Maternity photos.

Baby Saigh and I will
soon be having LOTS of
Midnight "Parties"!

I love this one because AJ is always making little "LJ"
listen to his blues music with his headphones.

Last week, AJ and I spent an hour with Julie Feldman of Cider Press Studios, to have our maternity photos taken in Downtown Minneapolis.  First of all, let me start out by saying that neither AJ or I are fans of traditional maternity photos (the ones that end up on "awkward family photos dot com"), but I really wanted something to capture our first pregnancy.

Mama and Papa-To-Be.

I could not be happier with the photos Julie took of us.  We spent the morning at the Walker Art Center (inside and outside), and we got so many great shots!  Julie was so easy to work with and it was almost like she read my mind when it came to knowing what I was looking for.  I've been so busy at work that I really didn't have any time to send her examples of what I wanted out of the photos... but she just knew!  Maybe it was all that time we spent together as Miss Buffalo and Miss Hopkins back in 2000:)  Julie and I met when we were the reigning "Queens" of our hometowns.

I can't believe she will be here in 10 weeks!

I have to be honest about my husband's feelings about having these photos taken.  Let's just say he wasn't too excited, and I may or may not have forced him to participate:)  AJ thought we'd be taking the weird "naked" photos together, and no matter how often I told him that was not what we were doing, he wasn't excited.  He hates taking photos and hates being hot (he's Lebanese, sweats a lot and, it was 85 degrees out that day).  But, Julie made things so easy for him (and us).  We took all of our photos in the shade, and we took the photos of us together first.  AJ was done in 15-20 minutes.  I took all of my individual photos right after.  Now, seeing the photos, AJ is very happy we had them done!

I'm going to be using these photos in Baby Saigh's nursery, and they're just so nice to have to remember my first pregnancy.  I could not be happier with the photos Julie took!  She is so creative, and found spots I would have never thought of.   Julie is a friend of mine, a mother of two, and lives in the Twin Cities with her husband.  She does wedding, baby, maternity, children, family, and special events photography.  More of her work, rates, and the rest of our maternity photos can be found on her website (Cider Press Studios - click on her blog to see our photos).

Thank you Julie for a truly amazing experience!