Last month, when my sister came to visit, she took these maternity photos for me. I'm pretty lucky to have such a talented photographer for a sister...

I especially love the photos of me with G. There is something so special about sharing this pregnancy with her. A few days ago she yelled, "Mommy! I found baby _______!!!" (she used the baby's name for the first time) Then she pulled me to see the ultrasound photo on the fridge and I melted. Since it was my sister shooting the photos, she was able to capture some really intimate moments. I will treasure these photographs.

*dress by Isabella Oliver

Yesterday I posted Part 1 of my photography work update. Here are a few more favorite photographs I've captured over the past year...

You can see all my photography work at In the Moment Photography.

I have been a photographer now for half of my life. My dad bought me my first Canon when I was 15 years old and I've hardly set it down. I'm really proud of the work I've done this past year. I feel like I'm really finding my photography style which tends to be simple and slightly imperfect... I'm drawn to moments that aren't completely perfect or styled or posed. Here are a few of my favorite images from the past year.

You can see all my work at In the Moment Photography.

Continued from Birch Bay: Part One...

On Sunday morning we woke up early again, but this time I was ready. Ready for coooofffffffffeeeeeee!, for reading books on the couch, for walks on the beach. We were planning to head for home during Gwyneth's morning nap so we spent the morning caffeinating and packing up. Gigi is in love with Who Will Comfort Toffle? which was a gift. It's from Sweden and it's beautifully illustrated. She spent the morning in her cozies, finding and comforting Toffle with kisses.

We got dressed and headed down the waterfront to say goodbye to the great blue herons who flew by and the tiny little crab we discovered. When I was a kid I loved turning over "big" rocks to reveal scores of baby crabs living underneath. Despite my unshakeable fear of spiders, these eight legged creatures amuse me. I found this little guy living in a shell. Which, incidentally, is how Toffle's story ends too.

After draining our coffee, we saddled up and hit the road. We spent almost as much time in the car this weekend as we did in Birch Bay, but it was totally worth the trek. I love nothing more than spending time with my family.

Nothing more.

This weekend we escaped. Invited by our good friends, Jeremy and Tara, to their family's lovely vacation home in Birch Bay, we loaded up the car and headed North. After so much hustling around the past couple of months, it was hard to leave again. But the promise of R&R beconned so off we went.

We arrived in Birch Bay fairly late on Friday evening and got quickly settled in. I love the feeling when you walk into a new place and get to take it all in and say, "This is going to be my little home for the next 24 hours". After getting Gigi cuddled up in bed, we made dinner and played board games.

Our darling girl woke us up early on Saturday morning and I felt like I was in a swamp. The thick comfy matress and sleep deprivation from the last few weeks had an unexpected effect on me. I spent the whole morning rather, the whole day, in a haze of muddled half-sleep. I'm pretty sure I wasn't forming my sentences properly. Kyle, always the early riser, headed down the stairs to the beach with our on-the-go-girl, and I followed, bed-head and all. Is there anything more enticing than a wooden staircase leading to the water?




One of the best things about spending time with our friends is seeing how much they love Gigi. They embrace her, love her, snuggle her, and play with her. It makes both Kyle and I so grateful to have such amazing friends. "Aunt" Tara and "Uncle" J hold an extra special place with me because of their love for our daughter.




Since Gigi naps at 9am everyday, we were able to spend some time relaxing with our friends while she caught some zzzs. During her nap the clouds burned away and we were blessed with an outpouring of sunshine. When Gigi awoke we were all playing cornhole and relaxing in the sunshine. I loaded that girl up with sunscreen and proceeded to spend the next hour battling with her that she must keep her sunhat on! She just loves hats so, so much that she wants to hold them and present them to everyone around her. Jeremy had bought her some bubbles at the market and unwittingly, with the first blow of tiny bubbles, became the royal bubble master for the afternoon. Who can deny a sweet "more more more" from a child who adores you and thinks your bubble blowing skills are spectacular?



I could hardly wait for the tide to recede so we could take G out to explore the shore. When I was in L.A. with her she couldn't get enough of the water and the waves. In Birch Bay, the shoreline is quite shallow so when the tide goes out you can walk out one hundred or so yards. We took off her shoes, rolled up her over-alls and trundled down the stairs with four dogs in tow to see what we could see.






By the time we walked back up the stairs from our long explore Gigi was nodding off. We rinsed her feet, stripped her of her wet clothes, kissed her sunscreened head, and plunked her into bed. The sun was high in the sky and everyone was sipping beer that Kyle had provided. Since I'm not much of a beer drinker I eventually accepted a glass of red wine, kicked my feet up, picked up my book, and ignored the clock that said it was only 2:30 in the afternoon. I'm in the middle of reading Very Fond of Food by Sophie Dahl. I've lately found myself reading cookbooks instead of novels. I am obsessed with the stories behind the recipes, the photography, the ingredients. Cooking has really become my main passion in life... other than being a mom it's what I derive the most joy and satisfaction from.



