Hilda and Twig's Halloween Adventure

My kiddos are pretty obsessed with Hilda and the Troll books. Hilda lives in a land with cool creatures and she has some pretty awesome friends including this adorable deer fox named Twig. Recently Netflix has brought the books to life with a TV series, which is a fave in our house. But I recommend the books! When we were deciding on costumes this year, I wasn’t surprised at all when they said they wanted to go as Hilda and Twig for Halloween. So we collected a bunch of stuff, pulled out the sewing kit, and voila!

Hilda and Twig were ready to grab their bags and head in to the night to collect as much candy as they could before the midnight troll woke up! Scroll down to see how fun their Halloween adventure was! We even ran in to blue Lego and Dorothy up the street and joined forces. And I know I mention this every single year during my annual halloween post, but the people in my neighbourhood are just the best! They know how to make Halloween super fun! In fact, they know how to make a super rad community! We love you all!

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Twin Birth + Welcome Home

{birth story}

If it's not their first born, then it's not uncommon for parents to want their children to witness the birth, or be there soon afterwards to meet their new sibling, or in this case, siblings! But sometimes it's just not possible. Either it's a c-section or the birth happens in the middle of the night, making it tricky for children to be present. Many of these families add a Meet The Baby session. Which means I will meet them at their home as they arrive from the hospital or as the grandparents bring the kids back home, so I can capture those moments where siblings (and/or other family members) meet the new addition(s)! That's what I did with this family!
Scroll down to see some of my favourite images from this birth and from when the siblings met, and don't forget to watch the full Birth Story at the bottom.

***   two days later   ***

***   now press play to watch this gorgeous and precious birth story   ***

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Hello Sage

{birth story}

Even though birth, in general, is predictable, it's very unpredictable on an individual level. As a birth photographer I never know how long I will be when I head to a labouring mama. On average, I'm gone 14 hours. Sometimes 6, and sometimes 26! When I arrived at the birth of Sage it was 10pm. These two were calm yet eager yet patiently going through the motions as baby was slowly making her way down. Things were moving along nicely. This totally supported Mama laboured at home for a while before we made the move to the hospital. She wanted to make the transition before she got further along because as many mama's know, the car ride isn't so pleasant when you're in labour. It's very normal for things to slow down or even stall after a transfer, but she was deep in labour that things really didn't slow down too much. Things were going so well and she was embracing every contraction as they came. She was doing everything in her power to help baby down. But after the sun came up, exhaustion hit. Things slowed down. Rest is very helpful and can become quite vital at this point, and sometimes that's when epidural is recommended. After she was connected, she napped. Her partner napped. I napped. The midwives napped. We met back in the room a few hours later and found there wasn't much progress. But this mama was determined. She wasn't done. Her baby wasn't done. Her partner was the best supporter. So they sailed on. She laboured through a whole other day. Sometimes, you can do everything in your power and things just won't progress. Baby just gets stuck. And when heart rates start dropping, baby needs to come. So they made the very emotional decision to have a c-section before it turned in to an emergency. Their midwives stayed by their side and helped them with a gentle c-section so when Sage was born she was passed to her mama from under the surgical curtain! It was unbelievably emotional. My words don't really do this birth story justice. It was definitely a birth I will never forget. And I am so grateful to be sharing their story with you today. Just look at these images below and of course watch the birth documentary at the bottom of this post. You'll probably cry.

***   now press play to watch this beautiful powerful birth story   ***