There is a baby inside of me . My third delicious pie-to-be, baking to perfection within the confines of my body and soul. There is so much mystery surrounding a pregnancy, so many curiosities and questions that feel like they will never be answered...

And then they arrive. A few weeks early or a few days late, they finally arrive. They take in their first breath of air and proceed to try out their tiny little lungs.

I'm stuck in the mystery. I look at Moses and Chloe, 5 and 4, and feel like I have known them my whole life. Their personalities, once a tightly wrapped up present, now so obvious and fitting. Their physical attributes that continue to gradually morph as they grow older year after year now make me wonder even more what will this third one look like?!!! It's a little different with interracial kids because the range is much broader. The gradations of skin tone to the possibility of black hair, Moses' thick dark mousy brown mop, or Chloe's borderline blonde loose tresses… the possibilities are endless!

I vowed that if I had a third child that I would take tonnes of photos since I hardly have any at all with my first 2 pregnancies. I have kept that promise, even if it is me posing on my bed in front of my mirror while one of the kids stands and repeatedly presses the camera button. I had my first maternity session over the weekend with my good friend and talented photographer Lindsay Elliott. It was a bit of a collab. I sent photos of ideas I was hoping to get as well as scoping out the light at different locations out here at Centennial beach. She got everything I wanted.

One of the ideas I had was to be right in the water wearing some sort of loose and sheer drapery. I was over the moon when my girlfriend and talented seamstress Joanna Delaney offered to help me out with putting something together in between her busy schedule of wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses.

So thankful that after a few days of rain, the afternoon's hot sun managed to warm the water up to a very pleasant temperature!

I love this.

Oh, Little One, who will you turn out to be?

Sometimes I wish I were more academic rather than creative, but on days like this where I can collaborate with other like-minded creators and talents, I know I got the better deal.

Alright. It is off to bed with me and this belly...

Our Holiday Sessions came to an end and just as I was looking forward to planning Chloe's 3rd birthday, I received a small wave of last minute clients looking to book in time for Christmas, or in the case of two clients, booking before their bellies popped! Our first maternity session was with Katie + James. James came to me via our mutual friend and my neighbour Cait whom I had done maternity photos with earlier this year. After a few anxious months on bedrest, they made it safely through to the last weeks of their pregnancy and made sure to capture this very special belly 12 days before Katie was due!

We did some headshots to preserve her pre-baby glow. Many of us mamas are so hard on ourselves throughout our pregnancy, so worried of what we look like. It is often only after the baby has been born that we are able to see clearly how truly beautiful we were before being robbed of sleep and thrust into motherhood. We see ourselves through an overly critical lens and not for the amazing creatures we are. We lose sight of the strength and power of our bodies that are able to undergo such intense transformations in order to produce life.

In addition to the sweet and traditional photos of the Mama-to-be with her belly or with partner, I aim to capture these women in all their pregnant glory. Not only to celebrate the 9-10 months of sickness, headaches, bed rest, complications, physical aches and discomforts, etc.. but to remind them of their strength and give them confidence to go forth into the very scary world of motherhood.

Nobody wants to mess with a Mama Bear. (Or a Tiger Mom for that matter...)

We are Queens and We are Glorious!

(God, how I wish I had photos of myself taken when I was pregnant)