By the time Gigi woke from her afternoon siesta it was pouring rain and we were all taking shelter inside. It rained on and off for the rest of the evening. There was a lot of cuddling, cooking and eating to be done so perhaps it's a good thing that the rain came down.



We stayed up late playing games and drinking wine and whiskey, oh my. The sun didn't set until nearly 10pm and when it did we were surprised with the most bizarre moonset! We tried to figure out why the moon might be setting, decided it may or may not be the apocalypse, bid each other goodnight/it's been lovely to know you, and headed for bed.




To be continued...

Last week I shared some of the photos that my sister and I took of each others families. I wanted to share a few more with you, including a few more family shots, a few pregnancy shots, and a few headshots. It's so much fun having such a talented sister around...

This one is my absolute favorite! I love, love, love it.


This is an options for my new headshot, and another one of me and silly Gigi.


And a couple more family portraits. This one is really how we are most of the time.


My beautiful sister with Gigi. Isn't Meghan glowing?!

Hope you're having a great start to your week! We've got a crazy week ahead with midterms, lots of work, and a trip to Seattle planned. Here goes...

This weekend my sister, Meghan came down for a visit. She and her husband Rob are expecting a baby boy in early June. I haven't gotten to see my sis in a couple of months and was so excited to see her growing belly. She looks just beautiful and I cannot wait for her to become a mom. She and Rob are going to be such amazing, loving parents. My sister also happens to be a very talented photographer, so while they were visiting we took some time to take family portraits for each other...

... I'm so lucky to have a big sister like her.

First I took a few of Meghan and Rob...



Then she snapped a few of us...

I was so sad they had to head home early today, I wish we lived next door to each other. Gwyneth and I will be heading up for a week soon to spend helping her get food in the freezer and the house all ready for their baby to arrive. I can't wait to meet him!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too.

Last week the weather here was absolutely gorgeous!  In my line(s) of work, I spend way too much time on the computer.  I needed to get out of the house with my babe.  We hopped in the car, stopped by our favorite coffee shop for a latte, and decided to go for a beautiful drive in the countryside.  We are so incredibly lucky to live so close to so much beauty.  It was warm enough to have the windows rolled down and it was quiet up in the hills.  We just drove in silence and breathed in the fresh, fall air. It was so wonderfully simple and such a great reminder of what each day holds.  Just me and my daughter going for a drive.  If I'd stayed in the house and battled the laundry I would have missed out on all of this...

Okay... I know I promised a kitchen reveal today but it'll have to wait for tomorrow.  We spent all day Saturday running crazy errands (Costco, Trader Joe's, Wood and Stone Outlet, Lumber Liquidators, Ikea...) and all day Sunday working to finish the kitchen and we almost finished.  I'm so excited to share it with you tomorrow.  We are so happy with it!  It's amazing! 

Another thing I've been working hard on is updating my photography website.  I've been greatly neglecting it since I got pregnant and it was due time to update my images.  The site itself hasn't changed (although I have plans for that too) but I've updated all my galleries.  Here are a few of my favorite photographs that I've just added...

If you want to view all my photos head over to In the Moment Photography

It's been a few weeks since Gigi and I went to San Diego to welcome baby Lucia into the world.  Over the years, pregnancy and newborn sessions have become my favorite to shoot.  They always feel so precious and fleeting.  After becoming a mom and experiencing the miracle of it all (I know that sounds cheesy but it is an absolute miracle) I find it even more fulfilling.  When Steph asked me to come down and capture Lucia's fist days I was thrilled!  Really, if you think about it, you are being invited into a home during a few very special days.  Over the few years of photographing this family, I have developed a really nice friendship with them but being in there home, sharing this experience with them has truly made me fall in love with this family.  Steph and Andy are inspiring parents, Harrison is an incredibly fun boy and Lucia is as sweet as can be.  I am really proud of these photos and wanted to share them with you.  These photographs capture days three, four, and five of Lucia's life.

Gigi and I are headed out to San Diego this morning to photograph the newborn baby girl of Steph and Andy.  Lucia was born on Monday morning and I can't wait to photograph her. I met Steph a few years back and photographed her first pregnancy...

Took photos of her first son, Harrison when he was a newborn...

Then I photographed their family again when Harrison turned one...

A few months back I took her pregnancy photos again...

