Rewind + October | Crystal & Sam + maternity session | Alexandria, VA
Today’s tidbit: “A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.” — unknown
I was honored when I was asked to take maternity pictures of Sam and Crystal, who met in 2003 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where Sam went to school. Crystal had a college friend that was dating one of Sam’s friends and she went up to Rensselaer with her friend one weekend… where they hit it off and fell in love. They got engaged in June 2004 and were married in Massachusetts on December 26, 2004 and as they say, the rest was history.
Sneak peek images: My first maternity photo shoot (and how I spent my lunch break on a beautiful fall day). Can you believe Raeley made her early debut in the world only a week after these pictures were taken? They look amazing!
Be sure to click below to read more and check out the slideshow. Enjoy!
A few personal favorites:
Although their love for each other has never changed, they’ve had some difficult obstacles to overcome. After a long two years of trying, Crystal finally got pregnant with Raeley in February 2012. Sam left for his 6-month deployment to Afghanistan in March when she was only 7 weeks pregnant. Crystal noted the day he left was one of the hardest days of her life. It was a long 6 months but the pregnancy kept her busy and distracted. Despite difficulty getting pregnant, Crystal was blessed that the pregnancy itself was easy and enjoyed going to doctors appointments watching the baby’s growth through the ultrasounds. Crystal was able to send Sam the ultrasound pictures and some pictures of her growing belly. Thanks to modern day technology, they were able to Skype a couple of days per week too. Sam returned from Afghanistan on October 1st, just in time to be with Crystal during the last few weeks.
After the other sessions where I was taking engagement pictures and seeing young love, it was heart warming to look into the lens and see lasting love and the anticipation of a soon to be little family. With engagement shoots, the couples are busy planning the wedding and eager to start living life together; however, with maternity shoots the couple is looking ahead at how it will no longer be just the two if them but there will soon be a new addition that they created. It really is something special.
Since this is a rewind post about the maternity photo shoot, which took place shortly after Sam returned, I can also fast forward to when little Raeley was born and give you the full story…
Raeley was born 2 weeks early on October 28th, healthy and weighing 5lbs 14oz. and 19 inches long. Crystal mentioned, “Raeley has been such a blessing in our life. It’s been a change going from just the two of us to now three, but so much fun watching her grow and seeing her little milestones. We feel very lucky to have such a beautiful family.”
Congratulations Crystal and Sam! I am looking forward to doing a shoot with Raeley soon!
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