DUHAIME FAMILY // MARINE CITY LAKE HOUSE

It has been a couple years since I created a blog post. Two years and three months, to be exact. In those two years I apprenticed as a homebirth midwife, supported women in hospital as a birth doula, photographed maternity portraits, boudoir, newborns, and documented birth stories. Oh, and I also got knocked up and birthed my own baby. But none of it made it to the blog. I forgot how much work goes into preparing images for sharing, paring down galleries to a reasonable amount of favorites, getting them in the perfect order, and then finding the words to go with the photographs.

Authenticity is the cornerstone of my existence. In my life and in my business. I never want to put on some insincere facade just to make sales or win over a potential client. Being able to genuinely connect with the folks who hire me is honestly my top priority. Delivering badass imagery is a happy bonus. But sometimes even when you love your clients with the realest I-watched-you-give-birth raw kind of love, the words still don’t come.

And maybe that is okay, too.

A year ago, as an apprentice midwife, I watched Susie’s belly and toddler Terry’s excitement grow during our prenatal home visits and was honored to assist and photograph baby Will coming earthside into a birthing pool in their bedroom. Seeing him again after so long brought such joy to my heart.

Big brother, Terry was so excited to meet the new baby back then and when the Duhaimes invited me to photograph their family to celebrate Will turning a year old, it was clear his love for the babe had only grown. Terry had me laughing the whole time I was hanging out at their lake house. One of the first things he said to me when I walked in was that they were going to be making special birthday waffles but he wanted “ketchup and meats”. Then he carried the ketchup around with him all over the house. He is so sweet and full of golden toddler one liners like, “This is the jumpiest couch I ever jumped on!” I have a feeling Will is going to grow into a sweet, smart little ham just like his bro. Perhaps just a bit more quiet.