I’ve known the Buechels awhile – Karli and I actually worked at Target together FOREVER ago when she was pregnant with her first son, Hunter. Ahh, we were so young then. We were pregnant at the same time four years ago. Karli with her daughter April, who is three months older than my son Grayson! We get together from time to time for birthday parties and other events. And this past month I was honored to document Karli’s third pregnancy, with her son Logan, with a family maternity session.

Almost four-year-old April is so spunky and energetic. I suppose those adjectives are pretty repetitive, but more than once I felt amazed by her joyful spirit. She made me laugh out loud more than once. I convinced her that a tiny puppy dog had taken up residence inside the lens of my camera, and she spent a good part of the session “looking” for him. This is an amazing trick, and I’m totally using it with future littles at sessions!

Hunter, who is seven, is the sweetest boy in the world. We all know it – little boys (and big boys – er, sorry..MEN) aren’t the fondest of photo sessions. You would never know Hunter wasn’t thrilled to be there. He was calm, and pleasant, and so mature during the entire thing. I made a point to message Karli after the session to make sure she knew what a dream Hunter was to work with.

And let’s discuss Karli’s husband Jake, before we get too distracted by how beautiful Karli was at her session. As I arranged Karli with her children before taking photos, April shouted, “Come on Daddy, you get in the picture too!” to which Jake replied, “No, this isn’t about me. This is about Mommy.” This guy gets it! What an amazing thing to hear a husband/father say.

Karli and I had originally scheduled her session for the first weekend in May, but moved it up to April because of how big and beautiful baby Logan is getting. It’s that wonderful time in the pregnancy when you still have weeks to go and yet at every opportunity someone tells you how ready to pop you look. (For me it started in August, when my baby wouldn’t actually arrive until the middle of October). I know sometimes pregnant mamas don’t feel that glamorous. And that’s why a maternity session can be such a great thing. Showcasing and capturing the maternal beauty that comes with creating a life.

As far as I know, baby Logan is still holding out for his due date – hang in there, Karli! You’re a total rockstar and you should be so proud of your beautiful family.