Saturday, I joined Baby Fin, Angelena, Mike and about 7000 of their closet friends and family to celebrate Baby Fin's first birthday. (That's an exageration, by the way... I'm merely trying to express how full and busy the house seemed during this celebration!) I cannot believe an entire year has already passed. I really must be getting old, because I feel like I just shot the newborn session yesterday! He's grown up so much! 

You'll be able to note a couple of cameos by my awesome clients (and Baby Fin's dearest friends) Baby Julia, Baby Mia, and Baby Ben :) Always fun to be surrounded by people I know and love when shooting! 

Angelena and Mike... it's been an awesome year! I'm so excited that I had the opportunity to get to know you guys, and to document Baby Fin's first year! You better not forget to have me over during his second year, too! 

Enjoy his birthday slideshow :)

love

amber

Goodness, he's just the most adorable thing. I love his crazy hair! Nana got Baby Fin ready for his big day... I'm posting this image because I want to talk about how much I LOVE the cardboard deer mounted to the wall! Too fun! Delicious and beautiful homemade chicken pot pies. Angelena is a domestic goddess. Sweet Baby Julia... at what is probably her first party... and already smiling about it :) The stairs are a constant source of entertainment! Watching his candle get blown out... what a complicated ritual :) Kisses from Dad... as he contemplates the cake. Yummy messes. Mmmmmm.... Finally, he gets really serious about it. Love all the randomness in this image. Dirty dirty fingers. Yep, he's a cutie. Curiosity... hmmm... what is this? Baby Mia taught him about opening presents. Loved the light here... I hadn't yet shared my super fun shoes (given to me by my friends, the Rileys)... so I thought this was a great opportunity :) xoxo!

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I can't believe how much Baby Alana has changed since I photographed her birth over two years ago. She has become such an adorable little person... I just love her! Rich and Heather are such amazing parents to Alana... and spectacular friends to Nathan and I. I am very blessed to have played a small part in Alana's life.... she's such a gift! 

Rich and Heather... we really love you guys. I hope you enjoy Alana's big girl slideshow. 

love

-amber

Love LOVE when my Babies open the door for me... particularly when I'm greeted by name! She was playing "where's 'Lana" and shutting herself in the door :) Quick clothing change. Okay... maybe not so quick. Then she decided to plop down in her chair, and patiently wait (while yelling at me ever so sweetly) to turn on Caillou. Loved it. Tons of laughter... every time. Here Alana decided she needed to show off her bellybutton... while simultaneously whispering "naked belly" over and over again. Brilliant. Putting together the puzzle. Apparently a task needing much focus. She wanted me to "pound" her fist... too funny. (Check out the slideshow for more of this series) One of my favs of Rich and Alana to date. Love her look. Cool new room details. Yep... laughter ;) If you ever meet Alana... ask her to say "heart" for you. Impressive feat. She's quite proud of herself. BUTTONS! As a mom... I don't think I'd enjoy this particular toy ;) Draining the last possible sip from Rich's coffee cup. The girl has a serious starbucks addiction... already! She kicked me out of her room. Dance party! Some of my favorite family images in a long time. So fun. Yep. Dance parties are cool. Quick kisses. Self portrait #1. Self portrait #2. Alana telling me not to leave. So I went to lunch with her instead. Fun times.

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On January 15, 2010, Baby Kaden Jay Groves made his debut. He was a few weeks early, but still a big boy! He was over 8 pounds, 21 inches long, and a head full of hair!

I arrived at the hospital at around 6:00pm... and although I knew it was probably going to be a pretty busy evening, I was in no way prepared for the craziness that surrounded this particular birth! JC and Kym were surrounded by tons of friends and family as theywaited for Kaden to arrive. Kym has the patience of a saint... the room was full of noises: bluegrass music from one computer, the electronic sounds of computer games from another, constant phones ringing, people talking, laughter, chatter... I would've gone insane trying to labor through intense contractions with so many distractions... but Kym just took it in stride! 

It was such a huge relief when Kaden finally arrived. It was a little after 2:00am, and the room was STILL full of people... Kaden came out, the doctor flipped him upside down and handed JC the scissors to cut the cord, and Kaden stared JC straight in the eyes. I think that's the moment that most of us became just slightly emotional :) 

JC and Kym... congratulations... he's adorable. I'm really really proud of you guys. Enjoy your birth story!

love

-amber

Madness... everywhere :) People were taking phone calls in the shower... people were everywhere! And Kym just focused on her breathing, and ignored everyone else :) I had fun changing the picture on my phone so I could do a time update :) Such cute socks! Adaley was "helping" Kym by rubbing her feet. So cute. I enjoyed the light in a lot of these images... I also enjoyed how beautiful Kym looked, even when in such intense pain! JC was super sweet to her. Even when she turned his thumb purple from the squeezing :) Love. JC was very determined to keep the world updated via his facebook and twitter pages :) More hiding in the shower... this time playing computer games :) Laura trying to convince Kym that she could "just catch him" :) Waiting... we got kicked out during the epidural. Adaley wanted JC to do a "chubby" story :) For some reason, she was a little scared of Kym's belly :) Much needed epidural induced sleep. The saddest moment of the night occurred when Kym realized that her mother and sister (who had been driving all day from Texas) probably weren't going to make it in time. I love how tender JC was with her. Family prayer time... it's time to start pushing. Emotional.... Kym was crazy strong. At one point she said "let's go again!". The nurse said, "you can if you want to". Kym replied, "it hurts either way, so I might as well push!" Amazing! Almost there. Yes... people in the shower... yet again. This was DURING birth, and they were totally hiding in the shower so they could listen! Kym's mom and sister... listening on speakerphone. Kaden arrives! (Transition images are in the slideshow!) Soooo cute! These were the best baby nurses EVER. Little black feet :) First family portrait! Kisses. I believe JC was already in love. :) Love these faces. Uncle Daniel... Aunt Laura and sleeeeeepy cousin Adaley in the background. Love John's face here... He's a wonderful Grandpa. A brief quiet moment. Kym's mom and sister made it just in time to kiss Baby Kaden goodnight! So glad they made it! Had to check out the wee baby feet... the end :) love y'all.

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