I'm so crafty....

It's a boy!

Welcome to the world, little one. Just a few months to go...

Fall 2013

There's something for everyone at Alexis Ryan Photography! Please feel free to like or share any of these photos on your own page to spread the word.

Now through the end of 2013, any 1-hour photo session also comes with an additional free 8x10 print, when you bring the promotional poster (found on the Alexis Ryan Photography facebook page) to your session!

 

Playgrounds and Growing Up

On the first day of Spring, Nathaniel and I took our son to Rita's for his very first taste of water ice. As the cool, lemony-sweet crystals dissolved on his tongue, he looked up at us with a beaming smile. It's the little things in life. Watching the world through his eyes is such a beautiful reminder of all the things we easily take for granted. Everything is new for him. Every bus that drives by is a "Bus! Bus! Bus!!!! Bye, bus." Every dog is an "Oof, oof!" When he is sad, he wants "Mum mum mum" and when he's hungry he wants "Mur" food. It's so much fun to watch.

The weather has been just beautiful recently, so we broke out the shorts today and walked over to the playground for an adventure. At first, I tried putting him on the slide by himself and holding him as he went down, but he was a little nervous about that. So I climbed up and went down the slide with him on my lap, and he liked that. After a few times going down the slide together, he was feeling brave enough to go by himself (while I held onto him). By the end, he was getting to the bottom and giggling, going "Wowwww!"


If there's one thing I'm learning, it's that these moments really do go by so quickly. I can't believe how big he's getting and how quickly he is learning things. It seems like he's learning at least one new word a day, and even how to put words together. And the photos I have of him when he was younger are so precious to me now that he's getting big. With each new day, I look back at the memories those photos provide and cherish this incredible life that we have.

Christmas angels

Christmas is a time for joy and celebration, but for a lot of people, Christmas is a very difficult season. For a few friends in particular, these past few weeks have been a struggle to get through. For others, these days remind them of people who aren't here to celebrate anymore, and no matter how much time goes by, you never stop missing them.

At Christmastime, I miss my great-grandmother more than ever. The festive lights always remind me of how we used to drive around and rate houses together, always deciding that although we loved the decked-out gaudy one for its daring, we like the simple white lights best. These should be happy memories, and mostly they are, but I can't recall them without feeling the aching longing for her to be here again and to relive those moments. I'm grateful to have been as close with her as I was, she was an incredible woman.

My beautiful little man is always smiling, laughing, finding something new to explore. His new curiosities are the stuff of professional comic relief and he's recently started giving me kisses - wet, open mouth, protruding tongue kisses on the cheek - and there is nothing in the world that compares with the love that they make me feel for him. He is my Christmas angel. He reminds me of all the beautiful good in this world. Amidst chaos, uncertainty, fear, loss, there is this boy playing in the tub and smiling up at me as though everything is ok. And as strange as it may sound, that gives me hope.

Here we are, we're still here.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

--- Psalm 43:5

I remembered this verse a few days ago. It was good timing.

This is one of the last photos I took before we moved from the farm. This boy is my sunshine.

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...

Into the future.

I'm an Irish woman.

"I used to be a feminist. Now I'm just proud to be a woman." ~ Sister Sarah Elisabeth, (Orthodox nun running the Martha & Mary House in California for crisis pregnancies and adoption)

Update

I'm happy to say that another couple wants Alexis Ryan Photography for their wedding in October! What fun!!

The home birth I'm photographing could happen any day now. I am getting more and more excited to document this day and all of the beautiful people involved, especially the new one!

Calendar Boy

January: Caesar

February: Painter

March: Irishman

April: Caterpillar

May: Farmer

June: Barber

July: Rocket

August: Pool Boy

September: Tom Sawyer

October: Buddhist Monk

November: Soldier

December: Shepherd

Baby Portraits, Misty Days and Tiny Hats.

 I am falling completely in love with our new home in Oley. Every morning when I wake up I am blown away by the incredible beauty surrounding us. Yesterday I took some photos of the house and the land around it to show the folks back home - but seriously, it is like this every day. I feel like I'm in a fairy tale.

Today I am very excited to be doing some baby portraits for one of my dad's co-workers. I absolutely love baby portraits - and it'll be fun, so close to the birth of my own son, to get some ideas.