I fell so honored that I get to capture the first few days of Lucai's life.  I will be staying with them so I'm going to get to take a lot of family photos.  After experiencing the magic of that first week myself, I am so excited to get to capture it for them.  They are such a lovely family and Steph is an amazing mom.

With that, I'm off for the next few days.  Then I'll be back just in time to celebrate our second wedding anniversary and then it's time to launch the new site next Monday! I'm so excited to share it with all of you, it's been such a labor of love.  "See" you in a few days.

A few weeks ago Kyle and I took Gigi on her first visit to Pike Place Market in Seattle.  It was rainy and cold (despite the fact that it was June) and she was over-tired and miserable.  We only lasted about an hour but it was still kind of fun.  Actually, that's a lie, it wasn't but I took some fun photos!  Growing up in Seattle, Pike Place Market always has a nostalgic energy.  I love the abundant produce and the overflowing flowers.  I felt kind of like a dorky, high-school photography student again (Pike Place is where every photo student heads with their first camera).  

We are in Seattle for the weekend and we are taking G to my very favorite place today... The Woodland Park Zoo!   It's still rainy and cold but we are gonna bundle that babe up and hope for a sunbreak.  I'll be back on Monday with a Wonderful Weekend post!  

A friend of ours does these progression photos during pregnancy.  She recently completed and handed it over to me.  It's astonishing to look at the process.  We took one every 4-6 weeks starting around the fourth month.  Our bodies are pretty amazing.  I mean, I grew a human being in 39 weeks.  That's mind boggling!  Sometimes I find myself staring at Gigi thinking, I made you!  I can hardly remember what it felt like to be pregnant, so it's a wonderful thing to get to look back at the journey all in one little picture! 

Photo by Silvia Flores

Another view of the progression...

www.MKMphoto.com

Hmmm.... all of this is makin' me wanna have another baby!

Mario Testino in front of a portrait he took of Princess Diana at her last photo session.

I absolutely love the work of photographer Mario Testino.  I have been in love with his unique style of portraiture since I was thirteen and had huge posters of his work all over my bedroom walls.  When I was working with Charlize Theron a couple of years ago, I asked her what it was like to work with Mario (he's shot her for two covers/spreads for Vogue).  She said that he has an incredible ability to connect with the person he's shooting and to make them feel comfortable and open.  Therefore, his work has a more intimate quality to it.  I love Mario's photographs because they are vibrant and really capture something special about his subjects.  His style is often raw and of the moment yet, at the same time, it manages to be refined and his composition is flawless.  He mostly photographs women although he also shoots lots of ad campaigns and spreads for various magazines.  Here are a few of my favorite examples of his work I found via Google Images: 

The books I have of his are...

This weekend we headed up to Whidbey Island, Washington for our friend's wedding.  We packed up the car, put in the Harry Potter CD and hit the road.  We drove up along the 101, opting to take the scenic route.  We stopped at a pretty State Park for a very French road trip lunch.

We just had to stop at this dive bar called, what else, the Geoduck.  For those of you who didn't grow up around Geoducks, they're a big deal 'round these parts.  They're a kind of clam with a funny name and they are the mascot of Evergreen State University...hmmm.  Kyle had a drink and we took in the view and the, um, interesting souveniers like hot pink camoflauge shirts and thongs that had "The Geoduck" embroidered on them. 

We arrived in Port Townsend where we took the Keystone ferry across to Coupeville where the wedding was going to be.  Port Townsend is a cute, tiny town with lots of shops and yummy (yet overpriced) ice cream.  I had their fresh made ginger ice cream...a pregnant lady's dream!

We had about an hour to wait for our ferry and that was the perfect amount of time to wander up an down the main street and explore the little shops before making our way back to the car for our ferry.  Unfortunately, the woman running the toll booth put us in the standby line even though we had a reservation so... we missed our ferry and had to wait another hour for the next one, so we explored Port Townsend again to see if we'd missed anything...we hadn't, but it was still nice to check.  I love taking ferries!  It's totally nostalgic if you grew up in the Pacific Northwest.

We got checked into our cute little Bed and Breakfast, The Spinnaker Tea Garden where the owners Juanita and Marty welcomed us.  They are the sweetest couple and clearly love running a B&B.  The beds were comfortable and the breakfast was fresh and delicious.  Juanita even packed us up a picnic lunch to take on our way when we left!  

On Saturday morning we spent a little time wandering in downtown Coupeville (which spans about a block and a half) but most everything was closed because it was early so we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves.

As a photographer, I am constantly drawn to...well, photographs.  Here are a few that I loved today.

Harper's Bazaar

Vogue

Vanity Fair

Vogue

Vanity Fair

Vogue UK

Allure

Lovely

Vanity Fair

J. Crew

Allure

Vogue UK

Vogue