I have known Kerri since high school and through the magic of Facebook, we have kept tabs on each other over the years. When she reached out to have me come over and photograph her family soon after they welcomed their new baby boy at their home in Kitchener, Ontario, the answer was an immediate YES.
We met on a rather gloomy, overcast Monday, and I was greeted at the door by their doxie Pogo, along with three-year-old big sister. She proudly showed me her room, noting that it was designed for a big girl, before we brought in her new brother for some (attempted) sibling photographs. That lasted about 30 and a half seconds, so we decamped to mom and dad's room for some family togetherness. After mom and dad each had a turn snuggling their new little man, and I had rescued Pogo's ball from under the armoire about 8 times, big sister decided to rejoin us and we managed to take some photos of everyone together (gunny bears WERE harmed in the making of these photos).
Soon it was baby's turn to have his photo taken, snuggled up in a blanket and cozied on a warm fleece. While he fought to get his hands out and show me exactly what he thought of my swaddling, he finally realized that the battle was futile and resigned himself to the shutter clicking for a wee while. When the squalling started, I left him to mom for a feeding and headed outside to join dad and daughter exploring the backyard.
I made the rookie mistake of filling up her water spray bottle, ending up the very damp recipient of her spray attacks. Although I may have encouraged that, come to think of it... Mom and baby brother soon emerged and we all gathered up for a few more family photos in front of the neighbour's beautiful fence-breaching lilac bush, with Pogo watching the proceedings in between ball dribbling and chipmunk chasing. Pogo finally got his moment in the spotlight at the end, and of course he delivered. We should have gotten tips from him for the other kids...
Thank you Kerri and Mike for welcoming me into your home and for trusting me to document your family in those first new days of life as a family of four.
M xo
