amazing captured anywhere…

But it sure was beautiful and I wasn’t complaining. 

Ive been blessed with so many stunning sessions in 2018,
and this one was definitely one of my very favourites. 

The Kaiser Family. 

I LOVED this session! 
Geoff had the wonderful idea to shoot his family against the backdrop of an urban background 
and what better background than the town that this wonderful family has called home,
and built two very successful businesses in. 
Ladysmith was the perfect addition to tell their story
and we had a great time walking the streets as the sunshine dipped below the buildings. 

One of my favourite sessions to date…

The Cram Family. 

Im pretty honoured that Ryan decided to spend his birthday with me.
I mean, not every dude wants to spend their special day getting family photos done
But luckily he saw it as a opportunity to capture some increible memories for the five of them, 
and really a perfect way to commemorate the day before they headed off for evening celebrations. 

I met them at Elliots beach, but half way through I made the executive decision of switch locations 
(….I know…whhhhhaat!) 
So we took a wild and scenic ride to Blue Heron park and finished off the session there. 

I like this bunch. 
Full of personality and no shortage of jokes and smiles. 

Here are a few faves from Ryan, Cathleen and three pretty cute kids. 

I think the best thing for me about this session was being with Brenda and watching her be a Mother. 
As the principal of our school, I have seen her fierce dedication to the our children, 
but it is really something else to see it with her own. 
Also, as mothers, her and I have shared stories and similarities between our children, 
so it was wonderful to get to experience all those beautiful things she says about them first hand. 
And so our session down at the river…while the autumn leaves were putting on a show for us…
was fantastic. 

Hard to choose favourites….
But ive narrowed down a couple…;) 

Ryan, Christine and Sienna are my newest neighbours. 
Lucky right!?! I know! 
For me, photographing people is the easiest way for me to get to know them 
and so this was perfect! 
We met at Eves Park, not far from either of our doors…. 

Sienna was content most of the time in moms arms, 
(I don’t mind…snuggle photos are always my fave..) 
but we coaxed her out a bit for some sweet giggles in the sunlight. 

Im looking forward to getting to know them a bit better
and feel very grateful that I got to capture them as they settle into ‘island life’ 

Here are a few faves!