This has been a very wonderful year for Hello World!  I got the honor of welcoming 24 babies into the world, I got to see babies from previous years grow up before my lens, and I met many new families.

I am so thankful to have a job that I love. It allows me to meet wonderful new families, work around my children’s schedules, and use my degree!

Without my wonderful clients, I am sure I would have a much cleaner house, be so much better organized, and probably make it to the gym everyday….but where is the fun in that??? )

From the bottom of my heart and the depth of my lenses, I wish all my friends, families, and frequent blog visitors the Merriest of Christmases.

May God bless you and your families during these holidays and in the new year.

Best wishes!

Karen, Eric, Caeden and Camryn

Little Davis couldn’t wait a whole year to meet Santa. Instead of hatching in January, he picked his birthday so he would be able to go home on Christmas eve. Darren and Dina (Dad and Mom) just THOUGHT they were finished with their Christmas shopping!

I have no doubt that Davis will one day be an incredible boy scout. He had already mastered tying a pretty impressive knot before he was even born. If you look closely , Darren is holding a piece of Davis’s umbilical chord. At the lower end, you can see Davis’s knot. We were told that this was very rare. Luckily, he is a very smart baby and didn’t pull it tight.

hmmm, something about you seems really familiar… for the first hour, Davis worked hard on focusing and finding his tongue. He had a pretty good routine going of “blink, blink,blink, stick out my tongue, blink, blink, blink, stick out my tongue…”

We were all really anxious to see how big sister, Darbi, would react to her new baby brother. She quickly welcomed him and then thought it would be more fun to feed mom some fruit from her lunch tray. Eventually though, Darbi came over with her arms extended asking to hold her brother.

I have no doubt she will be dragging him around and teaching him the ropes in no time!

yep, everyone  in the room has a good heart and healthy sounding lungs! Dr. Darbi will be sending the bill later,  but for now she has to fill her new little brother in on  all the family and friends who are about to make his acquaintance! Congrats Darren, Dina, and Darbi on your upgrade from 3d to 4D!

A very handsome little Harrison was born early this morning via c-section even though his  mom, Sarah, had really hoped to deliver him 100% naturally. Due to him being breech and the placement of his umbilical chord, the safest bet was to go ahead with a c-section.

In a nutshell, Sarah went through the surgery beautifully, Keith didn’t pass out, and a  7 pound 10 ounce Harrison arrived shortly after 6:30 am.

The downside of having a c-section was that Sarah would have to wait to hold her little guy…but it was a moment well worth waiting for!

…and finally, the perfect first family portrait. This picture was taken after both parents had gone all night without any sleep. Their new son has them all bright eyed and glowing. I guess this is a good thing since somebody needs to get busy with some Christmas shopping since Harrison was born before Christmas! Congratulations Sarah and Keith! I’m looking forward to our newborn session next week.

…that’s right, we are in need of two front teeth. Maren has her two lower front teeth and the two teeth on either side of her two front teeth (Dad said they were just a bit too late for Halloween!) but the top two spaces still remain vacant!

Not to worry Maren, when you are this cute, who needs teeth???

And if you are feeling a bit self conscious about your missing pearlies, this look will do nicely. Who notices teeth when you have big blue eyes like yours???

Atta girl! You just keep gumming on anything you can find this holiday season. Hopefully when I see you in four more months, you can show me what Santa brought you! I wish you and your family the Merriest first Christmas as a family of three.

Max is living proof that 2 pounds can make a LOT of difference. He was estimated to be a 7 pound baby but ended up being more than 9 pounds!

Robin (aka Mom) wasn’t expecting to have a c-section but that is what it took to get Max out.

I love the box in the picture above. Most of my newborns fit snugly in it but I had to laugh when I noticed this little guy’s feet hanging off the other end.

… and a big thanks to Grandma for the Santa suit. I hope she likes his pictures because it was a bit of a puzzle to get on him. Mike (aka Dad) sat

patiently in the  ’big’ Santa suit while Robin and I poked and pulled Max through the ‘little’ Santa suit. It was well worth the effort. He was simply adorable!

Congratulations Mike and Robin on your “not so little” blessing.

…something tells me that is what, Angie and Mike, Connor’s parents are hoping for this Christmas.

It seems that little Connor came home with a LOT to say so they his parents were too worn out to get his newborn session done until he was almost one month old.

When I arrived, little Connor was all about being awake. Actually, I just noticed that all the pictures I picked for my blog, he is sleeping in. The truth is, he was awake for the majority of our session but after awhile, he gave in. Once he did, he was putty in my hands!

May you and your  parents sleep in Heavenly peace this holiday season.

Every year I manage to have a photo shoot scheduled on a day when the wind chill stays well within the 30 degree range. Well, Saturday was the day this year. I put on my Hot Chilis, jeans, extra thick sweatshirt, Uggs, and earwarmers and headed to the Arboretum to meet Mark and Melanie and their little “bun in the oven.”

Melanie informed me that she took her bridal pictures at these same gardens under much different weather conditions….hot, hot day in June.

I had such a great time with this couple. It either warmed up, or Mark, soon to be Dad, had me laughing so much that I just forgot it was cold. Mark is a chap from across the pond…Liverpool, England to be exact. His parents were in town visiting and enjoying the anticipation of becoming grandparents. The cold didn’t seem to affect them one bit, I wonder why…. Anyway,  I know it wasn’t just me that enjoyed Mark’s sense of humor, he did  a great job of keeping his bride laughing as well. Sometimes i had to remind myself that this was a maternity session and not an engagement session.

…so little one, stay in your warm oven for two more months. It will most likely still be cold when you are born but I have no doubt you well be warmed by the love and laughter of your two wonderful parents….I can’t wait to find out if you are a “lassie or a laddie!”

Hudson’s parents will back me up when I say “expect the unexpected when you are expecting.” I was supposed to meet little Hudson on his birth day at the hospital but due to a series of unexpected events, I ended up meeting him at his newborn session instead. Luckily, he and his entire family (dogs included) are doing very well. During Hudson’s session, Santa (aka Dad) stopped in to personally pick up Hudson’s wish list. With Steve and Tammy as his parents, I can’t imagine a single thing this baby could want.

Beautiful little Haley was born two weeks the the date of our photo session. She was the perfect little angel and like a good little newborn, she slept through the majority of our session after having her little tummy filled. I loved her nice thick little head of hair. I don’t think Katherine (mom) will have any trouble getting bows to stay in. Oh, and I have to mention, the little yellow “paper sack” hat in the second picture was made especially for her by a family friend. Congratulations Quang and Katherine on your new little blessing!

Dear Blog readers,

Please don’t think I am slacking on the job. In order to try to keep up with my blog and keep up with the seasonal demand for pictures, I am posting fewer pics per sneak peek and keeping my journaling to a minimum. I hope to be back to my old long winded self come the new year!

Enjoy!

Karen