Our sweet Leanna is one! I created this video as a surprise to my cousin with photos and video footage she didn’t know I had been hiding for the last year. I came across Sleeping At Last’s song “Life” about the time Katie was due and begged her to listen to it. I read this blog post in which they discuss the lyrics and the making of the song. The lyrics really made an impact and stuck with me for days! I knew I had to somehow incorporate it into our experience with our little miracle baby. Katie couldn’t even listen to it all of the times I tried making her do so in the days before Leanna was born because she would instantly turn into an emotional mess. HAHA! So I was unbelievably excited when I was able to secure a license to use it along with the priceless photos of the day we met Leanna.

A little back story, but you can read more in this blog post. My cousin Katie, who is like a big sister to me, had seven years of infertility. They adopted Cooper and then two months later I was mid-blizzard in NYC when I received a Facetime call in which Cooper was wearing a Big Brother T-Shirt. She took screen shots of my confused face. “What!? You’re adopting again? So soon!!?” She began to cry and I totally lost it. I don’t think I have ever cried that hard hahaha. Unfortunately there are screen shots of that hot mess floating around the internet as well. Last September we welcomed our miracle baby into the world and it has been such an amazing year getting to know her. All of the years of frustration and heart break as some of my closest friends struggled to start a family have been vastly overpowered by every second we have to love on our babies. This was a day we never thought we would experience- you can see the joy and gratitude on all of our faces!

Shooting births is hands down my favorite type of photography. There is nothing in the world like the joy of parents meeting their child for the first time. If you know someone who is looking to document unbelievable, priceless memories such as these please send them my way!