Partida | Maternity

Mandy and Paul are expecting their first kiddo any day now. I've been friends with Mandy for over a decade and I'm so incredibly happy to see her enter the crazy world of mommyhood. I tried talking her into entertaining the *crunchy* ideas of homebirth, cloth diapering, babywearing, having a blessingway, etc. without being " that" pushy friend. Anybody who knows the both of us know that even though we have different views on many things, we get along beautifully and love each other dearly. I did show up at her shower with a traditional cake instead of this one that I [jokingly] told her I ordered (giving her a heart attack...I know, bad friend) but I did gift her a Beco for her shower gift though. Hey, even the mainstream mamas are babywearing now. ;)

She also told me straight up (cause that's how Mandy is) that she would not be showing her exposed belly, or anything of the sort. Although I was a tad disappointed, I had to respect that (but I did ask a couple times during the shoot if she changed her mind. Heh). I captured many beautiful images of Mandy and her hubby, and am posting some of my favorites here. And of course, they're not the most traditional ones of the batch, so Mandy, your hair may not be perfectly groomed in all these, but I love what I see here.

A beautiful, expecting woman with her husband-- who is incredibly in love with her.