Well, its been a minute hasn’t it?
I’ve recently accepted the fact that I cannot sustain a weekly blog. Or a monthy one.
As you can imagine, things have been a little crazy over here the last 5 months. Blissfully, beautifully, insanely crazy.
I have never been so empty, and yet so full, so tired and yet so awake, so exhausted, and yet so fulfilled.
To begin, I’ll start with the best part, the birth of our Little One, Remy.
He was scheduled to be delivered on December the 29th, via c-section. On the 21st, I went to see my Baby Doc, as I hadn’t seen her in a while and I was getting concerned about my blood pressure.
Sure enough, she confirmed that I was developing pre-eclampsia. (note to self-always trust your gut! I knew something wasn’t right and I made the appointment)
So, at 1130am on a Thursday, I was told that I would be having my third baby early, like now early, as in, tomorrow early (the 22nd)
Surprise!
I got in my car, I called a few friends, and I was a bawling mess; because I was so happy the wait was over; I would be holding my love and getting to smooch him a full week early. Because my hospital bag wasn’t even packed yet. Because I was mega hormonal. Because I was horribly, unbearably uncomfortable. Because at almost 40 years old, growing/birthing babies at my age is hard(er). Because I hadn’t finished folding his clothes and organizing his room yet. Because Jeff was arriving back home in Calgary in exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes and I knew he had things he wanted to finish in the next 7 days as well. Because, my last, my sweetest little baby, would be here with us for Christmas, and what a beautiful gift, what a great time to come into this world :)
I drove to the airport, and through tears, I told my husband that we had to go home and pack, and Grandma needed to come, and sleepover, because we were having a baby in the morning, and, and, and.... you get it. I was an emotional disaster. There was a whole lot more going on involving me monitoring my blood pressure and some tense moments, but what matters is-the next morning, Jeff and I drove to the hospital, the same one where Kash and Atty were born, and settled in, to welcome Baby Remy Wilson Brown into our family.
There were no complications, no dramatics, nothing out of the ordinary-we had a wonderful medical team (all female, just sayin’) at the Rockyview, and he came into this world surrounded by love and happy tears. It was amazing. The Drs even allowed Jeff to take this photo, baby still attached, umbilical cord hadn’t been cut yet. I'm pretty sure it’s the greatest photo Jeff has ever taken.
Being as old as I am, (40 at the end of this year) and knowing the toll this takes on my body (despite being a gym nerd and considerably healthy-ish) we knew going in that I would get the ‘ol Baby Factory shut down while they were in there, and that Remy would for sure-sies, be the last baby for us.
He has been the sweetest, calmest, most chilled out little baby you ever did meet. He smiles constantly, between naps and feeding, that is. We couldn’t have asked for a more healthy, charming, and beautiful little boy. I have already taken thousands of photos of him, and I'll share a few at the end of this post.
Introducing our older boys to the new baby was a heart-melting event; they are so in love with him-fiercely protective and already stepping up and helping out like big brothers should. Having 3 boys in my life...wow. just wow. What am I in for? Madness, I presume, but it will be beautiful, no doubt.
I should mention how grateful I am for a partner that was able to go into ‘action mode’ and be there for me as I prepared for surgery, had Remy, and spent two days in hospital recovering, while he cleaned the house, prepped the babys room, took care of Kash and Atty, did all the grocery shopping and cooking for Christmas celebrations for a few family members, and generally just ran the house perfectly for a few weeks so I could concentrate on breastfeeding and healing.
I literally have the best husband on the planet-hands down! ...aaaand in case you don’t believe me, here’s a few photos of him being a super Dad ❤️
So, a mere 32 days after Remy was born, I went back to work-taking the whole family with me out of the city to Canmore, a gorgeous mountain town not far from us.
I was there to photograph a wedding between a bride and groom that I hadn’t actually met in person yet, which was a first for me.
N&J were a super sweet couple; they had a great network of friends and family that made the trek to Canmore for their celebration. They were married and had the reception at The Cornerstone Theater, which is a STUNNING venue that I had been anxious to work at. It did not disappoint!
We did formals at Quarry Lake, my own familys favorite summer time swimming hole! It was snowing ridiculous amounts when we first arrived, but it subsided pretty quick and we were able to get some decent shots of the mountain backdrop.
I spent most of February just concentrating on family and bonding with the baby, trying to figure out the new routine after Jeff went back to work out of province. It was actually easier than I thought, and we all kind of settled in pretty good, and pretty quickly. I was able to do some valentines minis, and had a blast shopping for props to add to my ever-growing collection.
March came and I got back at it; studio sessions (7 sessions in one day, the most I've ever done…which got me to thinking…..more on that later) also a small east village wedding, engagement sessions, easter minis, and meetings with perspective clients. I also did my first session with a lovely young lady who is already a pro model. At the tender age of 16, she is a natural! and super sweet as well.
I love spending time with my kids, the baby especially, but I really loved getting back to work and finding that momentum again.
I had set a goal for myself to try and double last years weddings (9) and book 18 for 2018. I wasn’t sure that it was possible, especially because I live and work in a city that is inundated with so much talent, its ridiculous.
Last week, however, I booked my 18th wedding for the year, in gorgeous Mexico! Jeff and I had been talking abut heading south this winter for a bit so it fell into place perfectly. It will be my 3rd destination wedding, and I’m looking forward to getting better at shooting in full sun/beach conditions.
April brought another wedding, (K&A…swoooooon!!!!) I also met with a local studio about renting permanent space (more on that next time) and participated in some fun stuff with my family.
At the end of 2017, I started working with the AARCS (Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society) as a volunteer and was asked to work a conference put on by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. I was happy to gain a little experience in event photography, and put some good karma in the bank.
When I was a kid, I volunteered at the SPCA every Saturday for years, and later on in my teens with various events around my hometown. As a teenager and into my adult years, I simply couldn’t find the time (or so I thought) to volunteer, so I didn’t. Jeff and I had talked about doing little things here and there to be supportive Calgarians, but never put anything into action.
Last fall, I asked on social media for anyone to recommend charities that might benefit from a photographer, and I was put in touch with 3 😊
AARCS is one, Families Fighting Cancer is another, and PACE KIDS is the last one, all of which I will be donating hours to this year.
Time is the most valuable commodity we have, and to give yours to an organization is priceless. Im so happy to be able to help anyone, anywhere, in any way that I can!
This month for work, I have a few smaller sessions, one wedding out of town, meetings with clients and studio peeps, and a few other photoshoots that Im very excited about!
One in particular involves some of my favorite mommy friends! I really want to give my TRIBE something they will love forever and ever, so I am concocting a styled shoot, gathering props, and making a list of names-I’ll only have a short time to get in as many as possible, but I think I can get it done? Stay tuned for some fierce forest photos!
But for now check out these beautiful boys- they fill me up with more love than I can ever put into words xoxo
I know I’m forgetting a bunch of things, but this is long winded enough, right?
Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far, and I’ll post again soon as I have a few things to talk about ;)
All the love, and then a little more,
Reens
xo
