Tracie and Frankie :: Engaged

Tracie and Frankie are getting married this fall, and I have a feeling that their event is going to be awesome :). I met up with the pair earlier this fall downtown by the graffiti wall and we made our way to the archgrounds and beyond. Here are some of my favorites :).







Gotta get me some flare




I love these stairs that flank the sides of the archgrounds. I do not, however, love how hard it was for me to climb up them at 8 months pregnant :). I had to stop and take a break halfway through and I was pretty out of breath by the time I got to the top. I hope Tracie and Frankie didn't think I was too much of a dork...

Jessica and Tony

I absolutely LOVED shooting this engagement session! Jessica and Tony are such a fun couple who were totally easy to photograph, which made our time at Lafayette Square fly by!



Aren't they adorable??!!?


Clearly they are :)






Doesn't Jessica have amazing eyes? She's going to make a beautiful bride.




There's my favorite alley again :)


Favorite!










I knew I wanted this shot, but I was too pregnant at the time to lie in the street to shoot it... so my Jon took it. And did a mighty fine job, I might add :)

Kelly and Bob :: Engaged

Kelly and Bob are such a great couple and I can't wait to shoot their wedding! They are one of the first weddings I'm shooting in 2009 and I am so excited to get back! Here are a few from their engagement session I shot in the fall.

Update on baby Kaden and some new engagement photos

I LOVED hanging out with Ty and Kizo for their engagement session at Lafayette Square earlier this fall! We had rescheduled so many times because of rain, so I was pumped when we finally got a date with no precipitation! Here are a few of my faves:



Aren't they just the cutest?!?!? I think they could both be models :).




Even though it was a bit overcast when we started, then sun came out every once in a while and we took full advantage of it.








Favorite!


Ty and Kizo are both from Brazil and have been studying here in St. Louis for the last several years. In about a year, they'll be returning home for good, and Ty's car - this lovely red mustang - will not be making the voyage home with her. I guess driving all the way to Brazil might be a little bit of a trip :). So we made sure to take a few pics by the 'stang before the shoot was over :).



And since several of you have asked about an update on baby Kaden, so here ya go! :)

I was scheduled for a c-section for this morning at 8 am, so our day started out this morning around 4:30am or so. Jon and I got all ready to go and arrived at the hospital right on time at 6am. We were both so excited we could hardly stand it and I couldn't believe I'd actually be holding my baby in just a few hours!

After check-in, they started my IV and put the monitors on the baby. "Oh yeah, he's definitely breech," the nurse told me as she positioned the baby monitor high on my stomach. "You don't get a heart beat up that high unless the baby is breech." Jon and I chuckled a little to each other. Kaden had been breech pretty much the entire pregnancy, which is the reason we scheduled the c-section in the first place. Silly little guy... he just didn't want to be upside down!

About a half-hour passed and we turned on the TV to distract us. TNT sure does show some great movies in the morning! We watched a little bit of "A Knight's Tale" and I think Kaden really liked the movie... he was moving all over the place while we sat there relaxing. I saw the monitors on my belly bouncing up and down like crazy! Then a resident came in after a bit to do an ultrasound that my dr. requested just before the epidural.

I think I was rude to the resident when she told me the news. "This baby is head down," she said as Jon and I both looked at her in disbelief. I seriously thought she was joking, but alas, it was no joke. In just a few minutes... at the last possible minute... he rotated! The odds of that were slim to none; in fact the nurses told us they had never seen that happen before at this late hour! We talked with our dr. and he said he'd go ahead and do the c-section if we were totally set on it, but we also had the option of waiting for things to progress naturally since he was heads down now. After lots more questions and prayer and talking, Jon and came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence that he moved when he did. Maybe he just needs a little more time to develop... or maybe God was telling us we needed to opt to not have surgery. Whatever the case, we couldn't get past the fact that he turned for a reason, so we decided to cancel the c-section and go home. They wanted to monitor the baby for a while longer just to confirm everything was ok and Kaden was still responsive, so after 5 hours in the hospital, the nurses disconnected the IV and sent me home.

In the end, my gut feeling is that I'll probably still end up having a c-section... after all, I am only 5 feet tall and this baby is pretty large (if you've seen me this month, you know what I mean :) ). But I still think we made the right decision to wait because, wow, it wasn't just some random movement that occurred today. It was a little disappointing to come home today without a baby in our arms, but I have a feeling we'll be there soon enough :).

So I'm still pregnant. Large and in charge. Double chinned and bigger than ever. It's awesome :). And now we wait...

Look who's getting married :).



Jess and Adam are getting married next fall and I had the pleasure of shooting some engagement photos for them. We met up on a chilly day this fall at Tower Grove Park, but these two worked it out amidst the weather. Here are a few of my favorites.









One of my favorites. I was all up in their business to grab that shot :).












My fave. Jess, you're beautiful.

Ellen and Jay at Lafayette Square

A little earlier this fall, I met up with Ellen and Jay on an unseasonably cool day at Lafayette Square Park. We were all pretty frigid, but Ellen and Jay rocked it, amidst the brisk conditions :). Here are some of my favorites!

Beautiful fall colors

classic










My favorite alley. I just love the light here!

Thanks for braving the cold with me, Ellen and Jay! I'm already excited for your fabulous wedding next fall!