Ahh, baby Louie. You just fit right in. I mean you literally reminded me of your older sister, Mallory, at points during your newborn session. So many baby features that are just like your siblings. It was so sweet to see how much they love you. Welcome to the world!
I just adore this family and their son, Beau, is turning one! I have been photographing him since birth and it has been such a treat to watch him grow. I know I will be having these same feelings of nostalgia when our little girl turns one.
Beau loves his tractor so we had to include that in our session. We ended our session with a cake smash in the woods (yes, mom and dad agreed!). By the look on his face, I would say he enjoyed it.
I think I have kept you all waiting long enough. So I will just cut right to the chase and deliver the big news - Baby Bonadio is a GIRL!!
On Thursday, we had our 20 week ultrasound. After lots of progress measurements, the tech asked us if we were ready to know the gender. I have to admit, I knew already. She said 'It's a girl!' and I replied 'I knew it!'. It's funny because I think you set expectations of what these big life moments should be like and I always imagined feeling really shocked, maybe even crying. But I was at peace. I knew it was a girl all along and now we had confirmation. A sweet baby girl would be joining us in July.
Since I was assisting with a wedding on Friday and we planned to do St. Patrick's Day things on Saturday (until it got cold!), we decided Sunday would be a the best day to surprise our parents with the baby's gender. I ordered cakes from Bella Christie's Sweet Boutique and let them have fun with designing the cakes. My only requirement was sprinkles and a bow on one. I HAD to get this super cute cake topper as the finishing touch because, well, #firstchild. And then I HAD to take pictures of them because #photographermom.
Our first stop was my parent's house. Bo got in on the action too.
Then we headed to the Bonadio's for another reveal and dinner since my mother in law makes a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast every year! Bring on cake #2! You can see how excited my hubby is to be a girl dad. :)
What a fun weekend! Somethings I just couldn't get my head around until I knew the gender. Now I can really start nesting and decorating the nursery. Here are a few Second Trimester FAQs...
How far along am I? 21 weeks, over half way there!
How have I been feeling? Still feeling really good! She is being good to her momma. I do have days when I could eat everything in sight and then some.
Have you felt her yet? YES! Finally, I was hoping I would and at just about 19/20 weeks I could tell she was jumping around. Like little fish tail flops in my belly. She was super active on her ultrasound but I like that I can feel her now.
Do we have a name yet? We have a short list of girl names. However, we won't decide until we deliver. We want to see her before we decide.
What I am most excited for? I am most excited for seeing her personality come to life once she is here!
Do you have a nursery theme? We have some ideas in mind but we really don't have much to do. Honestly, the room we are using is pretty small and most of the decor is staying. I would say minimal and neutral are what we are going for. I will absolutely share a sneak peek once we finished the it.
