i am loving every moment with our sweet boy.  he has me wrapped around his finger already and is certainly a mama's boy.  so blessed to have him in our lives!  here are a few snapshots that i took on day 9. 

never has there been a more blessed monday.  leon bernard was welcomed to this world at 7:38 am. he was named after josh's grandfather and my mother's maiden name.

here is the birthing story: we spent the weekend relaxing for the most part and managed to squeeze in a date night, block party, brunch and dinner with friends.  i was excited most of all to get to spend our friday night at my favorite restaurant where we discussed the arrival of little leon.  i felt that labor would come soon as i was having contractions already.

come sunday night i could really feel that they were consistent and moving along, but managed to sleep through them. around 3:45 am i noticed that things were moving along so i was quick to wake josh up and head over to the hospital.  we arrived at the hospital at 5:00 am and i was glad to know I was 5 cm along. i labored for a good hour before my dr came in to see the progress and she was happy to announce that i was complete and ready to have this baby! at this moment i recall that i needed DRUGS, although it was my original plan to have a natural birth. of course that was not an option at this point and leon was born at 7:38 am.  one fun fact that i have to throw in this story is that the baby nurse for leon was also mine when i was born (30 years ago). i only know that fact because we have a picture of her bathing me.

a special thanks to my best friend katie for grabbing my camera to document this moment. thanks to my dr, damla dryden for your care throughout my pregnancy and delivery. next, i could not have done it without the support of our doula, amanda moore.  she was so great in helping me relax through all of that pain. last but not least, my josh...he has been such a supportive husband during the entire nine months, making sure all of my cravings were met and putting up with my emotional self.

i am overjoyed with a son and a second child, as i have learned with stella that time flies by too quickly. i can now see how parents have third and fourth children; i am not saying that i am going to have more (SMILE). stella is enjoying time with her baby brother and she makes the best big sister. 

on a business note, i am on maternity leave from may 1 to july 1. this leave does not include the shoots we have scheduled. we will be accepting bookings for 2011 weddings at this time and you can contact us through our contact form on our website or email roxanne.  thanks for allowing me to enjoy time with my new family of four.

i thought she was so big back then.  love this photo and i did not even know i had it.

soul is a deep word and most of the time i find it to be a complex thing. if i had to show you my soul, it would be of the first image. backwards but moving, changing with the flow of what life has for me. it longs to be found and seen clearly by everyone, but most of the time its hidden. what does your soul look like?

images taken in austin, texas at the st. cecilia.

during the start of this year we were invited to spend time with our best friends at their texas ranch.  i had a wonderful time there and it was a nice relaxing start to the new year. 

one thing that i have little time to do these days is shoot for myself.  i find that it is hard to pick up a camera at the end of the day so rarely do i challenge myself to create for me.  while away i took my camera out to the horse barn and captured some shots of these beautiful animals.  they were eager to pose for me and i may enlarge a few for some art work on our walls (another project that has been put to the side).  now the only hard part is picking which ones to print, size of prints and what wall to place them on.

stella, who is four, had lots of fun playing with her little friend and going on fishing trips with dad.  she even took on to horse back riding with my dear friend ashley.  one goal in 2010 is to pick up my camera for myself!

happy friday.