Every now and then I plan on posting some photos of Thea just for the fun of it! Being a Mom has been a life changing experience, and what better place to talk about my life and the things I experience than on my blog. Since I last posted about Ms. Thea so very much has happened in her life and mine!

For starters, we’ve gotten into our groove! In the very beginning, there was no schedule, no predictability. Every day would bring on a different time line. Sometimes we would feed Thea every three hours. Other days it would be every two hours, or sometimes five hours. And to be honest, I thrive on schedules and routines. I’d rather be a fly by the seat of my pants type, but I find complete comfort in knowing what the day will bring. I love my daily to-do lists and guess what! New babies are the antithesis of to-do lists and productivity. But somewhere around three months, Thea has developed a bit more of a schedule and nothing makes her Mommy more proud. I can’t set my watch to her for anything, and the way things are going, I don’t think I ever will! She’s a free spirit and I absolutely love that about her. She’s teaching me how to let go and just roll with the punches, to enjoy life as it happens instead of thinking about the future. It’s amazing how much this little person is teaching me every single day. I had no idea I had so much left to learn about life. But since she has arrived I feel like the pilgrim who has discovered this whole other continent I never knew existed before.

And she is smiling like crazy these days along with her giggles and belly laughs! She loves it when I shake my ponytail in her face and when I make crazy noises when she wakes up from her nap. Her smile is a mile long when she catches a glimpse of Kyle after a long day away from him. And she will laugh out loud when my mother shows up and tickles her sides. She is a happy and joyful baby and is making mine and Kyle’s lives that much more happy and joyful!

I cannot believe it’s been 6 months already (almost 7!)! My mother bought her a cute little outfit at Carter’s today and it’s a 12 month size. I actually cried! Because it doesn’t look like baby clothes anymore…her clothes are starting to look like “big girl clothes.” Where did my little 8 pound ball of baby go? She’s quite possibly weeks, maybe days, away from crawling. And then it’s cruising and WALKING! She’s started to babble like crazy and before I know it she’s going to be TALKING! And she’s eating food now. Real (if not pureed) food! I gave her a taste of cottage cheese this evening and she erupted in excitement and laughter. I can’t take it…how big she is getting.

Here are some photos since I last posted about my baby!

Or, should I say, my world has been rocked? This blog has had some serious radio silence recently, and well, it’s because we had our baby! I’d like to introduce Ms. Thea Cori Hurst to everyone. She was born at 2:35 PM on April 7th. To make a very, very long story short, I was two weeks overdue and Thea did NOT want to be born, so my obstetrician said I needed to be induced. We drove to the hospital around 7PM on April 6th, and the induction started around midnight that night. After a long and sleepless night, Thea was born at 2:35 PM on Wednesday, April 7th. But due to a few small concerns the doctors had during the delivery, Thea had to spend a full week in the NICU. It was the hardest week of my life being discharged while my baby was still in the hospital. I camped out in the NICU and hospital lobby for the week, feeding my baby, changing her, and just waiting for the ok from the doctors that we could bring her home. It was just so hard having to say goodbye to my baby every night. But now she is home, happy and quite healthy. And it’s been six weeks already. Six weeks!? I still don’t know how time is going so fast, but she is growing and doing new things every single day. We even get smiled at now and it instantly melts mine and Kyle’s hearts. I never thought being a parent would change my world so completely, but I have found out how deep love can go and how truly blessed a person can feel.

Also, I shot my first two weddings for this 2010 season already!! The first one was exactly two weeks and three days after I gave birth too! It was tough, but the wedding was fabulous and I feel so energized and excited about my 2010 weddings to come! Images from Ryan and Vanessa’s wedding and Amanda and Matt’s will pop up on the blog soon enough. But I really DO have a TON of other images to blog about first. Sadly, there are gorgeous images I shot back in 2009 (I told you I was behind on blogging) the still need to be shared!!! But all will be revealed in due time.

In the meantime, here are just a very few images we have taken since Thea has been born.

Here is my very overdue pregnant belly!
And Thea at just 11 days old and finally home from the hospital.
A late night jam session with her Dad.
One of her first happy days!  We also used this image for her birth announcement.
A detail of her eyelashes.  I’ve kissed them a thousand times,  I am sure of it.
I will be taking her photo each month until her first birthday!
She LOVES her bath time!

I have been a bad blogger as of late. Forgive me internetland! But I’ve been pretty occupied with the arrival of our baby! Kyle and I have attended all the “newbie parent” classes, we installed the car seat, the nursery is all set, the changing table is well stocked, and we are just counting down til birth day! But with a week and a half until my due date, I plan on getting quite a few posts up in the next couple of days! I think blogging will help get my mind off the waiting! I can’t guarantee a blog a day, but I am going to try my hardest to get every last wedding and engagement session up on this here blog for everyone to enjoy! So then I can shower the blog with pictures of our little addition to Kimberly Hurst Photography!!

Which brings me to one last little bit of business. I am going to be checking email, making calls, and working with clients up until the last minute. And after the baby is born, I will still be home checking email, making calls, and working with clients on their albums, etc. but please understand my response time might be a bit longer than before…at least for those first few precious weeks! So, please be patient as baby, Kyle, and I settle into our new life together! And remember, check back often for pictures of our little bundle!!

So, without further adieu, here are some faves from Jia-Lin and Kristin’s wedding up in Stony Point!

So exciting! Kimberly Hurst Photography is featured in the 2010 Spring Summer issue of The Knot New York! Congrats to Helen and Eric who’s lovely wedding at the New Leaf Cafe gets to grace its pages! So, check it out and go pick it up on the newsstands now!

YAY Helen and Eric! YAY The Knot!

Well, the time has come to let everyone know some exciting news! Kyle and I are expecting our first baby in March!! I am just starting my 6th month as of today and am feeling pretty great! I’ve shot a bunch of weddings this year already and have one more in the bag before I can shift gears and start thinking about all the baby related things like our nursery, the baby shower, clothes shopping, etc. We are so totally stoked on starting our family and can’t wait to meet our baby in March. We are waiting to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl until baby’s birthday, but I love asking people what they think we are having. It’s been pretty divided as of now, so I guess it’s just a matter of time until we know for sure!

Kyle and I were in Philadelphia this past weekend visiting our dear friends Joel and Cynthia of that girl photography, who are also expecting their first baby. And when we had a few moments, Cynthia and I swapped portrait sessions! Here are two pictures from my mini-maternity session with Cynthia!