This adorable couple braved the cold wind for their engagement at the Missouri Botanical Gardens this afternoon with me. I had a wonderful time, and couldn’t wait to post a quick one from our shoot. I’m off to Indianapolis for a photography conference, but I’ll have the full post when I get back.
This sweet baby girl gave her mother a run for her money at our shoot on Friday! We ended up throwing in the towel because she pooped CONSTANTLY, and she did not want to sleep…I only got a few shots, but here was one that I really liked. We’re going to have a round 2 next week.
Forgive me for not updating the blog in a few days. The little guy is keeping me on my toes!
Dan made it to Japan in one piece, although he said he was squished between to little Japanese women who took up all the room. And if you know Dan, this probably makes you laugh, as it does me. My husband is 6′ 4″. He’s a big guy, there’s no denying, and to picture him in a little plane seat for 14 or so hours makes me giggle. (Sorry honey!) I’ve only received a few emails from him because his internet access is really limited, and he hasn’t been able to make a single phone call yet. It’s quite lonely here without him, but he says he’s having a fabulous time. Every other sentence has an “amazing” in it. He’s says the Japanese are the nicest people he’s ever met, and he really loves their culture. I think he also likes the food. 
Surprisingly, he doesn’t like sake. That’s probably a good thing though.
Here are a few pictures he emailed me the other day…Enjoy!
Yesterday when I was doing the dishes, Aidan was supposed to be in the living room playing with his Barney guitar. Then I hear, “Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.” And on and on until I see what he’s doing. Often it means he’s doing something he’s not supposed to. In fact, he probably thought he WAS doing something he wasn’t supposed to. But it turns out he had gone into the office, grabbed a light stand, laid it on the loveseat horizontally, and was doing the limbo. “Mommy limbo, too?” Aidan asked. Uh, no. This mommy can not get down that far. That little boy has the ability to make me laugh like no one on earth. How lucky am I?
If anybody wants to come over and limbo with Aidan, we’re ready. Anytime.We’ll provide the limbo stick/light stand.
This is seriously the best I could get this week. Aidan wanted NOTHING to do with the camera. He kept screaming “No. No. No. No.” I had to quick sneak behind him in the bathroom while he was washing his hands. Gotta love 2-year-olds.
It’s absolutely incredible to sit back and contemplate all that has happened to my family in the past year. It’s been quite a year. Quite a good year. We’ve been so blessed in so many ways. It’s nearing the 1-year mark that Aidan and I made the difficult journey alone from Texas to St. Louis after I left the Army. I was telling Dan just today that my military life seems so far in the past. It seems decades ago – strange how that happens. Then a few months later, Dan returned from his deployment after nearly 16 months of being away. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of having your husband/best friend/father of your child return after such a long absence. It’s been a huge adjustment for all 3 of us, but it’s definitely a welcome change.
We still cherish every single moment we have together because we understand what it is to be a family only from a distance. Aidan was a mere 6 weeks old when Dan left. He probably only weighed about 8 pounds, I would guess. Now he’s walking, talking, running, occasionally peeing on the potty (more on that later) and weighs in at a strapping 38 pounds at the age of 2. (EEK!) Dan found a job rather quickly upon arriving in St. Louis, especially considering the job market here. Then after staying with my mom and sister, we finally settled into a place of our own. We’re making a life here, and I’m incredibly grateful to have friends and family to support us. I know this next year has even better things in store for us. (Obviously! I have so many wonderful couples that I’m working with, and they’re all going to be fabulous weddings that I can’t WAIT to photograph.
And in honor of this little flashback – a sneak peek into our lives during the past year – here’s our wonderful son from a year ago. Oh how he has changed. (He has hair and teeth and that same crazy smile!) He truly is the most amazing thing to ever happen to me.
After quite a bit of confusion last night and this morning, the blog (and website!) are back! While trying to edit a few things on the blog, I managed to make a huge mess of things. The blog still isn’t quite how I had it, but it should do for now! And while I’m here, I’m going to add Sunee’s slideshow back in. Enjoy!
Please excuse the chaos of the blog at the moment. Something crazy happened, and I will have to reformat the entire thing this evening. Yipee.
I had the huge honor of photographing Baby Orf this morning. Yesterday at her doctor appointment, Janine’s doctor told her they were going to enduce her because of her high blood pressure. She doesn’t yet have a name, but let me tell you she’s a gorgeous baby! She was born at 9:24 and weighed 6 lbs 1 oz. She was about 3 weeks early, I believe. I didn’t go in the room until about an hour or more after she was born, but the entire experience just took me back to when Aidan was born – since they all have the same little cap and blanket and adorably goopy eyes. Babies are such a joy – such a miracle. My husband put it perfectly when I told him all the details: “Them having a baby made me really happy. What a wonderful day.” Indeed it is…I was there when she had her first bath and when they made her footprints. I got to snuggle her warm, little peanut of a body…But for now, I know someone is anxiously awaiting these pictures, so I’ll stop babbling for now.
Without further ado, here is the beautiful baby girl Orf. (Can’t wait to find out what they name her! ) More later tonight!
I didn’t think I was going to be able to fit any in because we have so many commitments, but I made some time to fit them in the schedule! I’m really excited for holiday sessions. Christmas is, after all, just around the corner! Can you even believe it? These holiday sessions will be 20-30 minutes and can include up to 5 people. They will take place at a park in St. Charles – to be determined. The session fee is due at the time of booking. Several card options will be available. If you’d like to reserve your block or have more questions about holiday sessions, just email me at nikkiwelch@mac.com.
I should have updated this sooner, but if you can’t reach me, it’s because I have a new phone number! Sorry! I got a fabulous new Blackberry for my birthday (Thanks everyone!) and decided to go with a local number. It’s 636-322-8521. Please don’t prank me. 
I had an engagement/family session Tuesday night – finally! We were rained out last week, but I was so happy to get the chance to finally photograph this adorable couple and their baby (who seriously is one of the cutest babies I’ve EVER seen). They were such a blast to work with, and I can’t wait for their wedding next month!
Yesterday, between digging ourselves out of a sea of boxes (the movers arrived with our stuff on Monday!), I had a photo shoot with an adorable family. I’ll have a sneak peak of that later. My mom was nice enough to come to the park where I was shooting to entertain Mr. Aidan for a while, and I know that’s no easy task. Even though he was exhausted and feeling a little under the weather, he was going like the Energizer Bunny. My poor, poor mom. And because he’s getting taller, his legs are longer, and he is faster. And that means adults have to run to keep up with him. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like next year. Yikes!
So I don’t really know what’s wrong with everyone. People keep asking me about my birthday and talking about this “30″ stuff. But, I’m not really sure what they’re talking about. Because I plan on being 29 for the rest of my life! Is there anything wrong with that? Just because I my birthday is only 23 days away means nothing! I’m just re-celebrating last year. :0 Now you have the memo. You may now proceed with your regularly scheduled programing.
© 2012 St. Louis wedding photographer Nicole Welch
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