BIRTH DAY: Joshua Paul Fleming

Finally... this blog post is here... not because I (Emily) haven't gotten around to it, but because Joshua has been a much awaited baby and FINALLY he is here!

For those of you who are curious, Joshua is my nephew! Born to Jason & Esther Fleming (they are the ones with my cutie patootie niece Abby that we blog about a lot :)) About two weeks ago, Esther expresses her extreme interest in Natural Childbirth to me. I was so excited because everything about Natural Childbirth makes my heart jump! I just have such a passion for it! One day maybe I'll teach it... :) Because our Bradley Birthing Classes were 12 weeks long, I just didn't see how Esther could do it without all the training we had (I know there are TONS of people who have natural childbirth without training, but in this particular case, I didn't know how serious she was about it, and I believe its an AMAZING experience with the proper training). So, I told Esther everything I knew during the last two weeks, and she studied the Bradley Birthing Handbook inside and out, and TA DA! She was able to have an all natural childbirth!

I got the extreme privilege of being able to witness the birth, and it brought me to tears. What an amazing thing! Esther was a trooper through labor and delivery! She screamed, she cried, she laughed, she thought she was crazy at times for wanting a natural birth, she walked, she sat, she fought, and because of it, she is the strongest woman I know! Finally after roughly 18 hours of labor, the sweetest little boy I know was born. (Did I mention Esther did the entire thing with just two weeks of preparation- I am in awe!)

As I watched little Joshua come out, head first inch by inch, and then his tiny shoulders, and then the rest of him plopped out, I stood with tears streaming down my face. I might be crazy for saying this, but I absolutely love being a woman. I love that I have the privilege, the blessing, to birth LIFE. To GROW life. What an incredible, incredible thing! It's just SO rewarding to watch a mommy fight and ache and scream and push.... and finally, to be handed their reward for all of their hard work. In that moment, when you first hold your new baby, every inch of pain was completely worth it and completely forgotten. What a beautiful picture. What a beautiful blessing.

Here is the little gift himself:

The AMAZING mommy with her mommy and new baby :)

Daddy & his boy

Adoring little "Joshey"

Jason, Esther, and Joshey with Tanya (who is 7 months pregnant herself), their midwife. Tanya also delivered Temple, and I absolutely love her. It was so neat to have her deliver Joshua too!

Abby meeting Baby Joshua for the first time

She keeps saying "Oh, he is so cute!" in her little voice. :)

The Grandmas

He liked to grab his lips with his finger. He is doing this in most of our pictures! So cute!

Joshua Paul Fleming

Born: 8.10.2010 at 8:10pm

8 pounds 8 ounces

19 1/2 inches long

ESTHER'S BABY SHOWER

Last weekend, my (Emily) mother-in-law Scherrine and I threw Esther a baby shower. How am I related to Esther? Well, Scherrine had two sons, Jason and Andrew. Esther married Jason. I married Andrew. So, Esther and Scherrine are the only girls I have on that side of the family! :)

I have never thrown a baby shower before, but Scherrine and I had such a blast planning it! This baby is Esther & Jason's second baby. You will notice their first baby (my niece Abby) all over this blog because we just love taking pictures of her! Infact, here is the little munchkin herself:

Abby playing with her mommy & daddy during their family photoshoot

So, Baby #2 is due ANY DAY now and this time it is a precious little boy! Here are a few shots I captured at the Shower:

Details

Esther & Abby arrive!

The darling Lion cake our Aunt Scheila made out of cake, coconut, and licorice sticks.

Special thanks to my mom and sisters for preparing the food!

YUM!

Present time!

Story Time! Esther's is originally from Baltimore, MD and all of her family is still out there. Her mom and sisters are just about the coolest people you will ever meet but they were not able to make it out to the shower. SO, Scherrine and I came up with a GENIOUS idea to have them at the shower anyway via VIDEO PHONE! Scherrine is part of ACN where they have these totally RAD video phones that can hook up to your TV. We mailed one to Claire (Esther's mom) and SURPRISED Esther with her mom and her sister as "Shower Guests". :) It was awesome!

Watching very seriously as Esther opens her gifts. ;)

The beaming Mommy.

And what's a post without throwing some Temple into it? ;)

Here is my lovebug at the shower trying out a strawberry with Auntie Aubby

It was a very good day. :) I will keep you posted and blog some pictures as soon as the little guy is born! We cannot wait!

BIRTH DAY: Samuel Caleb Servin

If you read my (Emily) post from yesterday, you will see that I was busy on April 23rd. What I didn't mention though, is that between Stephanie laboring and then getting to capture Zekiah's first bath... I was at another hospital (30 minutes away) with one of my best friends, Teresa and her new baby boy. I had anxiously been awaiting little Zekiah and little Samuel and they both decided to come on the SAME day at pretty much the same time! So I left one hospital and went to the other and then back to the first! ;) It was a crazy... but very beautiful day.

Sam & Teresa had their second baby on April 23rd... a sweet baby boy named Samuel Caleb Servin. Their first is the most adorable little girl you will ever meet... Jocelyn. I think it is simply impossible not to fall in love with the little Servin babies! ;) Teresa had a planned C-Section and so she wasn't able to hold her little guy until hours later. I was able to be there for their first meeting. :)

Teresa & Samuel's first meeting. <3>

Jocelyn wanted to ride on Mommy's bed with the baby.

Sweet baby Samuel

Big sister kisses...

Examining her brother

Getting to know his daddy.

The amazing Servin Family

Congratulations on your little boy, Sam & Teresa! I am so blessed to have all 4 of you in my life!

Cheers! ;)

BIRTH DAY! Zekiah Heith Reade

Zekiah Heith Reade was born on April 23rd, 2010. I had the honor of being there in the beginning and then again shortly after he was born to capture some pictures. Heith & Stephanie are good friends of ours, and we always seem to do everything together. Andrew and Heith used to work together, Heith & Steph got married a month before we did, and then they had their first baby two months after us! Our lives just seem to run parallel!

I wanted to blog these pictures a long time ago but with the craziness of wedding season, we have just been SWAMPED! Zekiah is the cutest newborn baby I have ever met. I do not say that very often (everyone knows newborns look like aliens or old men. :)) but Zekiah was just THAT CUTE. I would say he was even cuter than Temple when she was born (do not tell Andrew I said that)! I loved the little newborn sounds he would make and his sweet little face. It was such a joy for me to be able to capture these pictures for our friends!

Now tell me... how cute is he!?

Look at those shoes!

Heith adoring his new son.

Zekiah's first bath.

He did not like it very much! :(

Scrubba dub dub

I love this! Fresh out of the womb and doing the Dr. Evil hand motion. :)

Sweet baby boy.

And the TWO become Three...

The Reade Family

Babies are just so precious.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)