A Simple Kind of Life: One Year Photo Shoot

Although Christian is very soon to be one, I wanted to share his one year old pictures!

It's true what they say, that "the days are long, but the years are short." I can't believe it's already been almost a year since my little Christian was born! A lot has happened in this past year, and hands down the most special, life fulfilling, exciting experience of the year has been becoming a mother. Add stay-at-home mom to that list now! :o)

My "short story"
Although my pregnancy was predictable and normal, Christian's birth had an unexpected twist at the end. We learned in my 41st week of pregnancy (4 days "late"), that the baby was a single footling breech (one foot down). Even though we had a natural birth planned, I ended up having a Cesarean to prevent a possible cord prolapse, at 11 days "late." I was devastated. The last week of my pregnancy was filled with stress, tears, doctors appointments including an ECV (External Cephalic Version), chiropractor appointments for multiple Webster adjustments, etc., all in an effort to turn him around.

Even though I was pretty miserable that last week of pregnancy, and selfishly thought about really nothing other than my own safety because of a major surgery, I would do it all over again. I recovered quickly and I had a healthy adorable baby boy. The second I heard him cry, I knew him. I knew his cry like I had heard it every day of my life. I knew it like that sound had always been apart of my dreams... always a part of me. If you've ever given birth or have seen the birth of your child, you know what I'm talking about. It's an awaking of the soul that is so surreal, you begin to wonder if this is really an Earthly experience. I praise God for helping carry me through my last week of pregnancy and Christian's delivery. He saw me through, anxiety attacks and all, and blessed me with such a happy little Mr. Handsome.

Photos
Photography has been a love of mine for many years now, and I love being able to save money when I can. I know that many people tend to spend money on photographers to capture their little one's milestones, but I thought it'd be more fun if I were the one to take my son's one year old photos.

Christian, my husband Michael, his parents, and myself walked the beautiful grounds of the Chicago Botanic Garden looking for perfect locations to take some photos. If you are unfamiliar with the area, the garden is a local place where many like to visit for a beautiful walk, bike ride, or tour to see amazingly well kept local vegetation, such as prairie land, as well as exotic plants like the Bonsai collection. The beautiful landscapes, sculpted shrubs, and gorgeous flowers are not all they have to offer. They also host many events such as HallowFest, Garden Chef Series, Antiques & Garden Fair, concerts, Farmer's Market as well as have TONS of activities for kids, including their kids summer camp: Camp CBG (which I actually worked for as a counselor for a summer)!

This was the perfect place for Christian's one year old photos. The weather was perfect for our outing and Christian was such a good sport despite his nap time being pushed back.

These are just a few of my favorites from that beautiful day.