A woman from an online writing community I go to took it upon herself to knit several hats for Constantine. I am constantly amazed at how kind and thoughtful people can be - these hats are so sweet and they're different sizes, so he'll be warm as he grows! I bundled them all up in my arms when I got them and just spent a moment thinking about how adorable he'll be. I'll be 37 weeks on Monday - time is going by so quickly. I can't wait to meet him...

Snapshots from a life that keeps moving.

I promised my mom I would take some photos of progress moving into our new home. There's still a lot of unpacking and cleaning to do but it's all coming along nicely. This is our living room - and yes, it's purple!!! And yes, our kitchen is green! I told Nathaniel that being able to paint is the difference between renting a place and having a home. I am so happy with our new little haven, I can't even express it. Today we drove past horses and cows to get to the main road - it was so beautiful.

I have probably been driving my poor husband up a wall now for weeks, worrying about whether or not I would have the things I need in time for Constantine's birth. You would think with all of the last-minute miracles that have been occurring in our lives I'd be more inclined to relax and trust that things will work out - and of course they did. Today my sister threw the most lovely baby shower at my mom's house. It was really fun to get all of these adorable things for Constantine but honestly, it was just really nice to be with family and some people I hadn't seen in a long, long time.

Nathaniel and I received so many beautiful gifts for our new baby, all of which were precious and which we love. But I have to say, I very nearly started crying after seeing part of my Aunt Lisa's gift - a onesie with little owls printed on it. My grandmother, Omi, collected owls - figurines, artwork, etc. When she was sick and knew that she didn't have much time left, she had everyone in the family choose one of her owls. I chose a little stone carving of one, about 4" - and I've had it for over a decade now. I was eleven when my grandmother died but I loved her very much. That onesie was just so perfect. It's amazing how something so simple can hold such significance!

We are done housesitting on Tuesday and then we are fully transitioning to Oley, PA. I am looking forward to things quieting down and getting settled into our little stone cottage on the farm. Life is going so quickly - I hope I catch it all!

Milestones

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I'm 34 weeks pregnant today - which means Constantine is going to be making his debut appearance very, very soon!

Nathaniel and I just signed the lease for our absolute dream home - a stone cottage on a 200-acre organic farm. The owners of the farm rent out the cottage and the *enormous* garden next to it for an unbelievable price, and since Nathaniel found work in the area, we are officially moving to Berks County!

I also confirmed today with an old friend of mine that I will be shooting her wedding next summer. I'm honestly so happy - weddings are such a happy occasion to begin with, but this particular couple is so perfect for each other, I'm just so excited that they're getting married and that I get to be there!

In a week and a half I've got a baby-pictures session with one of my dad's co-workers. I'm really excited about this too, because as you've all probably figured out by now, I think babies are pretty much the most wonderful people ever.

On top of all of that, I just picked out paint colors with my sister for the new house and we've got to start moving in and making sure we're all ready for Constantine's home birth. 34 weeks is a good milestone, but it also means that he could really come any time now and we want to be prepared!

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P.S. I don't know why the color is desaturated in these photos but they look much better on my Facebook.

To have and to hold.

Nathaniel and I celebrated our first year of marriage on Monday. This photo was taken just days after we started dating - it's amazing to me how completely in love we already were. We just "knew" - and that was enough.

To celebrate the year, we headed off to West Virginia and spent three days on a hilltop, sleeping in a straw-bale house, making breakfast over a fire and looking out at the incredible stars that are so difficult to see in Philadelphia.

Constantine is getting stronger every day. He is a little over 32 weeks now and the past few days I've been waking up really early with a contraction - I get one or two of them a day now, it seems. These are pretty normal 'getting ready' contractions - not actual labor. But it definitely feels strange when my entire belly becomes this solid mass, like a literal watermelon is hanging out in there!

Constantine is 24-and-a-half weeks big!

It's been a little while since I've done a professional shoot, but I'm keeping my skills nice and practiced with a ton of Temple assignments and every-day life. School has kept me pretty busy, but this semester shouldn't be too bad and then in August I am DONE!

Now that we have finally found out the gender of our baby and seen his perfect, sweet little face, I am so impatient to meet him. I couldn't believe how breathtakingly beautiful he is. I know every mother must feel this way, but I am convinced there has never been a more amazing baby. I want to meet him so badly!

