When you can trace your first photos of a couple back eight years to the very beginning of their relationship, you know it's going to be a special session for me. I am a sucker for nostalgia, of course. So it goes without saying that the first thing I did this evening in preparation for writing this post was to dig through my archives to find a photo of Chris & Jen from way, way back at John & Jenessa's wedding on Peaks Island in 2009. The very first one I found was nothing to write home about. And then I found this jem of the two of them, newly dating each other, attending his cousin's wedding. It is hard to think about the journey that they have taken over the years that led them to last weekend with their ten day old baby in their arms and, once again, in front of my camera.

Meeting baby X for the first time just made me melt. This little peanut came into the world just a bit before he was expected to and weighed in at under 7 pounds. Jen, meanwhile, was absolutely beaming with him in her arms and Chris was looking at the pair of them knowing that it was all worth it. The past eight years that brought them to this. Every bump, twist, and turn. The journey was worth it.

I spent the morning with the new family of three. Laughing about baby Z's little noises. Hushing him to sleep. Snuggling him under blankets. Changing diapers (of course). And thinking about just how fast little ones grow up and how many years it has been since I had been in their shoes (as I sit in my office writing this with my almost five year old asleep in the next room).

Jen & Chris, thank you from the very bottom of my heart for having me spend the time with you capturing the start of this next chapter. I am very, very honored. And now I can say I've captured four newborns in Chris' family. My how they've grown over the years!

❤