Out of my comfort zone!

I have always been on the fence about maternity pictures. It has become a fad that sometimes I thought looked really beautiful, and other times I thought just wasn't quite my taste. I love the idea of capturing the memories of this special time in a family's life, but for some reason I still wasn't very comfortable with it. This all changed a few weeks ago when I was given 2 great gifts. 1) At a family cookout with the Kel's side of the family, his aunt gave me 'a gift from womankind' as she put it- a sweater that his Mamaw Ethel (94yrs young!) had worn during all of her pregnancies that has been passed down throughout the generations to the expecting women of the family. Everyone has worn it during each pregnancy. This was such an honor to have it passed to Kellen and myself. Tears, tears, tears. 2) At my work shower, my friend Brooke gave me the wonderful gift of newborn photos...and it just felt right to ask her to do a small maternity session, especially including Mamaw's sweater. I liked the idea of the continuum with the same person taking the 'before' and 'after' shots.

I will admit I was still super nervous about the shoot. Was this really me? Honestly, I'm still not sure. But, Brooke did a great job making us feel natural and keeping us in our comfort zone.  I'll also admit it is still really really weird to see us as a couple with this belly- but at the same time, pretty amazing. I am really happy with how they turned out and know that these will help us remember these memories for years to come. Having the family sweater included makes it all worth it. Brooke was so fun to work with and can't wait for her to do our newborn shots! Here are a few of our favorites:

 

 

 The sweater was super hot, but worth it!

 

 

 

 Kellen gave me this pendant that I wore on our wedding day,

and that is a pillow that Gretchen made from our nursery :)

 Only 5-8 more weeks to go!