Omg, you guys, I loved this family and this session. I was so happy going through the images and had the hardest time narrowing down their images for their slideshow because I loved so many of them. The whole family made it easy to be there and for me to become engrossed in capturing their moments. When I first arrived at their house Shay was napping still so I got quite a bit of time with just Leora and Adi. Let me tell you, Adi is awesome. She is full of personality and seriously just a kid you want to hang out with. She is confident, funny, and herself without reservations. Exactly how all of us adults aspire to be!  Shay is a sweet baby boy who is so obviously madly in love with his mama. You can see how at ease and happy he is in her arms. This has been one of the great things for me to witness over and over again. Mamas your kiddos ADORE you, each of you, there is no exception. We (me included) get so caught up in what we are doing that we start to miss how they look at us and look TO us. I am here to give us a record of these moments. It is a purpose I am so happy to fulfill. 

Leora, you have some happy & fun kiddos. It was an honor to witness your family's love and your kiddos joy. Thank you for having me. xoxo

Toward the end of their session Dad came home and we quickly did some relaxed portraits. If you feel like you are really loving the idea of a documentary session, but keep thinking, "but I'd love just a couple of us all together", let me know and we can totally make that happen. Of course my favorites from this are still what some might call the "outtakes." I'm especially loving how mom and dad are looking at each other in the third one. <3

What do you buy a mom that will show her how much you appreciate what she does and how much her being a mother means to you. How do you show her how much you SEE her and appreciate her? Give her the gift of being able to cherish this time, right now and forever. Give her these moments with her children in photographs, in an album that will be an heirloom for your family for generations to come. Give her her Moments of Motherhood to have always.

Let me tell you a little about Natalie and Shai, I am in love with the beauty and the twin-ness (yeah, I'm making up words) of these two, but even more so, I'm in love with their moments. Not that I didn't notice it while I was there, I did, but when I was sitting at my computer editing this session I couldn't get over how often they are gazing at each other and how they are making the same face while doing so! This mama and baby have such a connection you can feel it. And it isn't all beauty and no brains over there. Make sure while you are watching the slideshow that you keep an eye out for the hilarious faces and gestures Shai makes, I was actually laughing out loud while going through these images. It is obvious that Natalie is raising a strong and independent little lady who is going to make us all proud. She goes from expressing exactly what she wants in one photo and then in the next she's gazing at her mama with such love. It was such a pleasure to capture all of these moments.

Natalie, thank you for having me and welcoming me into your beautiful home. I look forward to watching your little lady grow up :)

xo

To see more

This session is going to be a little bit different than the others I have shared with you so far. One of the most important things to me in doing these sessions is that what I capture is a true representation of what each mothers time is like with her child or children on a daily basis. That the beauty and worth of this time right now is captured and preserved, before it is gone. I want for mothers to see, right now, how amazing they are with their children, how funny some of the moments are, and how at every session there is at least one moment where the mom is making a face while looking at a child that says something like "are you serious?!" Seeing each others sessions shows us that we are all alike, we are all great mothers and we all, hilariously, have moments where we might roll our eyes or make an "are you kidding me face?!"  So what is different about this session? None of that. Jenny is gorgeous and Gabriel adores her and looks up at her with love and anticipation (I love that look!). I teared up at least once while photographing them, just like I have with every other session.

What's different here is that you are going to see Dad in some of the pictures. Jenny and Gabriel get to see and spend time with Ian throughout the day because he works from home. He takes breaks from his work to come out and spend time with and play with Gabriel and be with both of them. Their Moments of Motherhood involves Ian being a part of their daytime routine. My vision for my work comes from a place of being a mother, of feeling like sometimes what I do is monotonous and not that important, from knowing that it really is though, and realizing I see and notice all of this in other mothers with their children. It is still so important to me that I show that to other mothers, that I give them a slice of this time with their children and show them their worth. It was never because I don't think dads totally rock, because they do. My husband is proof of that. And it is obvious that Gabriel adores Ian and that he is proof of that. Mothers are still my primary focus. But, that doesn't mean that I don't ever want to capture the whole family or that I am going to leave out big parts of their day because Dad might be in the picture. Just like in motherhood, everything is a learning experience. You expand and grow and open your heart to new ideas, new understandings. It sometimes humbles you and makes you rethink how you approach something. That is true here too. For Jenny and Gabriel, this is their Moments of Motherhood. 

 xo to all three of you, thank you for having me. I truly loved my time with your family.

**Soo, facebook has temporarily locked me out of my account. I have no idea how I am going to get back in or how long it will be. Usually, I would share this post on facebook also, but since I can't, if you have it in you, do me a favor if you see this here and leave me a comment. Let me know you've seen the beautiful Rebecca and adorable Ebi. Thanks!!**

These sessions, this documenting of moments between mother and child are not just for stay at home moms, or moms who work part time. Moms who work full time outside of the home need to be reminded just as much that they are doing a great job. To be shown in pictures how valued and important they are as a mom. To show them how their children look at them. All moms deserve to have these memories preserved forever. Working moms who are juggling it all, you are rocking it, You amaze me.

Rebecca is a perfect example of a working mom whose kid adores her. Rebecca works full time, but she is also so present with Ebi. He ADORES her and I love to watch how intently he watches her face to see what she's about to say or do. It's the best. It's a testament to the amazing job that she is doing being his mama.

Every Saturday morning they have the same routine for a couple of hours when it's just the two of them, before her husband wakes up. It is such a simple but special routine and Rebecca recognized that this MOMENT of her motherhood wasn't going to be the same forever, she wanted to capture it, to record it happening to have forever. I'm so glad she did. She recently told me that some of this routine has already changed. Already!

Last night while I was putting Milo to sleep, he did what he almost always does and he put his arms around my neck and said "I want to hold you mama!" I swear he is the best hugger, holder of any three year old I've ever seen. He really holds on and it almost feels like he's trying to take care of you. He often puts your head on his shoulder. All of a sudden last night, it hit me so hard, like a punch to the gut, that he wasn't going to do this forever. That someday, nothing like this would be happening with him. That he'd be too big, or too cool, or it'd be inappropriate because of his age. (as a mom, I now think that's totally DUMB! :) )

This seriously hit me in a way that crushed me. But because of that crushing realization, I enjoyed the moment that much more. Let's be honest, I cried a little, but I also enjoyed staying in his embrace that much longer and relished in the moment. It also made me think once again about how important it is to have all of these little moments that I love so much captured. We have booked a photographer to document us, but she isn't coming until the spring. Last night it was too dark to take a photo, but I am going to share this one with you of a little less sleepy, but similar embrace.

This is one of my selfie Moments of Motherhood.

xo, Shelley