Maternity photo shoot

I realized lately that I never blogged about our maternity photo shoot! I'm sure most (if not all) of you have seen these photos a million times by now, but I still want to document them properly. :)

Some friends went in together to purchase the maternity photos (and newborn photos of Ryan!!) as a gift for my baby shower. It was such a good idea - and one that I fully intend to steal for future baby showers I attend! The maternity photos were a real treat. They are something that I've always thought were nice, but weren't something I would splurge on for myself. And although the weekly bump pictures that Mike takes are sufficient in showing my bump's growth, I don't think they really capture our excitement and happiness the way a professional shoot can.

Also, I've always intended to get professional photos taken of the little guy. But in all honesty, I hadn't even thought to research photographers or prices in advance, and the weeks probably would have flown by at the beginning. By the time I got around to it, the Rhino probably wouldn't even really be a newborn anymore. So I'm really grateful that these ladies were so thoughtful, and all I will have to do is set up a date and time to get the photos taken after he's born.

We did the shoot at a cute little lake/park area that is tucked away behind a strip mall in Tempe. I thought it was a perfect location for us because it was so green and pretty, like a park you would find back east. It's sort of a nice contrast to our wedding photos, which were taken at the Desert Botanical Garden and are so Arizona. We headed out bright and early on a Saturday morning in July, trying to avoid as much heat as we could. It had rained in Tempe the day/night before, so it was a little humid, but overall, I think we got off pretty easy.

I was 31 weeks along when I got the gift at my shower, and the photographer likes to do maternity shoots between 32 and 34 weeks. So, I contacted her immediately and we did the shoot the next weekend, when I was right at 32 weeks.

Here are a few of my favorites: