Our gem, Ophelia

Here are some of my favorite selected images of my new daughter Ophelia. She is a gem, completely adorable. Being Ophelia's father is the best experience that I could ever hope for. Most of these images were shot at the hospital. As new parents, Natalie and I had a great experience thanks to the wonderful hospital staff.

This shot is when the doctor brought Ophelia out of Natalie, via C-section. The surgery was a wise choice, as Ophelia was a 9.96 pound baby. The anesthesiologist's reaction was, "That's not a baby, that's a toddler!" 
Here I am, moments after becoming a happy and well-pleased Papa.
One of many bonding moments with my new daughter. She took every available opportunity to wrap me around her little finger too.
Ophelia's initials are O-P-A-L. Natalie and I named her this way on purpose to show exactly how precious she is to us.
Ophelia is an amazingly alert baby. It really surprises us what she is capable of and adds to our joy as her parents.
Here is the "Spoon family" finally leaving the hospital. After five days inside, we were ready to go home!
And a final shot of me smothering my daughter with a kiss. I love this pic, her facial expression is priceless. Ophelia is definitely her own little person. We're glad that she is what represents the best of us. Natalie and I couldn't possibly be any happier about that. 

Well, there always is the option for twins next time... :D

Sussurros perto da Agua

"Sussurros perto da Agua" is Portuguese for "whispers by the water." The phrase invokes an enigmatic feeling with me, as do the images that I am posting today.

Yet there is great news to share! My daughter was born last week, on the 18th. She is a new gem in my life and a beautiful, healthy baby. I have a wonderful fiancée who labored long and hard until we ultimately we chose a C-section (per doctor's recommendation) to prevent any complications. And we made the right choice. I couldn't be any more pleased than I am now. My daughter is lovely, strong and already working at wrapping me around her finger. My partner is a wonderful, brave and magnificent woman for enduring what she did to bring our daughter into the world. In light of such a fantastic milestone, I wanted one final chance to post some maternity photos that I shot of my fiancée out along the Ruston Way Waterfront. These images were at her 9th month of pregnancy. So enjoy! Vitamins for your optic nerves.

The Maternity Race

So I've been building a lovely portfolio of maternity pics these past few weeks. Our due date is today, so I only have a few more days to work until we're induced next week. I've been quite satisfied with the images that I have shot so far, but time is running by fast. I have a beautiful muse to work with, and I couldn't be happier about that. But will I be able to get all those fantastic maternity shots that I want? Such as this one?

Perhaps not. But I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far. Not as much a race, as a pathway that we have shared. One of parenthood. A path that we'll continue to tread together as time goes, racing by much faster than we ever can..