Seattle Family Photographer – May Mother of the Month

As a Seattle Family photographer, I have a lot of fun working with families. I noticed how great this family was with their kids. The older boy was lovely with his little sister, and so I knew there was something special that I wanted to learn more. Please meet Emma, my April Mother of the Month.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself, Richie and how you met. Why you decided to have kids. Was it an easy process? 

Richie and I met in college so we've been knocking around for a long time now as they say! In fact, we were just discussing the other day about how much of my younger siblings' lives he has been around for. They've grown up with him too. We were both studying Engineering together and were friends before it blossomed into something more! It was actually during a summer working in San Diego as students that our story began. 2001, a long time ago now! I think we both always knew we would like to have kids someday although we were certainly not in any rush. Although we got together young neither one of us had any intentions of doing something serious like marriage or kids for a while to come! We got married in 2010 and when we announced our engagement there was more of a 'about time' response rather than 'congratulations'!! We had so much fun planning and celebrating our wedding. It's a big party time in Ireland and the most amazing gathering of all the wonderful people from different paths in your life coming together. We had so much fun. We moved to the US shortly after getting married and decided to take a little time alone before we started our family. By 2012, we were ready and were very lucky that it happened pretty quickly. Eoin arrived into our lives then and we've been watching him (and now his sister too) with adoration ever since! We have also aged about 10 years in that 4 year period but I guess that's part of the game!!

2. What is your secret to a good relationship? OR what is your secret to happiness? OR how do you want to guide this little person in the world? 

Honestly, I think the secret to my relationship is to marry someone as laid back as my husband! I think we are just a good mix of personalities who also have the same core values and sense of moral obligations. Not to suggest we are impenetrable or anything. We do our best to make it work and we're happy with the result. In general we try not to take ourselves too seriously although that can get hard these days. For our kids, we try to provide the best guidance we can while balancing that with letting them find their way themselves. That can be hard, to step back, but we try. I think some key traits we try our best to impart on the kids are compassion, honesty and self-worth. We do try to discipline. Manners are important to us. And rules. And not sure if it's the right approach but bargaining, we do lots and lots of bargaining! 

3. Tell me about why you decided to have professional family or maternity photographs, and why you trusted me to take these special photos.

Well, for starters, the number of pictures of our second child is dramatically smaller than our first! So the timing was important - we're due our third shortly and I was determined to get some nice family pictures done while Alannah was still the baby! Also, although we didn't go for the maternity shots, I did want some pictures that included me with a pregnant belly - this is my third and likely last time to do this and I realized I don't really have any photographic evidence of this amazing, yet challenging, time in my life. Jennifer came highly recommended from multiple sources and once I spoke to her I got a real sense that she would help us capture this very special moment in time of our little ones lives. Their faces are already changing so fast that I was totally sold on the idea of capturing this key moment in time. And having seen the results, I know Richie and I will love these shots forever. They will always bring us back to this fascinating, fun time of meeting and getting to know and understand our little babes. It is truly amazing to meet these new humans beings and watch as they learn and grow and find themselves and I feel like Jennifer managed to capture both some of our awe and how amazing these little people are.

4. Please feel free to include anything else you like that is interesting about you or your parenting philosophy. 

My own mother has been a massive influence. She is the epitome of motherhood - raised 5 kids without breaking a sweat and keeping us all content in the meantime. Well, I'm sure she did break a sweat on occasion but it wasn't obvious to us! My Dad has also always been a modern man and was a particularly hands on father for our generation. Their relationship is a model of it's own and I think Richie and I will feel pretty good about ourselves and our family if we are where they are after 40 years of marriage! So here's to that.

For more Mother of the Month posts with fresh photography and  inspiring stories, please click here.