Erik + Joyce [first seen here! + here!] are waiting on their new home being constructed. Which, in a lot of ways, is like a pregnancy all its own, no? You’ve got the construction phase. Delivery. And for the first year after you move into your new build, you’re dealing with construction repairs — which, in a pie in the sky way, is much like the rapid growth + development of a freshly born babe.

Okay, that was a long shot.

But it’s certain to say there’s much growth + change in 2012 for this new family of three.

We always want to share with you a bit of the behind the scenes of each session. For this one, we could tell you about the endless supply of good eats they kept on hand. How Kim couldn’t decide which pastry to have + the hilarious Gemini rationalization over a donut flavour that ensued. [She's seriously hilarious.] The doting grandparents. Erik’s resolve to become a ‘professional dad’ or Joyce’s stylish way of making everything ‘just so.’

But the real treat for us during all three sessions has been the connection. Watching the way they admire each other, care for + make laugh. Watching each take a moment to collect their emotions based on something sweet the other had done. Seeing that out of this world connection to their new baby when really, everyone had just technically met.

There’s no way to really explain it without getting all gush-tastic. It’s the stuff that could rob street cred from under your feet yet sell mountains of greeting cards all at once. But this couple. This family. This love. It inspired, + that’s a fact. Kim + I can only do so much, that, everyone knows. You can’t put a smile on a face when there’s no smile in the heart. You can’t take from a client to put into an image something they’re not willing to share. We’re so lucky to have our clients inherently know this + play along. Erik + Joyce have been no exception, + we thank them implicitly.

There are a few common things newborn photographers talk about. We don’t do a lot of it but, this one topic, we’re all over. The honour of these sessions. That they’re an honour to capture. An honour to be a part of. And an honour to provide.

This is the hands-down truth of the matter. We treat newborn photography like wedding photography. It’s a milestone like none other + the timing is tight. We’re so appreciative of the trust + dedication our family of clients instil in us for this special time in their familyhood. While we have an a lot of fun together + with the families, at the end of the day it’s not something we take lightly.

So back to Joyce + Erik + baby Nathaniel. Thank you. It has been a lot of fun, a lot of cuteness + mostly, a lot of honour.

Because we’re huggers,

oo – Tamara + Kim

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It was funny standing in this gorgeous mama’s kitchen + seeing a freshly baked bundle of doughy scones. These British tea cakes used to fill my weekends, served up by the dozens in my family’s Scottish tea room, of which we ran for more than thirty years. I hadn’t had one since we closed Pause Awhile more than five years ago now — my grandma used to stay up until 3am hand baking batches of them but now prefers a flour-less retirement and really, after three decades, who can blame her : )

But one glance at this pack + I could taste them. Remember smelling them baking in the oven while I chatted with my (now passed) grandfather at the front table. Feel them as I plated them alongside three tiny glass dishes of jam, cream + curled butter. Way back play back in the most random of spots, I tell you! For a minute, I was home.

Well, for longer than a minute, really. Gillian’s house feels of home from the second you walk in. This remodel downtown Toronto home reflects her easy going, lively, stylish nature to a ‘t’ + we thank her for having us! And on baby Tristan, there aren’t enough words to describe the cute — just peek for yourselves : ) He even arrived sporting his proud dad’s stylin’ hair-do!

But first, a few snaps from her maternity session — this blogging, I tell you — it’s coming along slowly…

Because I’m a hugger,

oo – Tamara

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Rio‘s a pretty cute little film, I will say. Its one-liners delivered by the likes of Wanda Sykes et al almost more for the adults than the kids, as many of these animation flicks tend to be. It was playing in the background while we worked with care, tucked close to the window, + I’d be fibbing if I said we six adults didn’t let a giggle or two escape  Maddyn didn’t make it very far in, however;  the morning’s excitement of bed jumping + blanket peek-a-boo — or even, gosh, the *week’s* excitement, getting a new baby sister n’ all — was enough for him to switch busy gears + fall into a little nap curled up with his grandma on the couch.

He wasn’t missing much. It was a day just *made* for movies + couch cuddles. While spring had just started to tease the week of baby Naliya’s photography debut, that day in particular the heavens weren’t shy about sending mixed messages our way. Between juicy raindrops the size of pennies + a cloud ceiling the thickness of molasses, this sweet little girl + her equally endearing brother were to be their own bright selves, Mama Nature not lending a hand one iota! We can’t complain, though. Having had the fun of photographing this gorgeous family twice before, this was the first time we’ve been at odds with the sun — not a bad ratio,  in our books.

Kim + I went for our ritual post-session sushi lunch after, talking the whole way in about the sweetness that is two babes under the age of two. So many cuddles to be had, so much learning + growing yet to be done… To say we’re so happy for them would be an understatement – this is a family of love + togetherness, + it was a treat to see the dynamic multiplied …

Because I’m a hugger,

oo – Tamara

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