Nathaniel jokes that I have to remember to take care of the baby in between all the inevitable photos I will be taking of him. Oh man, that baby will be used to the sight of a camera, that's for sure!

Constantine, we love you so much. We can't wait to hold you and give you kisses!

Constantine Ryan

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!! He is so little and perfect and sweet, I'm so in love.

Baby Gallery!

A friend of mine from Temple has an awesome gallery up at Cafe Twelve right now called Images of Cambodia.  The photos are really lovely - and I'm pretty sure they'll be up for about 2 more weeks, so if you want to check them out, be sure to go! (I bought one to hang in our new house!)

This got me thinking, though.  Maybe I should do a gallery of pregnancy and baby-themed photos to help raise money for our home birth.  The only downfall of home birth in many parts of the US is that it isn't covered by health insurance - can you believe that???  Women are practically forced to have their babies in hospitals!  Ok, I'll get off my soap box. =P

But anyway, paying for this birth is our biggest challenge right now.  We're looking into buying a little house for the three of us and have been putting away most of our income for our down-payment.  Little Smoosh is going to cost us roughly $3000, which is actually very inexpensive, but when it's all out of pocket and you're trying to buy a house, it's still a little difficult!  Every extra dollar that we make beyond what's already budgeted goes toward our darling little one.  Plus, we're planning to ask for donations instead of gifts at our baby shower (with a few exceptions) since so many people have generously offered us car seats, baby carriers, bassinets, furniture, clothing, etc. and there really isn't much else we need!

But what better way to raise money for our natural home birth than to have a gallery of pregnancy and baby pictures?  What do you think?  I think I'll start planning!

Thirteen weeks - and two days!

Smoosh is thirteen weeks and two days old today!  It's so exciting to learn about how our tiny one is growing and developing - so much is happening right now!

I promised one of my oldest friends that I would take some current belly pictures - there really isn't much of a belly to show off yet, but you can see a tiny little bump.  It was a fantastic day for taking photos - sunny and warm and beautiful!  I took these while Nathaniel was replacing the brake pads on our car over in Jersey.  I didn't have a tripod with me so I propped my camera up on a lawn furniture table with my phone and the lens cap under the lens.  Necessity is the mother of all invention!

I'm enjoying some rest now after walking around the neighborhood and describing things to Smoosh.  I can't wait until he or she can see these things in real life - there is a lot of beauty in this world.

I hope everyone else had a lovely day!  I'm off to enjoy the rest of mine. =)

Heartbeats.

These last few weeks have seen a lot of changes for the Ryan family.  We're excited to be nearing the end of our lease and to be spending two months house-sitting for a relative in a beautiful little nook near Abington (I'll be able to walk to Whole Foods!!!).  After that, we're not sure what the future holds, but we've been considering our options for a while now.

Two weeks ago we went to our first pre-natal appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat.  It was the most astonishingly beautiful moment - I could hardly believe it.  But there was the sound - the rapid beating of a tiny little heart in a tiny little body.

Today I am thirteen weeks pregnant!  Wow, time has flown by so quickly.  I think I'm getting some of my energy back, but I'm also SO hungry all the time - and if I don't eat right away I quickly become nauseous, which is really frustrating.  I'm trying to stay on top of eating lots of good fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy, etc., and getting my vitamins.  But it's more work than I ever thought it could be.  I'm worn out just from trying to keep up with eating!  I never thought I'd say that!

Even so, with all the changes, I am happy to be carrying this little one.  I am growing more and more in love every day.  I can't wait for this summer when I can totally rock my beach-ball belly!

Everything is new.

Today I get to do something I really enjoy - baby pictures!  I love weddings, I love documenting the joy of that day for two people.  But really, one of my favorite things in the world is baby pictures.  (I am so impatient to start taking pictures of our Smoosh!!!)

Everything is new to babies.  It's such an amazing part of life, when you're tiny and experiencing everything for the first time.  I just can't get over how awesome that is.

I'm glad to be able to take these pictures for friends of ours from church.  They're leaving Philly soon and I'll miss their family a lot.  Both parents have been so encouraging and friendly to us and have even given a lot of valuable advice to Nathaniel as he's studying in paramedic school.  And, needless to say, their children are absolutely adorable.

Well, I'll be heading out in a minute so I've got to go.  Have a lovely day, everyone!