I'm feeling quite nostalgic this week as Brooke's first birthday approaches. This past year has gone by so quickly and I can't believe how much both my girls have changed. When I became pregnant with Brooke, it seemed natural that at some point I would have some maternity photos taken – I even had a few ideas and spoke to our photographer about it. But like it always does, life got busier. We had a very rough winter with multiple illnesses, and I felt less and less inclined to be in front of the camera. So at some point, I decided to forgo the photos. I told myself that I didn't really need them. I had photos of me pregnant with Robin and that would be enough.
And then, about 2 weeks before my due date – panic struck. Robin would not be my baby anymore. At 2.5 years old, she was becoming more and more independent and it wasn't going to be just the two of us. We would be bringing a new baby home and I was acutely aware of how much life was going to change. I was going to have to figure out how to be a mom to two little girls, splitting up my time and attention. And at the time, that seemed a bit crazy.
I blasted my photographer with a text, email and phone call. "You have to come and take photos of us" I begged. I realized how wrong I was to not capture this time – while it was still Robin and me.
Thankfully, she obliged and I have these wonderful keepsakes of us being us. Cuddles on the bed, a stroll down our street and sharing banana chocolate chip muffins. I will be forever grateful.
Photos taken by the lovely, talented, beautiful-inside-and-out, Scarlet O'Neill.
Looking back, I see my belly and it's fun to think about how Brooke was there with us. We just didn't know her yet, and we didn't know how much joy and love she would add to our lives. I'm so glad I was able to give Robin a baby sister and I still can't believe how easy it is to love them both so much.