Maternity
The Pregnancy Project
Karlyn and I started this project over a year ago when she was 16 weeks pregnant. I finally stitched together our favorite images and gave this photo to her for a Christmas gift, but (as Nolan empties the recycle bin under my feet as I write this) thought now would be a great time to think back on when he was so very, very tiny!
39 Weeks Pregnant
I want to thank Chris’s parents for their message to Nolan for this week. Not only are they great in-laws for Karlyn, but they already have a one year old grandson (whose mom will be writing next week’s post), so they already know how to be wonderful grandparents. I still have no idea—except that spoiling will play a large role.
This week Chris also played with us as we explored a couple of ideas I’ve been wanting to try out. Just in time, as the official due date is next Monday.
One last addition for Nolan: a bookcase for all of his books and toys. Okay, SOME of his toys.
This is the outfit that is already packed and ready for the hospital. I can’t believe it will fit him!
And since evenings in Colorado can get quite chilly, this little sleeper should keep him warm!
Finally, just a fun shot. (I think Karlyn is ready!)
38 Weeks Pregnant
We are entering the final stretch! Now that Nolan has moved away from her ribs, Karlyn is truly enjoying this time—and it shows. And she is sweet enough to share some of those moments with me. Yesterday, Nolan’s foot was literally pushing her stomach out! This week Nolan’s great grandmother in Washington state wrote the message; I am so glad we have technology like Skype so that she will get to “meet” her very first great grandchild soon after he is born!
And just because it’s fun to play in Lightroom, I tried making the “boy” theme dominate this next version of the above photo.
37 Weeks Pregnant
We are now going week to week, with Karlyn hoping Nolan wants to come on out and join the family and me wanting her to last another week or two at least so I can get a few more pictures! And it is going to snow tonight, so all the outdoor photos I’ve been wanting to take will just have to wait a little longer. Yes, it is May. Yes, it is starting to snow. Yes, I think Cabo sounds really, really good right now! But not nearly as good as meeting Nolan. Another person who can’t wait to meet Nolan is Janet, who took a turn guest writing his message this week.
Chris and Karlyn spent the weekend planting flowers and fixing up their yard, including the back yard—which is all ready for Nolan once he’s big enough to fit into the swing!
I’ve been dying to try a photo with a picture frame as a prop, and Karlyn is finally big enough to “fill the frame.”
36 Weeks Pregnant
As you can see, Karlyn is READY! This month should be fun as there really is nothing left to do but wait. And take more pictures. And spoil Sake while he is still the only “child” in the house!
35 Weeks Pregnant
Karlyn has been so wonderful as I try out this experiment of following her progress and recording her week to week life. Of course, she gave me the idea in the first place, but back at 16 weeks when we planned this, it seemed so much easier! If anyone is visiting the site for the first time, be sure to scroll back to watch the progress of her pregnancy. It has been amazing to see how big Nolan is getting. And now we are in the final stretch (with no marks yet to show for it, yeah!) so prepare to see some different types of photos in the weeks ahead. I can’t wait to meet the little darling. In the meantime, we’ll keep on recording his growth and documenting where he will live.
34 Weeks Pregnant
Okay, we are entering the home stretch here: Nolan’s room is ready; grandparents are ready; great-grandparents are ready; Karlyn and Chris are REALLY ready; now Nolan is getting ready too! Instead of lying sideways, he is now head down, which hopefully will give Karlyn’s ribs a little rest! In the weeks to come, we are hoping to show Karlyn in the neighborhood for the environmental portraits, and we have some fun ideas planned for the message shots.
33 Weeks Pregnant
I’m so glad Karlyn let me write a short message to Nolan this week. As a former English teacher, I wanted to add more examples and provide documentation, but luckily for Nolan (and his parents) there simply wasn’t room! And we took the pictures right after we returned from a baby shower hosted by her best friend Kathy. Even though the light was fading, we had to put up her newest room decoration (quilted beautifully by Alison’s mom, Christine, who does such incredible work she is more of an artist than a quilter!) and thus shot the environmental portrait in Nolan’s room.
32 Weeks Pregnant
While I do like the environmental portraits showing Karlyn in different rooms of her home (and soon in the neighborhood), I love photographing her and adding her messages to Nolan. If you only knew how much she hates to write (I think she majored in science to avoid essays as much as possible!), then you would know how special it is that she takes the time to do this. And even though I know that Nolan is growing like crazy, it is amazing to see how much bigger he is getting by following the weekly updates. I can’t wait for Week 40!!
31 Weeks Pregnant
Finally! Here is the third set in the series I’m shooting of the last trimester of Karlyn’s pregnancy. Once again, I have a dilemma picking which porch shot to put in the book I’m compiling for Nolan. Actually, I have decided the book will probably be for Nolan’s future wife, as I’m not sure boys really care all that much about this sort of thing. So I’m including both photos for now. And I had to miss one week because we were in New York and DC (doing projects with our oldest daughter and her husband). I’m really enjoying chronicling the changes and capturing Karlyn in different parts of her house and neighborhood.
